[Ord. No. 856, § 2; Ord. No. 1020, § 10; Ord. No. 85-11, § 5; Ord. No. 89-14, § 1; Ord. No. 2017-45 § 2; amended 4-12-2021 by Ord. No. 2021-09; 7-27-2021 by Ord. No. 2021-20]
(a) 
No building shall be erected in any district, unless off-street parking spaces are provided in amounts as set forth in the following schedule. In addition to the number of parking spaces set forth in the schedule, there shall also be provided sufficient passageways and driveways giving access to the parking spaces to allow cars to enter and to leave the lot and to turn within it in a safe and orderly manner and without disrupting traffic in any public right-of-way.
(b) 
No additional off-street parking or loading berths shall be required for any change of use, or for any expanded or new non-residential use, except that any existing on-site parking spaces or loading berths shall not be removed or converted for any other purpose without site plan approval and/or the grant of variances associated therewith.
Building Type (I)
One Parking Space for Each
Academic and administrative buildings for educational institutions, other than places of public assembly
1.5 persons of rated occupancy (3) (5)
Auditoriums, stadiums, theaters, courts of law and all other places of assembly providing seats for audiences, including places of worship and funeral parlors
4 seats (2)
Clubs
200 square feet of gross floor area (4)
Commercial garages and gasoline service
1/2 gasoline pump and each 400 square feet of ground area devoted to repair facilities (this to be in addition to any other space that may be allocated for normal storage of motor vehicles)
Dormitories
4 persons of rated capacity
Dwellings
2/3 dwelling unit for unit(3) containing 1 or fewer bedrooms and 1/2 dwelling unit for units containing 2 or more bedrooms; provided that a flat shall be considered a dwelling for this purpose
Elementary and junior high schools
1/3 classroom
Hospitals, convalescent and nursing homes
1/3 bed and each employee
Hotels, motels and tourist homes
1 guest unit
Hotels with restaurants
As required for either, whichever is greater
Laboratory research in the OR-1 and OR-2 districts
500 square feet of gross floor (4)
Personal Services
200 square feet of gross floor area (4)
Professional offices and general offices
200 square feet of gross floor area (4)
Restaurants
3 seats
Retail stores, supermarkets and shopping centers
300 square feet of gross floor area (4)
Rooming house
1/2 dwelling unit and each roomer-occupied bedroom
School with auditoriums
As required for either, whichever is greater
Senior high schools and similar institutions
1/5 classroom
Notes:
(1)
Other building types which do not fit into 1 of the above categories shall be referred to the planning board for determination of the appropriate parking space requirements
(2)
Institutional parking spaces of educational institutions that are provided for normal daytime activity for other purposes shall be considered to be available for such public uses as are normally conducted in the evening or on weekends in lecture halls, auditoriums, stadiums, theaters and gymnasiums of such institutions
(3)
At the time of application for a building permit, the institution shall certify to the development enforcement officer the rated capacity or rated occupancy of the building
(4)
For this purpose, "gross floor area" means the total area of all the stories of all the structures on a lot, measured from the outside faces of the exterior walls, or from the exterior roof edges where a structure has no walls, and including the following, although not by way of limitation: Interior balconies and mezzanines, roofed areas such as porches and carports and basement space, but excluding rooftop, roofed or enclosed area that is used for parking spaces
(5)
Where the building is for an institution that prohibits the operation of automobiles by students or that restricts the parking of student automobiles to designate institutional parking areas, such students need not be included in the calculation of rated capacity
(6)
The number of off-street parking spaces to be initially installed may be reduced pursuant to the provisions of section T10B-291
[Added 12-7-2020 by Ord. No. 2020-43; amended 2-16-2021 by Ord. No. 2021-01]
Bicycle parking shall be provided in accordance with the requirements set forth herein and in section T10B-204 (Bicycle parking design standards).
(a) 
Applicability.
(1) 
The bicycle parking requirement shall apply to the following:
a. 
