Any structure or use, erected or developed after the effective date of this ordinance, must provide for parking in accordance with the minimum requirements of this section.

a.

Parking requirements for specific uses shall be provided as follows:

b.

Plans and specifications for the required parking facility shall be submitted at the time of the application for a building permit for the principal use. The gross area per car space shall be no less than 162 square feet (nine feet by 18 feet) and shall have adequate means of ingress and egress.

c.

All off-street parking areas required under this section must be provided for on or adjacent to the site of the principal use.

d.

In the general commercial zone, on-street parking may be utilized to fulfill the parking requirements. The following conditions will apply:

(1)

The required dimension for on-street parking space (parallel to the curb) shall be eight feet by 20 feet.

(2)

Where parking is available on both sides of the street, the parking along the frontage of a parcel (actual legal parking spaces) may be counted towards the requirement on corner lots, the parking along both streets may be counted.

(3)

Where parking is available on only one side of the street, 50 percent of frontage parking (based on a 20-foot length/space) may be counted towards the requirement regardless of the side of the street that parking is permitted. However, if parking is available on the opposite side of the street only, along a non-commercial lot, 100 percent of the frontage of the commercial lot shall be counted. A standard 20-foot setback from the intersections will be deducted from the total. (Parking is prohibited within 20 feet of an intersection crosswalk as per section 78-66(6) of the Town Code.

(4)

Where a mixed-use building includes residential use(s), sufficient off-street parking facilities shall be provided and available to residents during the hours of 2:00 a.m. to 6:00 a.m. in order to comply with section 78-67 of the Town Code.

e.

In the general commercial zone, the following uses may utilize shared parking:

(1)

Dwelling use;

(2)

Hotel or motel;

(3)

Office use;

(4)

Retail and services business;

(5)

Restaurant, theaters, churches and other places of public assembly.

Note 1: To use table, add the total parking spaces required for each use (in a mixed-use development) and divide by the factor shown. (Round up for values of (.5) or greater, round down for values less than (.5).

Example: On a project involving office space and residential dwelling units, if the total required parking is 24 spaces, the following formula applies:

Formula: 24 spaces ÷ 1.4 (factor) = 17 spaces required

Note 2: If there are more than two uses within a development, use the average factor.

Example: On a mixed-use project involving office space, residential dwelling units, and retail, if the total required parking is 30 spaces, the average factor should be divided by 3. [Average factor (1.4 + 1.2 + 1.2)/3 = 1.2]

Formula: 30 spaces 1.2 (factor) = 25 spaces required

f.

Off-street parking areas shall conform to the following site, lighting, screening and landscape requirements:

Site requirements:

The parking area shall be adequately surfaced and maintained, and shall have adequate provisions for safe ingress and egress. Parking spaces required in connection with the dwelling uses need not be permanently surfaced.

Lighting requirements:

Lighting fixtures used to illuminate the parking area shall be of the proper type to minimize light spill and placed so as to prevent unwanted light trespass onto adjoining properties.

Requirements (general commercial only):

All parking areas shall be reviewed through development plan review (article XX)) for ingress, egress, vehicle and pedestrian circulation, public safety, landscaping, screening, curb cuts, lighting, drainage, pavement and access between adjacent uses.

Landscape requirements (all other zones):

(1)

Any parking area which adjoins or lies within a residential district and is not used in connection with dwelling uses shall be, as a minimum, screened from neighboring residential properties by either an opaque fence or double row of compact evergreens not less than five feet in height, or a 25-foot-wide vegetative buffer. Additional screening and landscaping as determined by the building official with the concurrence of the planning board, may be required.

(2)

Where a parking area fronts on a public street, it shall be, as a minimum, screened from the street by either a wall or fence not less than three feet in height, or a ten-foot wide landscape strip planted with shade trees, with a minimum of one tree for every 30 feet of frontage. Additional screening and landscaping, as determined by the building official with the concurrence of the planning board may be required.

(3)

Any parking area used for other than residential purposes shall be, as a minimum, provided with interior landscaping of an area not less than five percent of the total parking area, including at all aisle ends and corner areas, and shall be, as a minimum, planted with five-foot wide buffer around the perimeter, with a minimum of one tree for every 30 feet. For such areas, provisions shall be made for access between commercial uses. Additional screening and landscaping, as determined by the building official with the concurrence of the planning board, may be required.

(4)

Selected plant and tree species used to meet the above landscaping requirements shall be diverse in height, form and color, and shall be disease-resistant and suitable for the areas in which they are to be planted.

(Ord. of 5-13-96; Ord. of 4-12-04; Ord. of 11-23-09)

a.

No land shall be used or occupied, and no structure shall be erected or used for nonresidential purposes, in any zoning district unless the off-street loading spaces required herein are provided. Off-street loading spaces as specified in this ordinance shall be provided for any enlargement or alterations to any such existing structure or use.

b.

The off-street loading spaces required by this section shall in all cases be on the same or contiguous lot or parcel of land as the use or structure they are intended to serve. In no case shall any required off-street loading space be part of an area needed to meet the off-street parking requirements.

c.

Each nonresidential use or structure over 5,000 square feet in which services or commodities are used, sold, displayed, serviced, repaired, altered or fabricated as the principal use of the parcel or lots may be required to provide loading zone space as recommended through development plan review the design review process (article XX).

(Ord. of 11-23-09; Ord. of 11-23-09)

The parking or storage of major recreational equipment in residential districts, including travel trailers, pickup campers or coaches, motorized recreational vehicles, tent trailers, boats and boat trailers (but not including mobile homes), must comply with the following regulations:

a.

Not more than two of the above may be parked or stored on any lot, and any such equipment which is parked or stored shall be not more than 13 feet in height.

b.

No such equipment, while parked or stored, shall be used for living, sleeping or housekeeping purposes.

c.

Not more than one of the above shall be stored in any front or side yard area.

d.

No such equipment shall be stored out of doors in residential districts unless it is in condition for safe and effective performance of the function for which it was intended, or can be made so within a 30-day period.

e.

All such equipment must be registered, where required, and must be the personal property of the homeowner.

(Ord. of 6-4-01(8))

a.

No unserviceable, discarded or junked automobiles or trailers of any kind or type, or bodies, engines, tires, parts or accessories thereof, shall be parked or stored on any residentially zoned property other than in a completely enclosed building.

b.

In any residential district, the parking or storage of commercial vehicles of over 1½-ton weight capacity shall not be permitted except where such parking or storage is directly related to, and in accessory to, a permitted use or legal nonconforming use on the premises.

No gasoline filling station or service station shall be located less than 1,500 feet from the premises of any church, school, hospital, park or playground.

No freshwater wetland, as defined in this ordinance, shall be excavated, drained or filled, nor shall any extraneous material be placed into a wetland or water flow diverted into or out of a wetland by a dike or dam, or any other changes which add to, take from or otherwise alter the character of any freshwater wetland undertaken, without the prior approval of the director of the department of environmental management and the Town of Tiverton as set forth in G.L. 1956, § 2-1-21.

The zoning officer is authorized to grant modification permits of up to and including 25 percent of the literal dimensional requirements of this ordinance as follows:

a.

Within ten days of the receipt of a request for a modification, the zoning enforcement officer shall make a decision as to the suitability of the requested modification based on the following determinations:

1.

The modification is reasonably necessary for the full enjoyment of the permitted use;

2.

If the modification is granted, neighboring property will neither be substantially injured nor its appropriate use substantially impaired;

3.

The modification requested does not require a variance of a flood hazard requirement, unless the building is built in accordance with applicable regulations;

4.

The modification requested does not violate any rules or regulations with respect to freshwater or coastal wetlands to include the requirements of appendix A, Zoning, article VIII, Watershed Protection Overlay District with review by the planning board consulting engineer;

5.

Granting this requested modification will not add to a previously granted dimensional variance and/or modification.

b.

Upon an affirmative determination of the suitability of the requested modification, the zoning enforcement officer shall notify, by first class mail, all property owners abutting the property which is the subject of the modification request, and shall indicate the street address of the subject property in the notice, and shall publish in a newspaper of local circulation within the Town of Tiverton that the modification will be granted unless written objection is received within 14 days of the public notice. If written objection is received within 14 days, the request for modification shall be scheduled for the next available hearing before the zoning board of review on application for a dimensional variance following the standard procedures for filing an application for such variances, including notice requirements provided for under this chapter. If no written objections are received within 14 days, the zoning enforcement officer shall grant the modification.

c.

The zoning enforcement officer may apply any special conditions to the permit as may, in the opinion of the officer, be required to conform to the intent and purposes of the zoning ordinance.

d.

The zoning enforcement officer shall keep public records of all requests for modifications, and of findings, determinations, special conditions, and any objections received. The zoning enforcement officer shall render a written decision, approved modification applications shall be recorded in the land evidence records and denied modification applications shall be forwarded to the permitting authority.

e.

Costs of any notice required under this subsection shall be borne by the applicant requesting the modification.

(Ord. of 11-30-23(6))