[Amended 3-13-1979 by Doc. 299-C]
After the effective date of this chapter, off-street
parking and loading spaces shall be provided for every new structure,
the enlargement of an existing structure, the development of a new
land use or any change in an existing use in accordance with Table
1: Table of Use and Parking Regulations[1] and the requirements contained therein; excepting that
any/all parking requirements shall be waived for any properties fronting
upon either the northerly or southerly side of either the Merrimack
Street, Washington Square and/or Washington Street right-of-way as
bounded in total, easterly by Main Street and westerly by Railroad
Square.
[1]
Editor's Note: Table 1: Table of Use and Parking
Regulations is included at the end of this chapter.
[Added 3-13-1979 by Doc. 299-C]
Handicapped parking spaces shall be provided
in accordance with the Massachusetts Architectural Barrier Board Rules
and Regulations.
[Amended 6-10-1992 by Doc. 52-C]
The Parking Code stipulated in the Table 1:
Table of Use and Parking Requirements shall represent the respective
requirements stated below:
|
PARKING CODE REGULATIONS
| |
|---|---|
|
Parking Code
|
Requirements
|
|
A
|
1 1/2 spaces per dwelling unit
|
|
B
|
1 space for each 100 square feet of gross floor
area
|
|
C
|
1 space for each 200 square feet of gross floor
area
|
|
D
|
1 space for each 250 square feet of gross floor
area
|
|
E
|
1 space for each 300 square feet of gross floor
area
|
|
F
|
1 space for each 600 square feet of gross floor
area
|
|
G
|
1 space for each 800 square feet of gross floor
area
|
|
H
|
1 space for each 4 seats at design capacity
|
|
I
|
2 per classroom in an elementary school; 3 per
classroom in middle and junior high school; 4 per classroom, plus
1 space for every 4 seats of the total seating capacity of the auditorium
or gymnasium, whichever has the largest capacity, in a senior high
school
[Amended 2-18-1992 by Doc. 17-B] |
|
J
|
1 space per unit for rent
|
[Amended 6-10-1992 by Doc. 52-C]
Off-street parking areas shall be designed to
comply with one or a combination of the following minimum standards.
(Up to 35% of required parking spaces shall be allowed to have a reduced
width of not less than 7.5 feet to accommodate compact and subcompact
cars, with corresponding aisle width reductions for such areas subject
to a determination by the Building Inspector.)
For every building hereafter erected for retail
and service commercial, and wholesale, transportation and industrial,
and community facility use, as specified in Table 1: Table of Use
and Parking Regulations, and for every such use hereinafter established
in an existing building or area, the following off-street loading
and unloading requirements shall prevail:
|
LOADING REGULATIONS
| ||
|---|---|---|
|
Loading Spaces Required
| ||
|
Building Gross Floor Area
(square feet)
|
Retail and Service Commercial, Wholesale,
Transportation and Industrial
|
Community Facility
|
|
0 to 3,000
|
1
|
0
|
|
3,001 to 25,000
|
2
|
0
|
|
25,001 to 50,000
|
3
|
1
|
|
50,001 to 75,000
|
4
|
2
|
|
75,001 to 100,000
|
5
|
2
|
|
over 100,000
|
5, plus 1 space for each 50,000 square feet
or fraction thereof over 100,000 square feet
|
2, plus 1 for each 100,000 square feet or fraction
thereof over 100,000 square feet
|
The first off-street loading and unloading space
herein required for a building shall be at least 12 feet in width,
35 feet in length and have a minimum vertical clearance of 14 feet.
All additional required spaces shall be at least 12 feet in width,
55 feet in length and have a minimum vertical clearance of 14 feet.
Parking or loading spaces being maintained in
any district in connection with any existing use on the effective
date of this chapter shall not be decreased so long as said use remains,
unless a number of parking or loading spaces is constructed elsewhere
such that the total number of spaces conforms to the requirements
of the foregoing tables, provided that this regulation shall not require
the maintenance of more parking or loading spaces than is required
according to the tables, and further provided that this provision
will not be applied when such space is acquired for public purposes.
When the computation of required parking or
loading spaces results in the requirement of a fractional space, any
fraction over 1/2 shall require one space.
Parking required for two or more buildings or
uses may be provided in combined facilities on the same or adjacent
lots, subject to approval by the Building Inspector, where it is evident
that such facilities will continue to be available for the several
buildings or uses and the total number provided is consistent with
the combined requirement of the respective uses.
Required off-street parking or loading spaces
which after development are later designated as, and accepted by the
City for, off-street parking or loading purposes shall continue to
serve the uses or structures to meet these requirements so long as
said use or structure remains.
A.
