Township of Palmer, PA Off-Street Parking and Loading

Each use established, enlarged or altered in any district shall provide and satisfactorily maintain off-street parking spaces in accordance with Table 17.1[1] and the regulations of this Article.

Editor's Note: Table 17.1 is included at the end of this chapter.

Uses not specifically listed in Table 17.1 shall comply with the requirements for the most similar use listed in Table 17.1, as determined by the Zoning Officer. The Zoning Officer should request a recommendation from the Planning Commission.

Where a proposed use contains or includes more than one type of use (regardless of whether each use is listed in Table 17.1 or is an unlisted use), the number of parking spaces required shall be the sum of the parking requirements for each separate use.

Where the computation of required parking spaces results in a fractional number, the fraction shall be rounded to the closest whole number.

Conditional reduction in off-street parking areas.

The Township recognizes:

The importance of providing adequate, well-designed off-street parking areas.

The need to limit the amount of paved parking areas to preserve open space and limit stormwater runoff.

That unique circumstances associated with a land use may justify a reduction in the parking requirements of Subsection A.

Following a review and recommendation by the Planning Commission, the Zoning Hearing Board may permit a reduction, through the special exception review process of § 190-209, of the number of parking spaces to be initially developed as required by Subsection A, provided that each of the following conditions are satisfied:

The applicant shall demonstrate to the Board, using existing and projected (five years) employment, customer, resident or other relevant data, that a reduction in the off-street parking spaces to be initially developed as required by Subsection A is warranted.

Parking lot plans.

The applicant shall submit plans of the parking lot(s) which designate a layout for the total number of parking spaces needed to comply with the parking requirement in Subsection A.

The plans shall clearly designate which of these parking spaces are proposed for immediate use and which spaces are proposed to be conditionally reserved for potential future use.

[3]

The portion of the required parking spaces conditionally reserved for potential future use shall not be within areas for required buffer yards, setbacks or areas which would otherwise be unsuitable for parking spaces due to the physical characteristics of the land or other requirements of this ordinance.

[4]

Areas conditionally reserved for potential future use shall be attractively landscaped and remain in open space.

Agreement.

The applicant shall enter into an agreement with the Township requiring the applicant to maintain each conditionally reserved area as attractively landscaped open space and convert some or all of the conditionally reserved area to additional off-street parking if at any time the Board finds (based upon the results of field investigations and recommendations of the Township Engineer or Zoning Officer) that additional parking is needed.

This agreement shall be recorded to the deed as a covenant running with the land or other legally binding method acceptable to the Zoning Hearing Board Solicitor.

§ 190-167 General regulations for parking facilities.

General. Parking space layout and requirements shall be adequate for the intended use.

Existing parking. Structures and uses in existence at the effective date of this ordinance shall not be subject to the requirements of this Article, provided that the kind of use is not changed and that any parking facility now serving such structures or uses shall not in the future be reduced to an amount less than that required by this ordinance.

Changes in use. Whenever a building or use (including those specified in Subsection A) is changed or enlarged in floor area, number of employees, number of dwellings, seating capacity or otherwise to create a need, based upon the requirements of § 190-166 for an increase of 10% or more in the number of existing parking spaces, the number of additional spaces to be provided shall be based upon the incremental change or enlargement so required.

Continuing character of obligation.

All required parking facilities shall be provided and maintained so long as the use which the facilities were designed to serve still exists.

Off-street parking facilities shall not be reduced in total extent except when such reduction is in conformity with the requirements of this Article in conjunction with a change in the nature of the use.

Conflict with other uses. No parking area shall be used for any other use that interferes with its availability for the parking need it is required to serve.

Location of parking spaces. Required off-street parking spaces shall be on the same lot or premises with the principal use served.

Joint use. Two or more uses may provide for required parking in a common parking lot, provided that the total number of spaces in such lot shall not be less than the sum of the spaces required for each use individually and provided such parking lot is within 300 feet walking distance of all of the principal uses served by such lot, and provided that the applicant shows evidence of a long-term legally binding mechanism to assure joint use of the parking. The applicant may seek to prove that the parking requirement should be reduced under the provisions of § 190-166B because the uses would have their peak parking at different times of the day.

Definition of "employee." See Article II.

Handicapped parking.

Number of spaces. Any lot including four or more off-street parking spaces shall include a minimum of one handicapped space. The following number of handicapped spaces shall be provided, unless a revised regulation is officially established under the Federal Americans With Disabilities Act:

	Total Number of Required Parking Spaces on Lot	Required Minimum Number/Percent of Handicapped Parking Spaces
	4 to 25	1
	26 to 50	2
	51 to 75	3
	76 to 100	4
	101 to 150	5
	151 to 200	6
	201 to 300	7
	301 to 400	8
	401 to 500	9
	501 to 1,000	2% of required number of spaces
	1,001 or more	20, plus 1% of required number of spaces over 1,000

Location. Handicapped parking spaces shall be located where they would result in the shortest reasonable wheelchair-accessible distance to a handicapped accessible building entrance. Curb cuts shall be provided as needed to provide access from the handicapped spaces.

Minimum size. Each required handicapped parking space shall be eight feet by 18 feet. In addition, each space shall be adjacent to a five-foot-wide access aisle. Such access aisle may be shared by two handicapped spaces by being placed between them. However, one out of every eight required handicapped parking spaces shall have an adjacent access aisle of eight-foot width instead of five feet.

Slope. Handicapped parking spaces shall be located in areas of less than 6% slope in any direction.

Marking. All required handicapped spaces shall be well-marked by clearly visible signs and permanent markings.

[Amended 12-17-2001 by Ord. No. 2001-311]

§ 190-168 Design standards for off-street parking facilities.

General requirements.

Every parking facility shall be designed so that its use does not constitute a nuisance, hazard or unreasonable impediment to traffic.

Every parking area shall be arranged for orderly, safe movement.

No parking area shall be designed to require or encourage parked vehicles to back into a public or private street in order to leave a parking space, except for a single-family or two-family dwelling backing onto a road other than a major or minor arterial road.

Every parking area shall be designed so that each motor vehicle may proceed to and from the parking space provided for it without requiring the moving of any other motor vehicle, except those of a single-family or two-family dwelling.

No parking area shall be located within:

A required buffer yard; or

Ten feet of a septic system absorption area.

(6)

All parking areas shall include clearly defined and marked traffic patterns, with the utmost care taken to provide for safe internal traffic movement and to avoid conflicts between vehicles and pedestrians.

Parking spaces.

Each parking space shall at a minimum consist of a rectangle with a minimum width of nine feet and a minimum length of 18 feet, except that a minimum length of 22 feet shall be required for parallel parking.

All spaces shall be marked so as to indicate their location, except those of a single-family or two-family dwelling.

Aisles.

Each aisle providing access to stalls for one-way traffic only shall be at least the minimum aisle width specified as follows:

	Angle of Parking (degrees)	Minimum Aisle Width (feet)
	Parallel or up to 30	12
	45	14
	60	18
	90	20

Each aisle providing access to stalls for two-way traffic shall be at least 25 feet in width.

No aisle shall exceed 200 feet in length.

Parking within and obstruction of a required aisle shall be prohibited.

Access drives and driveways.

Driveway width.

Unless a differing requirement is established by PennDOT along a state street, for common driveways serving four or more dwelling units, or for any driveway or accessway serving a nonresidential principal use, the following driveway widths shall apply, measured at the curbline (or at the edge of street paving if no curb will exist):

For two-way traffic: a minimum width of 24 feet and a maximum width of 50 feet.

For one-way traffic: a minimum width of 12 feet and a maximum width of 20 feet.

All other driveways shall have a minimum width of seven feet and a maximum width of 24 feet.

All driveways shall be set back from any property line a minimum distance of five feet.

