Union Township City Zoning Code
§ 30-7.2
Parking Performance Standards.
[Ord. No. 85-9, § 701; Ord. No. 94-17, § 1]
a.
General Requirements Applying to Required Off-Street Parking.
1.
Structures and uses in existence at the date of adoption of this chapter[1] shall not be subject to the requirements of this section so long as the kind or extent of use is not changed, provided that any parking facility now serving such structures or uses shall not in the future be reduced below such requirements.
[1]
Editor's Note: This chapter was established by Ordinance No. 85-9 which was adopted on December 11, 1985 and became effective pursuant to law.
2.
Whenever there is an alteration of a use which increases the parking requirements according to this section, the total additional parking required for the alteration, change, or extension shall be provided in accordance with the requirements of this section.
3.
No parking shall be used for any use that interferes with its availability for the parking need it is required to serve.
4.
All required facilities shall be provided and maintained as long as the use exists which the facilities were designed to serve. The total extent of off-street parking facilities shall not be reduced after their provision, except upon the approval of the Planning Board and then only after proof that, by reason of diminution in floor area, seating area, or the number of employees or change in other factors controlling the regulation of the number of parking spaces, such reduction is in conformity with the requirements of this section. Reasonable precautions shall be taken by the owner or sponsor of particular uses to assure the availability of required facilities to the employees or other persons whom the facilities are designed to serve. Such facilities shall be designed and used in such a manner that at no time constitutes a nuisance, hazard, or unreasonable impediment to traffic.
5.
For parking areas of six or more vehicles, the area not landscaped and so maintained, including driveways and other permanent surfaces, shall be graded surfaced with asphalt, and drained to the satisfaction of the Township Engineer to the extent necessary to prevent dust, erosion, or excessive water flow across streets or adjoining property. All off-street parking spaces shall be marked so as to indicate their location. Failure to keep parking areas in satisfactory condition (i.e., free from holes, clearly delineated, or properly graded) shall be considered a violation of this chapter.
6.
All off-street parking lots and areas for the display, storage, sale, or movement of six or more motor vehicles shall be adequately buffered from adjacent streets and properties and landscaped in accordance with an overall plan as required in Subsection f6 below.
7.
Within the Village Commercial District, any use existing as of the effective date of this chapter[2], which can be lawfully expanded, or any new use that cannot meet the parking requirements of this chapter within the lot lines of the principal use may meet the parking requirements of this chapter by either:
(a)
On an annual basis the landowner shall show proof of a lease of the required parking spaces within 300 feet of the premises and in the same district; or
(b)
Pay the municipality a fee in lieu for each required parking space, to be determined by a formula set forth by the municipality for the acquisition, construction, and maintenance of public parking.
[2]
Editor's Note: This chapter was established by Ordinance No. 85-9 which was adopted on December 11, 1985 and became effective pursuant to law.
b.
Parking Design Requirements.
1.
A parking stall is that area specifically designated by pavement markings or some other means for the temporary parking of one motor vehicle.
2.
Design standards for parking stalls shall not apply where the primary purpose is that of vehicle storage related to sales, service, or other use, both commercial and noncommercial.
3.
Unless otherwise specified, parking stalls shall conform to the following minimum dimensional standards:
Type | Width | Depth (feet) |
|---|---|---|
Conventional | 9 | 18 |
Handicapped | 12.5 | 18 |
Oversized** (as determined by municipal engineer) |
** | Including but not limited to recreational vehicles, tandem trailers, trucks and buses. |
4.
Parking for the handicapped or physically disabled shall be provided for as follows:
Total Nonresidential Parking Spaces | Required Handicapped Parking |
|---|---|
10 — 50 | (1 space) |
51 — 250 | 2.5% |
251+ | 2.0% |
5.
The minimum width of drives and parking aisles shall be 25 feet.
6.
All dead end parking aisles shall be designed to provide sufficient backup area for the end stalls of the parking lot.
7.
Drives and parking aisles shall be designed so that each motor vehicle may proceed to and from a parking stall without requiring the moving of any other motor vehicle.
c.
Parking Access and Traffic Control. In order to minimize traffic congestion and hazard, control street access in the interest of public safety, and encourage the appropriate development of street or highway frontage:
1.
No area for off-street parking or for the display, storage, sale, or movement of motor vehicles shall abut directly a public street or highway unless separated from the street or highway by a raised curb and barrier planting strip, wall or other effective barrier against traffic, except at necessary accessways, and each parking area shall have not more than two accessways to any one public street or highway for each 500 feet of frontage. Where possible, access to parking areas shall be provided by a common service driveway or minor street in order to avoid direct access on a major street or highway. Except for flares and curb returns, no such accessway shall be more than 35 feet clear in width.
2.
In the case of garden apartments and all industrial uses, the following regulations shall apply:
(a)
All parking, loading or service areas used by motor vehicles shall be located entirely within the lot lines of the property or center, except in Village Residential and Village Commercial, where parking may be provided within 300 feet of the use or as provided in Subsection a7 above.
