a) Purpose. The purpose of this section is to provide off-street parking standards that will alleviate congestion in the streets and allow for the efficient storage of motor vehicles while, concurrently, reducing any adverse environmental impacts to the urban area. By reducing glare, noise levels and air pollution to occupants and residents of adjoining properties, and by controlling storm water drainage and soil erosion, these standards will generally contribute to the public health, safety and general welfare of the citizenry and will create a more aesthetically pleasing environment in the Town of Surf City.
b) Parking must be provided for new construction of principal building and certain instances of alterations to existing sites and conversions of buildings from one district use to occupancy to another district or district use. No lands or buildings, or any part thereof, shall be occupied or used for any purpose, nor shall any building permit be approved by the town planner, until the owner of the real estate involved provides off-street motor vehicle parking and driveways in accordance with the minimum requirements set forth herein and in the section for truck loading (section 5.1.2), off-street parking spaces (section 5.1.3), off-street parking design (section 5.1.4) and driveways (section 5.1.5). No additional parking shall be required for the issuance of a building permit under section 7.3 (Reconstruction of nonconforming uses). When an existing building or use on the same lot is altered or expanded to increase its gross floor area by fifty (50) percent or more, or whenever a conversion of buildings from any district use to another district use required additional off-street parking, all parking lot design requirements of this section shall be met. Other off-street parking facilities for which a plan is required under section 5.13 shall meet only those standards which the town planner or his designee determine to be necessary to protect the public health, safety or welfare; except that this waiver shall not apply to expansions that occur within two (2) years of each other as noted by the dates the building permits were issued and that together would otherwise require all off-street parking improvements to be made. (See section 5.7 for application of the landscaping requirements to building or use expansions.)
c) Vehicle movement. All off-street parking areas, except those serving a single or two- family housing unit, shall be arranged so that ingress and egress is by the forward motion of the vehicle.
d) Location on other property. If the required automobile parking space cannot reasonably be provided on the same lot as the principal use, it may be provided on a lot within two (2) town blocks or six hundred fifty (650) feet (whichever is greater) of the principal use structure. This parking area shall be held in fee simple by the owner of the use served, or in another manner that assures continued availability for required parking, provided the form of tenure shall be approved by the town attorney before such use is issued a certificate of occupancy.
e) Nonresidential off-street parking in residential district. Such parking may be provided in residential districts upon issuance of a special use permit as required in section 8.9.
f) Parking space in private driveways. Private driveways serving detached single and two-family housing units of sufficient size to meet the requirements of this section shall be considered as providing the required off-street parking space.
g) Safety barriers. All service stations, parking lots, display or sales areas for motor vehicles of any type shall erect a safety barrier inside the street yard exclusive of driveway entrances. Such barriers shall be at least seven (7) inches in height and six (6) inches in width, and shall be approved construction and otherwise designed to prohibit any overhang of motor vehicles in any public right-of-way.
h) Combination of parking spaces on a lot. Required parking spaces for any number of separate buildings or uses may be combined in one (1) parking lot, but the required spaces assigned to one use may not be assigned to another use if the uses normally operate at the same time.
i) Exception to off-street parking standards.
1) C-1 central business district. The provisions of subsection (b) shall not apply to the central business district, however, when such spaces are provided they shall be designed in accordance with the minimum design requirements of this section.
j) Use of parking facilities.
1) Limitations on use of required parking facilities.
a. Permitted use. Required parking spaces approved in accordance with this chapter shall only be used for the intermittent parking of licensed motor vehicles of employees, occupants, owners, tenants or customers utilizing the building served by said required parking space.
b. Storage, repair or display of any equipment or merchandise, shall not be permitted. Storage of vehicles for sale at an automobile dealership may be permitted.
c. All parking areas not in compliance with these requirements prior to the date of adoption of this amendment shall be rendered in compliance prior to January 1, 2013.
2) Limitations on use of supplemental parking facilities.
a. Supplemental parking (parking facilities provided but not required) shall only be used for the intermittent parking of licensed motor vehicles of employees, occupants, owners, tenants or customers utilizing the building served by said parking space with exceptions described below.
b. Storage or repair of any equipment or merchandise shall not be permitted. Storage of vehicles for sale at an automobile dealership may be permitted.
c. Display and sale of any merchandise shall not be permitted except as may be approved by the town through a temporary permit.
d. All parking areas not in compliance with these requirements prior to the date of adoption of this amendment shall be rendered in compliance prior to January 1, 2013.
5.1.2 Off-street loading.
a) Location. All required loading spaces shall be located on the same lot and shall have the same zoning as the use it is to serve. No off-street loading space shall be located in a required front yard or within a triangular sight distance. Loading facilities shall be constructed so that all maneuvering will take place entirely within the property lines of the facility. Interior off-street loading spaces may be located inside the structure it serves provided the other provisions of this section, such as size and access, are met.
b) Size. Unless otherwise specified, an off-street loading space shall be twelve (12) feet in width by forty-five (45) feet in length, exclusive of aisles and maneuvering space, and shall have a vertical clearance of at least fifteen (15) feet.
c) Surfacing. All off-street loading spaces shall be paved with asphalt or concrete material, or with alternative paving material (e.g., concrete pavers, brick, "turfstone" or similar material) determined to exhibit equivalent wear resistance and load bearing characteristics as asphalt or concrete, of a type and thickness, capable of carrying, without damage, the heaviest vehicle loads reasonably anticipated on such surface. Loading spaces associated with parking facilities which are exempted from the paving requirements of this ordinance (see section 5.1.4(a)(4)) shall likewise be exempted from these paving requirements.
d) Repair and service. No motor vehicle repair work or service of any kind shall be permitted in conjunction with loading facilities, except emergency repair service necessary to relocate a vehicle to a normal repair facility.
e) Utilization. Off-street loading space shall not be used to satisfy the space requirements for off-street parking facilities or portions thereof, nor vice versa.
f) Similar use applicable. The town planner shall apply the off-street loading requirements for the most similar use listed herein to an unspecified use.
g) Access. Each off-street loading space shall be provided with unobstructed ingress and egress to a public or private street.
h) Off-street loading requirements.
1) Uses handling goods in quantity. Uses which normally handle large quantities of goods including, but not limited to, industrial plants, wholesale establishments, storage warehouses, freight terminals, hospitals or sanitariums and retail sales establishments shall provide off-street loading facilities in the following amounts:
Gross Floor Area of Establishment in Square Feet
| Required Number of Loading Spaces
|
Less than 5,000
| N/A
|
5,000 to 9,999
| 1
|
10,000 to 24,999
| 2
|
25,000 to 39,999
| 3
|
40,000 to 100,000 | 4 |
2) For each additional one hundred thousand (100,000) square feet of gross floor area, at least one (1) additional loading space shall be provided.
3) Uses not handling goods in quantity. Commercial establishments which do not handle large quantities of goods including, but no limited to, office buildings, restaurants, auditoriums, convention halls, coliseums, exhibition halls, funeral homes, hotels and motels shall provide off-street loading facilities in the following amounts:
Gross Floor Area of Establishment in Square Feet
| Required Number of Loading Spaces
|
Less than 5,000
| N/A
|
5,000 to 49,999
| 1
|
50,000 to 100,000
| 2
|
For each additional one hundred thousand (100,000) square feet of gross floor area, at least one (1) additional loading space shall be provided.
a) Unless otherwise required within the following schedule, all employers shall provide one (1) space per two (2) employees of the largest shift. Any visitor and/or company vehicle parking shall not be counted to meet the requirements of this provision.
b) Any nonresidential and/or public assembly use that does not provide for fixed seating and/or is not listed within the table of uses shall have its off-street parking requirements established by the town planner as follows:
1) The maximum allowable occupancy number shall be determined in accordance with the North Carolina State Building Code for the proposed use; and then,
2) That number for the proposed use shall be divided by three (3). The quotient of the above calculation shall be the minimum amount of off-street parking spaces to be provided.
c) All nonresidential uses shall comply with the requirements of the North Carolina Building Code or General Statutes for off-street parking spaces for the handicapped, whichever is more stringent.
Required Number of Off-Street Parking Spaces
Use | Parking Spaces | ||
Maximum | Minimum | ||
Use | Parking Spaces | ||
Maximum | Minimum | ||
Single-family residential | 1 space per housing unit | ||
Multi-family | 2.5 per unit maximum | 0 - 1 bedroom | 1-3 minimum |
2 - 3 bedrooms | 2 minimum | ||
3 bedrooms or more | 2.25 minimum | ||
Duplexes, mobile home parks and PUDs | 2.5 per unit | 0 - 1 bedroom | 1-3 minimum |
2 - 3 bedrooms | 2 minimum | ||
3 bedrooms or more | 2.25 minimum | ||
Outdoor sales | 1 space per 100 square feet of gross floor area | ||
Groceries, personal services, medical/health facilities, adult establishments, private recreational facilities | 1 per 200 sq. ft. maximum | 1 per 400 sq. ft. minimum | |
Offices, government uses, personal services, repair shops, places of assembly | 1 per 250 square feet maximum | 1 per 400 square feet minimum | |
Auto repair and services, contractor equipment and supply | 1 per 400 sfgfa1 maximum | 1 per 600 sfgfa1 and 1 per 2,000 sq. ft. of display area minimum | |
Studios, silk screening, computer services, delivery services, tire dealers | 1 per 500 square feet of gross floor area | ||
Transportation services, manufacturing | 1 per 1,000 sq. ft. maximum | 1 per 1,500 sq. ft. minimum or 1 per 1.5 employees | |
Warehousing | 1 space per 1,000 square feet of gross floor area | ||
Retail, laundromats, bakeries | 1 per 225 sq. ft. maximum | 1 per 400 sq. ft. minimum | |
Motor freight | 1 space per 1,000 sq. ft. of non office floor area plus 1 space per 300 square feet office floor area | ||
Shopping centers | Shopping centers between 25,000 and 99,000 sfgla—1 per 225 sfgla2 maximum | Shopping centers between 25,000 and 99,000 sfgla2—1 per 400 sfgla2 minimum | |
Shopping centers greater than 100,000 sfgla—5 per 1,000 sfgla2 maximum | Shopping centers greater than 100,000 sfgla—4 per 1,000 sfgla2 minimum | ||
Religious institutions; funeral homes; civic, social fraternal organizations | 1 per 3 seats maximum | 1 per 4 seats minimum | |
Movie theaters, museums | 1 space per 4 seats | ||
1 sfgfa—square feet of gross floor area 2 sfgla—square feet of gross leaseable area | |||
Required Number of Off-Street Parking Spaces
Use | Parking Spaces | |
Maximum | Minimum | |
Use | Parking Spaces | |
Maximum | Minimum | |
Nursing and personal care facilities | 1 space per 4 beds | |
Adult day care, child day care, family care | 1 space per 8 pupils or residents | |
Special congregate facilities, elementary and jr. schools | 1 space per teacher and staff person plus 5 spaces for visitors | |
Schools | 1 space per 5 students, or 1 space for each 3 seats in auditorium and other places of assembly or facilities available to the public, whichever is greater | |
Bowling alley, pool halls | 1 space per alley plus requirements for any other use associated with the establishment, such as a restaurant | |
Hotels, motels | 1.25 spaces per guest room plus requirements for any other use associated with the establishment, such as a restaurant | |
Golf course | 50 spaces per 18 holes | |
Nightclubs, restaurants | 1 per 2.5 seats or 1 per sfgfa1 exclusive of kitchen and restroom facilities maximum | 1 per 4 seats or 1 per 80 sfgfa1 exclusive of kitchen restroom facilities minimum |
Hospitals | 1 space per each 2 licensed beds intended for patient use, plus 1 space per staff person, including medical and support staff based on the largest employee shift | |
Motelminium | 1.5 per unit up to 250 square feet 2 per unit between 251—500 square feet 2.5 per unit between 501—750 square feet 3.0 per unit over 750 square feet, plus one (1) space for each three [hundred] (300) square feet of floor area utilized for guest services (i.e. meeting rooms, banquet halls, restaurants etc.) | |
Electronic gaming operation | 1.5 per machine or 1 per 100 square feet whichever is greater. | |
