Town of Leonardtown, MD Off-Street Parking

Where fractional spaces result, the parking spaces required shall be the next highest whole number.

The parking space requirements for a use not specifically listed on the chart shall be the same as for a listed use with similar characteristics of parking demand generation.

Where a building or premises is occupied by more than one use, the parking spaces required shall equal the sum of the requirements for each separate use.

Whenever a building or use constructed or established after the effective date of this chapter is changed or enlarged in floor area, number of employees, number of dwelling units, seating capacity or otherwise, to create a need for an increase of 10% or more in the number of existing parking spaces, such spaces shall be provided.

§ 155-50 Design standards.

Each automobile parking space shall be not less than 162 square feet, nor less than nine feet wide by 18 feet deep, with a twenty-five-foot parking aisle. In addition, there shall be provided adequate interior driveways and entrance and exit driveways to connect each public parking space with a public right-of-way.

[Amended 1-13-2014 by Ord. No. 159]

All such off-street parking facilities shall be so drained as to prevent damage to abutting properties or public streets and shall be designed and installed in accordance with the following standards:

Maximum gradient between vertical transitions shall be 1 3/4 inches per foot, 14%.

Parking spaces shall be installed with a maximum gradient of 5/8 inch per foot, 5%.

Commercial, industrial and all other than detached single-family driveways and parking areas shall be paved with a minimum of six inches of concrete, six inches of bituminous concrete or six inches of compacted gravel and two inches of bituminous concrete.

All parking spaces shall be separated from walkways, sidewalks, streets or alleys by curbing.

In addition, all parking areas shall comply with the following:

Screening in the form of a solid fence or shrubbery shall be required to protect neighboring residences from all parking lots hereafter constructed to contain 10 or more spaces. The location and construction of such screening shall be approved by the Planning and Zoning Commission.

Off-street parking facilities shall have adequate drainage. The off-street parking areas shall be fully maintained and not used for the sale, repair or dismantling or servicing of any vehicles, equipment, materials or supplies.

Off-street parking spaces shall be separated from public ways by a wall, fence or curbing or other approved protective device or by distance so that vehicles cannot protrude over publicly owned areas. All parking spaces, aisles, and turning areas shall be located entirely within the served property’s lot lines and shall not encroach upon or overhang any road, driveway, or other public right-of-way.

[Amended 5-9-2011 by Ord. No. 149]

Parking spaces in lots of more than five spaces shall be marked by painted lines or curbs or other means to indicate individual spaces. Signs or markers shall direct traffic flow. Off-street parking surfaces shall be maintained in good condition, and parking spaces lines or markings shall be kept clearly visible and distinct.

[Amended 5-9-2011 by Ord. No. 149]

(5)

Adequate lighting of minimal glare shall be provided if off-street parking spaces are to be used at night.

Special study. Where § 155-55, Chart B: Required Parking Spaces, indicates, or where a landowner opts to prove that less parking than required is actually necessary, a special study may be required. Any such study shall be prepared at the expense of the landowner, and any Town expense for professional review of such study shall be borne by the landowner. Such study may not be required if the Planning Commission is satisfied that less parking than required in § 155-55, Chart B: Required Parking Spaces, is necessary to support the use or uses proposed.

[Added 5-9-2011 by Ord. No. 149]

Contents of study. The special study shall be conducted by a transportation planner or engineer that provides a peak parking analysis of at least five similar uses. The similarity of the uses shall be documented in detail, including location of the uses, size, transportation, use restrictions, or other factors that could affect the parking demand.

Findings and conditions. The Town may substitute or rely on the special study for that specific property. The Planning Commission may require that space be reserved or land banked for additional parking if it finds that there is a high probability the use could change, thus requiring the number of parking spaces in Chart B, Required Parking Spaces.