[Added 12-17-2001 by Ord. No. 2001-311; amended 7-1-2002 by Ord. No. 2002-320]

Driveway slope. See § 165-67 of the Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance (SALDO). If the Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance does not apply to a proposed driveway, then the same slope requirements as stated in the SALDO shall apply by reference through this Zoning Ordinance.

Adequate provisions shall be made to maintain uninterrupted parallel drainage along a public street at the point of driveway or access drive entry.

At least 50 feet shall be provided between any two driveways along one street for one lot.

See the minimum separation distance between driveways and streets in § 165-67 of the Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance.

(6)

All driveways to be constructed, paved or resurfaced shall require a driveway construction permit. If access is to a state street or road, a state highway occupancy permit shall be obtained.

[Added 12-17-2001 by Ord. No. 2001-311]

(7)

Where access drives and driveways are proposed as part of a subdivision or land development, the provisions of the Township Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance shall also be met.

(8)

Sight distance for driveways. See § 190-194C(2).

Paving, grading, surface drainage. Except for areas that are landscaped and so maintained, all parking facilities, including parking access aisles and driveways, shall be graded, surfaced with asphalt, concrete, decorative paving block or other appropriate material approved by the Township, and drained to the extent necessary to prevent dust, erosion or excessive water flow across streets or adjoining properties.

Nighttime illumination.

Any parking area designed for use by six or more cars after dusk shall be adequately illuminated for security and pedestrian safety during all hours of darkness when the parking area is in use. The minimum illumination of such parking spaces and aisles shall be 0.75 footcandle, except that a minimum of 0.5 footcandle is permitted for industrial uses.

All luminaires shall be adequately shielded and directed to protect adjacent dwellings and motorists on public streets from glare. See also screening requirements of § 190-168I. See also § 190-161, Light and glare control, especially concerning maximum height of a luminaire.

Parking lot setbacks. The following requirements shall apply to uses other than single- and two-family dwellings.

All parking spaces and driveways shall be at least five feet from any side or rear lot lines, unless the uses share a parking lot and access or unless the adjacent lots involve buildings that are attached at the lot line, or unless shared abutting driveways are approved by the Township.

No parking space nor outdoor display of articles or vehicles for sale or rent shall be located within the right-of-way required to be reserved for future dedication under § 190-196.

Parking setback from buildings. No parking space or parking access aisle shall be located within 15 feet of any apartment building of four or more dwelling units or any townhouse building or within 10 feet of any nonresidential principal building. This setback shall not apply for driveways entering into a private garage, carport or vehicle service garage bay. This requirement is intended to allow sufficient space for walkways, foundation landscaping and firefighting. This requirement may be waived or reduced by the Zoning Officer if the Planning Commission finds that the requirement would be unreasonable or unsafe considering the characteristics of the site.

Parking setback from arterial and collector streets. No off-street parking space nor outdoor display of articles or vehicles for sale or rent shall be located within 15 feet of the proposed curbline (or of the proposed legal right-of-way for a street that will not be curbed) of a minor arterial street for lots that include parking spaces for more than five cars and less than 60 cars. This setback shall be a minimum of 30 feet for lots including a total of 60 or more off-street parking spaces. Such setback shall be five feet for a collector street.

Parking lot landscaping. The following shall apply for uses other than single-family or two-family dwellings.

All areas not serving as parking spaces, aisles, access drives or pedestrian walkways shall be covered with an all-season ground cover and be well-maintained.

Except where entrance and exit driveways cross street lines, all parking areas shall be physically separated from any public street by a raised curb or landscaped berm and an area not less than 10 feet in depth (measured from the right-of-way line) which shall be permanently landscaped and maintained.

Any lot that would include more than 30 parking spaces shall be required to provide landscaped areas within the paved area. This required landscaped area shall be equal to a minimum of 5% of the total paved area.

One deciduous tree of a minimum caliper of 1.5 inches shall be required for every 15 required off-street parking spaces. The trees shall be of the same species as listed in the Township Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance.

