Accessory loading and unloading facilities shall be provided as a condition precedent to occupancy of all business, service and industrial buildings hereafter erected and altered to such uses. Such facilities shall be maintained as long as such building is occupied or unless equivalent facilities are provided in conformance with the regulations of this chapter.
(a) Allocation of Use. Space allocated for any off-street loading shall not, while so allocated, be used to satisfy the space requirements for off-street parking. An off-street loading space shall not be used for repairing or servicing of motor vehicles, and it shall be available for its designated purpose when needed.
(b) Location of Facility. A loading space shall be permitted in only rear or side yards in a Light Industrial District and in only rear yards in other districts, subject to the screening and buffering requirements of Chapter 1131.
(c) Access Driveways. Each required off-street loading space shall be designed for direct vehicular access by means of a driveway or driveways to a public street in a manner which will least interfere with traffic movements. The access shall be located so that the driveway center line shall be not less than forty (40) feet from the nearest intersecting street center line.
(d) Paving. All accessory off-street loading spaces shall be paved with a concrete surface to provide safe and convenient access during all seasons.
(e) Minimum Size Criteria. Each required off-street loading space for buildings less than 20,000 square feet in gross floor area shall be at least ten (10) feet wide by at least twenty-five (25) feet in length. Each required loading space for a building of 20,000 square feet or more of floor area shall be not less than fourteen (14) feet wide by sixty (60) feet in length. The above areas shall be exclusive of the maneuvering space and each space shall have a vertical clearance of at least seventeen (17) feet.
(f) Schedule of Required Loading Facilities. Buildings of less than 5,000 square feet of floor area shall be provided with sufficient off-street loading facilities so that a truck will not obstruct a public right-of-way. Buildings of 5,000 square or more shall be provided with accessory off-street loading spaces as follows:
Building Use or Activity | Gross Floor Area (square feet) | Required Minimum Number of Spaces |
Retail stores (all types) | 5,000-10,000 | 1 |
10,001-40,000 | 2 | |
40,001-100,000 | 3 | |
Printing, publishing, warehouses, storage establishments | 5,000-40,000 | 1 |
40,001-100,000 | 2 | |
Servicing, cleaning, repairing, testing or manufacturing facilities | 5,000-40,000 | 1 |
40,001-100,000 | 2 | |
each additional 100,000 | 1 additional space | |
if a proposed use does not require the number of loading spaces as provided in the above schedule due to the nature of the business or industrial use, the Zoning Administrator may permit the construction of a lesser number of spaces, provided however, the additional area required to provide the number of spaces in the schedule shall be reserved and held as open area (along with all required yards) for future construction of loading spaces in the event the use of the building is changed to require the additional loading spaces.