Township of Cheltenham, PA Article XXIII Parking and Loading

§ 295-2300 Legislative intent.

A. In expansion of the declaration of legislative intent found in Article I of this chapter and the statement of community development objectives found in Article I, the intent of this article, among others, is as follows:

(1) Allow flexibility in addressing parking, loading, and access by permitting construction of a reduced number of parking spaces under appropriate conditions.

(2) Set reasonable standards and provide reasonable controls to ensure sufficient parking capacity for the uses or potential uses of land in the Township.

(3) Prevent hazards to public safety caused by the intrusion of parking upon public rights-of-way.

§ 295-2301 General parking regulations.

A. All parking areas shall comply with the requirements of the Township Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance and the Stormwater Management Ordinances.[1]

[1] Editor's Note: See Ch. 260, Subdivision and Land Development, Ch. 290, Watershed Stormwater Management, and Ch. 291, Watershed Stormwater Management for Wissahickon Creek Watershed.

B. Pedestrian access. Safe provisions for pedestrian access to and through a parking lot shall be required. Surface parking areas and pedestrian walkways connecting to them shall be well-lit.

C. Parking lots fronting on a street shall be continuously screened by a three-foot high wall/fence or plantings. Commercial parking lots located to the side or rear of the property adjacent to a residential use shall be continuously screened by a six-foot high wall/fence or plantings. Native landscaping is preferred. Screening shall include:

(1) Plantings, at a maximum of 36 inches in mature height; or

(2) Mixed plantings (trees and shrubs); or

(3) Wall sections, with no wall break more than nine feet, and landscaping to provide a continuous screen.

(4) Vehicular access. Vehicular access to surface parking shall be from an alley or side street where possible.

(5) Location of surface parking (see Figure 1).

Figure 1: Parking Design Guidelines

Parking is placed to the rear and side of principal buildings and connects adjoining properties.

(a) Surface parking shall be located to the rear of the principal building or to the side (however, parking shall not be located between a building and the street).

(b) Parking shall be set back 10 feet from the ultimate right-of-way.

(c) Corner lots. Surface parking shall not be permitted on corner lots that are located on major collector or higher classification highways. Parking shall not be the primary use of such corner lots.

(d) Off-street surface parking shall not extend more than 70 feet in width along any pedestrian street frontage without an outdoor cafe, urban garden, plaza, square, courtyard, or landscaping feature with seating.

(6) Interconnected parking areas. New parking areas on abutting nonresidential lots should be interconnected by access driveways. Each nonresidential lot shall provide cross-access easements for its parking areas and access driveways guaranteeing access to adjacent lots for future connections. Interconnections shall be logically placed and easily identifiable to ensure convenient traffic flow.

D. Surface parking space design standards.

(1) Marking of spaces. Nonresidential parking spaces and multifamily parking spaces shall be striped on pavement or designated with some other form of permanent marking.

(2) Dimensions.

(a) Standard spaces. A required off-street parking space shall be at least nine feet in width and 18 feet in length exclusive of any access drives, aisles, or columns.

(b) Parallel parking. Parallel parking spaces shall be at least 22 feet in length and 10 feet in width.

(c) Aisles shall not be less than 24 feet wide for ninety-degree parking, 16 feet wide for sixty-degree parking, 14 feet wide for forty-five-degree parking and 12 feet wide for parallel parking (see Figure 2).

Figure 2: Parking Dimensions

Arrows indicate required direction of traffic flow.

(3) The angle shall be measured between the center line of the parking space and the center line of the aisle. No parking shall be allowed in the aisles. Driveway entrances shall not exceed 24 feet when crossing sidewalks.

(4) Bicycle parking. Parking lots or parking structures containing more than 50 spaces, shall provide one bicycle parking space for every 20 parking spaces in bike racks in close proximity to the building entrance.

(5) Alternative fuel vehicle parking. Parking lots or parking structures containing more than 100 spaces, at least three out of every 100 spaces shall be reserved for electric or hybrid vehicles, which may include electric vehicle charging stations.

(6) Maximum parking. No more than 120% of the required minimum parking is permitted.

(7) On-site parking reduction.

(a) For existing uses or existing parking lots, parking spaces cannot be reduced below the minimum required parking under this article or the number of existing spaces on the property, whichever is less.

(b) For each application submitted to the Township, the applicant shall supply the required parking, except that for each use the Township Zoning Officer may reduce the number of required on-site spaces up to 100% based on a parking study provided by the applicant that demonstrates that parking spaces are supplied. Parking spaces can only be counted once. On-site parking can be reduced up to 100% if the number of required parking spaces may be supplied by one or more of the following conditions:

[1] The use is located within 400 feet walking distance from a public parking facility. The use can count up to maximum of 10% of the public parking facility.

