The following terms when used in this article shall have the meanings respectively ascribed to them:
Driveway.
The continuous improved surface which provides ingress and egress from a garage, carport or off-street parking area, to an adjacent street, alley or other improved public way.
Farm tractor.
Every motor vehicle designed and used primarily as a farm implement for drawing plows, mowing machines and other implement(s) of husbandry.
Gravel.
Washed or cleaned stones with a nominal diameter of 1-1/2 inches or less.
Implement(s) of husbandry.
Every vehicle designed and adopted for use as a farm implement, machinery or tool as used in tilling the soil, but shall not include any passenger vehicle.
Improved surface.
The continuous area used for the movement, parking or storage of a vehicle(s) that is overlaid or otherwise paved with 3000 p.s.i. Portland cement concrete with a depth of not less than five (5) inches and reinforced with number 3 reinforcement bar; solid concrete blocks; paving stones; paving bricks or other masonry paving stone suitable for such purpose installed on an approved base course or other hard-surfaced durable material designed to support vehicular weight and approved by the building official.
Park, parking.
The standing of a vehicle, whether occupied or not, other than temporarily for the purpose of and while actually engaged in loading or unloading merchandise or passengers.
Privacy fence.
A solid or opaque wall or partition at least six (6) feet and not over eight (8) feet in height; or vegetation consisting of a solid hedgerow or evergreen shrubs, or trees and shrubs, providing full screening from the ground to a minimum height of six (6) feet; or any combination of the above that effectively conceals the vehicle from public view and accomplishes the required screening height; or any other form of compatible and appropriate screening as so determined by the building official.
Special motor vehicle.
Includes boats, boat trailers, travel trailers, pickup campers and coaches (designed to be mounted upon automotive vehicles), motorized dwellings (RVs), tent trailers and the like as well as cases or boxes used for transporting such vehicles, whether occupied by such vehicles or not.
Unimproved surface.
A driveway or parking area covered only with asphalt, bordered gravel or a combination of these.
Unscreened.
Not concealed or hidden behind a privacy fence.
Vehicle.
Any and every device in, upon or by which a person, persons, or property may be transported, drawn or moved upon a street, highway, waterway or airway and shall include but is not limited to any automobile, bus, truck, tractor, motorhome, farm machinery, motorcycle, scooter, moped, all-terrain vehicle, boat, boat trailer, aircraft, recreational vehicle, golf cart, trailer, fifth wheel trailer, camper, camper shell, camper trailer, wheeled towing frame, semitractor, semitractor trailer, truck bed mounted on a chassis and mobile home. This definition does not include nonmotorized bicycles, small engine lawn mowers, and devices of a similar scale.
Yard, front.
A yard located in front of the front elevation of a building and extending across a lot between the side yard lines and being the minimum horizontal distance between the front property line and the outside wall of the main building.
Yard, rear.
A yard extending across the rear of a lot measured between the lot lines and being the minimum horizontal distance between the rear lot line and the rear of the outside wall of the main building. On both corner lots and interior lots, the rear yard shall in all cases be at the opposite end of the lot from the front yard.
Yard, side.
A yard between the building and sideline of the lot and extending from the front lot line to the rear lot line and being the minimum horizontal distance between a side lot line and the outside wall of the side of the main building.
(Ordinance 748-03 adopted 4/7/03; Ordinance O-12-10, sec. 2, adopted 6/21/10)
(a) 
The parking of any vehicle, in the front yard on an unimproved surface is prohibited.
(b) 
The parking of any vehicle in the side yard must be screened from public or private view behind a minimum six-foot-high privacy fence, unless the vehicle is parked on an improved surface with a minimum clearance of two (2) feet from an adjoining property.
(c) 
The parking of any vehicle in an unscreened rear yard upon any surface other than an improved rear or side entry driveway or required parking surface shall be prohibited. In no case shall more than one (1) vehicle be parked or stored in such an area and such screening shall be by means of a minimum six-foot-high privacy fence.
(d) 
Recreational vehicles, travel trailers, camper trailers, trailers, boats, boat trailers, motor homes or other recreational vehicles or equipment may not be used for on-site dwelling purposes, and shall be parked and stored on an improved surface and behind the rear building facade of the main structure (i.e., the house) and screened from public view at all times of the year by a fence or perennial vegetation.
(e) 
No such vehicles shall be used for living, sleeping or housekeeping or similar purposes when parked or stored on a residential lot, or in any location not approved for such use, except as specified in this section.
(f) 
As defined and set out in the city’s zoning ordinance, no required parking space, garage, carport, or other automobile storage space shall be used for the storage of any special motor vehicle, limousine, RV, trailer, boat, wrecker, truck-tractor rig or trailer, camper or camper shell, or other similar recreational, dwelling or business vehicle.
(g) 
No heavy load vehicles are allowed to be stored or parked in residential areas on a regular or repetitive basis.
(h) 
Exceptions to the regulations stated herein for parking in residential districts:
(1) 
Vehicles actively engaged in service or delivery functions for the period of time actually engaged in the service or delivery activity;
(2) 
Publicly owned or franchised emergency or utility vehicles making residential repair calls or emergency utility service repairs;
(3) 
Emergency vehicles;
(4) 
Street construction and maintenance vehicles; or
(5) 
Recreational vehicles or equipment being loaded, unloaded, or otherwise prepared for use or storage during a period of time which does not exceed twenty-four (24) hours.
(Ordinance 748-03 adopted 4/7/03; Ordinance O-12-10, sec. 2, adopted 6/21/10)
(a) 
Parking surfaces in the front and side yards must be contiguous to, and on paved concrete or asphalt surface as defined and according to the city’s adopted standard construction details. For parking areas used with residences that had gravel driveways in existence prior to the adoption of this article (April 7, 2003), gravel may be used for additional parking spaces. Whenever such a parking area is increased to the extent of fifty percent (50%) or more, in the area used, said surface shall meet the paving requirements of this article. Subsurface preparation for parking areas shall be approved by the building official.
(b) 
Parking surfaces, other than the approved driveway, shall not extend beyond the property lines, nor encroach over or upon any public utility easement or right-of-way.
(c) 
Parking spaces shall conform to the requirements for the specific district set out in the zoning ordinance and additional parking spaces in excess of the minimum shall minimally be eight (8) by twenty (20) feet in size. It shall not be a sufficient parking space to provide runners or pads under the tires and/or trailer tongue only.
(d) 
Parking surfaces must be in conformance with any applicable requirements of the city construction standard details manual, and/or the city building code. The building official shall establish and maintain a set of standard construction details for parking surfaces and driveway surfaces. Materials, such as roofing scraps, shingles, shredded tires, rubble and similar material may not be used for parking surfaces. The building official must approve any material to be utilized as an approved surface to the extent not otherwise provided herein or by other city ordinance.
(e) 
All parking surfaces shall be kept free of weeds and other vegetative growth.
(f) 
Parking areas in the front yard may not exceed 50% coverage of the front yard area. Parking areas in the rear yard may not exceed 30% coverage, and shall be consistent with the applicable requirements of the city’s zoning ordinance for the district in which the parking surface is located. To the extent the zoning ordinance provides for different lot coverage, the zoning ordinance controls.
(g) 
Parking areas may not be used to store junk or inoperative vehicles, as that term is defined by city ordinance.
(h) 
It shall be unlawful for an operator of any vehicle to drive over a raised curb to park or stand a vehicle on property used for residential purposes.
(i) 
It shall be unlawful to leave, stand or park a vehicle on a public sidewalk or any part of a sidewalk or parkway area including the extension of a public sidewalk across a driveway except when necessary to avoid conflict with other traffic or in compliance with the direction of a peace officer or traffic-control device.
(Ordinance 748-03 adopted 4/7/03; Ordinance O-12-10, sec. 2, adopted 6/21/10)