(b)
All buildings shall front upon a marginal street, service road, common parking lot, or similar area and not take access directly upon a public street or highway.
(c)
All accessways to a major or minor arterial street or highway shall be located not less than 300 feet from the intersection of the centerlines of any streets.
(d)
Any additional traffic signals and acceleration and deceleration lanes deemed necessary upon review by the Planning Board to provide safe and adequate access to the property shall be provided by the owner.
(e)
All streets and accessway shall be designed in a manner conducive to safe exit and entrance requirements of the municipality.
3.
Driveways in single-family detached developments shall exit only onto interior access streets, except where this can be specifically shown by the developer to be impractical and he receives the approval of the Township Engineer and the Planning Board.
d.
Interior Circulation and Access.
1.
Internal drives and parking aisles shall be no less than the minimum width specified in Subsection b 5 above and shall be designed so as to prevent blockage of vehicles entering or leaving the site.
2.
Internal drives and parking aisles shall be paved and provided with curbs and drainage in conformance with the requirements of the subdivision and site plan regulations.
e.
Shopping Cart Storage. Any establishment which furnishes carts or mobile baskets as an adjunct to shopping shall provide definite areas within the required parking space areas for storage of the carts. Each designated storage area shall be clearly marked for storage of shopping carts. Such signs indicating storage are considered to be directional signs as regulated in § 30-8.
f.
Off-Street Parking Regulations for Townhouse, Apartment and Nonresidential Uses.
1.
Required off-street parking facilities as accessory to uses listed herein shall be solely for the parking of passenger automobiles of patrons, occupants, or employees.
2.
No motor vehicle repair work of any kind other than emergency service shall be permitted in parking lots.
3.
In any case where a development abuts a State or municipal highway, all streets in the vicinity of the development shall be adequate to serve probable increases in traffic volume, and adequate deceleration lanes and similar facilities shall be provided as required by the municipality.
4.
No off-street parking shall be permitted within the front yards or within 10 feet of the side and/or rear property lines.
5.
Computation.
(a)
When determination of off-street parking spaces required by this chapter results in a requirement of a fractional space, any fraction of 1/2 or less may be disregarded while a fraction in excess of 1/2 shall be counted as one parking space.
(c)
For industrial uses, if less than one parking space is provided for each 470 square feet of floor area, sufficient space shall be preserved within the building setback lines for future expansion of parking facilities to that number without exceeding the impervious surface ratio.
6.
Buffer and Landscape Requirements for Parking. Every parking lot shall be subject to the following buffer requirements;
(a)
No off-street parking space shall be located less than 20 feet from any public street right-of-way line and 10 feet from any property line.
(b)
Any area for off-street parking or for display, storage, sale or movement of six or more motor vehicles shall be enclosed, except at entrances and exits, by an ornamental fence or wall consistent with the architectural character of the surrounding uses, or by a compact evergreen hedge, not less than four feet in height. Where a planted screen is proposed it shall incorporate the planting of staggered and overlapping evergreen and deciduous shrubs of such species and size as will produce within two growing seasons (May through September) after planting a screen at least four feet higher than the elevation of the adjacent parking area.
These provisions shall not interfere with the maintenance of clear sight lines at intersections.
(c)
Parking areas of a 20 vehicle width shall be separated from one another by planting strips not less than 10 feet in width.
(d)
No less than 10% of a proposed parking area must consist of buffer areas and islands and must be landscaped and continually maintained. Planting along the perimeter of a parking area, whether for required screening or general beautification will be considered as part of the required parking area landscaping.
g.
Reduction of Nonresidential Parking Requirements. In order to prevent the establishment of more parking spaces than are needed for nonresidential uses, the board may permit a conditional reduction of parking space if the following conditions are satisfied:
1.
The conditional reduction of parking spaces may apply if the minimum number of parking spaces required for a land use is in excess of actual parking needs or if the operating schedule of two or more land uses are such that a parking lot may be shared.
2.
The parking lot design must designate sufficient space to meet the parking requirement. The plan shall also illustrate the layout for the total number of parking spaces, which must be in compliance with the impervious surface and yard requirements of this chapter.
3.
The balance of the parking area conditionally reserved 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. The developer shall provide with the land development plan a landscaping plan for the reserved area.
4.
If required by the Board, the developer or owner shall post a performance bond or other securities to cover the expense of a traffic study to be undertaken by a registered Traffic Engineer of the Board's choosing who shall determine the advisability of providing the full parking requirements. With recommendations of the Traffic Engineer and the Township Engineer, the Planning Board shall determine if the additional spaces shall be provided by the developer or if the area shall remain as open space.
h.
Parking of Tractors or Tractor Trailers in Residential Zoning Districts. The storage or parking of tractors (with or without attached trailer) or tractor trailers (with or without the attached tractor) shall be prohibited in all residential zoning districts, unless loading or unloading a local delivery. Tractor is defined as a truck with a short chassis and no body used in combination with a trailer for the highway hauling of freight. The provision shall not apply to tractors or tractor trailers used for agricultural purposes in connection with a farming operation on the subject property.