City of Hercules, CA Chapter 13-32 OFF-STREET PARKING AND LOADING FACILITIES

Sec. 13-32.100 Purpose.

The purpose of this Chapter is to:

1. Provide safely accessible, aesthetically attractive, well landscaped, screened and maintained off-street parking facilities.

2. Alleviate or prevent traffic congestion and shortage of curb spaces, off-street parking and loading facilities for new land uses and major alterations and enlargements of existing land uses.

3. Provide for adequate off-street parking and loading area design to assure their usefulness, protect the public safety and, where appropriate, insulate surrounding land uses from their impact.

(ZO § 32.100; Ord. 515 § 2, 2018)

Sec. 13-32.200 Applicability.

All new uses, new structures, and major alterations or expansions of existing uses and structures shall provide off-street parking and loading facilities as per Tables 13-32.1 and 13-32.2. No certificate of occupancy shall be issued until the parking facilities required in this Chapter are provided. A use permit may be revoked if, at any time, adequate parking facilities are not provided and available for use as required.

1. No existing use of land or structure shall be considered a nonconforming use or a nonconforming structure solely because of the lack of off-street parking facilities or off-street loading facilities prescribed in this Chapter; provided, that facilities being used for off-street parking and off-street loading shall not be reduced in capacity to less than the number of spaces or berths required or reduced in area to less than the minimum standards.

2. No off-street parking facility or off-street loading facility provided for a use of land or structure shall be reduced in capacity or in area without sufficient additional capacity or additional area being provided to comply with the regulations of this Division.

3. Off-street parking facilities and off-street loading facilities shall be provided for a major alteration or enlargement of a site or structure which would increase the number of parking spaces required by 10 percent or more over existing levels of use or supply. The number of parking spaces or loading berths provided for a major alteration or enlargement of a site or structure shall be in addition to the number existing prior to the alteration or enlargement, unless the preexisting number is greater that the number required, in which instance the number in excess of the prescribed minimum shall be counted in calculating the number provided to serve the major alteration or enlargement.

4. Off-street parking spaces or off-street loading berths provided for a use of land or a structure shall not be used to provide for required off-street parking spaces or off-street loading berths for another use or a structure on another site, unless an easement or joint use agreement is recorded in the office of the County Recorder designating the off-street parking facility or the off-street loading facility with legal descriptions of both sites, and certifying that the off-street parking facility or the off-street loading facility shall not be used for any other purpose unless the restriction is removed by resolution of the Planning Commission. No certificate of occupancy shall be issued until a certified copy of the recorded easement or joint use agreement has been filed with the Building Official.

Upon submission of satisfactory evidence that other off-street parking facilities or off-street loading facilities have been provided in compliance with the requirements of this Division or that the use has ceased or the structure has been removed or altered so as no longer to require the off-street parking facility or the off-street loading facility, the Planning Commission may by resolution remove the restriction.

(ZO § 32.200; Ord. 515 § 2, 2018)

Sec. 13-32.300 Parking Standards.

1. Parking Spaces Required. The minimum number of parking spaces that shall be provided for a development or use is set forth in Table 13-32.1. If a use is not specified in Table 13-32.1, the same number of off-street parking spaces shall be provided as are required for the most similar specified use. The Planning Commission may require a greater number of parking spaces than the minimum specified in Table 13-32.1 in order to accommodate the parking demands of specific projects and uses.

For a use which operates on 2 or more shifts and the number of required off-street parking spaces is determined by the number of employees, the required off-street parking spaces shall be based upon the number of employees on the largest shift.

Off-street parking facilities requirements may be provided by the permanent allocation of the prescribed number of spaces for each use in a common parking facility as long as the total number of spaces provided shall not be less than the sum of the individual requirements. An executed and recorded copy of an agreement or joint use easement for the joint use of a common parking facility shall be filed with the application for a certificate of occupancy.