Mixed uses and shared parking. Where a building is a mixed-use structure or a shopping center, or where a combination of uses is such that there are very different parking requirements in the same complex or uses are designed to share parking areas, the off-street parking requirements shall be calculated individually. However, it is understood that the uses may have very different hours of operation and peak parking demand hours. The Town desires to encourage the sharing of parking and reduced impervious surfaces. Thus, where a reduced parking need exists, the Town may reduce the number of spaces required. In such cases, a special study shall be conducted by a transportation planner or engineer that shall document the parking required for mixed uses by reviewing peak parking demand times for uses during a twenty-four-hour day and designing for the peak-hour demand. The study shall be prepared at the landowner's expense and shall provide data on the following:

(a)

The recommended parking needs of the project.

(b)

The sensitivity of the proposed uses to change. For example, a center with no restaurant could have significant changes in parking if a restaurant was added.

(c)

The experience of similar mixes of uses in other areas of the community.

(d)

The degree of variability of parking for individual uses (average, range, and standard deviation).

Reserved space. The Planning Commission may require a reserved open area if it is felt that the risk of parking needs changing over time warrants reserved parking. Once the project is occupied and well established, if there is a surplus of parking, the applicant may petition for additional development capacity and parking using the reserved area.

(5)

Multiple ownership. When the reduction is to be applied to uses on several lots under different ownership, the following shall be met:

(a)

A plan that provides for interconnected lots; and

(b)

Places cross easements on the parking areas and connections that permit parking by the different uses anywhere in the connected properties; and

(c)

A pedestrian circulation system that connects uses and parking areas, making it easy and convenient to move between uses.

Landscaping. It is intended that the application of the landscape standards set forth below will reduce the visual and environmental impacts of large expanses of parking areas. Breaking up of paved parking areas with plantings will provide improved aesthetics and microclimatic benefits by reducing heat and glare. Parking facilities with more than 10 parking spaces shall comply with the requirements set forth below:

[Amended 5-9-2011 by Ord. No. 149]

Interior landscaping. For surface parking facilities, at least 10% of the parking facility shall be permanently landscaped. The net parking facility shall include the area occupied by parking stalls, access drives, aisles, walkways, dead spaces and required separations from structures, but shall not include required street setbacks or access driveways or walkways within such setbacks.

Planting beds. All landscaping shall be contained in planting beds. Each planting bed shall have a minimum area of 25 square feet and shall be enclosed by appropriate curbing or similar device at least six inches wide and six inches in height above the paving surface.

Plant materials. Surface parking shall contain at least one tree for each five spaces of required parking. Each 10 spaces shall require an interior planting bed island or median a minimum of eight feet in width and 160 square feet in area. Fifty percent of all interior parking aisles or bays shall end in a minimum eight-foot-wide planting island. In addition to required trees, each planting bed, island or median shall contain appropriate ground cover or shrubbery.

	Parking lot planting to provide 1 tree per 5 parking spaces. Trees may be located in planting beds or medians as shown.

All plant materials that die within two years from the date of installation shall be replaced by the developer.

Access to parking areas and parking spaces.

[Added 5-9-2011 by Ord. No. 149]

Access to parking lots. Parking lots shall be designed to prevent access at any point other than at designated access drives.

Parking space location. Parking spaces shall not be located within 10 feet of an access driveway, measured from the property line. See Figure P-1 (Queuing Area).


	Figure P-1 Queuing Area

Internal maneuvering area. Parking areas shall provide suitable maneuvering room so that vehicles enter the street in a forward direction, except for single-family homes and duplexes.

Access to adjacent sites. Applicants for nonresidential developments are encouraged to provide shared vehicle and pedestrian access to adjacent nonresidential properties for convenience, safety and efficient circulation. A joint-access agreement guaranteeing the continued availability of the shared access between the properties and conveying with the land shall be recorded by the owners of the abutting properties, as approved by the Town Administrator.

[Added 5-9-2011 by Ord. No. 149]

Parking space and aisle width dimensions and design.

[Added 5-9-2011 by Ord. No. 149]

Parking spaces and aisle dimensions shall be designed and constructed in compliance with the minimum dimensional requirements shown in Figure P-2 and Table P-1.

All parking facilities shall comply with applicable federal and state requirements for accessibility and usability for those with disabilities. Spaces for those with disabilities may not be reduced in number or size or provided on parking surfaces that may hinder their access to any use.