Required off-street parking and loading spaces shall
be provided on the same lot as the principal use they are required
to serve or, when practical difficulties as determined by the Board
prevent their establishment upon the same lot, they shall be established
no further than 300 feet from the premises to which they are appurtenant.
B.
No off-street parking space for a use permitted in any C or I District shall be allowed in any R or S District except within 100 feet of and with driveway access from such C or I District and when screened as in § 255-24 and only when permitted by the Board.
C.
For residential uses (one-, two- or three-family),
parking in the front yard shall be allowed only in the driveway or
in a backup strip adjacent to the driveway. Any paved areas including
the driveway shall not cover more than 50% of the front yard.
[Added 6-10-1992 by Doc. 52-C]
D.
For nonresidential uses, a fifteen-foot-wide landscaped
strip shall be provided between the parking area and the street right-of-way
except in a CC District and a CM District where a minimum of an eight-foot-wide
landscaped strip shall be provided.
[Added 6-10-1992 by Doc. 52-C; amended 8-14-2001 by Doc. 97-CC]
All parking and loading areas containing over
five spaces, including automotive and drive-in establishments of all
types, shall be either contained within structures, or subject to
the following:
A.
The parking area and access driveways thereto shall
be surfaced with bituminous or cement concrete material and shall
be graded and drained so as to dispose of all surface water accumulation.
B.
A substantial bumper of masonry, steel, granite or
heavy timber, or a concrete curb or berm curb which is backed, shall
be placed at the edge of surfaced areas except driveways in order
to protect abutting structures, properties and sidewalks and screening
materials.
C.
Any fixture used to illuminate any area shall be so
arranged as to direct the light away from the street and away from
adjoining premises used for residential purposes.
D.
There shall not be any vehicle repair or gasoline
or oil service facilities or any repair made to any motor vehicles
except on a lot occupied by a permitted automotive use. Any gasoline
or oil facilities shall be at least 25 feet from any lot line.
E.
There shall not be any storage of materials or equipment
or display of merchandise within required parking area except as part
of approved building operations or by approval of the proper authority.
G.
Parking and loading spaces other than those required
for single- and two-family dwellings shall be so arranged as not to
permit backing of automobiles onto any street.
H.
Any portion of any entrance or exit driveway shall
not be closer than 50 feet to the curbline of an intersecting street.
I.
Any two driveways leading to or from a street to or
from a single lot shall not be within 30 feet of each other at their
intersections with the front lot line.
J.
Any entrance or exit driveway shall not exceed 30
feet in width at its intersection with the front lot line.
[Amended 8-14-1974 by Doc. 188]
All line-up spaces shall be at least nine feet
wide and 18 feet long and may be arranged end to end, and located
off the street.
[Added 10-28-1997 by Doc. 147-B]
No driveway shall be used to provide access
to more than two residential dwellings. Any driveway used to provide
access to more than one residential dwelling shall not exceed 200
feet in length.
[Added 1-7-2014]
A.
The parking requirements in Sub-Zone B shall follow the regulations as set forth in § 255-144 of the Merrimack Street Gateway Renaissance Overlay District.
B.
There is no off-street parking requirement in Sub-zones A, C, and
D except for the following:
|
Use
|
Parking Requirement
| |
|---|---|---|
|
Multifamily residential
|
1 parking space per unit
| |
|
Artist live/work unit
|
1 parking space per unit
|
C.
