(A) Location of off-street parking.
(1) Off-street parking and its associated parking structures - including garages, parking lots, parking pads, and vehicular accessways - may not occur in a front yard, except in the following circumstances:
(a) The off-street parking and/or vehicular accessways are located on a lot that fronts Wooster Street or Main Street and complies with all regulations in division (D) of this section; or
(b) The off-street parking occurs on a driveway; or
(c) The off-street parking and/or vehicular accessways are located in the Interstate Commerce (IC) District or Innovation & Employment (IE) Zone and shall conform to the minimum front yard setback applicable to principal structures in the zone or district which it is located.
(2) If off-street parking is located on a lot that does not contain a principal structure, the off-street parking area shall be considered a principal structure and shall conform to all setbacks applicable to principal structures in the zone or district in which it is located.
(3) Where serving a one-unit or two-unit dwelling use, a driveway may not exceed a width of ten feet or the width of a garage to which it leads, whichever is greater.
(4) All driveways must be set back from all side and rear lot lines by at least three feet, except where a driveway adjoins a driveway of an adjacent lot. The area contained within the setback may not be paved.
(5) All off-street parking areas, including any vehicular accessways and any applicable parking lot perimeter landscaping strips, must be set back from all lot lines by at least three feet, except where an off-street parking area adjoins an off-street parking area of an adjacent lot.
(B) Parking pad. No lot may contain more than one parking pad.
(C) Landscaping for parking lots not fronting Wooster Street or Main Street. Any parking lot not fronting Wooster Street or Main Street of more than 3,000 square feet per lot (not including the access drive) in any zone or district shall be landscaped in accordance with the Parking Lot Landscaping Table (Table 24).
(D) Landscaping for parking lots fronting Wooster Street or Main Street. Off-street parking areas located within the required front yard setback of lots fronting Wooster Street or Main Street shall be screened from the street right-of-way by the following elements:
(1) A planting strip between the fence and piers and the public sidewalk. (Refer to Figure 27, Figure 28, and Figure 29.)
(a) Fifty percent of the fence section shall include evergreen shrubs planted three feet on center. Plant size to be 15 inches height minimum at time of planting and 30 inches height maximum at maturity.
(b) The remainder of the frontage to be planted in deciduous shrubs or perennials planted 24 inches on center. The maximum mature plant height shall be 24 inches.
Type of Parking Lot Landscaping | Frequency | Width and Area | Standards |
Interior Landscape IslandA | At least 1 interior landscape island must be installed for every 14 parking spaces or fraction thereof. | Interior landscape island must be at least 9 ft. in width and at least 320 sq. ft. in area. | Interior landscape island must include one tree of at least 4-inch diameter per interior landscape island. Interior landscape islands, if multiple, must be distributed evenly throughout the parking area. |
Perimeter LandscapingA,B | At least 1 tree and 6 shrubs must be planted for every 30 lineal ft. of parking lot perimeter. | Perimeter landscaping must be at least 5 ft. in width; perimeter landscaping may be reduced to 3 ft. in depth when a 3-foot-high masonry wall, wrought iron, or wood picket fence is erected on the outside edge of the perimeter. | Shrubs must be at least 18 inches in height and capable of reaching a min. height of 3 ft. within 3 years of planting. |
Table 24: Parking Lot Landscaping Table. See regulation in § 150.72(C).
A Applies only to parking lots of more than 3,000 square feet, not including access drives.
B Does not apply to parking lots within the Central Business District or the Bowling Green Gateway District, or that front Main Street or Wooster Street that will have the required screening per § 150.71(D).
(c) The entire planting strip shall be included within a continuous hardwood mulch bed (minimum of three inches deep).
(2) There shall be a two foot wide overhang buffer strip between the right-of-way/back of pier and a concrete curb for any ‘head-in parking’ spaces along the buffer corridor. (Refer to Figure 27 and Figure 28.)
