Borough of Metuchen, NJ Parking Lot and Loading Area Design Standards

Angle of Parking Stall (degrees)	Width of One-Way Traffic Aisle (feet)	Width of Two-Way Traffic Aisle (feet)
0 (parallel)	11	22
30	12	Not permitted
45	13	Not permitted
60	18	Not permitted
90 (perpendicular)	24	24

[Amended 12-16-1996 by Ord. No. 96-18;[1] 9-15-1997 by Ord. No. 97-20; 3-17-2003 by Ord. No. 2003-4; 9-3-2013 by Ord. No. 2013-12]

General provisions. The total number of off-street parking spaces required for all uses or combination of uses shall be provided as specified in Subsection B below. Any building or site containing more than one use shall meet the combined parking requirements for all uses, based on the area utilized for each separate use. The parking schedule in Subsection B below represents general parking requirements acceptable to the Borough. Since a specific use may generate parking usage that varies from the requirements enumerated in Subsection B below, documentation and testimony shall be presented to the Board as to the anticipated parking usage. The parking requirements for any use not specifically indicated shall be determined by the Board based on evidence presented at the time of the application and based on requirements for similar type uses. Based upon the above, the Board may take action as follows:

(1)

Grant a waiver of parking requirements to permit a lesser number of spaces.

(2)

Grant a waiver of parking requirements to permit a lesser number of spaces; provided, however, that adequate provision is made for construction of the additional required spaces in the future, if needed.

(3)

Grant a waiver of parking requirements to permit a lesser number of spaces; provided, however, that spaces shall be shared by two or more separate uses with nonconflicting parking usage schedules.

(4)

Grant a waiver of parking requirements contingent upon the applicant obtaining a specified number of reserved off-street parking spaces from another source, including, but not exclusively, the Metuchen Parking Authority.

(5)

Require construction of a greater number of spaces.

Requirements. The number of off-street parking spaces required for all uses or combinations of uses shall be as follows:

[Amended 8-12-2019 by Ord. No. 2019-12]

Parking requirements for residential uses shall be governed by the Residential Site Improvement Standards promulgated by the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs.
Nonresidential Uses	Required Spaces
ºAutomobile repair establishments	4.0 per bay plus 1.0 per service vehicle
Automobile washing establishments	3.0 per establishment for employees
Banks and other financial institutions	4.0 per teller window plus 1.5 spaces per nonteller work station or 1.0 per 180 square feet of floor area, whichever is greater
Churches and other places of worship	1.0 per 3 seats or 1.0 per 72 linear inches of seating when benches are used
Day-care centers and nursery schools for more than 5 children	1.0 per teacher or staff member plus 1.0 per every 3 children
Dry-cleaning establishments	1.0 per 180 square feet of floor area
Eating and drinking establishments	1.0 per 200 square feet of floor area or 1.0 per every 3 seats, whichever is greater
Funeral homes	10.0 per viewing room plus 1.0 per 300 square feet of public floor area
Gasoline service stations	1.0 per pump
Hotels, inns and motels	1.0 per guest room plus 2.5 per 1,000 square feet of floor area plus 75% of the requirement for any eating and drinking establishment on the premises
Laboratory and research uses	3.0 per 1,000 square feet of floor area
Light industrial uses, except manufacturing	1.0 per 800 square feet of floor area
Machine shops and manufacturing uses	1.0 per 500 square feet of floor area
Offices
Business and professional, including clinical psychologists and mental health counselors not engaged in group counseling on a regular basis	1.0 per 250 square feet of floor area
Medical, dental, veterinary, clinical psychologists engaged in group counseling on a regular basis	1.0 per 250 square feet of floor area plus 4.0 per professional on duty
Real estate	1.0 per 150 square feet of floor area
Personal service businesses and physical fitness studios	1.0 per 180 square feet of floor area
Retail uses	1.0 per 180 square feet of floor area where the total floor area per use or occupant is less than 2,000 square feet; 1.0 per 200 square feet of floor area where the total floor area per use or occupant is 2,000 square feet or greater
Shops and stores
Appliance and furniture stores	1.0 per 300 square feet of floor area plus 1.0 per 500 square feet of accessory storage area
Schools
Elementary and middle	2.0 per classroom plus 1.0 per every 6 seats in an assembly hall
Secondary	3.5 per classroom plus 1.0 per every 6 seats in an assembly hall
Social halls, clubs, lodges, and places of public assembly	1.0 per 2 seats
Warehouses and storage uses	1.0 per 1,000 square feet of floor area

Exceptions. The parking requirements of Subsection B above shall not apply to the following:

(1)

The continuation of any lawfully nonconforming use or any use that does not conform to the requirements of this article in existence prior to the adoption of this chapter, so long as the current use is not substantially changed or intensified. If the use is changed or intensified to the extent that Subsection B above requires additional parking, the applicant shall provide the additional parking equal to the difference between that required by the proposed use or building and that previously applicable to the use in existence at the time this chapter was adopted.

(2)

Any storage area in a basement or attic that is accessory to a permitted principal use located elsewhere in such building.

Handicapped parking. Every use shall provide handicapped parking spaces as a portion of its total required parking in accordance with the Uniform Construction Code.

Parking in residential areas. The following regulations shall apply to motor vehicle parking on any lot located in a residential district or used for residential purposes:

(1)

Permitted motor vehicles. Motor vehicles registered as passenger vehicles, livery vehicles and commercial vehicles having a gross weight of 7,000 pounds or less shall be permitted to be parked on such lots, with the following exceptions:

(a)

One passenger or livery vehicle having a gross weight in excess of 7,000 pounds, but not exceeding 10,000 pounds, may be parked in a garage or a driveway in a side or rear yard, provided that such is substantially screened from view from all adjacent lot lines and the street line. Such screening shall consist of a six-foot-high solid wooden fence and/or minimum six-foot-high evergreen shrubs or trees. Any such screening shall be approved by the Zoning Officer prior to installation to ensure that such will provide necessary screening to satisfy the intent of this provision.

