A.

It is the intent of this chapter that any use of land involving the arrival, departure, storage or entry upon the land of motor vehicles be so designed and operated as to reduce hazard to pedestrians upon the public sidewalks; to protect the use of adjoining property from nuisance caused by noise, fumes and glare of headlights which may result from the operation of cars parking off the street; and at the same time to reduce congestion in the streets and contribute to traffic safety by assuring adequate places for the standing and storing off the street of motor vehicles associated with any use of land.

B.

In order that all structures and land uses eventually be provided with sufficient off-street parking space to meet the needs of persons employed at or making use of such structures or land uses, no application for a permit for the erection of a new structure or substantial alteration of an existing structure to the extent specified in Section 17.20.020 of this chapter or for the development of a land use shall be approved unless the plan for off-street automobile parking facilities is in accordance with the provisions of Sections 17.20.050 and 17.20.060.

(Prior code § 145-25)

A.

Structures and land uses in existence or for which building permits have been issued at the date of adoption of this chapter shall not be subject to the requirements of this section so long as the use is not substantially different, provided that any parking facilities now serving such structure or uses shall not in the future be reduced below the current parking requirements.

B.

Whenever there is an alteration of a structure or a change or extension of a use which increases the parking requirements by thirty-four (34) percent or more according to the standards of Section 17.20.060 of this chapter, Table of Required Off-Street Parking, the total additional parking required for the alteration, change or extension shall be provided in accordance with the requirements of Section 17.20.060, Table of Required Off-Street Parking. Notwithstanding the standards of Section 17.20.010, the alteration or change or extension of a use of a nonresidential structure of less than three thousand (3,000) square feet gross floor area will not require an increase in the provision of off-street parking.

C.

Where a parking facility is the main use of any lot, no building permit shall be issued unless the plan of the lot is in accordance with Section 17.20.050.

D.

In order that all structures and uses requiring the large-volume delivery of goods by truck as part of their functions eventually be provided with necessary space for off-street loading as required in Section 17.20.080, no application for a permit for the erection of a new structure or substantial alteration of an existing structure to the extent specified in Section 17.20.080 or for the development of a land use shall be approved unless the plan of off-street loading facilities is in accordance with the provisions of Section 17.20.080.

E.

In residence districts, when a structure is converted for one or more additional dwelling units, parking requirements for the entire structure shall be provided in accordance with the requirements of Section 17.20.030. However, the board of appeals by special permit may waive not more than one-half the number of parking spaces required under Section 17.20.030.

F.

No parking area shall be used for any use that interferes with its availability for the parking need it is required to serve.

G.

All required parking facilities shall be provided and maintained so long as the use exists which the facilities were designed to serve. Off-street parking facilities shall not be reduced in total extent after their provision, except when such reduction is in conformity with the requirements of this section. Reasonable precautions shall be taken by the owner or sponsor of a particular use to assure the availability of required facilities to the employees or other persons which the facilities are designed to serve. Such facilities shall be designated and used in such a manner so as at no time to constitute a nuisance or a hazard or unreasonable impediment to traffic.

H.

In residential districts, no boat over twenty-six (26) feet in length shall be parked or stored within ten feet of any structure or within four feet of any property line, and no boat shall be parked or stored so as to occupy any part of an area required for off-street parking.

(Prior code § 145-26)

A.

General Regulations. Off-street parking facilities shall be provided for each type of land use, in accordance with the Table of Required Off-Street Parking, set out in Section 17.20.060, which is part of this chapter, except as otherwise permitted in this section and subject to the further provisions of this section.

1.

Where the computation of required parking space results in a fraction number, only the fraction of one-half or more shall be counted as one.

2.

Two or more uses may provide for required parking in a common parking lot if the total space provided is not less than the sum of the spaces required for each use individually.

3.

The number of spaces required in a common parking facility may be reduced below this total by special permit if it can be demonstrated to the permit granting authority that the hours or days of peak parking needed for the uses are so different that a lower total will provide adequately for all uses served by the facility.

B.

Resident Uses. Where residences are not divided into dwelling units, each two sleeping rooms for single or for double occupancy shall equal one dwelling unit. Where sleeping rooms contain beds for more than two persons, each four beds shall equal one dwelling unit.