The construction of a new building;
b. 
The enlargement by an increase of fifteen percent (15%) or more in the number of residential dwelling units on a lot or in the amount of non-residential floor area, or, in the case of a mixed use, the enlargement by an increase of 15% of the combined uses;
c. 
The conversion of existing floor area to a new category of non-residential use, where such conversion results in a 15% or more increase in the total number of bicycle parking spaces that would be required for the entire building under this section.
(2) 
Where bicycle parking is required pursuant to this section, it shall be applied to the entirety of any use that is established, expanded or enlarged within a building or lot and not only to the incremental increase in the intensity of such use.
(3) 
Site plans shall show the proposed location of bicycle parking/storage facilities on the site and on the building floor plans. A construction detail of the proposed bicycle storage facility shall be provided.
(b) 
Exceptions.
(1) 
Detached one- and two-family residential dwellings are not required to have bicycle parking.
(2) 
The enlargement, expansion or conversion of an existing building where the difference between the bicycle parking required for the proposed building and the bicycle parking that would be required for the existing building under this section equals fewer than two bicycle parking spaces.
(3) 
The enlargement, expansion or conversion of an existing building resulting in a dwelling containing three or fewer dwelling units.
(c) 
Schedule of requirements.
Building Type (1)
One Bicycle Parking Space for Each
% Long-term (LT) or Short-term (ST)
Institutions of Higher Learning
1,400 square feet of floor area (4) or as set forth in subsection 282.1(d) below.
LT: 0%
ST: 100%
Auditoriums, stadiums, theaters, courts of law and all other places of assembly providing seats for audiences, including places of worship and funeral parlors
20 seats (2)
LT: 0%
ST: 100%
Dormitories
2.5 beds
LT: 50%
ST: 50%
Dwellings
1.6 bedrooms for a multifamily dwelling with 3 or more dwelling units
LT: 80%
ST: 20%
Elementary and junior high schools
5 persons of rated occupancy (3)
LT: 0%
ST: 100%
Senior high schools and similar institutions
5 persons of rated occupancy (3)
LT: 0%
ST: 100%
Personal Services
1,000 square feet of floor area (4)
LT: 0%
ST: 100%
Professional offices and general offices
3,300 square feet of floor area (4)
LT: 50%
ST: 50%
Restaurants
1000 square feet of floor area (4)
LT: 0%
ST: 100%
Retail stores, supermarkets and shopping centers
1000 square feet of floor area (4)
LT: 0%
ST: 100%
School with auditoriums
As required for either, whichever is greater
LT: 0%
ST: 100%
Notes:
(1)
For other building types that do not fit into one of the above categories, the number of required bicycle parking spaces shall be calculated as a percentage of the required automobile parking spaces for such building type, which percentage shall be determined by the Planning Board upon referral for the appropriate number of bicycle parking spaces.
(2)
Bicycle parking spaces of educational institutions that are provided for normal daytime activity for other purposes shall be considered to be available for such public uses as are normally conducted in the evening or on weekends in lecture halls, auditoriums, stadiums, theaters and gymnasiums of such institutions.
(3)
At the time of application for a building permit, the institution shall certify to the development enforcement officer the rated capacity or rated occupancy of the building.
(4)
For this purpose, "floor area" means the total area of all the stories of all the structures on a lot, measured from the outside faces of the exterior walls, or from the exterior roof edges where a structure has no walls, and including the following, although not by way of limitation: Interior balconies and mezzanines, roofed areas such as porches and carports and basement space. The following shall be excluded from the calculation of "floor area": rooftop, roofed or enclosed area that is used for parking spaces, and any indoor or outdoor area designated and used for bicycle parking.
(d) 
Schedule of bicycle parking requirements for institutions of higher learning; annual report.
Institutions of higher learning shall have the option of providing bicycle parking spaces either in accordance with the schedule set forth in subsection (c) above, or as set forth herein.