[2] On-street parking is provided directly in front of the building.

[3] Shared parking meets the requirements of § 295-2301F.

[4] The use is within 400 feet of a train station. The use can count up to maximum of 10% of the train station parking facility.

(8) Parking held in reserve. If the number of spaces required by § 295-2301E of this article is substantially larger than the number of spaces anticipated by the applicant, then the applicant may hold some of the parking in reserve in order to avoid unnecessary paving while ensuring adequate area for potential parking demands. Holding parking in reserve shall be permitted by Special Exception, provided the following standards are satisfied:

(a) Suitable area shall be defined on the site for 100% of the parking required by 295-2301E of this article.

(b) The number of spaces which shall be paved initially may be reduced by up to 50% by the Zoning Hearing Board. All stormwater engineering shall be designed based on total parking requirements, including the reserve.

(c) Suitable area shall be reserved for the balance of the total number of spaces required by § 295-2301E of this article; these spaces shall be constructed by the applicant if and when determined necessary by the Zoning Hearing Board.

(d) This area shall be kept as landscaped lawn area but can be used as overflow parking without paving if it can be proven by the applicant that such overflow parking on landscaped areas is infrequent and maintenance of the lawn area will not be disrupted by the overflow parking.

(e) If the parking spaces held in reserve are to be paved, the Township strongly recommends the use of grass pavers to maintain the look of a green, landscaped yard and mitigate the increased stormwater runoff.

(f) The Zoning Hearing Board may require the installation of the parking spaces held in reserve when there is evidence of a continued overflow of parking that is resulting in damage to the landscaped lawn area.

(g) The applicant and the Township shall enter into an escrow agreement which shall describe how and when the spaces held in reserve shall be constructed if the Zoning Hearing Board determines that they are necessary.

(h) To qualify for use of the reserve parking concept, the applicant shall provide evidence supporting reduced parking needs to the Zoning Hearing Board.

E. Parking requirements by land use. Parking space requirements by use or multiple uses on a site shall follow the minimum standards found in the table below, unless and until the standards from § 295-2301D(7) and (8) are satisfied, as applicable.

