The intent of this section to protect and promote the public health, safety and general welfare by requiring the landscaping of parking lots. Landscaping will serve to reduce wind and air turbulence, erosion, heat and noise, the glare of automobile lights, the level of carbon dioxide and the blighted appearance of parking areas. Landscaping will provide shade, conserve and stabilize property values, and facilitate the creation of an attractive and harmonious community.
(A) Off-street parking shall be provided for all uses of land, structures, and buildings as well as for any expansion of the uses or change in use in accordance with the requirements of this chapter.
(B) Parking areas shall, where possible and with the exception of the IB district, be located at either the rear or sides of the principal building. Parking areas for adult establishments shall only be in the front of the principal building. Off-street parking of heavy equipment, storage trailers, and “tractor trailers” shall not be allowed in the front yard of any property in the IB district.
(C) The following parking area requirements shall apply within the zoning jurisdiction of the town (except where noted):
(1) (a) Except in the CC district and for non-industrial principal uses in the NB and HB districts (see below), off-street parking areas shall be set back a minimum of 20 feet from the front property line or edge of right-of-way, whichever is greater. The setback area shall be occupied by a 20-foot landscaped strip developed to the standards as established by the town. If the setback area exceeds 20 feet, the landscaping strip shall be placed nearest the front of the lot.
(b) The location of off-street parking in the CC district shall be as provided in § 155.075.
(c) Notwithstanding the landscaping requirements cited above, any non-industrial principal use located in the NB or HB zoning district (but not in the CC overlay district) shall have no greater than one row of parking in the front yard (i.e., between the front faade of the building and the adjoining street right-of-way.)
(2) Parking areas shall be landscaped so that there is located within the interior of the parking area a landscaped area equivalent to the area of 1 parking space for each 15 parking spaces (30 parking spaces in the IB district) in the parking area. A parking area consisting of less than 15 spaces shall have at least 1 of this type of landscaped area.
(3) Landscaped areas shall be surrounded by a concrete curb or other material, such as brick and the like, in order to protect the landscaped area and to define its borders.
(4) Landscaped areas shall be composed of materials determined by the Project Review Committee to be appropriate in order to maintain the appearance of the area.
(D) Every building or structure used for business, trade or industry hereafter erected shall provide space for the loading and unloading of vehicles off the street or public alley. The space shall be located, when possible, at the rear of the business. In some cases the Town Planner may approve the loading space at the end or side of a business. No vehicle shall be required to back onto a right-of-way, street or public alley.
(E) Commercial, industrial and wholesale operations shall provide loading in dimensions and quantities determined by the Project Review Committee to be sufficient to allow normal loading and unloading operations of magnitude appropriate to the use. All plans shall meet the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
(F) The following parking space requirements shall apply within the zoning jurisdiction of the town:
(1) For apartments and manufactured homes located within manufactured home parks, two spaces for each dwelling unit;
(2) For motels, tourist homes and hotels, one space for each room or unit to be rented, plus one space for each two employees on the work shift of the largest employment;
(3) For hospitals, one space for each two beds intended for patient use, exclusive of bassinets, plus one space for each staff or visiting doctor and one space for each two employees on the largest work shift;
(4) For elementary schools and junior high schools, both public and private, one space for each employee;
(5) For senior high schools, trade schools and technical institutes, one space for each two students for whom the school was designed, plus one space for each employee;
(6) For restaurants, one space for each three seats, plus one space for each two employees on the shift of largest employment;
(7) For medical and dental clinics and offices, four spaces for each doctor practicing at the clinic, plus one space for each employee;
(8) For auditoriums, theaters, stadiums, racetracks and similar uses involving the assembling of persons, one space for each four seats in the place of assembly, plus one space for each 100 square feet of floor or ground area used for amusement or assembly, but not containing fixed seats;
(9) For bus terminals, one space for each employee and one space for each bus loading ramp and track;
(10) For other office, business and commercial uses, one space for each 200 square feet of gross floor area or usage area;
(11) For industrial, warehousing and wholesaling uses, one space for each vehicle used directly in the conduct of the use, and in addition, one space for each two employees of the establishment at the maximum employment on a single shift; and
(12) For nursing homes, one space for every four beds.
(G) All required parking or loading spaces shall be located on the same zoning lot as the principal use it serves, except as approved by the Town Planner. Parking spaces shall have minimum dimensions of 9 feet by 18 feet. Off-site parking for a permitted use, as required by this chapter, can be located by itself or combined with parking for other uses, subject to certification by the Town Planner that the following requirements have been met:
(1) The use being served by the off-site parking is a permitted principal use in the zoning district within which the lot containing the parking is located.
(2) The off-site parking spaces are located within a walking distance of 500 feet to a public entrance to the structure or land area containing the use for which the spaces are required.
(3) A safe, direct, attractive, lighted and convenient pedestrian route exists or will be provided between the off-site parking and the use being served.
(4) The continued availability of off-site parking spaces necessary to meet the requirements of this section are insured by an appropriate restriction on the title to the land providing the off-site parking spaces, in the form of a declaration, covenant or contract. All required off-street parking areas, except for single and two-family dwelling units shall be paved or surfaced with asphalt, concrete, or similar paved surface. Overflow parking lots that are specifically designed for use during special events only need not be paved. Parking lots for outdoor-related event purposes (amusement parks, racetracks, parks, and the like) that are one acre or less need not be paved, nor comply with any listed requirements for off-street parking areas except (1) lots shall be sufficiently lighted, (2) a landscaped strip extending 20 feet from the edge of pavement or the edge of right-of-way, whichever is greater must be provided, and (3) there must be a physical barrier between rows of parking that must be maintained. For any off-street parking area that does not require a paved parking area surface, whenever such area abuts a public street, the driveway leading from such street to such unpaved parking area shall be paved for a distance of at least 15 feet from the edge of the street paving. This latter requirement shall not apply to single or two-family dwelling units.
(H) Up to one-half of the parking spaces required for 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 division (I) below are utilized, subject to certification by the Town Planner that the joint usage of parking complies with the following provisions:
(1) The peak usage of the parking facility by one use will be at night or on Sundays, such as with theaters, assembly halls, or churches, and the peak usage of the parking facility by the second use will be at other times; or
(2) The second use is an ancillary use to the first use, such as restaurants and meeting rooms to hotels and motels.
(I) (1) Use of required parking and loading areas. Parking areas shall be used for parking automobiles, motorcycles and passenger trucks only, with no sales, storage, repair work, dismantling or service of any kind permitted.
(2) Required loading space shall be available for the loading and unloading of vehicles, and shall not be used for the storage of vehicles or materials, or to meet off-street parking requirements.
(J) After the effective date of this chapter, buffers and screening shall be required between all parking lots and abutting uses.
(K) Parking requirements for dwellings, and in residential districts. This division (K) is hereby enacted to lessen the impacts of stormwater run-off due to accelerated erosion from the parking of vehicles upon non-impervious surfaces, and to promote the town’s residential districts.
(1) No front yard parking of motor vehicles will hereafter be allowed at dwellings or in any residential district in the Town of Spencer unless parking is situated upon an improved, prepared surface that extends from a public right-of-way. No part of any sidewalk shall be counted towards a front yard parking area. No more than 40% of the front yard may be used for parking. Grass and bare earth shall not be acceptable parking surfaces. At a minimum, a parking pad consisting of aggregate stone base of four inches is required. The use of other materials, except concrete, bituminous asphalt and aforementioned aggregate stone must be approved by the Technical Review Committee. The parking pad must be delineated with appropriate materials with a physical edge that is maintained.
(2) Properties having to comply with division (K)(2) shall do so by no later than January 1, 2011.
(3) In order to protect property values and promote the general welfare of the town’s citizens, parking for recreational vehicles, boats, and trailers shall be restricted to the side or rear yards in the residential districts and for dwellings in the town.
(4) Violations of this section will be enforced in accord with § 10.99.
(`94 Code, App. C, Art. VII, § 4) (Am. Ord. 96-3, passed 2-13-96; Am. Ord. 05-05, passed 10-11-05; Am. Ord. 08-05, passed 11-18-08; Am. Ord. 08-06, passed 11-18-08; Am. Ord. 09-05, passed 11-10-09; Am. Ord. 10-06, passed 4-13-10; Am. Ord. 10-08, passed 5-11-10) Penalty, see § 10.99
Cross-reference:
Buffers and screening, see § 155.073(B)(15)