The director of planning and building services may, through written waiver, waive minimum improvements and maintenance standards if he or she finds that due to the nature of the work the minimum improvement and maintenance standards are not necessary to obtain compliance with this chapter.
(a) Parking space, loading and maneuvering, and drive areas thereto shall be hard surfaced with concrete or asphalt and striped. Exception(s):
(1) Truck terminals, heavy equipment display, service and rental, concrete and paving plants, construction yards and similar heavy equipment establishments need not hard-surface areas maintained as maneuvering or parking/storage areas for heavy equipment when the areas are not adjacent to a front yard setback or otherwise screened for in the public right-of-way.
(2) Campgrounds need not hard-surface areas for parking, loading and maneuvering, or drive areas.
(3) Motor vehicle sales, display, and rental parking areas with more than 250 vehicles do not need to be striped. Motor vehicle storage areas with more than 250 vehicles do not need to be striped.
(b) Adequate provisions shall be made for the disposal of storm water from the lot and the city engineer shall ensure that the water shall not flow onto adjoining property or adjacent sidewalks in a quantity or manner that would be detrimental thereto, or inconvenient to persons using the sidewalk.
(c) A structurally sound abutment, including, but not limited to, bumper blocks, continuous curb, or a retaining wall, shall be installed around each side of the parking lot. An adequate retaining wall shall be required wherever necessary to prevent the washing of soil to and from adjoining property.
(d) Cross-easements allowing abutting sites to share parking are strongly recommended.
(e) The locations and widths of entrances and exits to and from any parking lot or parking ramp shall be approved by the traffic engineer based upon Engineering Design Standards.
(f) The location of each required parking space and the location and direction of movement along the driveways providing access thereto shall be indicated by painting upon the surface, by raised directional signs, or by markers or other similar measures placed in the surfacing of the lot.
(g) Any parking lot or ramp shall be maintained in an orderly manner, keeping it as free as possible from snow and ice. All signs, markers or painting, or any other methods used to indicate direction of traffic movement and location of parking spaces shall be maintained in a neat and legible condition. Likewise, any walls, trees and shrubbery, as well as surfacing of the parking lot or ramp, shall be maintained in a good condition throughout its use for parking purposes.
(h) The estimated amount of parking spaces for motor vehicle sales, display and rental, and motor vehicle storage is calculated by taking the total area of hard surface dedicated for motor vehicle sales/motor vehicle storage as indicated on the site plan, divided by 300 square feet (per parking space).
(i) Parking lots or hard-surfaced areas providing over 200 required spaces or more than 32,300 square feet of hard-surfaced area shall be divided into smaller parking fields not exceeding 100 spaces or 16,150 square feet of area to reduce the visual impact of large parking expanses. Divisions should be made with landscape strips, peninsulas, or grade changes. (See illustration below for example.)
(j) NF, BCF, and RE parking lots shall be designed to separate pedestrians from vehicles to the maximum degree possible and to provide a direct and clearly defined pedestrian pathway from adjacent public sidewalk to building entrance with a private dedicated sidewalk and/or dedicated private pedestrian crosswalk through parking areas. WM forms are encouraged to provide pedestrian connections to public sidewalks if a sidewalk is required.
(k) Sidewalks and walkways in commercial developments shall link to the city’s sidewalk and trail system where available.
(1992 Code, App. B, § 15.55.070) (Ord. 42-83, passed 6-27-1983; Ord. 43-86, passed 5-19-1986; Ord. 5-88, passed 1-18-1988; Ord. 72-88, passed 8-1-1988; Ord. 41-89, passed 5-15-1989; Ord. 8-10, passed 2-16-2010; Ord. 9-13, passed 3-19-2013; Ord. 34-18, passed 5-2-2018)