(3) A 20 foot wide planting end cap island shall be installed between the parking bay and drive access. This island shall have a minimum 15 foot radius at the intersection of the drive aisle. (Refer to Figure 27 and Figure 28.)
(a) Low shrubs shall be massed within the island.
(b) The entire island shall be mulched with hardwood mulch (minimum of three inches deep).
(c) The island shall contribute to any required parking island area otherwise required by this Zoning Code.
(4) A shade tree shall be planted every 50 feet along the entire frontage. These trees shall be planted in a ten foot wide planting island along with low shrubs. (See Figure 27 and Figure 28.)
(a) There shall be a maximum of five nine-foot-wide parking spaces between planting islands along the corridor frontage.
(5) An ornamental metal fence with limestone piers as outlined below. (See Figure 29.)
(a) The fence shall be a four foot industrial grade fence with four rails (two at the top and two at the bottom).
(b) The post shall be three inches by three inches with a 0.125-inch wall thickness and shall have a ball finial.
(c) There shall be rings between the top two rails.
(d) The bottom of the fence shall not be enclosed.
(e) The rails shall be one and five-eighths by one and five-eighths inches.
(f) The pickets shall be spaced three and three-quarter inches apart and shall have crimped tops.
(g) There shall be a maximum of four eight-foot panel sections (32 feet maximum) between piers. These fence sections shall be of equal lengths.
(h) The color of the fence shall be black.
(i) The limestone piers shall be two foot square and five feet tall to the top of the capstone. The stone pattern shall be Fond du Lac Kensington Blend or approved equal. Mortar joints shall be heavily raked.
(j) The cap shall be limestone, and consisting of one piece - the bottom portion shall be two feet, two inches square and four inches high, and the top portion shall be two feet square and four inches high with top two inches and beveled on all four sides.
(k) The entire assembly, including footings extending below the frost line, shall be designed by an architect or engineer.
(E) Paved off-street parking areas are included when calculating lot coverage. Parking lot landscaping areas are not included when calculating lot coverage.
(F) Any off-street parking or loading space or driveway or storage area, for its entire length and area shall be of a hard, dustless surface (asphalt, concrete, brick paving blocks, porous pavement, or porous pavers) and drained according to sound engineering practices, and approved by the City Engineer.
(G) Any parking area shall be maintained in a condition that provides a safe driving and walking surface.
(H) Parking area drive aisles that facilitate two-way travel shall be a minimum of 24 feet in width in order to accommodate fire emergency response vehicles.
(I) Off-street parking areas shall not discharge stormwater to adjacent properties, adjacent roadways, or storm sewer systems; all stormwater discharge from off-street parking facilities must be directed to detention basins, rain gardens, or dry wells.
(J) Designated parking spaces shall be marked on the surface of the parking area with paint or permanent marking materials and maintained in a clearly visible condition.
(K) Any parking space that (1) is associated with any use other than a one-unit or two- unit dwelling and that (2) has a front or a rear end that abuts the perimeter of the parking area (or perimeter landscaping strip) must be equipped with a wheel stop.
(1) Each wheel stop shall be a singular block of durable material with a maximum height of six inches and a maximum length of eight feet.
(2) Wheel stops are to be securely fastened to the ground and located no less than two feet from the perimeter of the parking area and no less than four feet from any structures, buildings, walls, or plant material, excluding ground cover.
(L) For every use, except one-unit dwellings and two-unit dwellings, accessible parking spaces shall be provided as required in the Americans with Disabilities Act Section 208 and Section 502. The Americans with Disabilities Act can be reviewed at the United States Access Board website.
(M) Any off-street parking space may be equipped with an electric vehicle charging station. The installation of an electric vehicle charging station does not change the principal use of a lot and shall be considered an accessory use of a parking lot, a parking structure, or a side yard or rear yard parking pad.
(Ord. 9098, passed 6-12-2023; Am. Ord. 9138, passed 11-20-2023)