2. Calculation of Parking Spaces. The number of parking spaces required is calculated by determining the total size of the facility (such as dwelling units, seats, employees or 1,000 square feet of floor area, etc.) and multiplying this number by the number of spaces required per unit as shown in Table 13-32.1. If a fractional number of parking spaces result, 1 parking space shall be provided for a fraction of one-half space or more. No parking space shall be required for a fraction of less than one-half space.

If more than 1 use is located on a site or within a building, the number of parking spaces provided shall be equal to the sum of the requirements prescribed in this Table 13-32.1 for each use. However, if the development is a shopping center then all uses that share common walls or roofs will be calculated on a shopping center use basis. If there are separate pads with free standing buildings, their parking requirements shall be calculated as individual uses and added to the other shopping center parking requirements.

3. Handicapped Spaces. Handicapped spaces shall be provided as part of the required off-street parking spaces according to the standards set forth in Table 13-32.2.

4. Parking Space and Parking Lot Design Standards. Off-street parking facilities provided in compliance with subsection (1) of this Section shall meet the following standards:

A. Each standard parking space shall be not less than 18 feet in length and 9 feet in width, exclusive of aisles and access drives. Each compact parking space shall be not less than 16 feet in length and 8 feet in width, exclusive of aisles and access drives.

1) Not more than 40 percent of parking for a nonresidential project may be designated as compact parking;

2) At a residential project, up to 35 percent of parking may be designated as compact parking;

3) The minimum length of a standard and compact space may include a maximum overhang into adjoining landscaping of 18 inches;

4) Where a fence, wall or supports for a carport adjoin the length of a parking space, the width of that space shall be increased by 2 feet in addition to the width required by this Section.

B. Entrances into parking spaces located in a garage or carport shall have an overhead clearance of not less than 7 feet with a horizontal clearance of not less than 8 feet for per parking space.

Table 13-32.1: Off-Street Parking and Loading Requirements
USE	PARKING SPACES	LOADING SPACES	COMMENT — PARKING
Residential
Single-family	2.0 per unit	None	2 spaces in garage, 1 additional space required for 5+ bedrooms
Second residential unit	1.0 per unit	None
Multifamily	1.5 per unit + 0.5 per unit guest parking	1.0 per 25 units and 1.0 per additional 100 units	1 space/unit in garage or carport
Mobile home park	2.25 per unit		2 tandem spaces allowed
Senior housing	0.5 per unit + 1.0/employee
Commercial Lodging
Hotel/motel	1.2 per guest room	1.0 after 5,000 sf GFA and 1.0 per additional 200,000 sf GFA shall be provided	1.5 per room if restaurant part of hotel/motel
Lodge/club	1.0 per guest room or 1.0 per 2 beds		Whichever amount is more
Public/Quasi-Public
Public, government and utility offices and buildings	1.0 per employee	1.0 after 5,000 sf GFA and 1.0 per additional 200,000 sf GFA	Additional spaces provided for visitors as Commission requires
Parks, playgrounds and public recreation facilities	1.0 per employee		Additional spaces provided for visitors as Commission requires
General public assembly	0.25 per seat	1.0 after 5,000 sf GFA	According to permitted occupancy
Libraries, museums and art galleries	1.0 per employee	1.0 after 5,000 sf GFA	Additional spaces provided for visitors as Commission requires
Day care center	1.0 per employee + 0.1 per student	None
Elementary and middle schools	1.0 per employee	1.0 per 100,000 sf GFA	Additional spaces provided for visitors as Commission requires
High school	1.0 per employee + 0.25 per student of driving age	1.0 per 100,000 sf GFA	Additional spaces provided for visitors as Commission requires
Colleges and instructional schools	1.0 per employee + 0.6 per student	1.0 per 100,000 sf GFA	Employees for schools include teachers, administrators and all other personnel
Medical Treatment
Hospitals	2.0 per bed	1.0 per 100,000 sf GFA & 1.0 per additional 200,000 sf GFA	Or 0.4/employee + 0.33 per/bed + 0.2/outpatient treatment + 0.25/physician whichever requires more
Convalescent/nursing care/residential care facility—7 or more residents	0.3 per bed	1.0 per facility for truck loading, plus a designated passenger loading area convenient to the front entrance
Medical and dental offices	5.0 per 1,000 sq ft	1.0 after 5,000 sf GFA	Except area used for storage only
Business Offices
Professional offices	3.0 per 1,000 sq ft	1.0 after 5,000 sf GFA and 1.0 per additional	Lawyer, engineer, accountant, and other professional consulting
General offices	4.0 per 1,000 sq ft	200,000 sf GFA	Includes insurance, finance, real estate and personal services
Commercial
Banks	5.0 per 1,000 sf GFA	1.0 per facility	Not in a shopping center
Convenience retail	4.0 per 1,000 sf GFA	1.0 per 50,000 sf GFA with 1.0 required after 5,000 sf GFA	Not in a shopping center
Retail stores/sales	3.5 per 1,000 sf GFA		Not in a shopping center
Services and repair	2.5 per 1,000 sf GFA		Not in a shopping center
Wholesale and large hard goods stores/sales	2.5 per 1,000 sf GFA	1.0 per 50,000 sf GFA and 1.0 per additional 100,000 sf GFA	Not in a shopping center
Shopping centers
< 100,000 sf	4.0 per 1,000 sf GLA	2.0 per 100,000 sf GLA and 1.0 per additional 100,000 sf GLA
100,000 to 500,000 sf	4.5 per 1,000 sf GLA
> 500,000 sq ft	5.0 per 1,000 sf GLA
Fitness center/gym	7.0 per 1,000 sf GFA	1.0 per facility	Additional spaces provided as Commission requires
Theaters	0.33 per seat	1.0 per facility	According to permitted occupancy
Restaurants
Regional/national	20.0 per 1,000 sf GLA	1.0 per facility
Local/family	10.0 per 1,000 sf GLA	1.0 per facility
Fast food	17.0 per 1,000 sf GLA	1.0 per facility
Storage areas for commercial uses	1.0 per 1,000 sf GFA	As per main use	Area within a commercial use designated for storage only
Industrial
General industrial	1.5 per 1,000 sf GFA	2.0 per 50,000 sf GFA and 1.0 per additional 100,000 sf GFA	Additional spaces provided as Commission requires
Industrial park/R&D	2.0 per 1,000 sf GFA
Other uses
Mortuary	0.25 per seat	1.0 per 5,000 sf GFA	According to permitted occupancy
Emergency shelter	1.0 per 5 beds	1.0 per facility
Single-room occupancy units	0.5 per unit plus 1 space per employee on the largest shift
Unspecified	1.0 per employee	As per Commission	Additional spaces provided as Commission requires

Table 13-32.2: Handicapped Parking Requirements
USE	PARKING SPACES	MINIMUM
Office	0.2 spaces per 10,000 sf GFA	1.0
Bank	1.0 space per facility	1.0 Unless additional spaces needed
Industrial	—	Spaces to be provided to handicapped employees.
Restaurant	0.3 spaces per 1,000 sf GFA	1.0
Retail and Service Commercial	0.75 spaces per 10,000 sf GFA	1.0
Shopping Center	0.85 spaces per 10,000 sf GLA	1.0
Other Uses	1.0 space per facility	1.0 Unless additional spaces needed

Table 13-32.3: Parking Lot Row and Aisle Dimensions
Distance from Curb
Angle of Parking (degrees)	Compact Car Row (feet)	Standard Car Row (feet)	Aisle Width (feet)
90	16	18	25
60	18	20	18
45	16	18	12
30	14	16	10

C. Aisles and access drives for access, turning and maneuvering of vehicles at public and private parking areas shall be provided in conformance with the following standards:

1) Access drives providing for vehicular traffic in 1 direction and access drives to parking facilities for single-family dwellings shall have a width of not less than 10 feet, except as may be required by the Rodeo Fire Protection District for emergency access;

2) Access drives provided for vehicular traffic in 2 directions shall have a width of not less than 20 feet;

3) A one-way access drive providing access to 10 or more parking spaces shall have a width of not less than 20 feet;

4) Aisles providing access to parking shall conform to the standard set forth in Table 13-32.3.

