Whitman City Zoning Code
ARTICLE VIII
Off-Street Parking and Loading Regulations
§ 240-8.1 Off-street parking and loading requirements.
In any district, if any structure is constructed, enlarged or extended and any use of land established, or any existing use is changed, after the effective date of this bylaw, parking and loading spaces shall be provided in accordance with the Table of Off-Street Parking Regulations and the Table of Off-Street Loading Regulations. An existing structure which is enlarged or an existing use which is extended after the effective date of this bylaw shall be required to provide parking and loading spaces in accordance with the following tables for the entire structure or use, unless the increase in units or measurements amounts to less than 25%, whether such increases occur at one time or in successive stages.
§ 240-8.2 Existing spaces.
Parking or loading spaces being maintained in any district in connection with any existing use on the effective date of this bylaw shall not be decreased so long as said use remains, unless a number of parking or loading spaces is constructed elsewhere such that the total number of spaces conforms to the requirements of the tables of this article; provided this regulation shall not require the maintenance of more parking or loading spaces than are required according to the tables.
§ 240-8.3 Space area requirements.
A.
Off-street parking. All parking spaces shall be a minimum of 10 feet - zero inch by 20 feet - zero inch, and all maneuvering and travel lanes shall be a minimum of 24 feet - zero inch in width.
B.
Loading area.
(1)
Each loading space shall not be less than 12 feet in width and not less than 45 feet in length. Height clearance shall not be less than 14 feet. In all cases, required loading space shall not encroach on customer parking, employee parking, maneuvering space.
(2)
Loading spaces shall be designed to provide adequate off-street maneuvering areas so that it will not be necessary for vehicles to use a public right-of-way in maneuvering into a loading space and so that egress from such areas will not require backing into public streets.
§ 240-8.4 Off-premises off-street parking.
A.
Required parking spaces shall be on the same lot as the principal use served, or if not reasonably possible, on other property within 400 feet of the principal use.
B.
Such off-premises parking shall be in possession, by deed or lease, of the owner of the use served. Such required parking shall thereafter be associated with and maintained for the use established and shall not be reduced or encroached upon. The owner of any property to be used for any off-premises parking shall sign a recorded declaration of restrictions with the Town of Whitman binding the property to prescribed use as parking until such time as said restriction shall be released by an instrument of the owner and the Town of Whitman.
§ 240-8.5 Joint use of required parking.
Joint use may be made of required parking spaces by intermittent-use establishments such as churches, assembly halls or theaters whose peak parking demand is only at night or on Sundays and by other uses whose peak demand is only during the day. A formal agreement shall be made in writing by the owners of the uses involved concerning the number of spaces involved, substantiation of the fact that such joint use is not overlapping or in conflict, and the duration of the agreement. Required spaces shall be within 300 feet of churches and public assembly halls and 400 feet of other uses.
§ 240-8.6 Combined establishment and operation of parking areas.
Required spaces for any number of uses may be provided in a combined lot or lots, provided that the number of spaces in the combined facility shall not be less than the sum of those required of the individual uses, with allowance made, upon formal designation, for night use or for separate and distinct working shifts, and provided also that such lot or lots shall be within 300 feet of the principal buildings served.
§ 240-8.7 Entrance and exit points.
A.
Suitable provision shall be made along all property lines and along the borders of parking areas to prevent entrance upon any public right-of-way except at approved points. No existing curb shall be cut, broken out or removed except as authorized by the Building Commissioner/Inspector of Buildings under the terms of this bylaw.
B.
No more than two driveways shall be allowed on any street frontage, unless such frontage exceeds 500 feet, in which case more driveways may be authorized by the Building Commissioner/Inspector of Buildings or Board of Appeals. (A pair of one-way drives separated by a median may be considered one driveway.) Driveways shall be no closer than 55 feet to any intersection of street lines, and not less than 55 feet apart, except in cases of narrow lots in which the Building Commissioner/Inspector of Buildings may authorize a smaller separation, but no less than 30 feet. No driveway shall be closer than 50 feet to any driveway on any adjoining lot, variable by the Building Commissioner/Inspector of Buildings to a minimum of 30 feet under exceptional circumstances.
C.
Driveway width shall fall within the following limits:
Minimum (feet) | Maximum (feet) | |
|---|---|---|
1- to 5-family residential | 10 | 20 |
Multifamily (above 5 dwelling units) | 20 | 30 |
Commercial and industrial | ||
One-way | 12 | 20 |
Two-way | 24 | 30 |
§ 240-8.8 Surfacing requirements.
Off-street parking areas shall be paved with asphalt or other approved hard surface, all-weather surfacing material and provided with proper drainage. One- and two-family dwellings not part of a larger complex may waive surfacing requirements, provided that areas shall be clearly defined.
§ 240-8.9 Lighting requirements.
