Township of Lower Salford, PA Article XVI Off-Street Parking and Loading

[Amended 8-4-1982 by Ord. No. 82-8; 12-26-1990 by Ord. No. 90-15]

§ 164-98 Declaration of legislative intent.

In expansion of the community development objectives found in Article II of this code, it is the intent of this article to:

A. Set reasonable standards and provide reasonable controls to assure sufficient parking capacity for the uses or potential uses of land in the Township.

B. Provide flexibility in the implementation of these standards by permitting construction of a reduced number of parking spaces under appropriate conditions and permitting, with a special exception, the required number of parking spaces to be located on a separate lot as common parking.

C. Require proper design of industrial and commercial parking lots in order to limit the environmental impact as well as the impact on abutting properties.

D. Provide adequate off-street loading facilities.

§ 164-99 Required off-street parking capacity.

[Amended 12-4-1996 by Ord. No. 96-8; 8-21-1997 by Ord. No. 97-5; 10-22-1998 by Ord. No. 98-12; 12-3-2014 by Ord. No. 2014-11]

A. Any building or structure erected, altered or used and any lot used or occupied for any of the following purposes shall be provided with the minimum number of parking spaces set forth below, together with adequate driveways and street access in compliance with the requirements of Ch. 142, Subdivision and Land Development.

[Amended 2-2-2022 by Ord. No. 2022-01]

	Use		Requirements
	Dwelling		2 spaces per dwelling unit; in the R-4 and R-5 Districts, 2.2 spaces per dwelling unit when individual lotting occurs
	Rooming house, tourist home, bed-and-breakfast		2 spaces, plus 1 space per rental unit
	Places of worship		1 space for every 25 square feet of floor area in the largest room intended for the assembly of persons
	Places of assembly (theaters, auditoriums, stadiums, etc.)		1 space per 4 seats
	Hospital		2 spaces per bed
	Community center, library, museum or similar place		1 space per 600 square feet of floor area in public use
	Elderly housing
		Independent dwelling units	1.5 spaces per dwelling unit
		Personal/custodial care	1 space per dwelling unit
	Convalescent home, sanitarium, nursing home, institutional home		3 spaces per 5 beds
	Retail store or shops, personal service shop		1 space per 200 square feet of gross floor area; in the VC District, 1 space per 200 square feet of net floor area
	Shopping center, provided that it meets the standards for shopping centers in Article XIII		1 space per 250 square feet of gross floor area
	Hotel, motel or similar use		1 space per rental unit, plus 1 space per employee on the largest shift
	Offices		1 space per 275 square feet of gross floor area; in the VC District, 1 space per 275 square feet of net floor area
	Banks or other financial institutions		1 space per 200 square feet of gross floor area
	Restaurants		1 space per 80 square feet of gross floor area
	Laboratory, light industry, heavy industry, or manufacturing		1 space per 650 square feet of gross floor area or 1 space per employee on the largest shift, whichever is greater
	Warehouse		1 space per 1,000 square feet of gross floor area or 1 space per employee on the largest shift, whichever is greater
	Patient-oriented office (doctor, dentist, veterinarian, etc.)		6 spaces per practitioner, i.e., doctor, dentist, etc., plus 1 space per other employee; in the VC District, 5 spaces per practitioner
	Dispensary facility		1 parking space for each 200 square feet of total floor area
	Grower/processor facility		1 parking space for each 650 square feet of total floor area or 1 space per employee on the largest shift, whichever is greater
	Other commercial uses not listed above		1 space per 200 square feet of gross floor area

B. Other uses not listed above shall provide parking in accordance with the fitted curve equation for that particular use to building square footage or number of employees, whichever yields a greater number, as shown in the most up-to-date version of the Institute of Transportation Engineers' Parking Generation Manual.

§ 164-100 Reduction for common parking.

The parking spaces required in § 164-99 herein may be located elsewhere than on the same lot, such as on any adjacent lot or on a lot connected therewith by private right-of-way, when authorized as a special exception, subject to the following conditions:

A. That the owners of two or more establishments, under separate ownership whose lots are contiguous, shall submit with their application for special exception a site plan showing joint use and location of a common off-street parking area;

B. That some portion of the common off-street parking area lies within 200 feet of an entrance, regularly used by patrons, into the buildings served thereby;

C. That the Zoning Hearing Board may, in its discretion, reduce the required aggregate amount of required parking space upon determination that greater efficiency is effected by joint use of a common parking area, but in no case shall the amount of required off-street parking spaces be reduced by more than 25%; and

D. That access and parking easements are prepared and recorded for each property affected by the common parking.

§ 164-101 Design requirements for industrial and commercial parking lots.

All parking lots in industrial and commercial districts shall be operated and maintained in accordance with all of the following conditions:

A. They shall not be used for the sale, repair or dismantling of any vehicles, equipment, materials or supplies.

B. They shall be maintained in good condition, free of weeds, dust, trash or debris.

C. They shall be provided with entrances and exits so located as to minimize traffic congestion and the effect of headlight glare.

D. Where necessary, they shall be provided with wheel or bumper guards so located and arranged that no part of any parked vehicles will extend beyond the boundaries of the parking lot.

E. Proper drainage, both on and off the parking site, shall be provided.

[Amended 8-21-1997 by Ord. No. 97-5]

F. [1]A planting strip shall be provided and maintained along each property line which is opposite or adjacent to a residential district whenever any portion of any parking facility is situate within 200 feet of said lines. Said planting strip must conform to the requirements of Ch. 142, Subdivision and Land Development.

[1] Editor's Note: Former Subsection F, pertaining to lighting facilities, was repealed 8-21-1997 by Ord. No. 97-5. This ordinance also provided for the redesignation of former Subsections G through J as Subsections F through I, respectively.

G. There shall be no more than one attendant shelter building containing not more than 50 feet of gross floor area and set back a distance of not less than 20 feet from any boundary of the parking lot which abuts a residential district.

H. [2]All commercial and industrial parking lots must meet the requirements of Ch. 142, Subdivision and Land Development, along with the corresponding engineering standards.

[2] Editor's Note: Former § 164-101H, which restricted parking in required open front yards, was repealed 12-18-1997 by Ord. No. 97-10. This ordinance also redesignated former § 164-101I as § 164-101H.

§ 164-102 Reserve parking.

If the number of required spaces is substantially larger than the number anticipated by the applicant, the reserve parking option may be utilized to avoid unnecessary paving, in accordance with the following criteria:

A. The total number of spaces which must be paved initially may be reduced up to 50% by the Township Supervisors, upon recommendation of the Township Planning Commission and Engineer.

B. Suitable area must be available and reserved for construction of the balance of the total number of spaces otherwise required. A reevaluation of parking capacity shall be required upon a change in status (use, building addition or number of employees) to determine whether additional parking is needed. Whenever a parking capacity problem is identified, the Supervisors may require installation of additional parking spaces, upon recommendation of the Township Planning Commission and Engineer.

C. A financial guaranty must be provided by the applicant to cover the cost of installation of the reserved parking spaces, for a period of one year after 90% of the building floor area on the site is occupied. The type and dollar value of the guaranty must be approved by the Township Supervisors upon recommendation of the Township Solicitor and Engineer.

D. To qualify for use of the reserve parking concept, the applicant shall provide evidence supporting reduced parking needs to the Township Planning Commission and Engineer for their review and recommendation.

§ 164-103 Off-street loading facilities required.

[Amended 8-21-1997 by Ord. No. 97-5]

In addition to required off-street parking spaces, the foregoing uses shall be provided with adequate off-street loading space which can safely handle the largest sized trucks expected to serve the proposed use. Such off-street loading area shall not be located in parking spaces, parking aisles or access driveways. Off-street loading facilities of uses located in the VC Village Commercial District may be located in parking spaces, parking aisles or access driveways, provided that adequate space remains for vehicles to maneuver around vehicles that are loading.

§ 164-104 Construal of provisions.

Nothing contained in this article shall be construed to authorize or permit the establishment of a parking lot or parking facilities in conjunction with a commercial or industrial use in other than commercial or industrial zones.

§ 164-104.1 Handicapped-accessible parking.

A. Four percent of all parking spaces in parking lots with 20 or more spaces must be designed for handicapped accessible parking, except for the land uses outlined below:

	Use	Requirements
	Offices	0.02 space per 1,000 square feet of gross floor area, with a minimum of 1 space
	Banks or other financial institutions	1 space per bank
	Restaurants	0.30 space per 1,000 square feet of gross floor area, with a minimum of 1 space
	Retail store or shop, personal service shops	0.075 space per 1,000 square feet of gross floor area, with a minimum of 1 space
	Hotel, motel or similar use	0.02 space per room, with a minimum of 1 space

B. Handicapped accessible parking spaces shall conform to the following regulations.

(1) Handicapped accessible parking spaces shall be located as near as practical to a primary building entrance.

(2) Pedestrianways which are accessible to the physically handicapped shall be provided from each handicapped parking space.

(3) Handicapped parking spaces shall be at least eight feet wide and shall have an adjacent access aisle at least five feet wide. These adjacent access aisles shall be part of an accessible route to the building or facility entrance. Two adjacent handicapped parking spaces may share a common access aisle.

(4) Ramps shall not encroach into any parking space.

(5) Surface slopes of parking spaces for the physically handicapped shall not exceed one to 30 in all directions.

(6) Each parking space reserved for the physically handicapped shall be identified by a permanently affixed, reflectorized sign, constructed of porcelain steel, beaded text or equal, displaying the international sign for accessibility.

(7) The surface of each parking space reserved for the handicapped shall have a surface identification duplicating the symbol of accessibility and four-inch lines in blue paint.