Towamencin Township
City Zoning Code

The applicant shall show by documented evidence that the full parking required for the proposed use would be excessive and that a conditional reduction in parking would have a clear and definite public benefit.

The design of the parking lot, as indicated on the conditional use plan, shall designate sufficient space, and illustrate an appropriate layout and circulation plan to meet the full parking requirement of the Zoning Ordinance. In addition, the conditional use plan shall indicate which parking areas will be constructed, and which areas will be reserved as open space.

The conditional use plan shall provide for the establishment of no less than 80% of the required number of parking spaces as specified in Article V, Use Definitions and Regulations, herein for the use or uses proposed. Provided, however, that for manufacturing facilities of at least 100,000 square feet combined with a warehousing facility of at least 100,000 square feet, the conditional use plan shall provide for the establishment of no less than 50% of the parking requirement, provided, further, that a minimum of 1.1 spaces per employee on the largest shift and one space for each vehicle normally stored on the premises is constructed and not reserved.

The balance of the parking area shall be reserved and shall not include areas for required buffer yards, setbacks, or areas which would otherwise be unsuitable for parking spaces due to the physical characteristics of the land, or other requirements of this chapter or the Towamencin Township Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance,[1] as last amended.

The parking area which is reserved shall be located and have characteristics so as to provide amendable open space should it be determined in the future that additional parking spaces are not required. The developer shall provide a landscaping plan for the reserve area with the conditional use plan submission.

The applicant shall prepare, to the satisfaction of the Township Solicitor, a covenant to be attached to the property deed establishing the reserved parking area as open space until such time as the Board of Supervisors may require the construction of said reserved area as parking in accordance with the conditional use plan.

The applicant shall submit, to the satisfaction of the Township Solicitor, a letter of credit or performance bond from an acceptable financial institution in the amount required to construct the reserved parking as may be required. The letter of credit or performance bond shall be issued and renewed for an aggregate period of 10 years from the date of the final certificate of occupancy, or until the reserved parking is constructed, whichever occurs first.

In the event that the Board of Supervisors believes that the construction of the reserved parking areas is necessary, or upon completion of the ten-year period as specified in Subsection G, the Township shall hold a public hearing after public notice at which time the Township, the property owner(s) and their duly authorized representatives, and any interested party may provide testimony upon which the Board of Supervisors shall consider when rendering a decision to continue or discontinue the conditional reduction in parking as previously granted. The applicant shall bear all costs associated with the public notice and hearing including all related technical, administrative and legal fees required by the Township in the administration of this section.

A note shall be placed on the record plan indicating that the owner, his successor or assign shall be responsible, without cost to the Township, for the construction of the reserved parking in accordance with the conditional use plan upon finding and decision to that effect by the Board of Supervisors as provided in Subsection H herein.

Vehicles from nonresidential uses shall not be permitted to back out directly onto a public or private street.

For single-family detached dwellings and single-family semidetached dwellings on a corner lot, the driveways shall be located as far away from the street intersection as possible, and onto the lower classification street.

Driveways for all multifamily and nonresidential uses shall be located not less than 30 feet from a street intersection, measuring from the near side of the driveway to the near curbline of such street.

Adequate off-street loading and unloading space, with proper access from a street, highway or service driveway, shall be provided for all nonresidential uses. Such space shall be sufficient in size and design to accommodate the maximum demand generated by the use or uses of the lot. All required off-street loading areas shall be in addition to, and shall be separate and distinct from, the required parking spaces for said use.

All areas for the loading and unloading of delivery trucks and other vehicles and for servicing of establishments and/or shops by refuse collection, fuel or other service vehicles, shall have adequate and unobstructed access from a street or service driveway and shall be so arranged that they may be used without blocking or otherwise interfering with the use of automobile accessways, parking facilities, or pedestrian ways or would require backing out onto a street.

All loading berths shall be located at the side or rear of the property and shall be screened from view by fencing and/or other landscaped buffers. On properties in the IN Institutional District which have frontage on at least two streets, the Board of Supervisors may, by conditional use approval, permit a loading berth to face a street where the loading berth has a setback of a minimum of 200 feet from any street, provided that such loading berth shall be screened from view by fencing, walls and/or landscaped buffers.

For all nonresidential parking areas, the area not landscaped shall be graded, surfaced with asphalt or other suitable material, and drained to the satisfaction of the Township Engineer to the extent necessary to prevent dust, erosion, or excessive water flow. All parking spaces shall be marked so as to indicate their location.

All enclosed facilities shall conform to the standards set forth in the Township Building Code.[2]

All automobile parking facilities shall provide parking spaces for the handicapped or disabled in accordance with the Township's Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance, as last amended.

Where a contradiction arises in the application of the above standards, the most stringent requirements shall govern.