(1) 
Aggregate (campus-wide) requirement: 0.4 bike parking spaces per faculty member, staff member, and student. Except with respect to required dormitory spaces, the location of the bike parking shall be at the discretion of the institution.
(2) 
Requirement for dormitories: 1.0 bike parking spaces for each 2.5 beds, of which 50% shall be long-term bicycle parking and 50% shall be short-term bicycle parking. These parking spaces shall count toward the aggregate (campus-wide) obligation.
(3) 
Annual report: Institutions of higher learning shall submit a report to the Princeton Planning Board at the start of each academic year documenting (a) the aggregate (campus-wide) bike parking obligation for that year based on the number of faculty, staff and students that will be on campus, (b) the total number of bike parking spaces being provided, including dormitory spaces, and (c) a mitigation plan to address any shortfall in the number of spaces provided.
(e) 
General standards for bicycle parking.
(1) 
The bicycle parking spaces shall be reasonably accessible, within a reasonable distance from the entrance to the use they are intended to serve, and appropriately lit.
(2) 
Either or both short-term bicycle parking and long-term bicycle parking shall be provided for a given land use in the percentages set forth in the schedule set forth in subsection (c) above.
(3) 
The required quantity of bicycle parking spaces shall be calculated by applying the minimum rates set forth in the schedule to the intensity of the applicable land use or uses, measured in floor area, number of dwellings, number of students, or other specified unit of measurement. Where the application of such rate results in a fractional value, the number of spaces shall be rounded to the nearest whole number.
(4) 
The bicycle parking required by this section shall be maintained exclusively for the parking of bicycles, and not for the storage of other objects unrelated to bicycles.
(f) 
Long-term bicycle parking. Long-term bicycle parking shall be provided either onsite or reasonably nearby. It shall consist of secure and weather-protected facilities such as bicycle lockers, indoor bicycle rooms, covered bicycle cages, or sheds.
(g) 
Short-term bicycle parking. Short-term bicycle parking shall be provided in a publicly accessible space near pedestrian entrances to the use(s) it is intended to serve. It shall consist of bicycle racks meeting the standards set forth in section T10B-204 (Bicycle parking design standards). Short-term bicycle parking may be provided adjacent to public streets and sidewalks, or within a public right of way, in which case the property owner or developer shall work with Municipal staff to identify the appropriate location. The place of bicycle parking in any public right-of-way shall be subject to the approval of the appropriate public entity (e.g., the New Jersey Department of Transportation in the case of a State right-of-way such as the King's Highway, or the Princeton Mayor and Council in the case of a municipal right-of-way), and on such terms and conditions as said entity shall deem advisable and necessary.
[Ord. No. 856, § 2.]
Off-street loading spaces shall be provided as needed for all nonresidential buildings; except, that in the S-1 and S-2 districts there shall be not less than one space for each 10,000 square feet of gross floor area or fraction thereof over 8,000 square feet. Sufficient off-street passageways and driveways shall be provided to allow vehicles to enter and leave the loading space without restricting traffic on any public right-of-way.
[Ord. No. 856, § 2.]
Required parking and loading areas shall not be encroached upon, reduced in any manner or devoted to any other use. Each parking space shall have minimum dimensions of nine feet by 19 feet, and each loading space shall have minimum dimensions of 15 feet by 25 feet by 14 feet in height.
[Ord. No. 856, § 2.]
When the computation to determine the number of required parking spaces or loading spaces results in a requirement of a fractional space, any fraction up to and including one-half shall be disregarded and fractions over one-half shall require one space.
[Ord. 856, § 2.]
All off-street parking and loading areas shall be maintained with graded, dust-free surfaces that are well drained, such as gravel or stone for light residential use and blacktop, in accordance with specifications contained in the pamphlet entitled "Asphalt Pavements for Parking Lots and Driveways," The Asphalt Institute, Information Series No. 91 (IS-91), August 1965, or better, as approved by the township engineer, for all other use. All such off-street parking and loading space, and necessary passageways and driveways giving access thereto, shall be maintained in a state of good repair, and the surface thereof shall be kept clear of ruts, potholes, protrusions, debris and other vehicular or pedestrian hazards.
[Ord. No. 856, § 2; Ord. No. 1020, § 11.]
Except as otherwise provided in section T10B-291.1, all of the required off-street parking areas shall be located on the same lot as the building which they are intended to serve and shall be readily accessible to it. Where it is impracticable to locate all the required parking areas on the same lot, they may be located, in whole or in part, on a nearby lot; provided, that:
(a) 
A conditional use approval is obtained in accordance with the provisions of division 4 of this article; except, that a conditional use approval need not be obtained for parking appurtenant to a single-family house.
(b) 
Such parking areas shall be located within a reasonable distance of, and shall afford safe access to, the buildings they are intended to serve.
(c) 
No parking area shall be so situated as to create a traffic hazard for either pedestrians or vehicles.
(d) 
Legal assurance, acceptance to the township attorney and, except for single-family houses, to the planning board, shall be provided by the applicant that the required parking areas will be continuously available.
[Ord. No. 856, § 2; Ord. No. 9-38, § 1; Ord. No. 93-19, § 3.]
(a) 
All off-street loading areas and all off-street on-grade parking areas which provide more than 10 parking spaces shall be located or screened in the manner specified in subsection (c) from adjacent uses not separated by a public right-of-way.
(b) 
Such loading and parking areas shall be separated from the adjacent public right-of-way and buffered by a landscaped area to effectuate screening where appropriate or shading and visual relief. Such screening or other landscaping shall be consistent with the nature of the uses served by the loading or parking area, the topography, the nature of the public right-of-way, and the nature of the uses on the other side of the public right-of-way. When the required screening cannot be installed in a manner consistent with sight triangle or other traffic safety requirements, the maximum amount of screening consistent with such requirements shall be put in place.
(c) 
Screening from adjacent uses not separated by a public right-of-way shall be accomplished by the installation and maintenance of evergreen and deciduous trees and shrubs of such species and size as will within two growing seasons produce solid screening at several appropriate heights, taking into account the natural topography and any berming, and the location and size of the adjacent uses from which the parking or loading areas are to be screened. Such screening shall also conform to the applicable provisions of subdivision 3.11 of this chapter. Instead of screening only by the installation of planting materials, suitable walls, fences or berms acceptable to the board of jurisdiction shall be substituted in whole or in part if the board of jurisdiction determines that plantings are impractical or that alternatives to plantings better achieve these site design standards. Where there is more than one on-grade parking area on the lot and the aggregate number of parking spaces is more than 10, the requirements of this section shall apply except where the board determines that the size and separation are such that one or more of the lots may be treated as a separate off-street on-grade parking area of 10 or less parking spaces. Where there is an approved joint parking plan for contiguous properties, the requirements of this section may be modified by the board of jurisdiction for the screening along the common lot line.
(1) 
SC Shopping Center District: Except where the SC Shopping Center District perimeter buffer strip is required pursuant to Section T10B-304(a), a parking area within the SC Shopping Center District shall not be required to have screening between the parking area and any use within the SC Shopping Center District or between a parking area and adjacent properties outside the SC Shopping Center District that are not separated from the SC Shopping Center District by a public right-of-way.
[Added 7-27-2021 by Ord. No. 2021-20]
[Ord. No. 856, § 2; Ord. No. 1020, § 12; Ord. No. 90-38, § 2; amended 7-27-2021 by Ord. No. 2021-20]
(a) 
Shade trees. Except in (a)(1) below, all off-street on-grade parking areas which provide more than 10 parking spaces shall have shade trees planted and maintained to the extent of at least one tree for each three and four-tenths parking spaces or fraction thereof in an arrangement which assures that all the spaces are shaded to the extent possible and in accordance with subsection (c) hereof. Such trees shall be large, spreading-type trees acceptable to the planning board and shall at the time of planting have a caliper of at least 2 1/2 inches. They shall be properly maintained, and all dead or dying trees shall be replaced as soon as is practicable by the property owner.
