(A) (1) Through September 30, 2021, parking spaces and loading berths required herein, together with aisles and maneuvering areas, enclosed or unenclosed shall be surfaced and maintained with an all weather surface such as asphalt, concrete or other similar permanent hard surface material sufficient to prevent mud, dust, loose material, and other nuisances. Required spaces and berths shall be connected by an all weather hard- surfaced driveway to a public street or alley.
(2) Effective October 1, 2021, parking spaces and loading berths required herein, together with aisles and maneuvering areas, enclosed or unenclosed, shall be surfaced and maintained with an all weather surface. Parking spaces and loading berths shall be connected by an all weather surfaced driveway to a public street or alley.
(B) In determining the required number of parking spaces, fractional spaces shall be rounded to the next higher whole space. Parking spaces located in buildings used for repair garages or auto laundries shall not be counted as meeting the requirements of minimum off-street parking.
(C) The floor area of buildings already devoted to off street parking of vehicles shall be excluded from the total floor area when computing requirements for off-street parking.
(D) For sites with more than one use, or for adjacent sites served by a common parking facility, the parking requirements shall be the composite or sum of the requirements for each use or site except as adjusted pursuant to this subchapter.
(E) Off street parking facilities complying with these regulations shall be provided for any new building constructed and for any new use established. Off-street parking facilities complying with these regulations shall be provided for any addition or enlargement of an existing building or use or any change in occupancy or manner of operation that would result in additional parking spaces being required. If sufficient parking does not exist on a lot or site, the number of spaces required to meet the needs of both the existing and new building or use shall be provided.
(F) Parking facilities being used for off-street parking on the effective date of this chapter shall not be reduced in capacity to less than the number of spaces prescribed, or altered in design or function to less than the minimum standards prescribed herein.
(G) All required parking facilities shall be maintained for the duration of the use requiring such areas. Those facilities shall be used for the temporary parking of passenger automobiles, motor vehicles, or light trucks not exceeding one ton in capacity, exclusively. They shall not be used for the sale, display, or storage of merchandise, or for the storage, display, or repair of vehicles or equipment.
(H) All required parking facilities shall be located on the same site as the use for which such facilities are required, except as authorized pursuant to § 155.063.
(I) No use shall be required to provide more spaces than prescribed by these regulations. Where parking spaces in excess of such requirements are provided, the spaces may be considered as meeting the provisions for another use pursuant to division (D) of this section.
(J) Compact vehicle spaces may be provided in any parking facility required by this regulation; however, no more than 25% of the total parking spaces required may be designed for compact vehicles and they must be signed and marked for compact vehicles.
(K) The following provisions for off street parking shall apply to all parking adjacent to a public thoroughfare:
(1) Parking spaces so situated that the maneuvering of a vehicle in entering or leaving such space is done on a public street or alley shall not be classified as off street parking in computing any parking requirements herein, except in districts zoned: R-1, R-2, R-1(M), or RT-1.
(2) The construction of parking spaces as described in division (J)(1) shall be prohibited hereafter. All such parking facilities in existence at the time of the enactment of these regulations are hereby declared to be nonconforming use of land and subject to the provisions of § 155.100.
(L) No off street parking space or loading berth shall be located either in whole or in part on any public street, sidewalk, parkway, alley, or other public right-of-way, or within any fire lane required by ordinance or code of the city. Maneuvering areas located adjacent to a public street shall be computed from the property line (maneuvering must take place on private property).
(M) Lighting, to the maximum extent, shall be so arranged as to be reflected away from property zoned or used for residential purposes.
(N) No publicly owned property may be considered in determining whether or not any private property meets the parking and loading requirements of this chapter.
(O) No entrance or exit to any parking facility for any property in a business or manufacturing zoning district shall be located within 50 feet of any intersection of any public street (measurement shall be from the right-of-way line). Driveways within business and manufacturing zoning districts shall be located at the following minimum distances from street intersections (right-of-way lines): on arterials, 70 feet; on collectors, 60 feet; and on other streets, 50 feet. These minimums apply only to city streets, not Texas Department of Transportation facilities.
(P) Number of driveways allowed:
(1) Lot frontage of 100 feet or less: one access point;
(2) Lot frontage of 100 feet - 300 feet: two access points;
(3) Lot frontage of 300 feet - 600 feet: three access points.
(Q) Spacing of driveways is determined by the functional classification of the street as follows: arterials: 70 feet; collectors: 60 feet; others: 50 feet. These minimums apply only to city streets, not Texas Department of Transportation facilities. In the event that particular parcels lack sufficient frontage to maintain adequate spacing, the owner may:
(1) Establish a common driveway with an adjacent property owner by a perpetual joint use agreement filed in the public records of Bell County, the driveway midpoint being the property line between the two parcels; or
(2) Request a written approval from the city for alternative spacing.
(R) One-way access driveway widths shall be a minimum of 15 feet.
(S) Two-way access driveway widths shall be 24-40 feet within multi-family zoning districts and B-1 through M-2.
(T) The prohibition found in division (A)(2) above does not apply to: Residential properties that are over one acre in size and whose existing parking space is not visible from public right-of-way are not required to have an all-weather surface driveway connecting the existing parking space to a public street or alley, provided that they have an all-weather surface driveway approach from the public street or alley to the property line and that their existing parking space meet the other requirements set forth in this chapter.
(Ord. 2001-36, passed 11-13-01; Am. Ord. 2006-40, passed 10-24-06; Am. Ord. 2020-44, passed 9-8-20, effective 10-1-21; Am. Ord. 2021-37, passed 8-24-21)