5.2 Off-street Parking and Loading
A. General Provisions for Off-street Parking and Loading
1) Application
a) It is the intent of this by-law that all new buildings and land uses be provided with sufficient space located off-street for:
i.) the accessory parking of motor vehicles;
ii.) the standing, loading and unloading of motor carriers, to meet the needs of persons employed at or otherwise making use of such buildings or land under normal conditions.
b) Any application for a permit for the erection of a new building, or for an alteration or change of use of an existing building that provides additional accommodations, or for the development of a land use shall include a plan for parking and loading for the new or expanded facilities or areas in accordance with Section 5.2 and 5.2 C.
c) Where a building or land area is used by two or more categories of uses as defined under Section 5.2 B, the off-street parking and loading facilities required shall be not less than the sum of the requirements for the individual uses computed separately.
d) Buildings and land uses legally in existence on the effective date of this by-law are not subject to these off-street parking and loading requirements, provided that any parking or loading facilities now serving such buildings or uses may not in the future be reduced below these requirements.
If existing parking or loading spaces exceed the requirements of this by-law, any excess shall be applied to the requirements for additions.
If existing parking or loading spaces are less than the requirements of this by-law, only the requirements for the additions need to be fulfilled with additional spaces.
e) For non-residential uses in the Business and Industrial Districts common driveways may be used to serve both parking and loading spaces, but no part of a designated loading space may be extended into the common driveway.
Amended Oct. 18, 1999 Article 24
f) No commercially licensed vehicles in excess of 18,000 lbs. gross vehicle weight, except school buses or a farm vehicle, and construction equipment during actual construction on the site, shall be parked overnight in a residential district.
2) Jurisdiction and Modification
a) Jurisdiction:
All off-street parking plans shall require Building Inspector approval. Such approval shall be required prior to the issuance of the building permit.
Parking plans and loading plans submitted for approval should identify elevations and contours of the finished site, existing right-of-way, entrances and exits, driveways, aisles, parking spaces, loading spaces, circulation, capacity, drainage, lighting, berms, curbing, fences, walkways and landscaped areas.
The Building Inspector shall examine said parking plans with respect to access, drainage, capacity, circulation and safety of pedestrians and vehicles using the facilities and using abutting streets.
b) Modification
The Board of Appeals may, by special permit, modify the requirements for off-street parking and/or loading where it is demonstrated that with such modification there will be, under normal use, adequate space for parking and/or loading to provide for the needs of the subject building or uses.
3) Construction and Maintenance
Parking and loading areas shall be graded, surfaced and drained so as to dispose all surface water through approved catch basins to preclude drainage onto other properties or streets.
Parking and loading areas located adjacent to a way shown on the official map shall maintain a permanent fence, berm, curbing, or its equivalent on or near the property line abutting the way.
A landscaped separation strip of at least five feet (5') shall be provided between a parking area and an adjoining public way, except in manufacturing districts.
All off-street parking and loading facilities shall be maintained by the owner or operator in good repair, neat and orderly in appearance and free from refuse and debris.
Parking and loading areas shall be arranged for convenient access, egress and safety to pedestrians and vehicles.
4) Design Standards
All off-street parking and loading facilities shall be provided with adequate vehicular access. Backing directly onto a street shall be prohibited except for single and multi-family residences.
Adequate ingress and egress to the parking facilities by means of clearly limited and defined drives shall be provided for all vehicles. Said access shall be limited to well defined locations away from street intersections, and in no case shall there be unrestricted access along the length of the street.
5) Lighting
All lighting used to illuminate any off-street parking or loading shall be installed so that direct rays from such lighting shall not cause a public nuisance to adjacent property.
6) Snow Storage
Storage of snow in parking or loading facilities shall be arranged so as not to unduly reduce sight distances and visibility at entrances and exits and aisles intersection.
B. Off-street Parking (See Section 5.2, A for General Provisions)
1) Off-street Parking Requirements
Parking spaces are to be provided according to the following units of measurement.
Multiple use requires space calculations for each applicable use. Capacities and areas include outdoor use where applicable.
Note: Utility, energy, corridor, stairway, restroom, and building maintenance areas are exempted from space assignment.
a.) Residences
Single Family |
Two (2) Parking spaces per dwelling unit |
Two Family & Multi-family* |
Two (2) Parking spaces per dwelling unit |
Hotel, Motel, Lodging, Rooming |
One (1) space per bedroom |
Group, Dormitory |
One (1) space per resident car |
Nursing, Convalescent & Rest Home |
One (1) space per three beds |
*Note: Housing designed specifically for elderly persons need provide only 50 percent (50%, of the space required above.
b.) Place of Assembly
Including Cultural, Sports, Religious, Recreational Entertainment |
One (1) space for each five (5) persons accommodated in the assembly place |
c.) Hospitals
Exempted from further use calculations |
One (1) space per patient bed excluding nursery |
Inpatient Outpatient |
Three (3) spaces for each room, booth or other unit exclusively assigned for outpatient treatment or counseling |
d) Drive-up Service including window, pump, wash, cash and carry
Three (3) off-street waiting spaces will be provided leading to each service entrance or island and one (1) such space beyond each service exit.