1 sfgfa—square feet of gross floor area 2 sfgla—square feet of gross leaseable area | ||
General maximum allowable parking standards. If a parking group does not contain a specific minimum limit on the number of parking spaces, the maximum allowable parking spaces shall be one hundred and fifty (150) percent of the minimum parking standard for such parking group. The maximum parking requirement will not be applicable to lots of twenty (20) parking group. The maximum parking requirement will not be applicable to lots of twenty (20) spaces or less. The maximum parking requirement may be exceeded by twenty-five (25) percent with pervious surface parking. Also, an applicant may apply to the planning board for an additional twenty-five (25) percent of pervious service parking over and above the twenty-five (25) percent previously specified.
d) For manufacturing and warehousing uses containing a minimum (cumulative) structure size of twenty-five (25,000) square feet and which are not generally dependent on walk-in trade for their business operations, the parking requirement may be reduced to a minimum of 1.15 parking spaces per employee on the shift of the average greatest employment after review of said business operations by the town planner.
e) For parking facilities containing twenty-five (25) or more stalls or spaces, one (1) required space may be designated exclusively for bicycle parking. Thereafter, one (1) space may be designated exclusively for bicycle parking at the rate of one (1) for every one hundred (100) motor vehicle spaces. Spaces must adhere to the following additional requirements.
1) Bicycle parking spaces must be clearly signed and marked "for bicycle use only," or words to similar effect.
2) Conversion of bicycle parking to motor vehicle parking shall not be allowed unless the entire parking facility complies with the requirements set forth in this article.
3) Any space set aside for bicycle parking shall be equal in size or larger than the largest space required for motor vehicle parking.
f) Wet boat slips can count towards the required parking providing no more than a maximum of twenty-five (25) percent of the required spaces can be devoted to the wet boat slips.
a) Purpose. The purpose of this section is to protect and promote the public health, safety and general welfare by requiring safe and adequate design of parking lots and the landscaping of such facilities which will:
1) Help to reduce wind and air turbulence, heat and noise and glare;
2) Act as a natural drainage system lessening storm water drainage problems and soil erosion;
3) Provide shade;
4) Conserve and stabilize property values and otherwise facilitate the creation of a convenient, attractive and harmonious community; and
5) Relieve the blighted appearance of parking lots and generally preserve a healthy and pleasant environment.
b) Plan.
(1) Prior to any work being done or any building or driveway permit being issued, all off-street parking facilities of five (5) or more spaces and/or twenty-five hundred (2,500) square feet constructed, reconstructed, revised or enlarged shall have a plan of the facility reviewed by the town planner for compliance with General Statues and town ordinances.
(2) The plan shall show the number, size and location of spaces; arrangements of circulation aisles; locations of driveways; provisions for vehicular and pedestrian circulation; locations of sidewalks and curbs on or adjacent to the facility; barriers or wheel stops; interior, perimeter and street side landscaping; locations, legend and details of signs; lighting standards; typical cross-section of pavement; storm drainage facilities; and other pertinent information necessary to indicate compliance with this section.
c) Design criteria.