C.

Places of Public Assembly.

1.

Where places of public assembly are provided with benches rather than fixed individual seats, each two lineal feet of bench shall equal one seat.

2.

Where no fixed seats are used, each twenty (20) square feet of public floor area shall equal one seat.

3.

Places of worship need not provide more than one-half of the requirement specified and may exclude classroom seats in calculation requirements.

4.

Bowling alleys shall provide two parking spaces for each alley.

D.

Institutions.

1.

Institutional uses intended primarily for children under sixteen (16) need not provide more than one-half the requirement specified.

2.

Hospitals shall provide one parking space for each four patient beds. Hospitals, sanitariums or convalescent homes primarily providing long-term custodial care for patients need not provide more than one parking space for each eight patient beds. (See also Section 17.20.060, Table of Required Off-Street Parking.)

E.

Retail and Office Uses of Land or Structures:

1.

When a principal use on a lot is an open-air use not enclosed in a structure, the area of the lot devoted to each such use shall be considered to be floor space for the purposes of calculating parking requirements. Where the area devoted to such use is not clearly determinable, the building inspector shall determine the area to be considered equivalent to floor space.

2.

An office or clinic for a medical or dental practice shall provide parking in accordance with the Table of Required Off-Street Parking. Where an existing residential structure is converted to an office or clinic for a medical or dental practice, the board of appeals may, by special permit, waive not more than one-half the number of parking spaces required by the Table of Required Off-Street Parking.

F.

Industrial Uses of Land or Structures. When a principal use on a lot is an open-air use not enclosed in a structure, the area of the lot devoted to such use shall be considered to be floor space for purposes of calculating parking requirements. Where the area devoted to such use is not clearly determinable, the building inspector shall determine the area to be considered equivalent to floor space.

(Prior code § 145-27)

A.

Required off-street parking facilities shall be provided on the same lot or premises with the principal use served.

B.

Where the requirements in subsection A of this section cannot be met, the board of appeals by special permit may authorize the required parking on any lot in the same district within four hundred (400) feet of the principal use served, subject to such bond or other assurance of permanence as it may deem adequate.

(Prior code § 145-28)

A.

Parking facilities shall be occupied only by passenger cars and commercial vehicles not exceeding seven and one-half feet in width and eighteen (18) feet in length, unless the special standards provided in subsection H of this section are met.

B.

The minimum dimensions of stalls and aisles shall be as follows:

1.

Stall width shall be at least nine feet.

2.

Stall depth shall be at least nineteen (19) feet for all angle parking and twenty-two (22) feet for parallel parking. Such dimensions may include no more than two feet of any landscaped setback area adjacent to the front or rear of a stall and used for bumper overhang.

3.

Minimum width of aisles providing access to stalls for one-way traffic only, varying with the angle of parking shall be:

4.

Minimum width of aisles providing access to stalls for two-way traffic shall be twenty-four (24) feet, except that aisles providing access primarily for overnight parking may be a minimum of twenty (20) feet.

C.

Parking facilities shall be designed so that each motor vehicle may proceed to and from the parking space provided for it without requiring the moving of any other motor vehicle. The board of appeals, however, may by special permit modify this requirement and the dimensional requirements of subsection B of this section where a parking facility is under full-time attendant supervision.

D.

The width of entrance and exit drives, except as permitted in subsection J of this section, shall be:

1.

A minimum of twelve (12) feet for one-way use only.

2.

A minimum of twenty (20) feet for two-way use, except that driveways providing access primarily for overnight parking, with incidental daytime use, may be a minimum twelve (12) feet wide.

3.

A maximum of twenty (20) feet at the street lot line in residence districts and thirty (30) feet in business and industrial districts.

E.

Setbacks for parking areas shall be provided as follows:

1.

In all districts, except as permitted in subsection J of this section, parking stalls in parking lots shall be set back from the street lot line to whatever extent may be necessary in the specific situation, as determined by the building inspector, to avoid the probability of cars backing or otherwise maneuvering on the sidewalk upon entering or leaving the stalls. In no case shall parking lots be designed to require or encourage cars to back into a public or private way in order to leave the lot.

2.

In multifamily residential use districts, the surfaced area of a parking lot and all entrance and exit drives shall be set back a minimum of three feet from all lot lines, except where an access driveway crosses the street lot line. Such setback shall be five feet where two feet of setback area is included in minimum stall depth as provided in subsection (B)(2) of this section.

3.

In single- and two-family residential use districts, the surfaced area of a parking lot and all entrance and exit drives shall be set back as follows:

a.

From the front line, except where an access driveway crosses the street lot line, either the distance specified for building setback or the average of the setbacks of the buildings on the adjacent lots on either side, whichever is less. Such setback area shall be landscaped and maintained.

b.

From the side lot line in the side yard, a distance of two feet.

c.

From the side and rear lot lines in the rear yard, a minimum of three feet. Such setback shall be five feet where two feet of setback area is included in the minimum stall depth as provided in subsection (B)(2) of this section.

4.

In all districts, barricades shall be provided to prevent motor vehicles from being parked within required setback areas or beyond the boundaries of the lot where no setback is required.

F.

Abutting properties in residential districts shall be protected from adverse impacts of nonresidential or multifamily development as follows:

1.

All illumination on parking lots must be shielded so as not to shine upon abutting properties in residential districts.

2.

Properties in residential districts (other than the use served by the parking lot) which abut the parking lot shall be protected from visual or noise pollution or headlight glare by either:

a.

A strip at least four feet wide, densely planted with shrubs or trees which are at least four feet high at the time of planting and which are on a type that may be expected to form a year-round dense screen at least six feet high within three years.

b.

A wall, barrier or fence of uniform appearance at least five feet high, but not more than seven feet above finished grade, or above the roof level, if on a roof. Such wall, barrier or fence may be opaque or perforated, provided that not more than fifty (50) percent of the face is open.

3.

Such screening shall be maintained in good condition at all times and shall not be permitted to exceed seven feet in height within required side yards. Such screening or barrier may be interrupted by normal entrances or exits and shall have no signs hung or attached thereto other than those permitted in the district.

G.

No stall shall be located within ten feet of that part of a building having windows of habitable rooms at the basement or first story level, except as permitted in subsection J of this section.

H.

The regulations for the parking of trucks, buses or other commercial vehicles exceeding seven and one-half feet by eighteen (18) feet in size shall be as follows:

1.

Stalls to provide parking for commercial vehicles exceeding seven and one-half feet by eighteen (18) feet in size shall be located at least one hundred (100) feet from the nearest dwelling unit in a residence district.

2.

Stalls for such vehicles shall be specifically identified upon the site plan and shall be of such dimensions as to accommodate the specified type of vehicles. Such vehicle shall be permitted to park only in the stall so identified and approved.

3.

Whenever such lot is adjacent to a residential district, it shall be screened from abutting property as provided in subsection F of this section.

4.

Drainage, surfacing and maintenance of parking lots shall be as follows:

a.

The parking lot shall be marked so as to indicate clearly the space to be occupied by each motor vehicle, in accordance with the dimensions specified in subsection B of this section. Such markings shall be maintained so as to be plainly visible.

b.

The area of the lot not landscaped and so maintained, including driveways, shall be graded, surfaced with asphalt or other suitable material and drained to the satisfaction of the building inspector, to the extent necessary to prevent nuisance of dust, erosion or excessive water flow across public ways.

c.

Lots shall be kept clean and free from rubbish and debris.

I.

The preceding regulations shall not apply to parking lots built and in use before the effective date of this chapter, except as follows:

1.

Where parking lots are increased in capacity after the effective date of this chapter, the expanded portion thereof shall be designated in accordance with regulations of this section.

J.

Parking lots for four vehicles or fewer shall conform to the regulations of this section, with the exception of subsections (D)(1) and (2), (E)(1) and G of this section.

(Prior code § 145-29)

Off-street parking shall be provided in accordance with the following Table of Required Off-Street Parking. In determining the number of parking spaces required, calculate the number of parking spaces required for each use on the site and add them together. Any fractional spaces shall be rounded up to the next whole number. Notwithstanding the standards in Section 17.20.010 of this chapter, in cases where differing uses will use parking spaces at differing times, the building inspector shall determine the maximum number of spaces required to meet peak demand.