Land Use Code	Land Use Type	Spaces Required
Commercial Uses
B-1	Automotive Sales	1 for each 300 square feet of gross floor area
B-2	Automotive Service	1 per 400 square feet of gross floor area or 3 per service bay, whichever is greater
B-3	Bank	4 per indoor teller window, plus 2 per walk-up ATM
B-4	Bed-and-Breakfast	1 off-street parking space for the owner-occupant and 1 additional off-street parking space per guest room shall be required; tandem parking may be used Off-street parking areas not more than 200 feet from the building and secured by deed, lease, or other contract for guest use may be used to satisfy the parking requirement
B-5	Building Materials	1 for every 300 square feet of gross floor area of space devoted to sales/service
B-6	Car Wash	5 per lane
B-7	Club	1 per 150 square feet of gross floor area
B-8	Commercial School	1 for each student classroom, plus 1 for each 5 students or 1 for each 3 auditorium or stadium seats, whichever is greater
B-9	Convenience Store	1 for every 250 square feet of gross floor area
B-10	Dry Cleaners (Dropoff)	1 for each 300 square feet of gross patron floor area
B-11	Dry Cleaners (On-Site)	1 for each 1,000 square feet of gross floor area, excluding office space; office uses shall follow the E-1: Office Building requirements
B-12	Event Facility	1 per 100 square feet of gross floor area dedicated to patron use exclusive of kitchens and storage areas but including nonlandscaped outdoor areas intended for patron use such as patios or porches
B-13	Farmers' Market	1 for each vendor
B-14	Funeral Home	1 for each 100 square feet of gross patron floor area
B-15	Hotel/Inn	1 per rental unit, plus 1 per 200 square feet of gross floor area in common or public use (lobby, bar, meeting rooms, etc.)
B-16	Laundry (Self-Service)	1 for every 3 washing or drying machines, whichever is greater
B-17	Mixed Use Building	The total parking of each individual use located within the mixed use building
B-20a	Personal Care Business-A	For CDEP Areas:	No parking is required for the first 450 square feet of gross floor area space devoted to sales/service; 1 is required for each additional 300 square feet of gross floor area of space devoted to sales/service
		For All Other Areas:	1 for every 300 square feet of gross floor area of space devoted to sales/service
B-20b	Personal Care Business-B	For CDEP Areas:	No parking is required for the first 450 square feet of gross floor area space devoted to sales/service; 1 is required for each additional 300 square feet of gross floor area of space devoted to sales/service
		For All Other Areas:	1 for every 300 square feet of gross floor area of space devoted to sales/service
B-21	Professional Service Business	For CDEP Areas:	No parking is required for the first 450 square feet of gross floor area space devoted to sales/service; 1 is required for each additional 300 square feet of gross floor area of space devoted to sales/service
		For All Other Areas:	1 for every 300 square feet of gross floor area of space devoted to sales/service
B-22	Radio/TV Station	1 for every 300 square feet of gross floor area of space devoted to sales/service
B-23	Rental Agencies (Vehicles)	1 for every 200 square feet of gross floor area of space devoted to sales/service
B-24	Repair Shop	1 for every 300 square feet of gross floor area
B-25	Restaurant	For CDEP Areas:	No parking is required for the first 400 square feet of gross patron floor area; 1 is required per each additional 100 square feet of gross patron floor area
		For All Other Areas:	1 per 100 square feet of gross patron floor area
B-26	Retail Take-Out Foods	For CDEP Areas:	No parking is required for the first 300 square feet of gross patron floor area; 1 is required per each additional 75 square feet of gross patron floor area
		For All Other Areas:	1 per 75 square feet of gross patron floor area
B-27	Retail Shop	For CDEP Areas:	No parking is required for the first 450 square feet of gross floor area of space devoted to sales/service; 1 is required for each additional 300 square feet of gross floor area of space devoted to sales/service
		For All Other Areas:	1 for every 300 square feet of gross floor area of space devoted to sales/service
B-28	Retail Store	For CDEP Areas:	No parking is required for the first 450 square feet of gross floor area of space devoted to sales/service; 1 is required for each additional 300 square feet of gross floor area of space devoted to sales/service
		For All Other Areas:	1 for every 300 square feet of gross floor area of space devoted to sales/service
B-29	Supermarket	1 for every 300 square feet of gross floor area
B-30	Service Station	0.5 per pump
B-31	Shopping Center	The sum of the spaces required for each individual use, unless shared parking is established consistent with § 295-2301F
B-32	Lifestyle Centers	The sum of the spaces required for each individual use, unless shared parking is established consistent with § 295-2301F
B-33	Storage Facility (Self-Service)	1 per 5,000 square feet of gross floor area
B-34	Studio for Dance, Art, Music, Yoga, Martial Arts, Etc.	1 per 800 square feet of gross floor area
B-35	Tavern/Bar	1 per 100 square feet of gross patron floor area
B-36	Veterinary Clinic	1 for each 400 square feet of gross floor area
B-37	Motel	1 per rental unit, plus 1 per 200 square feet of gross floor area in common or public use (lobby, bar, meeting rooms, etc.)
B-38	Pet Grooming	1 for every 300 square feet of gross floor area of space devoted to sales/service
B-39	Tobacco Store	1 per 150 square feet of gross floor area
B-40	Medical Marijuana Dispensary	1 for every 250 square feet of gross floor area
Industrial Uses
C-1	Assembly Plant	1 for each 1,000 square feet of gross floor area, excluding office space; office uses shall follow the E-1: Office Building requirements
C-2	Bus Terminal	1 for each 1,000 square feet of gross floor area, excluding office space; office uses shall follow the E-1: Office Building requirements
C-3	Contracting Shop	1 for each 1,000 square feet of gross floor area, excluding office space; office uses shall follow the E-1: Office Building requirements
C-4	Distribution Center	1 for each 1,000 square feet of gross floor area, excluding office space; office uses shall follow the E-1: Office Building requirements
C-5	Dry Cleaning/Laundry Plant	1 for each 1,000 square feet of gross floor area, excluding office space; office uses shall follow the E-1: Office Building requirements