A substantial proportion of the trees required by this section should be planted within the parking lot within protected islands. These protected islands should be used to direct the flow of traffic through the parking lot in a smooth and safe manner to prevent "cross-taxiing." Required trees are also encouraged to be planted in highly visible locations, especially between parking areas and major streets.

Screening. Any area of six or more off-street parking spaces which is not within a building that abuts or is across the street from any residential lot in an LDR, MDR, HDR or HDR-II District or an existing primarily residential use shall be provided with a suitable fence, wall or evergreen planting at least four feet in height, designed to screen the parked vehicles and headlight glare from such residential lot.

[Added 12-17-2001 by Ord. No. 2001-311]

§ 190-169 Parking of commercial, unlicensed and junk vehicles in residential districts.

Commercial vehicles.

[Amended 11-13-1995 by Ord. No. 261; 12-17-2001 by Ord. No. 2001-311; 6-29-2010 by Ord. No. 2010-395]

Applicability. This Subsection A shall apply to the following:

Within any lot in any district occupied by a primarily residential use.

Within a lot without a principal building within the LDR, MDR, HDR or HDR-II District.

Within on-street parking spaces within 25 feet of a lot occupied by a primarily residential use within the LDR, MDR, HDR or HDR-11 District.

In locations specified in Subsection A(1) above, no commercial vehicle with a PennDOT registration of Class 5 or higher shall be sold, stored, repaired, dismantled or parked.

Exceptions:

Routine operations as may be permitted within a lawful principal business nonconforming use or home occupation use.

The on-site construction or repair of buildings, streets and utilities.

Routine service or delivery calls by commercial vehicles or routine loading or unloading of moving trucks.

(d)

A single, operable commercial vehicle with a PennDOT registration of up to Class 5, unless otherwise approved elsewhere in a Township ordinance or by zoning variance, may be parked in a residential zone if the vehicle is necessary for the occupation of the resident, including a lawful home occupation. If parking is available on the lot, the vehicle shall be parked there; otherwise, it shall be parked on the street immediately adjacent to the lot.

Junk and unlicensed vehicles. In the LDR, MDR, HDR pr HDR-II Districts, or on primarily residential lots in other districts, on lots of less than five acres, no junk vehicles (as defined in Article II herein) shall be parked outside of an enclosed building, except as specifically permitted for an auto service station, auto repair garage, junkyard or other lawful use. For parking an unlicensed or junk vehicle on public streets, reference is made to the Pennsylvania State Motor Vehicle Code[1] or the Palmer Township Nuisance Code.[2]

[Amended 11-13-1995 by Ord. No. 261; 12-17-2001 by Ord. No. 2001-311]

Editor's Note: See 75 Pa.C.S.A. § 101 et seq.

Editor's Note: See Ch. 109, Nuisances.

In LDR, MDR, HDR or HDR-II Zoning Districts, all streets and off-street parking areas shall be reserved and used for automobile parking only. Not allowed in such zoning districts are sales, dead storage, repair work, dismantling or major servicing of any kind or any type of vehicles.

[Added 11-13-1995 by Ord. No. 261; amended 12-17-2001 by Ord. No. 2001-311]

§ 190-170 Off-street loading.

General requirements. Each use shall provide off-street loading facilities sufficient to accommodate the maximum demand generated by the use (as determined by the Zoning Officer or another applicable review agent for the Township), which comply with the regulations contained in this section.

Design and layout of off-street loading facilities. Off-street loading facilities shall be designed to conform to the following specifications:

Each off-street loading and unloading space shall be at least 14 feet in width by 60 feet in depth, unless the applicant proves to the satisfaction of the Township that the use will only utilize smaller trucks.

Each space shall have sufficient maneuvering room separate from other parking to eliminate traffic conflicts within off-street loading and parking areas.

Each space shall be located entirely on the lot being served and be so located that each space and all maneuvering room is outside of required buffer areas, yard areas, and rights-of-way.

An appropriate means of access to a street or alley shall be provided that the maximum width of driveways (measured at the street lot line) shall be 35 feet and that the minimum width shall be 20 feet.