The parking requirements in Sub-zones E, F, G, and H are as follows:
|
Use
|
Parking Requirement
| |
|---|---|---|
|
Multifamily residential
|
1.5 parking spaces per unit
| |
|
Artist live/work unit
|
1.5 parking space per unit
| |
|
Galleries
|
1 space for every 250 square feet of gross floor area
| |
|
Retail use primarily serving the local retail businesses or
service the needs of the neighborhood, including but not limited to
barber/beauty shop, shoe repair shop, self-service laundry, pickup
or delivery station of laundry or dry cleaning, or tailor shop
|
1 space for each 200 square feet of gross floor area
| |
|
Retail use selling one or more of the following, but not limited
to: food, baked goods, groceries, clothing, dry goods, books, art,
flowers, paint, hardware, and minor household appliances
|
1 space for each 200 square feet of gross floor area
| |
|
Retail uses exceeding 50,000 square feet of gross floor area
|
1 space for each 200 square feet of gross floor area
| |
|
Restaurant, coffee shop, diner, luncheonette and/or sandwich
shop (non-drive-through) with outdoor seating oriented toward the
river where applicable
|
1 space for every 3 seats
| |
|
Bar (no live entertainment and/or dancing)
|
1 space for every 3 seats
| |
|
Dairy or ice cream bar (non-drive-through window)
|
1 space for every 3 seats
| |
|
Bank and/or other financial institutions (with or without a
drive-through)
|
1 space for each 250 square feet of gross floor area
| |
|
Inn, hotel, or bed-and-breakfast establishment
|
1 space per unit
| |
|
Marinas
|
0.6 space per recreational slip and 1 space per commercial slip
| |
|
General office uses unless otherwise specified
|
1 space for each 300 square feet of gross floor area
| |
|
Professional offices - accountant's office, architect's
and/or engineer's office, attorney's office, dentist's
office, insurance office, medical clinic, real estate office
|
1 space for each 250 square feet of gross floor area
| |
|
Churches and other places of worship
|
1 space for each 4 seats at design capacity
| |
|
Nonprofit educational facility which is religious, sectarian,
denominational or public, not to include any student living quarters
or any type of trade school or nursery school
|
2 per classroom in an elementary school; 3 per classroom in
a middle and junior high school; 4 per classroom, plus 1 space for
every 4 seats of the total seating capacity of the auditorium or gymnasium,
whichever has the largest capacity, in a senior high school
| |
|
City governmental building (unless otherwise specified)
|
1 space for each 300 square feet of gross floor area
| |
|
City auditorium
|
1 space for each 4 seats at design capacity
| |
|
Historical association or society
|
1 space for each 300 square feet of gross floor area
| |
|
Hospital
|
1.25 per bed at design capacity
| |
|
Membership clubs, lodges and/or societies
|
1 space for every 3 seats
| |
|
Indoor recreational facility or sports facility
|
1 space for each 300 square feet of gross floor area
| |
|
Cultural uses such as a library, museum, gallery, concert hall,
theater, auditorium, performance space, aquarium, or historical exhibit
open to the public generally
|
1 space for each 250 square feet of gross floor area
| |
|
Professional and/or business schools for profit (includes dance,
music, art, other professional and/or business schools)
|
2 per classroom in an elementary school; 3 per classroom in
a middle and junior high school; 4 per classroom, plus 1 space for
every 4 seats of the total seating capacity of the auditorium or gymnasium,
whichever has the largest capacity, in a senior high school
|
(1)
The parking requirements may be accommodated by either providing
parking on site or off site or a combination of on-site parking and/or
parking at municipal or other parking facilities in the vicinity of
the proposed use.
(2)
If the required parking is provided on site, the design of the parking shall conform to the specifications as set forth in § 255-45 the Zoning Ordinance. In addition, on-site parking areas shall meet the following requirements:
(a)
Parking and loading areas shall be hidden from view from public
ways. Parking lots are not permitted in the front of buildings and
should be located at the side or rear of a lot or in concealed structures,
wherever possible.
(b)
Parking and loading areas shall be suitably screened visually
from the street and abutters. Any views into parking areas shall be
minimized through use of landscaping or architectural treatment.
(c)
Parking areas shall provide pedestrian walkways and connections
to the sidewalk system.
(3)
If the required parking is provided at municipal or other parking
facilities, the following requirements must be met:
(a)
The parking facility must be less than 1,000 feet from the proposed
development, the distance to be measured in a straight line from the
two closest points between the proposed use and the parking facility.
(b)
If using a municipal facility, the owner must purchase parking
stickers from the City if available or lease the required number of
spaces to satisfy the parking requirement.
D.
Reduction in the parking requirement.
(1)
The required amount of parking may be reduced at the discretion
of the PAA upon showing that the lesser amount of parking will not
cause excessive congestion, endanger public safety, or that the lesser
amount of parking will provide positive environmental or other benefits.
The Plan Approval Authority may consider:
(a)
The availability of surplus off-street parking in the vicinity
of the use being served and/or the proximity of a bus or a MBTA transit
station.
(b)
The availability of public or commercial parking facilities
in the vicinity of the use.
(c)
Shared use of off-street parking spaces serving other uses having
peak user demands at different times.
(d)
Age, income or other characteristics of the likely applicants
which are likely to result in a lower level of auto usage.
(e)
Such other factors as may be considered by the Approval Authority,
including whether the reduction of the parking requirement is likely
to encourage the use of public transportation or encourage a proposed
development to be more pedestrian friendly.
(2)
If one or more is applicable and the PAA determines it is in
the best interest of the City, a reduction in the parking requirements
can be approved.
E.
Shared parking in Sub-Zone E. Any off-street parking required by
this section in Sub-Zone E for any building or use may be included
as part of any off-street parking area similarly required for another
building or use on the same site only when the type of buildings or
uses indicate that the usage of such parking area would not occur
simultaneously, as determined by the Economic Development Director.