All parking areas providing more than 10 spaces and providing access (e.g., walkways) to and from the principal building shall be suitably illuminated as prescribed by the Building Commissioner/Inspector of Buildings. Lighting shall be so placed or hooded as to prevent direct light from becoming a nuisance to surrounding property.
§ 240-8.10 Visual relief for lots.
A.
Parking lots that abut public ways shall be separated therefrom by at least a ten-foot strip of landscaping (which shall contain at least three trees per 200 linear feet that are at least three inches' diameter at breast height).
B.
Parking lots in HB, GB, LI or I Districts that abut residential districts shall also provide a minimum ten-foot landscaped buffer strip on the affected side yards. A wall or solid fence, at least six feet in height, may replace the buffer strip.
C.
Parking lots shall contain visual relief from vast expanses of unbroken blacktop and cars. In parking areas exceeding 1/4 acre but less than one acre in area, landscaping islands containing trees of greater than six feet in height shall be provided at a rate of at least six per 80 parking spaces. At least half of these shall be of a species expected to mature to a height greater than 30 feet. Landscaping in islands shall be protected from damage from parking cars and snow removal operations.
D.
When the total amount of parking on a lot or building site exceeds 40,000 square feet, the parking shall be separated into smaller lots or segments of not more than 20,000 square feet each with dividers at least 10 feet wide and containing vegetation.
§ 240-8.11 Parking and storage.
A.
No large trucks, trailers or other major transportation equipment shall be parked in any yard between the building line and a public street in any residential zone.
§ 240-8.12 Table of Off-Street Parking Regulations.
When the computation of parking spaces results in the requirement of fractional space, any fraction over one-half shall require one space.
Uses | Number of Parking Spaces Per Unit |
|---|---|
Bank | 1 parking space for each 175 square feet of gross floor area on the lobby floor. Office area not on the lobby floor shall be treated in the same manner as business and professional offices. Refer to "Business, professional and other offices" entry below. |
Bowling alley | 3 spaces per alley plus 1 space per employee |
Business, professional and other offices | 1 space for each 300 square feet of gross floor area |
Church, or other place of worship, college, or other institutions of higher learning, business, trade or other schools, libraries, housing for the elderly, accessory uses to such facilities, schools, stadiums, and places of public assembly, or theater | Refer to the State of Massachusetts Building Code. |
Dwellings (1-family detached) | 2 spaces per dwelling unit |
Dwellings (single-family attached and multifamily) | Each 1-bedroom unit, 1.3 spaces Each 2-bedroom unit, 2.0 spaces Each 3-bedroom unit, 2.6 spaces Each 4-bedroom unit, 3.0 spaces |
Food and beverage establishment | 1 space for each 3 seats or 1 space for each 50 square feet of gross floor area, whichever is greater |
Gasoline service station and repair garage | 2 spaces for each lubrication pit, lift or bay and 1 space for each employee |
General business, commercial or personal services, service establishment catering to the retail trade, including stores, department stores or drugstores | 1 space for each 300 square feet of gross floor area |
Hospital | 1 space for each bed |
Hotel/Motel | 1 space for each unit, plus additional spaces for any public eating or assembly spaces as required in the "Food and beverage establishment" entry above |
Manufacturing uses and processing plants, excluding warehouse area | 1 parking space for each 2 employees during the shift of maximum employment or 1 space for each 600 square feet of open or enclosed area devoted to the compounding, manufacturing or processing of any goods or articles, whichever is less, plus 1 space for each vehicle used in conjunction with the business |
Medical and dental clinics and offices | 1 space for each 200 square feet of gross floor area |
Mortuary | 1 space for each 3 seats within the chapel or 1 space for each 20 square feet of floor space not containing fixed seats within the chapel plus 1 parking space for each 400 square feet of gross floor area within the building outside the chapel |
Rooming houses, lodging houses, and clubs and fraternities having sleeping rooms | 2 spaces for each structure, plus 1 space for each guest room or sleeping unit |
Sanitariums, rest homes, nursing homes | 1 space for each 2 beds |
Warehouse and storage building | 1 space for each 4,000 square feet of gross floor area, plus 1 space for each 400 square feet of office area |
§ 240-8.13 Location of loading spaces.
The loading spaces required for the Table of Off-Street Loading Requirements shall in all cases be on the same lot as the use they are intended to serve. In no case shall the required loading spaces be part of the area used to satisfy the parking requirements of this bylaw.
§ 240-8.14 Table of Off-Street Loading Regulations.
Loading Spaces Required per 1,000 Square Feet of Floor Area | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Uses | 2-14 | 15-50 | 51-100 | 101-150 | Over 150 |
Retail trade, wholesale, and storage, industry, communication and utilities | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 1 space for each additional 150,000 square feet |
Consumer services, hotel and dormitory, institutional, educational | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | |