The minimum off-street parking and loading requirements shall be as follows:
A. 
Uses such as banks, professional offices and business offices, retail stores, supermarkets, department stores, personal service shops, medical/dental offices and skating rinks shall provide one parking space per 300 square feet of net leasable area.
B. 
Uses such as restaurants, nightclubs, taverns and lounges shall provide one parking space per 100 square feet of net leasable area.
C. 
Shopping centers shall provide one parking space per 250 square feet of net leasable area. For the purposes of this section, a shopping center is defined as a building or buildings designed as a unit containing two or more separate and distinct retail activities within it and utilizing a common parking area.
D. 
Offices, warehouses and manufacturing establishments shall provide one space per each employee on the largest shift.
E. 
Residential uses shall provide the following parking at the following ratios:
1. 
Units with two or more bedrooms: 2.0 stalls per unit;
2. 
Units with one bedroom: 1.5 stalls per unit;
3. 
Studio units: 1.0 stalls per unit;
4. 
Visitor parking: 1.0 stalls per five residential units. This requirement does not apply to co-living units.
5. 
When new dwelling units are constructed entirely within a legally conforming or legally nonconforming existing building, no additional parking shall be required than was legally required at the time of original construction or a prior addition, remodel, or tenant improvement. For the purpose of this subsection, “existing building” means a building that received a valid certificate of occupancy at least three years prior to the permit application to add housing units.
F. 
Mixed Occupancies. In cases of two or more uses in the same building, the total requirements for off-street parking facilities shall be the sum of the requirements for the several uses computed separately.
G. 
Other Uses. Where a use is not listed, in cases where only a broad use category is shown, or if there is a request for an alternative parking ratio submitted, the director shall utilize the current version of the Parking Generation Manual prepared by the Institute of Transportation Engineers.
H. 
Joint Use. The director of planning and community development may authorize the joint use of parking areas under the following conditions:
1. 
The uses jointly using parking facilities shall have dissimilar peak hours. The applicant shall show that there is no substantial conflict in the principal operating hours of the two buildings or uses for which joint use of off-street parking facilities is proposed.
2. 
No more than 50 percent of a use's parking requirement shall be supplied by a joint use agreement.
3. 
The building or use for which application is being made shall be located no more than 800 feet from the parking area.
4. 
A properly drawn legal instrument, executed by the parties concerned, for joint use of the off-street parking area, duly approved as to form and manner of execution by the city attorney, shall be recorded with the Pierce County auditor.
I. 
Parking stalls in all areas of the city shall meet the following dimensions:
 
 
J. 
Compact stalls may be reduced to eight feet in width and 18 feet in length and shall make up no more than 35 percent of the total minimum parking stalls required. Motorcycle stalls shall make up no more than five percent of the total minimum parking stalls. Compact and motorcycle stalls added together shall make up no more than 40 percent of the total minimum parking stalls. When compact or motorcycle stalls are to be used as part of the minimum required parking stalls, they shall not be located in the area in front of the entrance of the building and shall be placed in the outlying area of the required parking area. All compact and motorcycle parking spaces must be clearly and visibly striped and labeled for compact car use only. A combination of compact and motorcycle parking stalls in excess of 40 percent of the minimum parking stalls required may be allowed by the planning and community development director if the compact and motorcycle stalls are in excess of the minimum number required and placed in an overflow parking area.
K. 
In areas where parking stalls will be adjacent to a landscape area or pedestrian walkway, a wheel stop shall be placed two feet from the terminus of the parking space to prevent vehicles from striking the landscaping or interfering with the pedestrian walkway.
L. 
The amount of required electric vehicle charging spaces shall be determined by WAC 51-50-0429 and shall comply with the provisions in Chapter 18.40 BLMC.
M. 
For the purpose of this section only, "net leasable area" shall be defined as the interior floor area of a building, excluding stairwells and mechanical areas.
N. 
As an alternative to the provisions above, residential development otherwise required to comply with this section may demonstrate compliance with the requirements of RCW 36.70A.622; provided that:
1. 
Parking shall only be provided parallel or 90 degrees to the drive aisle.
2. 
Parking spaces provided in a garage or carport shall be assigned to a dwelling unit and shall not be used for any purpose other than vehicle parking and storage of non-motorized transportation such as bicycles.
