§ 27-548. Design standards for off-street parking and loading areas.

(a)

Location. The location of required off-street parking and loading areas shall conform to the following criteria:

(1)

All required off-street parking spaces and the use they are intended to serve shall be located on the same parcel; provided, however, that the city council, as a special exception, with a recommendation by the community development board, may allow the establishment of off-site or remote off-street parking facilities, provided that all of the following conditions are met:

a.

Practical difficulties prevent the placement of the required parking spaces on the same lot as the premises they are intended to serve.

b.

The off-site parking spaces are located within four hundred (400) feet of the premises they are intended to serve.

c.

The off-site parking spaces are located within the same zoning district classification as the premises which the parking spaces will serve or a classification allowing business or commercial activities.

d.

The off-site parking spaces are not located in any residential district.

e.

The location of the off-site parking spaces will adequately serve the use for which it is intended.

f.

The location of the off-site parking spaces will not create unreasonable:

1.

Hazards to pedestrians.

2.

Hazards to vehicular traffic.

3.

Traffic congestion.

4.

Interference with access to other parking spaces in the vicinity.

5.

Detriment to any nearby use.

g.

The developer supplies a written agreement, approved in form by the city attorney, assuring the continued availability of the off-site parking facilities for the use they are intended to serve.

(2)

All parking spaces required by this Code for residential uses should be located no further than the following distances from the units they serve:

a.

Resident parking: ..... 200 feet

b.

Visitor parking: ..... 250 feet

Distances shall be measured from a dwelling unit's entry to the parking space. Where a stairway or elevator provides access to dwelling units, the stairway or elevator shall be considered to be the entrance to the dwelling unit. For purposes of measuring these distances, each required parking space shall be assigned to a specific unit on the development plan, whether or not the developer will actually assign spaces for the exclusive use of the specific unit.

(3)

Each off-street parking space shall be directly accessible from a street or alley without crossing or entering any other required off-street parking or loading space, except as provided for in tandem parking.

(4)

Each off-street loading space shall be directly accessible from a street or alley without crossing or entering any other required off-street parking or loading space.

(5)

Each loading space shall be accessible from the interior of the building it serves and shall be arranged for convenient and safe ingress and egress.

(b)

Size. The size of required off-street parking and loading areas shall conform to the following criteria:

(1)

Standard parking spaces shall consist of a minimum width of ten (10) feet and a length of twenty (20) feet, with wheel stops at eighteen (18) feet or with curbing at eighteen (18) feet with two-foot overhang as depicted in Figure 27-548-1. [See Figures at the end of article XIII.]

(2)

A standard motorcycle parking space shall be four and one-quarter (4.25) feet wide and nine and one-quarter (9.25) feet long.

(3)

Spaces for handicapped parking shall be the size specified in F.S. § 316.1955.

(4)

The standard off-street loading space shall be ten (10) feet wide, twenty-five (25) feet long, provide vertical clearance of fifteen (15) feet, and provide adequate area for maneuvering, ingress and egress. The length of one (1) or more of the loading spaces may be increased up to fifty-five (55) feet if full-length tractor-trailers must be accommodated. Developers may install spaces that are larger than the standard, but the number of spaces shall not be reduced on that account.

(5)

Parallel parking spaces shall be a minimum of eight (8) feet wide and twenty-two (22) feet long. If a parallel space abuts no more than one (1) other parallel space, and adequate access room is available, then the length may be reduced to twenty (20) feet.

(6)

Compact car parking spaces shall be a minimum of eight (8) feet wide and sixteen (16) feet long. A maximum of twenty (20) percent of the calculated required parking spaces may be compact. If any parking spaces required are deferred, for example, the provision of compact spaces shall be prorated based on the entire parking requirement.

(7)

The community development board may modify these requirements where necessary to promote a substantial public interest relating to environmental protection, heritage conservation, aesthetics, tree protection, or drainage. Under no circumstance, shall the modification create a serious hazard or inconvenience. The modification shall be based on a written statement of the public interest served by allowing the modification.

(c)

Layout. The layout of required off-street parking and loading areas shall conform to the following criteria:

(1)

Pedestrian circulation facilities, roadways, driveways, and off-street parking and loading areas shall be designed to be safe and convenient as shown in Figure 27-548-2. [See Figures at the end of article XIII.]

(2)

Parking and loading areas, aisles, pedestrian walks, landscaping, and open space shall be designed as integral parts of an overall development plan and shall be properly related to existing and proposed buildings within the site and any adjacent developed sites.

(3)

Buildings, parking and loading areas, landscaping and open spaces shall be designed so that pedestrians moving from parking areas to buildings and between buildings are not unreasonably exposed to vehicular traffic.