(1) 
Parking areas in the SC Shopping Center District which provide more than ten parking spaces shall have shade trees planted and maintained to the extent of at least one tree for each six parking spaces or fraction thereof. Shade trees planted within ten feet of any parking area in the SC Shopping Center District may be included for meeting the aforementioned shade tree requirement.
(b) 
Other plantings. In addition to any landscape screening required by section T10B-288, all on-grade parking areas which provide more than 10 parking spaces shall have an area equivalent to one parking space for every 25 spaces landscaped in evergreen or other ground cover or shrubs no higher than three feet. Such landscaped areas shall be distributed throughout the parking area to intermix landscaped areas within the paved areas. If appropriately landscaped and distributed, the area within islands required by subsection (c) may be counted toward this requirement.
(c) 
Islands. All off-street on-grade parking areas which provide more than 10 parking spaces shall be designed and constructed with unpaved islands which are arranged so there are no more than 20 parking spaces in a row unbroken by such an island and to accommodate required shade trees or landscaping as follows:
(1) 
An island strip at least five feet wide between facing rows of parking spaces, except this requirement shall not apply to parking areas within the SC Shopping Center District;
(2) 
An island terminus at least nine feet wide and coterminous with the length of the parking spaces which it abuts at the end of each row of parking spaces, except within the SC Shopping Center District the minimum width of an island terminus shall be an average of five feet; and
(3) 
Mid-row islands in rows of parking spaces at least nine feet wide and equal in length to the parking spaces which it abuts, except within the SC Shopping Center District the minimum width of mid-row islands shall be five feet.
Island areas which are not planted with trees, shrubs, ground cover, or other landscaping shall be treated in an attractive manner and so as not to impair driving visibility subject to the approval of the review board of jurisdiction.
(d) 
Other provisions. Landscaped areas and islands shall be designed and constructed to protect the plantings from the automobiles using adjacent parking spaces. Where determined necessary or useful for pedestrian circulation, the board of jurisdiction shall require the applicant to demarcate pathways through the paved parking areas, the islands, and other landscaped areas as may be appropriate for improved safety. The board of jurisdiction may approve and authorize variations from the design standards of subsections (a), (b), and (c) of this section provided it finds that the objectives of this section are substantially achieved.
[Ord. No. 90-38, § 3.]
The requirements of sections T10B-288 and T10B-289 shall apply to any development application approved after the effective date of these sections. If the application involves a pre-existing on-site parking area and involves an expanded or substantially renovated structure, the above requirements shall be applied as follows:
(a) 
The size of the parking area which would be required for the expanded structure and the portion of the existing structure being substantially renovated shall be determined;
(b) 
A parking area of the size determined under subsection (a) shall be installed in accordance with the requirements which would apply for a new development; and
(c) 
The requirements of this section shall apply even if the development application requires no additional parking spaces or where the parking spaces are not adjacent to the expanded or renovated structure, in which case the requirements shall be satisfied by the applicant upgrading such equivalent portions of the existing or nonadjacent parking area as the board of jurisdiction shall designate in the manner required for a new development.
If the application involves a change of use which otherwise requires site plan approval and the intensity of use, in general or at particular times, is increased, the requirements of this section shall be applied to the extent necessary to abate the adverse impacts resulting from the change of use.
[Ord. No. 856, § 2; Ord. No. 1020, § 13.]
All parking areas shall be adequately lighted. All such lighting shall be so arranged or shielded to reduce glare and to direct light away from adjoining residences, adjacent properties and public rights-of-way. Such lighting shall conform to the provisions of section T10B-317.
