Off-street automobile parking space shall be provided for every permitted or conditional use established in accordance with this Ordinance. For the purpose of this Ordinance, the following general requirements shall be met:

A.

If an off-street parking space cannot be reasonably provided on the same lot on which the principal use is conducted, the Director may permit such space to be provided on other off-street property, provided such space lies within six hundred (600) feet of the property of such principal use.

B.

The required number of parking spaces for any number of separate uses may be combined in one lot but the required space assigned to one use may not be assigned to another use at the same time, except that portion of the parking space required for an existing church whose peak attendance will be at night or on Sundays may be assigned to a use which will be closed at nights or on Sundays.

C.

Parking of certain vehicles:

1.

In any residential or rural estate district, it shall be unlawful to park wreckers, tow trucks, dump trucks, flatbed trucks, and mechanical earthmoving equipment, vehicles used to transport solid waste or sanitary sewer waste materials or any commercial vehicle except in accordance with Article 6 Home Occupation guidelines.

(Excluded are vehicles used exclusively for agricultural purposes in "A" zones.)

2.

Commercial vehicle shall not be allowed in any "R" zoning district or within a platted subdivision in "A" zoning districts.

3.

It shall be unlawful to park travel trailers, recreational vehicles, campers, motorized homes, boats, personal watercraft, wave runners, all-terrain vehicles or trailers of any type in the front yard, or in any other yard, except hereinafter provided, in any residential or rural residential district. In residential and rural residential districts, travel trailers, recreational vehicles, campers, motorized homes, boats, personal watercraft, wave runners, all-terrain vehicles or trailers may only be parked or stored in an enclosed garage or carport or in rear or side yards, provided that they remain more than twenty (20) feet from the rear property line and ten (10) feet from the side property line. (Excluded are tracts of land five (5) acres or greater, whereas recreational vehicles shall not be parked in the minimum required front yard setback.)

4.

No such vehicle shall be used for living, sleeping, or housekeeping purposes when parked or stored on a lot, or in any location not approved for such uses.

D.

Parking prohibited in certain places:

1.

No person shall stop, stand or park a vehicle, except when necessary to avoid conflict with other traffic or in compliance with law or the direction of law enforcement or traffic control device, at any place prohibited by ordinance and indicated by official signs or markings.

2.

No person shall stop, stand or park a vehicle at any location specifically designated by the Board of Commissioners as indicated by official signs or markings.

(2-7-2017; Ord. No. OA24060019-10, 11-5-2024)

Minimum Parking Requirements

A.

The Director shall have the authority to grant a reduction in the total number of off-street parking spaces by up to fifty percent (50%) of the number required by Section 7-1-110 of this Ordinance through administrative variance as provided in Article 14, Section 14-1-180. Such administrative variance requires written documentation and justification that one or more of the following conditions exist:

1.

Due to unique circumstances including the shape, topography, soils and vegetation of the site, the provision of the minimum number of required spaces would cause the applicant to suffer unique an undue hardship; or

2.

The site is located in an environmentally sensitive area, such as a water supply watershed, where stormwater runoff should be minimized; or

3.

The unique circumstances of the use make the minimum number of parking spaces excessive for actual needs.

B.

If the Director finds that the parking reduction is no longer justified, the Director shall notify the owner to construct the number of parking spaces necessary to meet the required level.

C.

Prior to any change in ownership or use, the owner must apply to the Director for an evaluation and confirmation of the reduction.

A.

Shared parking may be permitted by the Director if the applicant satisfactorily demonstrates that the actual peak parking requirements of the proposed development or use can be satisfied with a lesser number of parking spaces through sharing adjacent parking for two (2) or more proximate uses because peak demand periods for proposed land uses do not occur at the same time periods.

B.

Developers requesting reductions based on shared parking shall submit the following:

1.

Site plan indicating the location of uses proposing to share parking requirements and design of shared parking facilities;

2.

A cross-access legal agreement between owners to assure the continued availability of adequate parking; and

3.

A shared parking analysis that shall follow the guidelines detailed in Appendix E of this Ordinance.

C.

Any subsequent change in land uses within the participating developments shall require proof that adequate parking will be available.

A.

Off-street parking for persons with disabilities are to be provided as required by the federal Americans with Disabilities Act and the Georgia Accessibility Code for all multi-family and non-residential uses.

B.

Handicap-accessible parking spaces shall be counted as part of the total number of parking spaces required in Section 7-1-110 of this Part.

C.

The number of required handicap-accessible parking spaces is shown in the table below: The number of parking spaces required in this Section is not subject to variance and may not be reduced in number to below the minimum number required by the federal Americans with Disabilities Act Accessibility Guidelines for Buildings and Facilities, as Amended.

Source: ADA Accessibility Guidelines for Buildings and Facilities
(ADDAG) http://www.access-board.gov/adaag/html/adaag.htm

A.

Off-street parking shall be laid out, constructed, and maintained in accordance with the following requirements (except for single- and two-family residential uses):

1.

All parking areas shall have access to a public street and shall be designed to ensure ease of mobility, ample clearance, and the safety of pedestrians and vehicles.

2.

All parking areas shall be composed of asphalt or concrete. Porous paving blocks or other materials may be approved by the Director.

3.

Change in use of an existing structure shall also require compliance with the minimum parking requirements applicable to the new use.

4.

Any expansion of an existing use shall be required to provide additional off-street parking applicable to the expanded use.

5.

Outdoor lighting fixtures designed or placed so as to illuminate any portion of a site shall meet the following requirements:

a.

Parking areas abutting residential uses shall only use cut-off luminaire fixtures mounted in such a manner that its cone of light does not cross any property line of the site.

b.

Only incandescent, florescent, metal halide, or color corrected high-pressure sodium may be used. The same type of lighting must be used for the same or similar types of lighting on any one site.

c.

Illumination shall be designed to restrict glare and shall be directed internally so as to minimize impact on adjoining properties.

6.

The parking lot shall be adequately drained.

7.

Along parking areas which abut single-family residential districts, a dense planting of trees and shrubs shall be established on a strip of land not less than eight (8) feet in width adjacent to the districts and provided that such planting shall attain a height not less than six (6) feet.

8.

Spaces shall be designed such that no part of a vehicle shall overhang into a required landscaped area or sidewalk within the parking facility.

9.

No more than thirty percent (30%) of the overall parking spaces provided at larger commercial parking lots can be in the form of compact spaces. Compact parking spaces shall be eight and one-half (8.5) feet in width and sixteen and one-half (16.5) feet in depth as measured from back-of-curb, and shall be clearly marked as compact spaces.

A.

Aisles serving off-street parking shall conform to the following minimum widths:

B.

Standard parking spaces shall conform to the following dimensions:

C.

Landscaped islands shall be provided throughout parking lots in accordance with the requirements of Article 12, Part 12-2, Section 12-2-110.

A.

Whenever the normal operation of any development requires that goods, merchandise or equipment be routinely delivered to or shipped from the development, a sufficient off-street loading and unloading area must be provided in accordance with this Ordinance.

B.

Minimum number of off-street spaces required for retail business, office, wholesale, industrial, governmental, and institutional uses, including public assembly places, hospitals, and educational institutions, one (1) space for the first twenty-five thousand (25,000) square feet of total floor area or fractional part thereof shall be provided. For anything in excess of twenty-five thousand (25,000) square feet, such uses shall provide loading spaces as indicated in the following schedule:

C.

Bus and Trucking Terminals

There shall be provided sufficient space to accommodate the maximum number of buses or trucks to be stored or to be loaded at the terminal at any one time.

D.

No area allocated to loading and unloading facilities may be used to satisfy the area requirements for off-street parking, nor shall any portion of any off-street parking area be used to satisfy the area requirements for loading and unloading facilities.

All required off-street loading spaces shall be located on the same lot as the building which they are intended to serve or on an adjacent lot where shared with the use occupying said adjacent lot.

A.

Connection to Street or Alley

Each required off-street loading space shall have direct access to a street or alley or have a driveway which offers satisfactory ingress and egress for trucks.

B.

Permanent Reservation

Areas reserved for off-street loading in accordance with the requirements of this Ordinance shall not be reduced in area or changed to any other use unless the permitted use which is served is discontinued or modified, except where equivalent loading space is provided and approved by the Director.

Each off-street loading space shall have minimum dimensions of fourteen (14) feet in height, twelve (12) feet in width, and fifty-five (55) feet in length. However, upon sufficient demonstration that a particular loading space will be used exclusively by shorter trucks, the Director may reduce the minimum length accordingly to as little as thirty-five (35) feet.

A.

All required loading areas shall be paved with asphalt, concrete, porous paving blocks, gravel, or other materials as approved by the Director. Paving areas shall be of sufficient size and strength to support the weight of service vehicles.

B.

Loading areas shall provide an adequate ingress and egress with a minimum vertical clearance of twelve (12) feet and a driveway grade no greater than four percent (4%). The loading area shall not exceed a grade of two percent (2%).

A.

Location

Dumpsters shall be located to the rear of the building. Dumpsters shall be placed on concrete pads of sufficient size and strength to support the weight of service vehicles.

B.

Screening

Dumpsters shall be screened by an opaque enclosure not less than six (6) feet in height.

No person in charge or control of any property within the County, whether as owner, tenant, occupant, lessee, or otherwise, shall allow any abandoned "junk" vehicle to remain on such property or adjacent right-of-way longer than seven (7) days.

Exceptions:

1.

Junk vehicles which are kept within a fully enclosed building on property in residential zoning districts.

2.

Junk vehicles which are kept on property in zoning districts authorized by this Ordinance for repairing, reconditioning, or remodeling junk vehicles and provided that such junk vehicles are not stored for the purpose of salvage of parts but are in the continual process of repair, reconditioning or remodeling within a fully enclosed building.

3.

Junk vehicles which are kept on property in zoning districts as authorized by this Ordinance for a junk or salvage yard.

(Ord. No. OA24060019-19, 11-5-2024)