C-6	Fuel Storage Facility	1 for each 1,000 square feet of gross floor area, excluding office space; office uses shall follow the E-1: Office Building requirements
C-7	Industrial Repair Shop	1 for each 1,000 square feet of gross floor area, excluding office space; office uses shall follow the E-1: Office Building requirements
C-8	Lumber Yards	1 for each 1,000 square feet of gross floor area, excluding office space; office uses shall follow the E-1: Office Building requirements
C-9	Manufacturing Plant	1 for each 1,000 square feet of gross floor area, excluding office space; office uses shall follow the E-1: Office Building requirements
C-10	Packaging Plant	1 for each 1,000 square feet of gross floor area, excluding office space; office uses shall follow the E-1: Office Building requirements
C-11	Printing/Publishing Shop	1 for each 1,000 square feet of gross floor area, excluding office space; office uses shall follow the E-1: Office Building requirements
C-12	Radio or Television Transmission Tower	1 for each 1,000 square feet of gross floor area, excluding office space; office uses shall follow the E-1: Office Building requirements
C-13	Research Facility	1 for every 600 square feet of gross floor area, excluding office space; office uses shall follow the E-1: Office Building requirements
C-14	Recycling Dropoff Facility	1 for each 1,000 square feet of gross floor area, excluding office space; office uses shall follow the E-1: Office Building requirements
C-15	Recycling Facility	1 for each 1,000 square feet of gross floor area, excluding office space; office uses shall follow the E-1: Office Building requirements
C-16	Truck Terminal	1 for each 1,000 square feet of gross floor area, excluding office space; office uses shall follow the E-1: Office Building requirements
C-17	Wholesale Facility	1 for each 1,000 square feet of gross floor area, excluding office space; office uses shall follow the E-1: Office Building requirements
C-18	Warehouse/Storage Facility	1 for each 1,000 square feet of gross floor area, excluding office space; office uses shall follow the E-1: Office Building requirements
C-19	Kennel	1 for each 400 square feet of gross floor area
C-20	Brewery/Distillery/Winery	1 for each 1,000 square feet of gross floor area, excluding office space; office uses shall follow the E-1: Office Building requirements
C-21	Microbrewery/Microdistillery/Microwinery	1 for each 1,000 square feet of gross floor area, excluding office space; office uses shall follow the E-1: Office Building requirements
Community Services Uses
D-1	Cemetery	Accessory sales offices, chapels, etc., shall comply with the requirements with the closest use categories herein
D-2	College or University	1 for each student classroom, plus 1 for each 5 students or 1 for each 3 auditorium or stadium seats, whichever is greater
D-3	Community Center	1 per 150 square feet of gross floor area
D-4	Adult/Child Day Care	1 for each 5 children or attendees
D-5	Dormitory (Parking requirement herein shall also be required of other "Group Quarters," including group homes, boardinghouses and rooming houses)	1 for each bed, plus 1 for each 8 beds for guest parking
D-6	Educational Facilities	Shall comply with the requirements for D-2: College or University, or D-12: School, Public/Private, as applicable
D-7	Hospital	1.5 per patient bed
D-8	Library or Museum	1 per 850 square feet of gross floor area
D-10	Nursing Home	1 per 3 beds
D-11	Place of Worship	1 per 100 square feet of gross floor area; for multiuse worship spaces, if the aggregate accessory uses comprise more than 10% of the total building area, parking shall comply with the standards for the other uses
D-12	School, Public/Private	2 per elementary school and middle school classroom, 8 per high school classroom
D-13	Art Gallery	1 per 850 square feet of gross floor area
D-14	Assisted Living Facility	1 per 3 beds
D-15	Life Care Facility/CCRC	1 per 3 beds dedicated to skilled nursing or assisting living, 1.5 per independent living
Office Uses
E-1	Office Building	For CDEP Areas:		No parking is required for the first 400 square feet of gross floor area; 1 per each additional 300 square feet of gross floor area
		For All Other Areas:		1 for every 300 square feet of gross floor area
E-2	Medical Clinic	1 for each 300 square feet of gross floor area
E-3	Medical Office	1 for each 300 square feet of gross floor area
E-4	Office Campus	1 for each 300 square feet of gross floor area
E-5	Professional Services	For CDEP Areas:		No parking is required for the first 400 square feet of gross floor area; 1 per each additional 300 square feet of gross floor area
		For All Other Areas:		1 for every 300 square feet of gross floor area
E-6	Substance Abuse Treatment and Rehabilitation Facilities	1 for each 300 square feet of gross floor area
E-7	Specialized Medical Services	1 for each 300 square feet of gross floor area
Entertainment/Recreational Uses
F-1	Amusement Arcade	1 per 250 square feet of gross floor area
F-2	Athletic/Health Club	1 per 250 feet of gross floor area
F-3	Golf Course	3 per hole; any clubhouse or event facility space use shall also comply with the parking requirements of B-7: Club, or B-17: Event Facility, as applicable
F-4	Movie Theater	1 per 5 seats
F-5	Outdoor Recreation	1 space for every 1,000 square feet of recreation court area; plus 1 space for every 400 square feet of publicly accessible area (excluding the parking area); plus 20 spaces, or portion thereof, per acre of active recreation field (e.g., baseball, soccer), plus 1 space per 40 square feet of pool area
F-6	Indoor Recreation	1 per 250 square feet of gross floor area; bowling alleys shall have 3 per lane
F-7	Public Grounds	As determined by the Township
F-8	Theater (Performing)	1 per 5 seats
F-9	Amphitheater	1 per 5 seats
Residential Uses
G-1	Multifamily Building/Unit	1.5 per unit
G-2	Multifamily Building Campus	1.5 per unit
G-3	Duplex Unit (Two-Family Semidetached)	2 per unit
G-5	Mobile Home Development	2 for each mobile home, plus 1 guest space for each 2 units
G-6	Single-Family Detached Dwelling	2 per unit
G-7	Townhouse Dwelling Unit (Single-Family Attached)	2 per unit
G-8	Twin Houses (Single-Family Semidetached)	2 per unit
G-9	Village Dwelling Unit	2 per unit
Utility Uses
H-2	Emergency Services	As determined by the Township
Any Other Use Not Expressly Listed Herein
Any use not specifically listed in this chapter shall provide parking spaces in compliance with the Parking Generation Manual of the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE), as last amended.