5) Aisles providing access to parking angles other than those specified in this Chapter shall have such dimensions as may be prescribed by the Planning Commission.

D. No off-street parking area shall be designed or laid out so as to require the operator of a vehicle to drive upon any portion of a street in order to drive or maneuver from 1 aisle of the off-street parking area to another aisle.

E. Each parking space shall be accessible from a street or alley.

F. Entrances and exits shall be provided at locations approved by the City Engineer.

G. The parking area, aisles and access drives shall be paved so as to provide a durable, dustless surface and shall be so graded and drained as to dispose of surface water. Pavement shall conform with either of the following minimum standards:

1) Asphalt paving: 2 inches of asphalted concrete on 4 inches of aggregate base material or equal as determined by the City Engineer.

2) Concrete paving: 4 inches of Portland Cement Concrete on 3 inches of aggregate base material or equal as determined by the City Engineer.

H. Bumper rails or curbs shall be provided where needed for safety or to protect property.

I. If the parking area is illuminated, lighting shall be deflected away from abutting streets and residential sites so as to cause no dangerous or annoying glare.

J. No access drive shall be located closer than 2 feet to any property line and no access drive or parking area shall be located closer than 3 feet to any wall of a main structure, except in a commercial or industrial district where no access drive or parking area shall be located closer than 5 feet to any property line which adjoins a residential district nor closer than 5 feet to any property line which adjoins a street.

K. Parking in setback areas shall not be located in a required front yard, in a required side yard adjoining a street on a corner site, or in a required rear yard on a double frontage lot. Parking areas, including parking spaces located in a carport, which are located in a front yard, in a side yard adjoining a street on a corner site, or in a rear yard on a double frontage lot shall be screened from view from public rights-of-way by a wall, hedge or fence not less than 4 feet in height. The Community Development. Director may determine on a case-by-case basis that tandem parking is not feasible and therefore not permissible. That determination may be based upon specific site or regional topographical conditions, or on fire and life safety conditions, or on evidence that tandem parking is not permitted in existing residential subdivisions elsewhere in the City.

L. No repair work or servicing of vehicles shall be conducted on a parking area.

M. Off-street parking spaces located in a garage or carport shall comply with the following standards:

1) A parking space located in a single garage or carport shall be not less than 20 feet in length and 10 feet in width:

2) Parking space located in a garage or carport for more than 1 car shall be not less than 20 feet in length and shall have a minimum width of 10 feet for the first space and 9 feet for each additional space.

N. Off-street parking facilities shall be located on the same site as the use for which the spaces are required or on an adjoining site or a site separated only by an alley from the use for which the spaces are required.

O. The pavement of an off-street parking facility shall be striped with paint or otherwise marked to delineate the boundaries of each area intended to be used as a parking space.

(ZO § 32.300; Ord. 484 § 11, 2015; Ord. 515 § 2, 2018; Ord. 554 § 2, 2025)

Sec. 13-32.400 Loading Standards.

1. Loading Spaces Required. The minimum number of loading spaces that shall be provided for a development or use is set forth in Table 13-32.1. If a use is not specified in Table 13-32.1, the same number of loading spaces shall be provided as are required for the most similar specified use. Required loading spaces for medical facilities are in addition to any ambulance spaces that are to be provided. Off-street loading berths in addition to those prescribed in this Section shall be provided if the Planning Commission finds that such additional berths are necessary to assure that trucks will not be loaded, unloaded or stored on public streets. A finding of the Planning Commission shall be based on an investigation of the anticipated frequency of truck pick-ups and deliveries, and of the truck storage requirements of the use.

2. Calculation of Loading Spaces. The number of loading spaces required is calculated by dividing the total amount of a use unit in terms of the noted of measure, by the amount required for each parking space. If a fractional number of parking spaces is required, 1 loading space shall be provided for a fraction of one-half space or more, and no loading space shall be required for a fraction of less than one-half space. If more than 1 use is located on a site or within a building, the number of loading spaces provided shall be equal to the sum of the requirements prescribed in this Section for each use.

3. Loading Space Design Standards. Off-street loading facilities provided in compliance with subsection (1) of this Section shall meet the following standards:

A. Each loading berth shall be not less than 45 feet in length and 12 feet in width and shall have an overhead clearance of not less than 14 feet except that for mortuaries, cemeteries, columbariums and crematories, a loading berth used exclusively for hearses shall be not less than 24 feet in length and 10 feet in width and shall have an overhead clearance of not less than 8 feet.

B. Sufficient room for turning and maneuvering vehicles shall be provided on the site so it is not necessary for any vehicle to back onto the site from a public street.

C. Each loading berth shall be accessible from a street or alley.

D. Entrances and exits shall be provided at locations approved by the City Engineer.

E. The loading area, aisles and access drives shall be paved so as to provide a durable, dustless surface and shall be so graded and drained as to dispose of surface water. Pavement shall conform with either of the following minimum standards:

1) Asphalt paving: 2 inches of asphaltic concrete on 4 inches of aggregate base material or equal as determined by the City Engineer.

2) Concrete paving: 4 inches of Portland Cement concrete on 3 inches of aggregate base material or equal as determined by the City Engineer.

F. Bumper rails or curbs shall be provided where needed for safety or to protect property.

G. If the loading area is illuminated, lighting shall be deflected away from abutting streets and residential sites so as to cause no dangerous or annoying glare.

H. A loading area shall not be located in a required front side or rear yard in any district. A loading area located outside of a building shall be screened from public view by a solid wall or fence, a vine-covered chain-link fence with slats or a compact evergreen hedge, (with solid gates where necessary), not less than 6 feet in height.

I. No repair work or servicing of vehicles shall be conducted in a loading area

J. Off-street loading facilities shall be located on the same site with the use for which the berths are required or on an adjoining site.

K. The pavement of an off-street loading facility shall be striped with paint or otherwise marked to delineate the boundaries of each area intended to be used as a loading space.

(ZO § 32.400; Ord. 515 § 2, 2018)

Sec. 13-32.500 Parking Exceptions.

To encourage new development, increase housing affordability and housing choice, and minimize impervious surfaces and associated water runoff, the City should incorporate flexibility into minimum parking requirements. These "flex requirements" will allow development projects to provide a reduced amount of parking. The City may reduce or completely waive the number of parking spaces required based on quantitative information provided by the project applicant that documents the need for fewer parking spaces, as described below.

1. Application Requirements. Applications for a parking exception shall be accompanied by 1 of the following documents, prepared by a qualified professional, demonstrating that the proposed reduction will not create either on-site or off-site parking issues:

A. A parking study showing existing or comparable parking usage. The scope of the parking study shall be approved by the Community Development Director.

B. A market profile of existing or anticipated project users documenting below average vehicle ownership rates (for residential development) or below average vehicle trip generation rates (for commercial development).

C. Documentation of the expected reduction of vehicle trips and/or car ownership rates associated with the project due to the incorporation of transportation and parking demand management strategies into the project.

D. Documentation that the proposed land use will operate exclusively when the existing parking supply within 1,250 feet is adequate to accommodate the parking for the proposed use (e.g., a restaurant or club that operates only during evening hours or a shopping center with shared parking).

E. Documentation of the experience of other cities comparable to Hercules that have a lower parking requirement for the proposed land use.

2. Approval. A parking exception pursuant to this section shall be approved by the approval authority for the project including the requested parking exception.

3. Required Findings. In approving a parking exception, the approval authority shall make the following finding:

A. That the granting of the parking exception will not be detrimental to the public health, safety or welfare, or materially injurious to properties or improvements in the vicinity of the project.

(Ord. 536 § 2, 2022)