Township of Harrison, NJ Off-Street Parking, Loading and Bicycle Parking Regulations

Off-street loading and unloading space(s) with proper and safe access from a street or alley shall be provided on each lot where it is deemed that such facilities are necessary to adequately serve the uses within the district. All such loading and unloading spaces shall be located in the rear of the building. Each loading and unloading space:

(a)

Shall be at least 14 feet wide, 60 feet long, and shall have at least a fifteen-foot vertical clearance;

(b)

Shall have a sixty-foot maneuvering area;

(c)

Shall have an all-weather surface to provide safe and convenient access during all seasons;

(d)

Shall not be constructed between the street right-of-way line and the building setback line.

Required off-street parking space (including aisles) shall not be used for loading and unloading purposes except during hours when business operations are suspended.

Loading and unloading facilities shall be designed so that trucks need not back in or out, or park in, any public right-of-way.

No truck shall be allowed to stand in a right-of-way or in an automobile parking area (including aisles), or in any position that will block the effective flow of persons or vehicles.

Requirements. At least one off-street loading space shall be provided for all commercial and industrial concerns in excess of 3,500 square feet of floor area. The number of loading and unloading spaces shall be left to the discretion of the developer; however, the standards of this section shall be maintained, and the number of proposed spaces approved by the Planning Board.

§ 225-86 Parking regulations.

Standards.

The required parking areas shall be measured exclusive of interior driveways or maneuvering areas. Outdoor parking or service for uses open to the public and the approaches thereto shall be paved according to Township specifications, and shall be graded, properly drained, and maintained in a good condition. In computing the number of parking spaces required in Subsection B below, if the computation shall result in a fraction, a space shall be required for each fractional amount.

Dimensions.

(a)

Parking spaces and access aisle dimensions shall be adequate to accommodate anticipated volumes, types of vehicles and vehicle turnover. Generally, off-street parking spaces and access aisles shall be dimensioned in accordance with the following schedule, with permitted variances, as conditions warrant.

	Angle of Parking Space	Access Aisle Width With Nine-Foot Parking Space (feet)
	90	24
	60	20
	45	15
	30	12
	Parallel	18

(b)

When angled parking spaces are utilized, the space "box" for the vehicle shall be contained completely inside the lines for the parking spaces. Aisle widths below 24 feet are only appropriate if they are utilized for one-way drive aisles, otherwise all drive aisles shall be at least 24 feet wide, including for parallel spaces.

(c)

Each parking space shall be a minimum of nine feet in width by 18 feet in length, except for a retail store, shopping center, supermarket or personal service uses which shall have a minimum width of 10 feet. Alternatively, parking spaces may be reduced to 16 feet in length where vehicles overhang landscaped areas or expanded pedestrian walkways by a minimum of two feet, subject to Board approval. With the exception of preexisting painted parking spaces, all new parking spaces shall be delineated using hairpin striping. Each hairpin stripe separating adjacent parking spaces shall include two parallel, four-inch-wide white traffic-painted stripes placed two feet apart straddling the imaginary line that defines each nine-foot-wide parking space. The width of the parking space shall be measured from the mid-point between the two stripes. All parking areas shall be provided with permanent and durable curbing to assist in orderly parking and separate pedestrian walkways from vehicular traffic, unless alternative treatment is warranted and approved by the Board. If walkways or curbed landscaped areas are not provided adjacent to parking spaces, front wheel stops (staked, black-rubber-type only) or alternative treatment may be provided, subject to Board approval.

Handicapped parking shall be provided in accordance with the standards of the U.S. Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board requirements pursuant to the Americans with the Disabilities Act and shall be subject to the review and approval of the Township Construction Code Official.

The side of a parking space that abuts a fixed object, such as a wall or column, whether within a structure or not, shall have a minimum width of 10 feet.

An off-street parking facility existing at the effective date of this chapter shall not subsequently be reduced to an amount less than required under this chapter for a similar new building or new use. An off-street parking facility provided to comply with the provisions of this chapter shall not subsequently be reduced below the requirements of this chapter.

(6)

Every parking lot shall be subject to the following buffer requirements: In the case of a parking lot which is accessory to a permitted use and which has facilities for five or more automobiles, any boundary or property line which abuts a residence district or a lot used for residence purposes shall be screened from the adjacent property by a buffer planting strip not less than five feet in width. Any buffer requirement of this section shall be subject to any more stringent requirement of the district in which such lot is located.

(7)

No parking facility shall be permitted as the principal use of a lot.

Requirements.

Subject to the general requirement for off-street parking, off-street parking space, with proper access from a street, alley or driveway, shall be provided in all districts in the amounts indicated below. Such parking space shall be provided on any lot on which a dwelling is hereafter erected or converted, or, in the case of any other use, on or near the lot of which every main building is hereafter erected or converted.

Nothing in this section shall be construed to prevent the collective provision of off-street parking facilities for two or more buildings or uses, provided that the total of such off-street parking facilities provided collectively shall be not less than the sum of other requirements for the various individual uses computed separately. However, if the uses providing collective parking clearly do not use the parking during the same time of the day or the same day of the week, such as a school and theater or a church and an office building, the total amount of parking required may be reduced by special exception. In no case shall this be less than 75% of parking required if computed separately or 110% of the parking required for those uses that will need it concurrently.

Off-street parking: number of spaces.

(a)

For residential developments, off-street parking shall be provided as required in N.J.A.C. 5:21-1.

(b)

For nonresidential developments, the parking standards established in the following table shall apply.