F. Shared parking. Shared parking is permitted for one property with multiple uses and/or between multiple properties. A shared parking agreement (for two uses) or a shared parking district (for more than two uses), which involves a written contractual agreement between users, is required. A shared parking agreement allows users an opportunity, if they choose, to redesign parking lots to be more efficient in serving multiple users. This may consist of making new curb cuts between parking lots, restriping lots, or redesigning internal traffic circulation and pedestrian walkways.

(1) Users shall be required to show shared parking is less than 1,600 feet by way of safe pedestrian travel from the use.

(2) The minimum amount of shared parking required shall be calculated according to the following formula (See table: Shared Parking Calculations.):

(a) Calculate the minimum amount of parking required for each land use as if it were a separate use.

(b) To determine peak parking requirements, multiply the minimum parking required for each proposed land use by the corresponding percentage in the table below for each of the six time periods.

(c) Calculate the column total for each of the six time periods.

(d) The column (time period) with the highest value shall be the minimum parking requirement.

Shared Parking Calculations
	Monday through Friday			Saturday and Sunday
Uses	8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.	6:00 p.m. to Midnight	Midnight to 8:00 a.m.	8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.	6:00 p.m. to Midnight	Midnight to 8:00 a.m.
Residential	60%	100%	100%	80%	100%	100%
Office	100%	10%	5%	5%	5%	5%
Commerc- ial	90%	80%	5%	100%	60%	5%
Hotel	70%	100%	100%	70%	100%	100%
Restaurant	70%	100%	10%	70%	100%	20%
Movie theater	40%	80%	10%	80%	100%	10%
Entertain- ment	40%	100%	10%	80%	100%	50%
Institutional (nonrelig- ious institution)	100%	40%	5%	10%	10%	5%
Religious institution	20%	40%	5%	100%	50%	5%

G. Parking structures.

(1) Retail store fronts or other business uses on the street level shall be required on major collector or higher classification highways, to provide vitality.

(2) For structures not on major collector or higher classification highways, parking structures shall have a minimum setback of 30 feet from the public right-of-way and shall comply with any more restrictive setback or other yard requirements for the zoning district in which it is located. A minimum twenty-foot wide planting strip shall be provided between the face of the parking structure and the public right-of-way.

(3) Undecorated appearances of parking structures are not permitted. Structures shall have design treatments such as colonnades, arcades, awnings, landscaping, street furniture, and other public amenities to create the appearance of an occupied building. Blank walls are not permitted.

(4) Cars shall be visually screened from adjacent buildings and the street and such screening shall be in keeping with the rest of the building's architectural style and materials.

(5) Vehicular access for parking structure shall be from alleys, placed underground, or located behind or to the side of a building. (If located to the side of a building, the structure shall be set back from the front of that building not less than 10 and no more than 15 feet.)

Retail store front within a parking garage.

H. Loading.

(1) Service and loading areas shall be visually screened from the street and pedestrian ways. For new construction, service and loading shall be behind the building. Loading docks shall not be on the main street but to the side and rear of the building.

(2) Loading spaces shall be 12 feet in width, 40 feet in length with 14 feet of vertical clearance.

(3) Buildings over 100,000 square feet shall have a single loading dock. For every additional 200,000 square feet, one additional loading dock shall be added.

(4) Loading areas shall be lit to provide security and safety; however, lighting shall be shielded to prevent glare onto adjacent properties.