[Ord. No. 856, § 2; amended 4-12-2021 by Ord. No. 2021-05]
The number of off-street parking spaces to be initially constructed as required by the schedule in section T10B-282 for nonresidential structures, mixed-used structures, and residential structures containing five or more dwelling units, may be reduced upon the approval of the board of jurisdiction; provided, that:
(a) 
The reduced number of off-street parking spaces to be initially installed shall not be less than one-half of the number required by the foregoing schedule. Such reduced number shall be found by the board of jurisdiction to constitute not less than the minimum number needed adequately to serve the use or prospective use of the building in the light of the occupancy thereof, traffic in connection therewith and such other factors as are relevant to parking generated thereby.
(b) 
An off-street parking layout providing for not less than the number of parking spaces required by the schedule in section T10B-282 shall be submitted. That part of such layout that represents parking spaces in excess of the reduced number approved, which excess is not to be initially constructed, shall not be encroached upon, shall remain readily available for future construction and installation of off-street parking and shall be maintained in its natural state or with such landscaping as shall be required by the board of jurisdiction.
(c) 
The applicant shall enter into a written agreement with the municipality to construct and install all or any part of such excess off-street parking at any time or times if the board of jurisdiction, upon the complaint of the development enforcement officer or any interested person, shall by resolution determine to require such construction and installation and shall so notify the owner of the premises. The agreement shall also provide that the owner shall maintain the area covered by the excess parking space in the manner required by the board of jurisdiction, pursuant to subsection (b) of this section, and that if the owner shall fail so to maintain such area, or to construct and install off-street parking after notice to do so, the municipality shall have the right by its agents, servants, employees and contractors to enter upon the premises and to cause such maintenance to be performed or such off-street parking to be constructed and installed therein. In such case, the cost of such maintenance, construction or installation shall, after confirmation thereof by the governing body after notice to the owner, be certified to the municipal tax collector, whereupon the amount so certified shall become and be a lien on the premises and shall bear interest and be enforceable and collectible in the same manner as assessments and liens for local taxes. The agreement shall be in recordable form and shall otherwise be subject to the approval of the municipal attorney as to form. The agreement shall become part of any conditional use approval. The failure of the owner so to maintain the area covered by the excess parking space(s) or to construct and install off-street parking after notice to do so shall also constitute a violation of this section, which violation may be prosecuted and penalties imposed as for other violations of this article notwithstanding that the municipality shall resort or shall have resorted to its right to cause such maintenance to be performed or such construction and installation to be accomplished as provided in the agreement.
[Ord. No. 1020, § 14.]
(a) 
Parking for single family structures and two family structures shall be provided on the individual lot.
(b) 
Parking for townhouse units and for multi-family structures may be provided either on the individual lots or in common parking areas, or partly in each.
(c) 
All common parking facilities shall be located within a reasonable distance of, and shall afford safe access to, the dwelling units or common facilities they are intended to serve.
(d) 
If parking structures are provided, they shall be designed to be in harmony with and complementary to the design of nearby structures in terms of size, materials, color and architectural design.
(e) 
All parking areas shall be located or screened in such a manner to substantially reduce their visibility from public rights-of-way properties adjoining the residential cluster tract, and from any portions of on-tract dwelling units along or below a sight line six feet above ground level. Screening shall be provided in accordance with the requirements of section T10B-288.
(f) 
No single open parking lot shall contain more than 30 parking spaces. In addition to the requirements of section T10B-289, no more than 10 parking spaces shall be permitted in a continuous row without being interrupted by landscaping.
(g) 
Parking areas shall be arranged so as to prevent through traffic to other parking areas.
(h) 
When appropriate, space for the storage of recreational vehicles and trailers shall be provided either in special parking areas or in a special facility designed for this purpose. If provided in a common parking area, the recreational vehicle and trailer spaces shall be contiguous to each other and separated from the remainder of the parking area. The parking area for recreational vehicles and trailers shall be screened from dwelling units, adjacent properties, and public rights-of-way.