Table of Required Off-Street Parking

Notes:

1 See further requirements in Section 17.20.030(C).

2 See further requirements in Section 17.20.030(D) and (E)(2).

3 Gross floor area (GFA) is defined in Section 17.04.050.

(Prior code § 145-30)

Off-street parking requirements in the center business district shall be in accordance with the requirements of Section 17.20.060, except as noted in this section:

A.

Eating and drinking places serving food or beverages: one space per four employees in the maximum working shift plus one space per five seats plus one space per one hundred fifty (150) square feet of function rooms not designed for eating.

B.

Retail and service establishments: one space per three hundred fifty (350) square feet of gross floor area (GFA).

C.

Supermarket: one space per two hundred fifty (250) square feet of gross floor area.

D.

Business offices (including financial institutions): one space per five hundred (500) square feet of gross floor area.

E.

Medical and dental offices: one space per four hundred (400) square feet of gross floor area.

F.

Research and development: one space per three employees in the maximum working shift.

G.

Commercial establishments of less than three thousand (3,000) square feet gross floor area may count municipal on- and off-street parking spaces within one thousand (1,000) feet of such establishment to meet this requirement. Commercial establishments of three thousand (3,000) square feet gross floor area or greater may use municipal off-street parking spaces within one thousand (1,000) feet of such establishment to account for one-third of this requirement.

(Prior code § 145-31)

A.

Structures and land uses in existence or for which building permits have been issued at the date of adoption of this chapter shall not be subject to the requirements stated in this section so long as the kind or extent of use is not changed, provided that any loading facilities now serving such structures or uses shall not in the future be reduced below such requirements.

B.

Where a structure existing on the effective date of this chapter is altered or extended in such a way as to increase the gross floor area by five thousand (5,000) square feet or more, only the additional gross floor area shall be counted in computation of the off-street loading requirements. Alterations or extensions aggregating less than five thousand (5,000) square feet subsequent to the effective date of this chapter do not require such provision of loading space.

C.

Where retail or other stores are designed or constructed as a group or as a unified building, the aggregate of individual stores shall be treated as one building for the purpose of calculating off-street loading facilities.

D.

Where mixed uses occur, off-street loading facilities shall be the sum of the requirements for the several individual uses computed separately, except that such facilities may be less than such sum by special permit from the board of appeals when it can be demonstrated that such individual uses are not in operation at the same time.

E.

Off-street loading facilities shall be provided in accordance with the following table, which sets forth requirements for each type of land use except for residential:

Number of Loading Bays Required for New Structures by Gross Floor Area of Structures

Gross Floor Area (in thousands of square feet)

Notes:

(Prior Code § 145-32)

A.

Off-street loading facilities shall be designed to conform to the specifications of this section:

1.

Each required space shall be no less than twelve (12) feet in width, thirty (30) feet in length and fourteen (14) feet in height, exclusive of drives and maneuvering space, and located entirely on the lot being served.

2.

There shall be appropriate means of access to a street or alley as well as adequate maneuvering space.

3.

The maximum width of driveways and sidewalk openings measured at the street lot line shall be thirty (30) feet; the minimum width shall be twenty (20) feet.

4.

Loading spaces may be enclosed in a structure and must be so enclosed if located within fifty (50) feet of a residence district where the use involves regular night operation.

5.

All accessory driveways and entranceways shall be graded, surfaced and drained to the satisfaction of the building inspector, to the extent necessary to prevent nuisances of dust, erosion or excessive water flow across public ways.

6.

Such facilities shall be designed and used in such manner as at no time to constitute a nuisance or a hazard or unreasonable impediment to traffic.

B.

All required loading facilities shall be provided and maintained in accordance with the requirements of this subsection:

1.

They shall be provided and maintained so long as the use exists which the facilities were designed to serve.

2.

They shall not be reduced in total extent after their provision, except when such reduction is in conformity with the requirements of this section.

3.

Reasonable precautions shall be taken by the owner or sponsor of particular uses to assure the availability of required facilities to the delivery and pickup of vehicles that they are designed to serve.

(Prior code § 145-33)