(1) Maneuvering. All parking and loading facilities shall be constructed so that all maneuvering will take place entirely within the property lines of the facility.
(2) Barriers. Each parking space located at the perimeter of a parking facility shall be equipped with a curb, wheel stop, or similar device to prevent vehicle encroachment beyond property lines of parking lots and into pedestrian ways or traffic aisles.
(3) Vision clearance. Parking lot design shall comply with the vision clearance provisions set forth in the section 5.3 (visibility at intersection in residential districts) herein.
(4) All new, enlarged or repainted parking facilities shall comply with the following:
a. Each parking space shall be a minimum of nine feet by eighteen [feet] (9' × 18') with a minimum drive aisle of twenty-two (22) feet for two-way traffic. Where one-way traffic is allowed and the angle of parking stalls is forty-five degrees (45°) or less the drive aisle may be reduced to no less than fourteen (14) feet.
b. Parking spaces for small vehicles may be provided in lieu of standard parking spaces for parking decks and for residential, non-medical office, warehousing, and industrial uses. However, no more than twenty-five (25) percent of the total number of required parking spaces shall be small vehicle spaces. The minimum width of a small vehicle space shall be eight (8) feet and its minimum length shall be sixteen (16) feet. Small vehicle parking spaces shall be designated by proper signage alerting drivers to the limitation of space size. Small vehicle parking spaces are not permitted in conjunction with other uses than those listed above.
c. Spaces larger than the standard size are permitted, provided at least the minimum number of spaces required are furnished.
d. All nonresidential uses shall comply with the requirements of the North Carolina Building Code or General Statutes for off-street parking spaces for the handicapped, whichever is more stringent.
e. All parking facilities containing twenty-five (25) or more spaces or stalls shall be paved with concrete or asphalt material, or with alternative paving material (e.g., concrete pavers, brick, "turfstone" or similar material) determined to exhibit equivalent wear resistance and load bearing characteristics as asphalt or concrete, according to the parking lot standards.
f. All parking facilities containing between five (5) and twenty-four (24) spaces or stalls, inclusive, may be paved or surfaced with a stone material; provided that all spaces set aside for parking by handicapped persons must comply with all applicable codes, ordinances and technical requirements, and paved access to a handicapped-accessible entrance to the principal building must be provided.
g. Alternative parking surfaces. The town may require that parking proposed in excess of the minimum standard be stabilized grass parking or an alternative permeable surface appropriate to the specific site. Alternative parking surfaces shall be adequately maintained to provide a stable parking surface.
h. Shared parking studies. Multi-purpose developments may perform parking studies proposing a reduction in the amount of required parking. The requested reduction in required parking may be justified by the difference in peak hour demand for the different uses (i.e., a movie theater and an office building may propose to share parking spaces due to their different peak hour demand for parking). The provision of transit service and transportation demand measures such as ride sharing, van pooling, and non-peak hour shift changes may also be studied as factors that may reduce the amount of required parking.
i. Drainage. No storm water drainage from a parking facility shall cross the surface of any adjoining public right-of-way to reach a storm water drainage system.
a) Improvement to existing residential driveways will not be required to submit engineered plans if pervious materials are used. Any other materials used will require an engineered plan for stormwater management. Materials acceptable for driveways shall include pervious concrete, gravel, stone, or any other pervious material.
b) Driveway width. The maximum width of a driveway is twenty-four (24) feet in width at the street. On roadways maintained by the NC DOT, the maximum width shall be determined by the NC DOT permitting office.
c) Stormwater permits. A separate stormwater permit must be obtained for all new driveways.
d) Driveways are considered as the area contained on the property as well as the adjacent right of way the driveway crosses.
(Ord. No. 2006-19, 4-4-06; Ord. No. 2010-07, § 4, 5-4-10; Ord. No. 2016-03, § 1, 5-3-16; Ord. No. 2020-10, 12-1-20)