14.20.250 Off-Street Parking and Loading Requirements

14.20.250 Off-Street Parking and Loading Requirements.

(a) For commercial development, there shall be provided at the time of construction of any main building or at the time of the alteration, enlargement, or change in use of any main building, permanently maintained off-street parking facilities for the use of occupants, employees, or patrons of such building. It is the joint and several responsibility of the owner and/or occupant of any main building or structure to provide, and thereafter maintain, minimum free off-street parking facilities as required in this section.

(b) No existing parking area and no parking area provided for the purpose of complying with the provisions of this chapter shall hereafter be relinquished or reduced in any manner below the requirements herein established.

(1) Site Plan Submission. A site plan showing all parking and loading areas shall accompany all applications for building permits. The plan shall show dimensions of spaces, curb cuts, and other information necessary to determine compliance with the provisions of this chapter. The administrative official shall approve or reject the site plan on the basis of compliance with the requirements of this chapter. No certificate of zoning compliance and building permit shall be issued unless the parking site plan is approved.

(2) Joint Parking Areas. Where there is more than one (1) use in a single structure or on a site (e.g., doctor, attorney, and retail grocery) or two (2) or more separate instances of the same use, off-street parking requirements shall be the sum of the requirements for the various uses; provided however, that where two (2) or more uses provide a single joint parking area, and their total required spaces totals twenty (20) or more, the minimum requirement will be seventy-five percent (75%) of the sum of the requirements for the various computed separately.

(3) Location of Parking. Any parking space provided pursuant to this section shall be on the same lot with the main use it serves or on an adjoining lot except that the Commission, by a conditional use permit as specified in this chapter, may allow parking spaces on any lot if it is determined that it is impractical to provide parking on the same or adjoining lot.

(A) All parking lots shall be provided with a durable, well-drained, and dust-free surface and shall have appropriate bumper guards where needed;

(B) Parking areas and front yards as defined in KMC 14.20.320(b), which includes the required parking spaces, in commercial use areas shall not be used for storage, repair work or any purpose other than parking, landscaping, signage, or sales displays. A non-conforming use of parking areas and front yards prohibited by this section shall be made to conform to this section within a period of one (1) year after adoption of the ordinance codified in this section.

Exception: Semi-trailers or containers may be parked in these areas for no more than thirty (30) consecutive days to facilitate unloading. Trucking terminals and bona fide construction sites are exempt;

(C) Any lighting of parking lots shall be arranged to reflect away from public rights-of-way and from any adjoining residential areas;

(D) Curb cuts shall be located so as to avoid traffic hazards and shall be approved by the administrative official;

(5) Interpretation of Space Requirements. If a use is not specifically mentioned in this section, the administrative official shall determine the most similar use which is specifically mentioned. Parking requirements shall be the same as for that use;

(6) Exception to this Section—Public Parking Lots. Notwithstanding other provisions of this section, when a use is located within three hundred feet (300') of an existing or planned public lots, the off-street parking requirements of this chapter may be met if under the procedures specified in this chapter, the Commission issues a conditional use permit stating that the following conditions have been met:

(A) The public parking lot exists within reasonable distance of the use, or plans for the public parking lot are sufficiently advanced to give reasonable assurance that the lot will be in use within one (1) year of the time of issuance of the conditional use permit;

(B) The owner and/or occupant of the use in question shall sign a covenant agreeing to join an assessment district to pay for the public parking lot;

(C) The public parking lot has or will have sufficient capacity to accommodate the use in question plus other parking needs of existing and potential uses within a reasonable distance of the lot. The Commission shall use the off-street parking requirement as cited above to estimate the parking spaces needed within a reasonable distance of the lot.

(7) Off-Street Loading. Every building or structure used for business, trade, or industry and normally requiring truck loading or unloading with respect to the use, shall provide space as herein indicated for the loading and unloading of vehicles off the street or public alley. Such space shall have access to a public alley, or, if there is no alley, to a street. Off-street loading and unloading space shall be in addition to and not considered as meeting a part of the requirement for off-street parking space. Off-street loading and unloading space shall not be used or designed, intended, or constructed to be used in a manner to obstruct or interfere with the free use of any street or adjoining property. The minimum off-street loading and unloading space required for specific uses shall be as follows:

(A) Retail business and service establishments shall provide one off-street loading and unloading space at least ten feet (10') wide and thirty-eight feet (38') long with a fourteen-foot (14') height clearance per building;

(B) Industrial plants shall provide one off-street loading and unloading space for each twenty thousand (20,000) square feet of gross floor area. Each loading space shall be minimum of twelve feet (12') wide and fifty feet (50') long with a fourteen-foot (14') height clearance;

(C) Trucking terminals shall provide one off-street loading and unloading space for every five thousand (5,000) square feet of total floor area used for storage, warehousing, and shipping. Each loading space shall be a minimum of fourteen feet (14') wide and sixty-five feet (65') long with fourteen-foot (14') clearance.

