Tenafly City Zoning Code
§ 35-804.4
Location and Improvement of Required Parking and Loading Facilities.
[Ord. No. 97-29 § 804D; Ord. No. 99-11 § 1; Ord. No. 05-06 §§ 2, 3, 4; Ord. No. 10-24 § 37; Ord. No. 11-08 § 4; amended 6-11-2024 by Ord. No. 24-10lk; 10-8-2024 by Ord. No. 24-29; 11-12-2024 by Ord. No. 24-33]
a.
Parking.
1.
The off-street parking facilities required for the uses mentioned in Schedule C[1] and for other similar uses, shall be on the same lot or parcel of land as the building or use they are intended to serve unless adequate nearby facilities have been approved by the Planning Board pursuant to subsection 35-804.5.
[1]
Editor's Note: Schedule C may be found as an attachment to this Chapter.
2.
Required off-street parking facilities shall not be located in any front yard area between the street line and the required front yard setback line, except that in residence districts, the off-street parking space required for single- and two-family dwellings may be located in a private driveway or accessory garage. Parking areas and driveways accessory to single- and two-family dwellings shall not occupy more than 30% of the front yard area between the street line and the front of the building and shall not be located closer to a side or rear property line than 15 feet in the R-40 Zone, 10 feet in the R-20 Zone, five feet in the R-10 Zone and three feet in the R-9 and R-7.5 Zones. There shall be only one driveway opening to a street, which shall have a minimum width of 10 feet and a maximum width of 20 feet, unless the lot has a frontage of at least 120 feet, in which case there may be no more than two such openings. There shall be a minimum distance between driveway openings on the same lot of 75 feet. A two-family attached dwelling (side-by-side) may have one driveway opening per unit, not exceeding 12 feet in width with a minimum distance of 20 feet between driveway openings.
3.
In the R-MF and R-RMF Residence Districts, off-street parking shall be for the sole use of tenants and guests; 25% more spaces than is required by this section may be constructed, provided that in any case, except in the R-RMF district, not less than one space per dwelling unit shall be located in an accessory garage or within the basement of the dwellings and the remaining spaces shall be located in parking areas on the same lot.
4.
For all other types of uses and buildings in all districts the required space shall be provided in parking garages or parking areas or in a combination of both types of facility.
5.
Garages constructed below grade level will not be permitted unless provided with a positive gravity drainage system and sloped away from the house for a minimum distance of 15 feet or provided with a drainage system designed by a professional engineer to collect the contributing area runoff for a 100-year storm event or the volume of runoff from a three-inch rainfall, whichever is greater. Soil tests must be conducted to substantiate the design of the system. The use of mechanical pumps will not be permitted for the draining of storm water from a below grade garage without the installation of a backup power source for the pumps.
6.
Existing homes with garages constructed below grade, or whose driveways are downward sloping from the roadway surface, which have been in existence prior to June 1, 2024 may eliminate the garage without requiring relief from the zoning code and shall be subject to building and grading permits provided all of the following provisions are met:
(a)
The property owner shall provide proof of a loss due to flooding resulting from the existing driveway directing water into the garage, which thereafter enters the residence. Proof shall be in the form of an insurance claim, within the past five years from the date of application for removal.
(b)
The existing garage door shall be closed using either cast in place concrete block, poured concrete, or other like materials commonly used in foundation construction, capable of withstanding the soil load of the backfill.
(c)
The existing driveway and retaining walls shall be removed in their entirety and disposed of in accordance with applicable regulations.
(d)
Backfill utilized shall be well drained readily compactable material free of contaminants, deleterious material and organic matter.
(e)
Any foundation drainage shall be extended across the existing driveway which was removed.
(f)
The backfilled area shall be paved in accordance with applicable code requirements and utilized for off-street parking.
(g)
The backfilled area shall direct all surface runoff toward the municipal right-of-way and not toward adjacent properties.
(h)
Any drainage problems resulting from the driveway removal shall be corrected at the sole expense of the homeowner to the approval of the Borough.
b.
The off-street loading facilities required for the uses mentioned in Schedule C, and for other similar uses, shall be on the same lot or parcel of land as the building or use they are intended to serve. In no case shall the required off-street loading space be part of the area used to satisfy the off-street requirements of this chapter.
c.
All off-street parking facilities, except for one- and two-family dwellings, and loading facilities not within a building and required by this section shall be paved, marked, drained, lighted, landscaped and maintained by the owner or lessee in accordance with specifications of the Borough, and such facilities shall be arranged for convenient access and safety of pedestrians and vehicles. Such facilities shall have adequate means of access to and egress from a public street. Lighting installations shall be arranged so as to avoid reflection and glare into an abutting or opposite residence district.
d.
In all multi-family and nonresidential zones, the paved surface of a driveway, aisle or parking space in a parking area shall not extend nearer than three feet to any property line unless waived by the Planning Board.
e.
Shared Parking. Adjacent lots in all commercial zoning districts may, in conjunction with securing site plan approval, enter into shared parking arrangements. Such shared parking shall be considered a permitted, accessory use in all commercial, industrial, or office zones. The integration of traffic flow for such shared parking shall be reviewed and approved by the relevant land use board and shall be memorialized in a permanent easement, which instrument shall be recorded with the relevant recording agency.
The appropriate Board shall apply the standards set forth herein for site plans and shall ensure that the shared parking arrangement makes adequate provision for ingress, egress, emergency access and circulation of traffic, as well as for adequate and safe pedestrian access and use. All uses on each site shall be considered when assessing the adequacy of such proposed parking arrangements. Any change in any such use shall require either site plan approval, or a waiver thereof.
When two such adjacent lots employ such shared parking arrangements, the yard, buffer and setback provisions of this chapter otherwise applicable to such parking arrangements shall not apply to the common property line.