A mechanized car wash with conveyor will provide eight (8) off-street waiting spaces leading to each line and two (2) spaces beyond the exit end.
e) Professional offices including clinics, barbershops and beauty salons
Three (3) parking spaces for each room, booth, or other unit assigned for client treatment or counseling.
f) Bowling alleys and lanes
Four (4) parking spaces per lane or alley.
g) Public garage
Three (3) parking spaces for each bay or stall used for service or repair.
h) Restaurant, Cocktail Lounge or Nightclub
One (1) parking space for each four (4) seats in the dining area, plus one (1) parking space for each two (2) seats in the cocktail area or those areas where meals are not served or where meals are self-service.
i) Quick, Service, Fast Food, Drive-in Establishment
One (1) parking space for each forty (40) square feet of gross floor area.
j) Retail Areas For Sales and Display of Portable Goods and Related
Retail Services One (1) space for each 250 square feet in such use.
k) Office Areas Including Reception, Desk Drafting Bench, Data Processing
Manufacturing Areas For Portable Goods One (1) space for each 500 square feet in such use
l) Wholesale Areas For Sales And Display; Retail areas For Sales And Display of Non-portable Goods; Freight Handling Area
One (1) space for each 1,000 square feet in such use.
m) Storage and Warehousing Areas
One (1) space for each 3,000 square feet in such use.
n) Automobile/Vehicle Sales
One (1) customer parking space for every four hundred (400) square feet of showroom and office, plus one (1) customer parking space for every two thousand (2,000) square feet of exterior display area.
Amended May 20, 2002 Article 35
2) Location and Dimensions
a) Required parking shall be provided on the same lot with the main use it is to serve. In business and manufacturing districts, required parking shall be provided through the same ownership within one thousand feet (1,000') of the use it is to serve.
b) Dimensions of Parking Space:
Each parking space shall not be less than nine feet (9') in width and eighteen feet (18') in length. Aisles shall provide adequate width for vehicles to enter or to leave parking spaces in a single motion. All vehicles must be parked completely within the property lines.
c) Setbacks
In Business and Industrial Districts all parking spaces shall be provided only at the side or to the rear of buildings, but not within the required side and rear yard setbacks.
Parking areas shall be set back a minimum of five feet (5') from any building wall and ten feet (10') from any boundary lines.
Driveways may occupy any part of the required front or side yards. Any portion of a parking area not used for parking space or circulation shall be landscaped and protected.
Amended May 21, 1990 Article 20
d) No driveway in a Business District or Industrial zone shall be located closer than fifty feet (50') to any street intersection measured along the street line.
e) Uses that propose drive-through facilities such as automatic teller machines and restaurants shall be designed to be an integral component of the building complex and shall not be located within a public right-of- way. Such uses shall be safely and conveniently accessible from surrounding uses via a clearly defined circulation system that minimizes points of conflict between vehicular and pedestrian traffic. The queue length shall be arranged so that there will be no spillage onto a public right-of-way. See Section 4.B.1.d of the Zoning By-Laws for the Town's parking standards for drive-through facilities.
Amended May 20, 2002 Artilce 35
f) Use of Parking Areas for Retail Sales: The use of designated parking areas for outdoor sales events shall be limited to five (5) days per year.
Amended May 20, 2002 Article 35
3) Shared Parking
The Board of Appeals shall hear and decide upon applications for Special Permits for the reduction of the required number of parking spaces by up to twenty-five percent (25%), if it can be demonstrated that two or more uses within a single development can share parking areas due to different hours of normal activity.
Amended May 20, 2002 Article 35
C. Off-Street Loading (See Section 5.2, A for General Provisions)
1) Table of Loading Requirements
Gross Floor Area Per Tenant (square feet) |
Number of Required Loading Spaces |
0-10,000 |
0 |
10,001-50,000 |
1 |
50,001- 100,000 |
2 |
100,001-200,000 |
3 |
200,001-400,000 |
4 |
Each Additional 20,000 sq ft |
1 |
2) Location and Dimensions of Required Loading Spaces
a) Location
Loading spaces located within one hundred feet (100') of a residence district shall have material handling activities relating thereto enclosed.
In an Industrial Park District all loading and delivery facilities shall be located either at the side or rear of the building(s) they are designed to serve, but not within the required side and rear yard setbacks.
b) Dimensions of Loading Space
Each loading space shall be twelve feet (12') in width and fifty feet (50') in length and shall be entirely contained within the property lines.
Amended May 16, 1988 Article 23
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