	Use	Standards
	Tourist, rooming, or boarding house	1 space for each rental room, plus 2 spaces for the resident family.
	Hotel, motel, or inn	1 space for each rental room or suite. If a restaurant in connection with such a use is open to the public, the off-street parking facilities for such restaurant shall be not less than those required for a restaurant.
	Restaurant, full service	1 space for every 3 seats in the dining area or 1 space for each 40 square feet of gross floor area devoted to patron drinking and dining, whichever yields the greatest number of spaces, including any outdoor seating area not located in the public right-of-way (e.g., sidewalk), plus 1 space for every 2 employees at peak hours and excluding spaces dedicated for take-out service. A minimum of 5 spaces shall be provided for take-out service.
	Restaurant or eating establishments	1 space for every 4 seats in the dining area or 1 space for each 50 square feet of gross floor area devoted to patron drinking and dining, whichever yields the greatest number of spaces, including any outdoor seating area not located in the public right-of-way (e.g., sidewalk), plus 1 space for every 2 employees at peak hours and excluding spaces dedicated for take-out service. A minimum of 5 spaces shall be provided for take-out services.
	Restaurant, drive-through or drive-in	1 space for every 2 seats in the dining area and no less than 1 space for each 50 square feet of the building, including any outdoor seating areas not located in the public right-of-way (e.g., sidewalk).
	Theater, church, lodge, meeting place, funeral home, etc.	1 space for every 3 fixed seats or where the capacity is not determined by the number of fixed seats, 1 space for each 60 square feet of floor area devoted to patron use.
	Retail store or shopping center	5.5 spaces for each 1,000 square feet of floor area exclusive of basement areas if not used for sale or display of merchandise.
	Supermarkets and personal service establishments	1 space for each 100 square feet of customer service area in addition to 1 space for each employee.
	Office, office building or bank	1 space for each 200 square feet of floor area, exclusive of basement if not used for office purpose.
	Medical and dental offices and clinics	1 space for each 2 employees plus 4 per doctor.
	Hospital	1 space for each 600 square feet of floor area, exclusive of basement areas, or 1 space for each 2 patient beds, whichever is greater.
	Motor vehicle service station or public garage	4 spaces, either within or without the structure, for each 200 square feet of floor or ground area devoted to repair, or service facilities and in any case the spaces for permitted motor vehicle storage in conjunction with a service station shall not be less than five.
	Wholesale establishments industrial buildings or	1 space for each 1,000 feet of floor area, exclusive of basement areas not used for sale, display or manufacturing. In no case shall there be less than 1 space provided for each employee on the largest shift.
	Buildings or use other than specified above	For any buildings or open area used for a purpose not covered above, parking requirements shall be determined by using comparable buildings or uses listed above as a standard.

Off-street parking design standards for commercial, industrial, institutional, and multifamily residential districts.

Parking spaces shall be clearly delineated by painted lines or markings.

Stalls shall be provided with bumper guards or wheel stops when necessary for safety or protection of adjacent structures or landscaped areas.

Surface drainage shall be connected to the existing or proposed drainage system.

All vehicular entrances and exits to parking areas shall be clearly designated for all conditions.

If spaces are used during evening hours, appropriate lighting shall be provided.

No driveway shall be constructed or maintained that does not meet the following requirements:

Entrance to the street shall be at a horizontal angle of 75° to 105° with the intersecting street.

The driveway between the right-of-way of the street and the cartway shall be paved.

All curb cuts shall be properly constructed to the satisfaction of the Township Engineer.

Driveways in commercial and industrial districts shall have a minimum width of 12 feet for each direction of movement.

Driveways in residential districts shall have a minimum width of 10 feet and a maximum width of 20 feet excluding any parking bay or turnaround area.

(6)

No driveway shall be located closer than five feet to a side or rear property line.

Parking areas for individual nonresidential uses shall be designed to be interconnected with adjacent properties and shall utilize common entrance(s) and exit(s) where feasible, to minimize access points to the street. Such interconnection shall be established through an appropriate cross-access easement either unilaterally established by one party or by mutual agreement. The cross-access easement shall be approved by the Planning Board.

Where the total number of off-street parking spaces required may not be immediately required for a particular use and at the Planning Board's discretion a staged development plan may be permitted which requires that only a portion of the parking area, but not less than 65% of the required spaces, be completed initially, subject to the following regulations:

The site plan shall clearly indicate both the portion of the parking area to be initially paved and the total parking area to be eventually paved and the total parking needed to provide the number of spaces required.

The portion of the parking area not to be paved initially shall be landscaped.

Prior to construction of any future banked parking area, a bond shall be posted and a soil disturbance permit obtained.

Construction shall be in accordance with the terms of the Board approval.

Any change of use on a site for which the Planning Board may have approved a partial paving of off-street parking areas to a use which requires more parking spaces than are provided on the site shall require submission of a new site plan.

(6)

The drainage system for the site shall be designed to accommodate the surface water runoff from all parking and drainage areas, considering all such areas to be paved, whether proposed to be paved as part of the application approval or deferred to a possible future date.

(7)

The applicant shall agree in writing on the submitted plan to pave any or all of the nonpaved parking areas should the paved parking areas prove to be inadequate to accommodate the on-site parking needs of the premises.

A drive-in service lane shall be permitted as an accessory use in those zoning districts that permit drive-in service establishments and in accordance with the following:

A plan for a proposed drive-in service lane must be reviewed and approved by the Planning Board.