Parking lot areas shall be designed to reduce their visual impact, production of excess heat and effect on drainage. Appropriately sized landscaped areas shall be provided within each parking lot area allowing for a variety of shade trees to be planted that will not buckle the parking lot's surface and at the same time provide shade. Therefore, all off-street parking lot areas shall be designed using the "parking bay" concept, which consists of parking spaces grouped together and each parking bay separated by landscaped tree islands.
(a) Parking Lot Location. All parking spaces, drives or other structures for vehicular parking or movement shall be located to the rear or side of the principal building with no more than 50% of such parking area located to the side of the principal building.
(1) Buildings larger than 20,000 square feet or attached to existing in-line retail space shall be permitted to have parking to the front of the building if the building is located more than 300 feet from the right-of-way and the parking lot is located no closer than 200 feet from the right-of-way.
(2) If a drive thru is deemed appropriate by Council and designed per § 1199.03(h) of this Zoning Code, a drive lane may be permitted to be located in front of the building. In such case, the building shall be moved the furthest away from the build-to line as indicated in § 1199.04(a)(1) of the Commercial Development Standards.
(b) Parking Bays. No parking bay shall contain more than 24 total parking spaces, with a maximum of 12 spaces in a single row.
(c) Maximum Number of Parking Spaces. Off street parking areas shall only be permitted to have 25% more spaces than stated as the applicable minimum in § 1185.03.
(1) Parking spaces above the maximum shall be permitted with an additional 60 square feet of landscaping provided for every one additional parking space. The provided additional landscaping shall be in addition to the minimum landscaping required in § 1191.02(c)(2).
(2) Additional landscaping shall include a mix of trees and shrubs and be clearly identified as additional landscaping on the site's landscaping plan.
(d) Parking Lot Islands. Each landscaped tree island in a single loaded parking stall design shall have a minimum area of 162 square feet with a minimum width of nine feet. Each landscaped island located in a double loaded parking stall design shall have a minimum area of 324 square feet, with a minimum width of nine feet. The landscaped tree island(s) shall contain at least one shade tree and include at least 50 square feet of other plant materials.
(e) Bio-swales. Bio-swales, also referred to as rain gardens, may be incorporated in the overall parking lot design. In addition to separating parking bays, when properly designed bio-swales/rain gardens can also assist with stormwater quality and quantity management.
(f) Intersection Site Distance. When a drive isle intersects with an internal service road, nothing shall materially impede the vision between a height of two and one-half feet and ten feet for the area bounded by the intersecting street lines of those roadways and a line joining points along said roadways 15 feet from the point of intersection.
(Ord. 2020-10, passed 6-15-2020)