Parking areas off a Town or state road, and off of any interior access driveway, shall be provided to serve all buildings and all uses of land erected/established, moved, altered or enlarged, or otherwise developed. Such parking areas shall be provided, in accordance with the standards hereinafter specified, to accommodate the motor vehicles of the occupants, employees, customers, and other persons normally occupying, visiting, serving, or otherwise frequenting such building or land at any one time. Any land developed as a unit under single ownership and control shall be considered a single lot for the purpose of these regulations.
For all buildings other than single-family, two-family, or multifamily dwellings, loading areas for the loading and unloading of trucks shall be provided off the street and without encroachment on any required parking area, maneuvering lane, or access driveway. One loading area shall be provided for any building, or combination of buildings on a single site, having a gross floor area of 10,000 square feet or more, plus one such area for each additional 25,000 square feet of gross building area on any single lot.
[Amended 9-16-2025, eff. 10-1-2025]
A.
Parking spaces. Each bay or stall in an enclosed garage, carport, or similar enclosed shelter available for vehicular parking and having dimensions of at least 10 feet by 20 feet shall count as one parking space. Likewise, for single- and two-family dwellings only, each ten-foot by twenty-foot area of a driveway shall count as one parking space, excluding areas on corner lots required to be unobstructed (see § 315-4.08). For all uses of land other than single-family and two-family dwellings, each parking space shall be not less than nine feet in width and 18 feet in depth.
B.
Maneuvering lanes. Each row of parking spaces shall be served by a maneuvering lane or lanes not less than 24 feet wide for two-way traffic, and 16 feet wide for one-way traffic. Angle parking for one-way traffic shall not exceed 60°.
C.
Access drives. Parking areas shall be served by access drives no less than 24 feet in width nor more than 35 feet in width. One-way driveways shall be no less than 12 feet in width nor more than 16 feet in width. Access drives on state roads shall comply with all applicable state regulations or with these regulations, whichever shall be more restrictive.
D.
Loading areas. Loading areas shall have a minimum dimension of 12 feet by 50 feet, with a minimum vertical clearance of 14 feet six inches. Loading areas may be located within a building or in an open space, but not within any space designated for off-street parking or driveways accessory thereto. All loading areas shall have an unobstructed access at least 10 feet in width from the loading dock or area to the street; such access may be combined with vehicular parking access driveways, but such combination should be avoided, especially where the volume of traffic from the general public will be high (as in retail or office developments). No loading area shall be located in any required front yard.
All commercial, industrial, governmental, and multifamily residential buildings and uses shall provide parking spaces for handicapped individuals. Said spaces shall conform to C.G.S. § 14-253a and the requirements of the Connecticut Building Code.
A.
For uses of land other than single-family dwellings, and except as provided below, all parking areas, loading areas, maneuvering lanes, and access drives shall be improved with an adequate all-weather, dustless surface consisting of no less than four inches of processed stone or gravel and a minimum of three inches of bituminous concrete. A greater thickness or higher specification of surfacing may be required by the Commission/Board as part of a special permit/exception application where especially high traffic volumes or heavy vehicle weight is anticipated. All parking spaces shall be defined by curbing or wheel stops to prevent cars from damaging landscaping islands or pedestrian walkways. All parking spaces shall be delineated by painted lines or other clearly visible means.
B.
The Commission, as part of a special permit (but not the Board, as part of a special exception), may waive the requirement for a dustless surface, curbing and painted lines, and permit alternative surfacing with washed gravel, stone dust, or similar materials, provided that:
(1)
The Town Engineer shall approve the design and alternative surfacing of the parking area.
(2)
Wheel stops shall be provided by anchored timbers, stone, or similar methods.
(3)
The applicant shall be responsible for regular maintenance of the surface such that it remains free of puddles, icing, potholes, erosion, dust, and similar defects, and is usable by the public during all weather conditions. Failure to comply with this provision shall constitute a violation of these regulations and subject the owner or occupant of the property to the penalties provided by law.
(4)
The Commission finds that the character of the neighborhood, the projected intensity of use, the overall size of the parking area, and the nature of the proposed alternative surface make such a waiver appropriate.
For uses of land other than single-family dwellings, all parking areas shall provide for proper drainage, efficient maintenance, and snow removal. In accordance with the applicable provisions of § 315-4.20, Stormwater runoff control, of these regulations, stormwater drainage systems shall produce no increase in peak runoff by means of man-made detention ponds, retention systems or existing natural areas on the site. All stormwater drainage systems shall provide for the trapping and removal of road sand and other waterborne debris. All drainage systems shall be designed to prevent the flow of stormwater onto Town or state roads.
[Amended 9-16-2025, eff. 10-1-2025]
In accordance with § 315-13.06B, Lighting, of these regulations, for uses of land other than single-family dwellings, all parking areas shall be illuminated to an average level of 1/2 footcandle per square foot. Lighting in parking areas shall not exceed 20 feet in height or the height of the tallest roofline of any building on the site, whichever is less; provided, however, the Commission, as part of a special permit, may allow lighting no more than 30 feet in height for the central areas of very large parking lots (more than 100 cars) in industrial and commercial developments, and where sixteen-foot standards, or less, are used along all entrance and interior driveways, adjacent to all buildings. No lighting shall create glare, nor shall the unshielded light source be visible from any property line of the site. The same standards shall apply to maneuvering lanes and access drives. Pedestrianways shall be illuminated by light bollards or other low-level standards with shielded light sources. All loading areas, rear entries, and other high-crime areas shall be illuminated to the level of parking areas.
Landscaping shall be provided in accordance with § 315-13.06D, Landscaping and screening, of these regulations. Specifically, all parking and loading areas shall utilize landscaped islands to define and separate parking rows, maneuvering lanes, and access driveways to prevent random vehicular movement and the appearance of large areas of uninterrupted pavement. Capacity of any parking area shall not exceed 75 spaces, and where more parking is required, two or more parking areas shall be provided, separated by a minimum of 15 feet of landscaped area. Loading areas shall be screened by fences, walls, or landscaped screens. Nonresidential parking and loading areas shall be screened from adjacent residential uses in accordance with the provisions of § 315-4.14, Buffer requirements for nonresidential uses, of these regulations; provided, however, that required screening along streets may be modified where required to provide safe sight lines.
The Commission/Board may require provisions for safe pedestrian circulation by means of separate walkways, crosswalks, and similar facilities. Such walkways shall be surfaced and maintained for use in all seasons.
The requirements of this Article 18, including, but not limited to, the provision of off-street parking and off-street loading, shall be the continuing obligation of the owner of the property upon which any building or use is located as long as such building or use is in existence. It shall be a violation of these regulations for any owner or person in possession of any property to discontinue, obstruct, alter, fail to maintain or plow, or otherwise render unusable any parking or loading area, maneuvering lane, access drive, or any other requirement of this Article 18.
All parking spaces required by these regulations shall be located on the same lot as the building or use which they are intended to serve, except in the case of collective provision of parking spaces, as set forth in the following section. All access driveways for any off-street parking area containing 10 or more vehicle spaces or any loading area shall be located no less than 50 feet from any intersecting street lines and shall have a minimum sight line as specified by the Town Engineer.
Nothing in these regulations shall be construed to prevent the collective provision of loading areas for two or more adjacent buildings which are physically connected, as in a unified shopping center, mall, or office complex, provided the total number of such loading areas shall not be less than the sum of the requirements for the various buildings or uses computed separately. Likewise, nothing in these regulations shall be construed to prevent the collective provision of off-street parking areas for two or more adjacent buildings or uses, provided the total number of such parking spaces shall not be less than the sum of the requirements for the various buildings or uses computed separately, except as provided in § 315-18.13 of these regulations. Further, there shall be no collective provision of off-street parking unless the subject site is under unified ownership or control or unless suitable, perpetual cross-easements are on file or to be filed in the Willington Land Records, binding multiple property owners to permit unrestricted access and parking on the entire site to the general public and providing for the maintenance of the parking areas on the total site.
As part of a special permit/exception, the Commission/Board may, by specific provision in the motion of approval, permit the same parking space(s) to be calculated for more than one building or use where evidence is provided which indicates that such buildings or uses will have peak occupancy or parking demand during different times of the day or week. In no event shall such joint use reduce the required parking for any building or use by more than 25%.
"Gross floor area" (hereafter, "GFA") shall be defined as the sum of the areas of the floor(s) of a building, as measured by the exterior faces of the walls, including covered porches and the like as measured at the exterior limits thereof, but excluding garage space which is in the basement of a building or otherwise covered, or, in the case of garage space(s) accessory to a dwelling unit, which is at grade. "Gross leasable area" (hereafter, "GLA") shall be defined as gross floor area minus common, public areas not assigned to any tenancy, such as lobbies, porticos, breezeways, stairways, elevators, utility rooms, and the common area of enclosed or covered malls.
For any permitted developments, off-street parking shall be no less than as set forth in this § 315-18.15. Whenever the calculation produces a fractional parking space, the required parking shall be rounded to the next highest whole number. The following shall be considered as minimums only, and in the case of uses which are projected to generate a greater parking demand than required by their square footage, seating, or other factors, the Commission may require additional parking as necessary to accommodate the projected demand. In those cases where the specific use is not listed in the following table, the Commission shall designate that use category which most nearly approximates the anticipated parking demand of the proposed use.
Required Off-Street Parking Spaces for Permitted Uses | ||
|---|---|---|
Use | Requires | Per |
Single-family dwellings | 2 spaces | Dwelling |
Two-family dwellings | 2 spaces | Dwelling |
Multifamily dwellings | 2 spaces | Dwelling |
Multifamily dwelling (designed elderly residential) | 1.5 spaces | Dwelling |
Community residence | 1 space | Nonresident staff member/employee, plus |
1 space | Every 2 resident adult occupants | |
Governmental, philanthropic, educational, religious, and charitable uses | 1 space | Greater of 200 square feet of GFA or |
1 space | 3 seats in sanctuaries, meeting halls, etc. | |
Club | 1 space | 800 square feet of GFA |
Golf course | 1 space | 800 square feet of GFA, plus |
2 spaces | Green | |
Hospital, sanitarium, rest home, convalescent home | 1 space | Greater of 250 square feet of GFA, or |
2 spaces | Bed | |
Agricultural-related activities, processing, animal husbandry and horticultural services; forestry activities and related services | 1 space | 1,000 square feet of GFA |
Railroad/rapid rail transit lines | 1 space | Greater of 300 square feet of GFA, or |
2 spaces | Loading platform | |
Group child-care home | 1 space | Greater of 500 square feet of GFA, or |
1 space | 6 children authorized to be cared for at the facility | |
Excavation and fill operations | As may be determined by the Commission, based on the size and character of the operation and the number of employees anticipated | |
Commercial propagation and growing of flowers, plants, nursery stock, and berries; and commercial greenhouses | 1 space | Greater of 500 square feet of GFA, or (including greenhouses and storage buildings) |
2 spaces | Acre of land in active cultivation | |
Commercial dog kennels | 1 space | 5 dogs capacity |
Commercial livery and boarding stables | 1 space | Greater of 500 square feet of GFA or (including stables, arenas, storage buildings, barns, and the like) |
1 space | Stall | |
Commercial veterinary hospitals | 1 space | 250 square feet of GFA |
Recreational facilities accessory to schools and places of worship | 5 additional spaces | Each playing field or play area |
Home occupations (accessory use). See also detailed requirements in § 315-11.01, Home businesses. There shall be no on-street parking for any home occupation. | 2 spaces | Dwelling; plus |
1 space | Nonresident employee (5 total spaces maximum) | |
Retail buildings and open stands accessory to a farm | 1 space | Greater of 150 square feet of GFA (or covered space) |
1 space | 300 square feet of land used for display/sale of goods | |
Library (public) | 1 space | 300 sq. ft. of GFA |
School, elementary | 2 spaces | Greater of classroom, or |
1 space | Projected teacher or staff member | |
School, middle or junior high | 1.5 spaces | Greater of classroom, or |
1 space | Projected teacher or staff member | |
School, secondary (high) | 2.5 spaces | Greater of classroom, or |
1 space | Projected teacher or staff member | |
School, junior college, college, or university | 1 space | 3 classroom and assembly hall seats, plus |
Additional spaces in accordance with the most analogous provisions of these regulations for other accessory uses, such as dining halls, faculty offices, research facilities, and the like | ||
Theaters; other places of public assembly | 1 space | 3 seats |
Mortuaries | 5 spaces | Chapel or similar room |
Restaurants | 1 space | 3 table seats, plus |
1 space | 2 counter or bar seats | |
Motels and hotels | 1 space | Room, plus |
1 space | 1,000 square feet of GFA of supporting facilities (such as meeting/conference rooms, offices, enclosed pools and the like), plus any spaces required by these regulations for restaurants | |
Professional and other offices (excluding medical offices) | 1 space | 250 square feet of GFA |
Medical offices, such as doctors, dentists, medical laboratories | 1 space | 150 square feet of GFA |
Manufacturing operations | 1 space | 750 square feet of GFA |
Banks, insurance companies, other financial institutions | 1 space | 300 square feet of GFA |
Retail trade | 1 space | 250 square feet of GFA |
Service station | 1 space | Bay or work area |
Warehousing, shipping/receiving, transportation terminals | 1 space | 5,000 square feet of GFA |