Sec. 14-358. - Off-street parking and loading.
   For minimum off-street parking space requirements see section 3.E of the county design manual. For minimum off-street loading space requirements see section 3.G of the county design manual.
   (1)   Required. Off-street parking shall be provided for all uses of land, structures, and buildings as well as for any expansion of such uses or increases in intensity of use in accordance with the requirements of this section. An off-street loading space shall be provided for all retail business, wholesale, and industrial uses as well as for any expansion of such uses or change in use requiring the regular delivery or shipping of goods, merchandise or equipment to the site by semitrailer trucks, in accordance with the requirements of this section. In the case of developments containing a mix of uses, the total requirements for off-street parking or loading space shall be the sum of the requirements for the various uses computed separately. Off-street parking requirements may be reduced if uses, located on the same site, can utilize the same parking spaces during different times. (For example, a theater that uses spaces at night could share spaces with a hardware store that uses the same spaces during the day.)
   (2)   Methods of providing required parking and loading spaces. All required parking or loading spaces shall be located on the same zoning lot as the principal use it serves, except as provided below. In lieu of actual construction of required on-site parking spaces, all or any portion of the off-street parking required in this section may be provided by the following means. Required parking for a use on a zoning lot may be located on another zoning lot, either by itself or combined with the parking for other uses, subject to certification by the planning director that the following requirements have been met:
      a.   The use being served by the off-site parking shall be a permitted principal use, as established in article II of this chapter, in the zoning district within which the zoning lot containing such parking is located;
      b.   The off-street parking spaces shall be located within 500 feet walking distance of a public entrance to the structure or land area containing the use for which such spaces are required. A safe, direct, attractive, lighted and convenient pedestrian route shall exist or be provided between off-street parking and the use being served;
      c.   The continued availability of off-site parking spaces necessary to meet the requirements of this section shall be ensured by an appropriate restriction on the title to the land providing the off-street parking spaces, in the form of a declaration, covenant, or contract; and
      d.   The off-site parking lot shall meet the state handicapped parking requirements.
   (3)   Combined parking. Up to one-half of the parking spaces required for any one use may be used to satisfy the parking requirements for either a second use on the same zoning lot or a use for which the provisions of subsection (2) of this section are utilized, subject to certification by the planning director that such joint usage of parking spaces complies with the following provisions:
      a.   The peak usage of the parking facility by one use will be at night, or on Sundays (such as with theaters, assembly halls, or places of worship), and the peak usage of the parking facility by the second use will be at other times; or
      b.   The second use is an ancillary use to the first use, such as restaurant and meeting rooms to hotels and motels.
   (4)   Use of required parking and loading space. Required parking areas shall be available for the parking of operable vehicles of residents, customers, and employees, and shall not be used for the storage of vehicles or materials, or for the parking of vehicles used for loading or unloading, or in conducting the use. Required loading spaces shall be available for the loading and unloading of vehicles, and shall not be used for the storage of vehicles and materials, or to meet off-street parking requirements, or in conducting the use.
   (5)   Parking design standards. All parking areas shall meet the following minimum design requirements:
      a.   Ingress to and egress from parking areas shall conform to county design standards.
      b.   Except for single- or two-family dwellings, all parking spaces and maneuvering space shall be surfaced with an all-weather material, which shall be maintained in a safe, sanitary, and neat condition.
      c.   No parking area or maneuvering space shall be located within a public right-of-way. Parked vehicles in off-street parking spaces shall be prevented from intruding onto travel lanes, walkways, public streets, or adjacent properties by means of walls, curbs, wheel stops or other appropriate means.
      d.   Except for single- or two-family dwellings, or for attendant parking, each parking space shall be arranged so that any vehicle may be parked and unparked without moving another vehicle.
      e.   The size of parking spaces shall be adequate for the safe parking of vehicles, and maneuvering space shall be provided so that parking and unparking can be accomplished in one continuous maneuver. Parking facilities designed to accommodate ten or more vehicles shall be designed in accordance with the standards for stalls and aisles as set forth in the county design manual.
      f.   Landscaped islands shall be required at the ends of or between parking aisles where necessary for traffic control or drainage control.
      g.   Except for single- or two-family dwellings, parking spaces shall be provided with adequate aisles or turnaround areas so that all vehicles may enter streets in a forward manner.
      h.   Parking facilities shall be designed to connect with parking facilities on adjacent zoning lots where appropriate to eliminate the need to use the abutting street for cross movements.
      i.   All off-street parking facilities shall be provided with a drainage system meeting the design standards contained in section 14-359.
      j.   Parking facilities designed to accommodate 25 or more vehicles shall conform to the state handicapped parking regulations.
   (6)   Parking area landscape standards. It is the intent of this subsection to protect and promote the public health, safety, and general welfare by requiring the landscaping of parking areas which will serve to reduce radiant heat from paved surfaces, to reduce wind and air turbulence, to reduce noise, to reduce the glare of automobile lights, to ameliorate stormwater drainage problems, and to protect and preserve the appearance, character and value of adjacent properties. Except for single- or two-family dwellings, all parking facilities, unless located entirely underground, shall meet the following minimum landscaping requirements:
      a.   Parking facilities, unless located on or within a structure, shall be separated from the exterior wall of a building, exclusive of a paved pedestrian walkway or entranceway or loading area, by a landscape strip at least five feet in width, which shall be landscaped in accordance with county landscape standards.
      b.   Entryways into parking facilities shall be bordered by a landscape buffer strip a minimum of eight feet in width, which shall be landscaped in accordance with county landscape standards.
      c.   Ground-level parking facilities shall be set back from adjacent streets and/or adjacent properties that are zoned residential a minimum of ten feet. This setback area shall be landscaped in accordance with county landscape standards.
      d.   Parking facilities that accommodate 50 or more vehicles shall provide landscaped islands within the parking lot and shall be landscaped in accordance with county landscape standards.
      e.   In providing the landscaping required in this subsection (6), the retention of existing significant vegetation shall be encouraged.
(Ord. of 7-10-2000, § 8.6)