(b)

One commercial vehicle having a gross weight in excess of 5,000 pounds, but not exceeding 8,000 pounds, may be parked in a wholly enclosed garage. Such vehicle shall be stored in the garage at all times when such is parked on the lot. In no instance shall any person other than the resident of the property on which the commercial vehicle is parked operate such vehicle. Additionally, no materials, tools, equipment or other items used in connection with the business that such commercial vehicle is associated with shall be stored anywhere on the residential property, except in or on the commercial vehicle itself.

(2)

Permitted motor vehicle dimensions. No motor vehicle shall be parked on such lot with linear dimensions exceeding the following:

(a)

Twenty feet in length.

(b)

Eight feet in width, excluding rearview mirrors.

(c)

Eight feet in height, excluding radio antennas.

(3)

Prohibited motor vehicles. Trucks, tractors, trailers, semitrailers, tow trucks and buses are hereby prohibited from any such lot.

(4)

Recreational vehicles, trailer coaches, campers and boats. One recreational vehicle, trailer coach, camper and/or boat may be stored or parked on any lot used solely as a single-family residence, provided that such vehicle shall be stored in a garage or in a rear yard at least 15 feet from any lot line and substantially screened from view from all adjacent lot lines and the street line. In the case of corner lots, said vehicle must be screened from view from all street lines bounding the lot. No such vehicles shall be occupied for living, sleeping or recreational purposes while stored or parked on such lot.

(5)

Driveways. No motor vehicle shall be parked in the side or front yards of such lot, except in a driveway located pursuant to Article 35 of this chapter.

(6)

Corner lots. Nothing herein shall permit the parking or storage of any vehicle on a corner lot property which obstructs, impairs or obscures vision of motor vehicle traffic at an intersection, as determined by the Chief of Police.

Parking in the downtown area. The following regulations shall apply to parking in the B-1 Central Business District, B-3 Office Business District and D-1 Downtown Development District:

[Added 3-16-2015 by Ord. No. 2015-04]

(1)

Reduced parking requirements. The minimum parking requirements of § 110-154B shall be reduced by 50% for all uses. For residential uses where parking is governed by the Residential Site Improvement Standards (RSIS), the Board may grant alternative parking standards in accordance with N.J.A.C. 5:21-4.14(c).

(2)

Maximum parking requirements. The parking requirements of § 110-154B shall be considered maximum permitted parking standards, and exceeding such standards shall require an exception to be granted by the Board.

(3)

Payments in lieu of parking (PILOP). The Board may allow applicants whose application for development has insufficient on-site parking to meet the reduced parking requirements of Subsection F(1) above, provided the following are satisfied:

(a)

Prior to granting a PILOP agreement to an applicant as part of final approval, the Board shall determine that circumstances exist which make the granting of a PILOP appropriate based on the type of use proposed and after due consideration of the impact that granting of a PILOP will have on the area surrounding the development site.

(b)

Nothing in this subsection shall be deemed to serve as an automatic requirement to grant a PILOP agreement, nor in any way diminish the Board's ability to grant full or partial parking exceptions.

(c)

The entry into a PILOP agreement with the Borough of Metuchen shall be a condition of any approval by the appropriate Board. Such agreement shall indicate that the Metuchen Parking Authority has established that there are adequate available parking resources to provide any parking required under the PILOP.

(d)

The PILOP payment shall be established at $5,000 per required parking space for all uses and $2,500 per required parking space for any affordable housing unit. The established fees herein shall be reexamined, and may be modified, from time to time, in intervals no greater than once every two years, to ensure that the fees are appropriate for intents and purposes of the PILOP program.

(e)

The PILOP shall be paid in full to the Borough of Metuchen prior to the issuance of any certificate of occupancy by the Borough in order to effectuate the goals and objectives of the Master Plan, Downtown Parking Plan and Complete Streets policies as it relates to circulation, accessibility, traffic and pedestrian safety and related issues in the Borough. The proceeds shall be deposited into a fund established solely for the acquisition, development, expansion or capital repair of public and municipal parking facilities, traffic- or transportation-related capital projects, the provision or operating expenses of transit facilities designed to reduce reliance on private automobiles, programs to facilitate carpooling or ride sharing, and creating a consistent streetscape for all user groups utilizing all modes of transportation by introducing context-sensitive design elements at intersections and corridors, such as parking meters, wayfinding signage, kiosks, trails, sidewalks, crosswalks, streets and similar improvements that connect users to public and municipal parking facilities throughout the Borough. The proceeds of such fund shall not be considered a part of the municipal general fund.

(f)

The PILOP shall not relieve the applicant or any users of the parking spaces covered under a PILOP agreement from paying any required parking fees to the Metuchen Parking Authority.

[1]

Editor's Note: Section 8 of this ordinance provided that this chapter shall become effective immediately in the B-1, B-2, B-3 and B-4 Zoning Districts and shall be effective in all other Zoning Districts two years following adoption and publication.

Use	Total Floor Area (in square feet)	Number of Loading Berths
Institutional use	15,000 or more	1
Funeral homes and mortuaries	Up to 5,000	1
Funeral homes and mortuaries	5,000 or more	2
All other business and commercial uses	From 10,000 to 24,999	1
	From 25,000 to 39,999	2
	40,000 or more	3
Light industrial and warehouses	Up to 5,000	2
	5,000 to 9,999	3
	10,000 to 19,999	4
	20,000 to 29,999	5
	30,000 to 39,999	6
	40,000 or more	7