(4)

Landscaped, paved, and gradually inclined or flat pedestrian walks shall be provided along the lines of the most intense use, particularly from building entrances to streets, parking areas, and adjacent buildings. Pedestrian walks should be designed to discourage incursions into landscaped areas except at designated crossings.

(5)

Except for single-family and two-family residences, each off-street parking space shall open directly onto an aisle or driveway that is not a public street.

(6)

Aisles and driveways shall not be used for parking vehicles, except that the driveway of a single-family or two-family residence shall be counted as a parking space for the dwelling unit, or as a number of parking spaces as determined by the city manager or designee based on the size and accessibility of the driveway.

(7)

The design shall be based on a definite and logical system of drive lanes to serve the parking and loading spaces. A physical separation or barrier, such as vertical curbs, may be required to separate parking spaces from travel lanes.

(8)

Parking spaces for all uses except single-family and two-family residences, shall be designed to permit entry and exit without moving any other motor vehicle.

(9)

No parking space shall be located so as to block access by emergency vehicles.

(d)

Surface requirements for four (4) or more commercial parking spaces. Where a use requires space for four (4) or more motor vehicles, pavement for paved off-street parking or paved off-street loading facilities shall, as a minimum requirement, consist of the minimum state department of transportation requirements, as amended. A substitute surface of an equal or greater strength may be used upon written approval of the city manager or designee, keeping in mind that the city council specifically finds that porous paving materials and unpaved parking areas should be allowed whenever possible. This is also intended to encourage creative combinations of pervious and impervious surface materials when designing a parking facility.

(e)

Surface requirements for three (3) or less parking spaces. Where a commercial use requires space for three (3) or less motor vehicles, or any residential use, the off-street parking and loading areas shall be maintained in an even and usable condition. Pavement that minimizes impervious surface area, such as dry-laid pavers and/or gravel is encouraged. Loose surfaces, such as gravel shall be contained at all edges with curbing or other border.

(f)

Barriers, buffers and hedges. Where off-street parking or loading areas for five (5) or more vehicles are located on the perimeter of a lot, barriers shall be provided to ensure that no portion of a parked vehicle shall encroach over and onto any adjacent private property in separate ownership or over and onto any public street or sidewalks; and further, barriers shall be provided so that no parked motor vehicle door, when open, can make such encroachment. The separation from walkways, sidewalks, streets or alleys may be a masonry wall, fence, curbing, bollards, landscaping or other approved protective device. Such protective device shall not impair the visibility of pedestrians or vehicles at entrances and exits.

(g)

Identification. Required off-street parking and loading areas shall be identified as to purpose and location when not clearly evidenced.

(h)

Drainage. All off-street parking and loading areas shall be drained so as not to cause any nuisance of adjacent property, and to prevent damage to the public right-of-way and the adjacent environment.

(i)

Lighting. Adequate lighting shall be provided if off-street parking or loading is to be used at night. Such lighting shall be provided to insure user safety and security. The lighting shall be designed and installed so as to prevent glare or excessive light on adjacent property and streets. No source of illumination shall be directed into the windows of any residential building.

(j)

Buffers. Where a parking lot, or portion thereof, adjoins any residential district, a six-foot visual barrier not less than eighty-five (85) percent solid, shall be erected along the edge of the parking lot, or portion thereof. Said buffers shall be maintained in good condition, and may be a structural or vegetative buffer.

(k)

Landscaping. Landscaping requirements for parking facilities shall be as required by article IX.

(l)

Entrances and exits. The location and design of entrances and exits shall be in accordance with proper access management techniques. The number of curb cuts shall be the minimum required to allow free and safe use of the facility without impairing traffic flow along the street. The use of shared or common curb cuts is encouraged where practical as depicted in Figure 27-548-2. [See Figures at the end of article XIII.] Trees and appropriate landscaping may be used to define entrances and exits. Landscaping, curbing or other protective devices may be provided to control access and to separate pedestrian and vehicular traffic.

(m)

Interior drive aisles and maneuverability. The minimum width of interior driving aisles and maneuverability space within parking facilities shall be related to the angle of the parking spaces and the use of one-way or two-way traffic as follows:

Parking Angle	One-way Traffic/ Maneuverability	Two-way Traffic/ Maneuverability
0 (Parallel)	13 feet	24 feet
30	13 feet	18 feet
45	13 feet	22 feet
60	18 feet	22 feet
90	24 feet	24 feet

 

(n)

Minimum throat dimension. The minimum throat dimension of a parking lot entrance, measured from the right-of-way line to the first curb cut of the first parking aisle shall be thirty-six (36) feet as depicted in Figure 27-548-2. [See Figures at the end of article XIII.]

(Ord. No. 2004-10, § 1, 10-4-04; Ord. No. 2010-01, § 1, 3-1-10; Ord. No. 2010-14, § 54, 9-7-10)