	Figure P-2: Parking Space and Drive Aisle Dimensions [Amended 1-13-2014 by Ord. No. 159]

Table P-1: Parking Space and Drive Aisle Dimensions [Amended 1-13-2014 by Ord. No. 159]
	Minimum Dimensions
Angle of Parking	Parking Space Depth (feet)	Parking Space Width (feet)	Aisle Width¹ (feet)
0° (e.g., tandem or parallel parking)	24	8.6²	12
30° to 45°	19	9²	13
46° to 60°	21	9²	18
61° to 90°	18	9²	25

Note: The Town may require greater aisle widths where slopes or other obstructions are encountered.

NOTES:
¹	Drive aisles for 30° to 45° and 46° to 60° angled parking shown in Figure P-2 and Table P-1 accommodate only one-way traffic and must provide access and egress from separate ends of each aisle.
²	Visibility. Drive aisles shall be designed and located so that adequate visibility is ensured for pedestrians, bicyclists, and motorists when entering individual parking spaces, circulating within a parking facility, and entering or leaving a parking facility.

§ 155-51 Alternate off-premises parking.

Within the C-B, C-O and C-M Zoning Districts, where practical difficulties, including the acquisition of property or undue hardships, are encountered in providing off-street parking areas for the premises, the Planning and Zoning Commission may recommend the Town Council accept, in lieu thereof, a payment by the applicant to offset the parking deficiency that would result. The amount of such payment shall be determined by the Mayor and Council of Leonardtown. The amount of such payment shall be based on actual costs of existing available lots or estimates for design and construction of proposed parking spaces, including the fair market value of the land. Fees so paid shall be placed in a separate and sole account. The fee in lieu is intended for use in the downtown area where public parking would be available. (See map of downtown area, Attachment 3.).

[Amended 5-9-2011 by Ord. No. 149]

Parking facilities paid for by applicants under this section shall not be reserved for the use of each applicant but shall be considered in the public domain, and the Town will not establish a user charge in excess of the cost of annual maintenance.

§ 155-52 Marina parking.

One parking space must be provided per two marina boat slips.

§ 155-53 Shopping center parking requirements.

For a shopping center of less than 50,000 square feet of gross area, the required number of spaces shall be calculated according to the particular types of tenants in the shopping center.

For a shopping center of 50,000 square feet or more of gross area, five parking spaces per 1,000 square feet of gross area shall be provided.

The following landscaping will be required for shopping center parking lots:

Street frontage. A ten-foot-wide landscape strip wide enough for a sidewalk between the right-of-way and parking lot with a fence or wall two to four feet in height, or a berm 2 1/2 feet in height with a slope not to exceed 25%, or a hedge of nondeciduous species which shall be a minimum of two feet in height at the time of planting to form a screen a maximum of 2 1/2 feet in height shall be provided.

Interior landscaping. To break up the visual expansiveness of lots and to reduce glare and heat, at least 5% of the interior vehicular area must be landscaped. To achieve this objective, one of the following alternatives must be utilized:

(a)

Provide a continuous landscape strip between every four rows of parking. This should be a minimum of eight feet in width to accommodate a low hedge and shade trees;

(b)

Create large planting islands (over 600 square feet) to be located throughout the lot and planted with shade trees, low shrubs and/or ground cover. These should preferably be located at the ends of parking rows; or

(c)

Provide planting islands (a minimum of nine feet wide) between every 10 to 15 spaces to avoid long rows of parked cars. Each of these planting islands should provide at least one shade tree having a clear trunk height of at least six feet.

Perimeter landscaping. An eight-foot-wide landscape strip shall be provided around the perimeter of the lot, to be planted with shade trees and low shrubs. A minimum of one shade tree per every 40 feet of lot perimeter shall be provided.

§ 155-54 Landscaping of parking facilities.

It is intended that the application of the landscape standards set forth below will reduce the visual and environmental impacts of large expanses of parking areas. Breaking up of paved parking areas with plantings will provide improved aesthetics and microclimatic benefits by reducing heat and glare.

Parking facilities with more than 10 spaces shall comply with the requirements set forth below: