City of Garland, TX Provisions Applicable to All Zoning Districts

Off-Street Parking Ratios.

All uses of land and buildings in the City of Garland, except for within the Downtown district, must provide off-street parking at the ratios set forth within the Land Use Matrix (Section 2.51 in Chapter 2 of this GDC). Land uses within the Downtown district must provide parking in accordance with that district (see Chapter 7 of this GDC). In any district, when more than one use occurs on a site, the required off-street parking must be prorated according to the requirements of each use. In computing the total required parking, a fraction in the final figure must be rounded to the next highest whole number.

(B)

Stall and Aisle Dimensions.

A person, property owner, or developer must comply with the minimum dimensions of parking stalls and aisles, including full-size parking spaces and compact car parking spaces specified in the City’s Technical Standards Manual, as amended.

(C)

Vehicle Stopping Devices, Overhangs, Curbing.

(1)

Vehicle Stopping Devices.

Parking and vehicle sales areas must have a vehicle stopping device (including, but not limited to, raised curbs, wheel stops, and bollards) installed to prevent parking of motor vehicles in any required landscaped areas, and to prevent any parked vehicle from overhanging a public right-of-way line, public sidewalk, or adjacent property.

(2)

Vehicle Overhang.

A sidewalk can accommodate vehicle overhangs provided that a minimum four-foot unobstructed sidewalk area is maintained (see Chapter 3 for required sidewalks). This requirement applies only where spaces are adjacent to the walks, right-of-way, and landscaping. In any event, parking may not be allowed to overhang public right-of-way.

(D)

Access.

Vehicular access to nonresidential uses from alleys serving residential areas is prohibited. All required parking and loading areas shall be accessed by a driveway meeting the requirements of Section 4.21.

(E)

Materials.

All parking for land uses and buildings, including required parking and any additional parking that are provided on- or off-site, must be constructed of concrete (in accordance with the City’s Technical Standards). Other paving materials for parking areas may be proposed for non-required parking using the alternative compliance process outlined in Article 1, Division 2 of this Chapter 4.

(F)

Location.

All parking for land uses and buildings, including required parking and any additional parking that are provided on- or off-site, must be located within a zoning district that allows the use for which the parking is required.

(G)

Shared and Off-Site Parking.

A portion of the required off-street parking for different buildings, structures, or uses may be shared (up to 50%). In addition, a portion of the required off-street parking for different buildings, structures, or uses may be provided off-site (up to 25%). Both are subject to the following requirements:

(1)

Shared and off-site parking must be on an immediately contiguous lot or tract, and all shared parking spaces must be located within three hundred feet of the property boundary of the use(s) the shared parking serves.

(2)

The Planning Director is responsible for the approval or denial of a request for shared or off-site parking as part of the appropriate development application.

(3)

Each property owner must execute an irrevocable mutual parking agreement (granting parking easements necessary to assure retention of the shared or off-site parking spaces), in a form acceptable to the City, file this document with the County, and provide a copy of the filed document to the City prior to issuance of a Site Permit, Building Permit or Certificate of Occupancy (as applicable, and whichever occurs first) for any use that relies upon the shared or off-site parking arrangement.

(4)

For shared parking, the peak parking demand for any of the buildings, structures, or uses will generally occur at a different time of day than the peak parking demand of other adjacent buildings, structures, or uses. The developer is responsible for providing parking demand data to support the request for a reduction in total parking space requirement due to joint use. Parking requirements are determined based on parking demand for the peak parking period. If at some time the peak parking demand changes, or if a shared parking arrangement becomes inadequate to accommodate the parking generated by the uses or a nuisance to surrounding property owners, the Planning Director has the authority to require the uses sharing the parking to submit a parking study prepared by a licensed transportation engineer for review and, if deemed necessary, the Director may place limitations or other safeguards on the parking arrangement to protect the public health, safety, or welfare.

(H)

Use of Required Parking and Loading Spaces.

Required off-street parking and loading spaces may be used only for parking and loading spaces. Use for any other purpose is prohibited.

(I)

Off-Street Stacking Requirements for Drive-Throughs.

In addition to the requirements set forth in the Technical Standards Manual, persons, property owners, or business owners must comply with the following off-street stacking requirements, as applicable, for drive-throughs:

(1)

General.

A stacking space is an area on a site measuring eight feet by twenty-two feet with direct forward access to a service window or station of a drive-through facility that does not constitute space for any other circulation driveway, parking space, or maneuvering area, and that does not include the area where a vehicle is actually being served from a drive-through window. An escape lane of at least eight feet in width and with negotiable geometric design must be provided to allow vehicles to exit the stacking lane in the event of a stalled vehicle, emergency, or accidental entry.

(2)

Banks/Financial Institutions.

For financial institutions with drive-through facilities, each teller window or station, human or mechanical, requires a minimum of five stacking spaces. One escape lane must be provided.

(3)

Restaurants.

For each service window of a drive-through restaurant, a minimum of five stacking spaces is required for the first vehicle stop (usually the menu/order board), and two stacking spaces is required for each additional vehicle stop (such as order/pick-up windows). One escape lane is required from the beginning of the stacking lane to the first stop (that is, the menu/order board).

(4)

Other Retail Uses.

For other retail operations (other than restaurants, banks, or those operations specifically cited in this section) and kiosks that provide drive-through or drive-up service (such as pharmacies or dry cleaners), a minimum of two stacking spaces for each service window are required.

(5)

Car Wash, Full-Service/Detail.

For a full-service car wash, each vacuum or gas pump lane requires a minimum of four stacking spaces. For the finish/drying area, adequate vehicle stacking and storage space is required to keep finished vehicles out of circulation aisles, access easements, fire lanes, streets, etc.

(6)

Car Wash, Automated/Rollover.

For each automated self-service (drive-through/rollover) car wash bay, a minimum of three stacking spaces, in addition to the wash bay itself, are required. One stacking space is required at the exit end of each wash bay for window-drying and other detailing.

(7)

Car Wash, Self-Service.

For each manually operated, wand-type self-service (open) car wash bay, a minimum of two stacking spaces, in addition to the wash bay itself, are required. One stacking space is required at the exit end of each wash bay for window-drying and other detailing, unless a separate area or shade structure is provided outside of circulation aisles for these activities.

(8)

Automobile Repair (with drive-through).

For drive-through automobile repair establishments (such as, 20-minute oil and lube maintenance stations), a minimum of one stacking space is required for each service bay in addition to the service bay itself.

(J)

Storage of Recreational Vehicles and Boats.

Recreational vehicles and boats that are being stored may not occupy parking required by this Article 2. Spaces and areas dedicated to recreational vehicle storage must be paved in accordance with the City’s paving standards for parking areas, and must not be directly visible from any public right-of-way or single-family property line (see Section 32.57 of the Code of Ordinances).

(K)

Deviation of Required Spaces.

The maximum amount of required parking spaces for a particular nonresidential or multifamily use (as set forth in the Land Use Matrix in Section 2.51 of Chapter 2) may be increased, as identified below. Deviations (that is, an increase in parking) in excess of the ratio shown for a particular sized project (maximum fifteen percent) may be submitted for approval using the alternative compliance process outlined in Article 1, Division 2 of this Chapter 4, and the request must be accompanied by a parking generation study prepared by a licensed transportation engineer. A request for a parking deviation in excess of the applicable amount shown below for a project may also be submitted using the alternative compliance process, except that any request for deviation that exceeds fifteen percent of the maximum parking requirement shall be processed, reviewed, and decided as a Zoning Variance by the Board of Adjustments in accordance with the procedures set forth in Section 2.25 of this GDC. Any type of deviation, regardless of degree, must be mitigated. Mitigation can be achieved by the use of pervious parking, increased landscaping (see Section 4.35 of this GDC), increased stormwater controls (see Section 3.63 of this GDC), or other method to reduce the impact of the increased parking.

Deviation of Required Off-Street Parking Spaces
Size of Structures (square feet)	Percent of Deviation
0 to 40,000 sf	up to 5%
40,001 to 85,000 sf	up to 10%
greater than 85,000 sf	up to 15%

(Ordinance 6773 adopted 5/19/15; Ordinance 7055, sec. 38, adopted 5/7/19; Ordinance 7107, sec. 58, adopted 12/3/19)

(A)

General Criteria.

A person, property owner, or business owner must comply with the following loading requirements:

(1)

Driveways, aisles, maneuvering areas, and heavy load vehicle berths must be designed to accommodate the largest vehicles normally expected to use those particular driveways, aisles, maneuvering areas, and heavy load vehicle berths.

(2)

All parking, loading, and maneuvering of heavy load vehicles must be conducted off-street and on private property. All drives and approaches must provide adequate space and clearances to allow the maneuvering of heavy load vehicles off-street.

(3)

Required vehicle parking is prohibited within the heavy load vehicle dock apron space or maneuvering areas.

(4)

The minimum dimensions of a loading area (or heavy load vehicle loading berth) are provided in the City’s Technical Standards Manual, as amended, and incorporated herein.

(B)

Loading Ratios & Area.

All nonresidential uses must provide and maintain off-street parking facilities for the loading and unloading of merchandise and goods at ratios consistent with Table 4-1 below, based on square feet of gross floor area, or fraction thereof.

Table 4-1: Number of Required Off-Street Loading Spaces (Heavy Load Vehicle Loading Spaces)
Retail, Restaurants and Commercial Structures (Square Feet)	Hotels, Office Buildings, Industrial and Similar Establishments (Square Feet)	Minimum Number of Loading Spaces
0 to 10,000 sf	0 to 50,000 sf	1 loading space
10,001 to 150,000 sf	50,001 to 200,000 sf	2 loading spaces
150,001 to 200,000 sf	200,001 to 500,000 sf	3 loading spaces
each additional 100,000 sf	each additional 200,000 sf	1 additional loading space

(C)

Loading Area Location.

(1)

Heavy load vehicle loading spaces and apron space must not be located on the street side of a building, except as approved by the Planning Director in accordance with Division 6 of this Article 2.

(2)

Heavy load vehicle loading spaces and apron space must not be located within a required setback or landscape buffer strip, except as approved by the Planning Director as an alternative compliance request in accordance with Division 6 of this Article 2.

(3)

See Article 3 (Screening & Landscaping) for additional screening requirements for loading areas.

(D)

Waiver.

The Planning Director has the authority to waive all or a portion of the loading space requirement if, upon receipt and review of data prepared by a transportation engineer licensed in the state of Texas, it is demonstrated that the requirement is excessive or unnecessary for the proposed use.

(Ordinance 6773 adopted 5/19/15; Ordinance 7055, sec. 39, adopted 5/7/19)