(Ord. 740 § 13, 1997; Ord. 769 § 1, 1998; Ord. 1155 § 14, 2005; Ord. 1303 §§ 1, 2, 2009; Ord. 1641 § 17, 2020; Ord. 1686 § 24, 2023; Ord. 1745, 12/9/2025)
Off-street loading shall be provided for each use as determined by the director of planning and community development which shall base its decision on the frequency of deliveries to and from the proposed use, traffic patterns in the area, the use to which neighboring properties are put, all to avoid disruption of traffic in the area of the proposed use.
(Ord. 740 § 13, 1997)
The following special requirements and performance standards shall apply to all properties located in the neighborhood commercial; commercial; heavy commercial, warehousing and light industrial; and manufacturing districts.
A. 
Odor.
1. 
No use shall be permitted which creates annoying odor in such quantities as to be readily detectable beyond the boundaries of the site.
B. 
Radioactivity and Electrical Disturbances.
1. 
Radioactivity and electrical disturbances shall be limited to measuring, gauging and calibration devices, medical purposes, and the processing and preservation of foods.
2. 
In no event shall radio activity, when measured at such exterior boundaries of the property, be in excess of 2.7 x 100 microcuries per milliliter of air at any moment of time. Radio and television transmitters shall be operated at the regularly assigned wave length (or within the authorized tolerances therefor) as assigned thereto by the appropriate governmental agency. Subject to such exception, all electrical and electronic devices and equipment shall be suitably wired, shielded and controlled so that in operation they shall not emit any electrical impulses or waves which will adversely affect the operation and control of any other electrical or electronic devices or equipment.
C. 
Vibration.
1. 
No use except a temporary construction operation shall be permitted which generates inherent and recurrent ground vibration perceptible without instruments at the boundary of the lot in which the use is located.
D. 
Gases, Fumes and Vapors.
1. 
The emission of any dust, dirt, fly ash, gases, fumes or vapors dangerous to human health, animal life, vegetation or property, or which can cause any soiling or staining of persons or property at any point beyond the exterior property lines, is prohibited.
2. 
No emission of liquid or solid particles from any chimney or other source shall exceed three-tenths grains per cubic foot of the carrying gas at any point beyond the lot line of the use creating the emission.
3. 
For measurement of the amount of particles in gases resulting from combustion, standard correction shall be applied to a stack temperature of 500 degrees Fahrenheit and 50 percent excess air in stack at full load.
E. 
Heat.
1. 
No use shall produce heat significantly perceptible beyond its exterior property lines.
F. 
Glare.
1. 
No use shall produce a strong dazzling light, or a reflection of a strong dazzling light, beyond its exterior property lines.
G. 
Storage and Waste Disposal.
1. 
All materials and waste which might cause fumes, dust, constitute a fire hazard, produce offensive odors, or which may be edible or otherwise attractive to rodents or insects shall be stored in closed containers and in a manner to eliminate or prevent such hazards.
2. 
No highly flammable or explosive liquids, solids, or gases shall be stored in bulk above ground, except tanks or drums of fuel connected directly with energy or heating appliances located and operated on the same lot as the tanks or drums of fuel.
3. 
All outdoor storage facilities for fuel, raw materials and products, stored outdoors, shall be enclosed by an approved safety fence.
4. 
No material or wastes shall be deposited upon a lot in such form or manner that they may be transported off the lot by natural causes or forces, nor shall any substance which can contaminate a stream or watercourse or otherwise render such stream or watercourse undesirable as a source of water supply or recreation, or which will destroy aquatic life, be allowed to enter any stream or watercourse.
5. 
Any facilities processing, storing or disposing of hazardous wastes shall be sited in accordance with the provisions of Chapter 70.105 RCW and shall meet the state's siting criteria and receive a State Hazardous Waste Management Facility Permit.
(Ord. 740 § 13, 1997; Ord. 788 § 1, 1998)
Commercial uses allowed as accessory uses in the R-3 high-density residential district shall comply with the following standards:
A. 
The commercial activity shall be associated with a residential complex;
B. 
No more than 20 percent of the building area within the residential complex shall be used for commercial activity; and
C. 
No individual commercial use shall exceed 5,000 square feet of floor area.
(Ord. 1568 § 1, 2017)