DWELLING AND LODGING	MINIMUM NUMBER OF PARKING SPACES REQUIRED
Lodges, rooming/boarding houses, dormitories, bed and breakfast, and other structures containing sleeping rooms other than, or in addition to dwelling units	One (1) per principal dwelling unit and one (1) per guest room or one for every two (2) beds whichever is greater.
Mobile home parks	Two (2) per mobile home.
Motels, hotels and cabin rentals	One (1) per unit plus two (2) spaces.
Multiple-family dwellings, retirement homes and other places containing multiple dwelling units	One (1) per efficiency unit; and two (2) per other units.
Single-family dwellings, two-family dwellings and child care homes	Two (2) per dwelling units.
INSTITUTIONS, PUBLIC USES/COMMERCIAL	MINIMUM NUMBER OF PARKING SPACES REQUIRED
Aircraft hangers	One (1) per one thousand (1,000) square feet of gross floor area.
Assembly with fixed seats: Auditoriums, churches, funeral chapels, sports arena and theaters	One (1) per four (4) seats in the principal assembly area. The width of a seat or a bench or pew shall be considered twenty-two inches (22").
Assembly without fixed seats: Churches, civic clubs, convention centers, dance halls, exhibition halls, skating rinks and similar uses	One (1) per two hundred (200) square feet of gross floor area.
Assembly without fixed seats: Art galleries, community/senior centers, museums and municipal buildings	One (1) per five hundred (500) square feet of gross floor area.
Automotive service/repair and/or sales	One (1) per four hundred (400) square feet of gross floor area of sales room and four (4) for each auto service stall.
Banks, mortgage and loan companies	One (1) per three hundred (300) square feet of gross floor area.
Bowling alleys	Four (4) per alley.
Care facilities: Day nurseries, adult care facilities and kindergarten	One (1) space per four hundred (400) square feet of gross floor area, and one (1) additional space reserved for pick-up and delivery of people per eight hundred (800) square feet of gross floor area.
Care facilities: Hospitals, nursing/assisted living facilities and similar institutions	One (1) per every two (2) beds.
Care facilities: Medical/dental clinics, health services	One (1) per two hundred fifty (250) square feet of gross floor area.
Cell phone/communication sites	Two (2) spaces.
Courthouse	Based on typical occupancy, eighty percent (80%) of the sum of the following: One (1) per four (4) fixed seats plus five (5) per courtroom plus one (1) per fifty (50) square feet gross floor area in jury assembly rooms plus one (1) per four hundred (400) square feet of gross office space.
Drive-thru only: Burger, espresso establishments	Two (2) spaces.
Fitness centers	One (1) per one hundred (100) square feet of gross floor area plus five (5) for patron parking.
Laundry establishments – self service	One (1) per five hundred (500) square feet of gross floor area plus five (5) for patron parking.
Libraries	One (1) per four hundred (400) square feet of gross floor area.
Manufacturing/industrial, research and laboratories	One (1) per five hundred (500) square feet of gross floor area plus three (3) for patron parking.
Nurseries and greenhouses	One (1) per five hundred (500) square feet of gross floor area.
Offices: Business and professional	One (1) per four hundred (400) square feet of gross floor area.
Offices: Veterinarian/animal clinics and kennels	One (1) per five hundred (500) square feet of gross floor area.
Pool/billiard halls	One (1) per three hundred (300) square feet of gross floor area.
Restaurants, cafés, delicatessen, eating and drinking establishments, clubs, nightclubs and lodges, etc.	One (1) per each two hundred (200) square feet of gross floor area or one (1) per four (4) seats, whichever is greater.
Services: Household and trades such as carpentry, electrical servicing, plumbing and heating shops, paper hanging, painting, furniture upholstering, decorating shops, and other similar services	One (1) per four hundred (400) square feet of gross floor area.
Services: Printing, publishing, welding, blacksmith shops, bakeries, dry cleaning, dyeing plants and similar services	One (1) per five hundred (500) square feet of gross floor area plus five (5) for patron parking.
Services: Beauty and barber shops	One (1) per two hundred fifty (250) square feet of gross floor area.
Services: Fuel dispensing stations/convenience stores	One (1) for each two (2) gas pumps plus one (1) per three hundred (300) square feet of gross floor area.
Services misc. personal: Massage therapy, art/photo studio, dress maker/tailor	One (1) per five hundred (500) square feet of gross floor area plus one (1) for patron parking.
Schools	One (1) per classroom plus three (3) for every classroom in those schools where students are permitted to drive to school. Schools with auditoriums shall provide one (1) parking space for every four (4) seats or one (1) space for every fifty (50) square feet of gross floor area in assembly rooms without fixed seats, whichever is greater.
Schools: Trade, business, music, dance studios and other private schools and colleges	One (1) per five hundred (500) square feet of gross floor area.
Stores: Grocery, drug/pharmacy	One (1) per two hundred fifty (250) square feet of gross floor area.
Stores: Retail and wholesale sales of non-bulky items	One (1) per three hundred (300) square feet of gross floor area.
Stores: Retail and wholesale sales of bulky items (e.g., furniture and major appliances)	One (1) per five hundred (500) square feet of gross floor area.
Tanning salon	One (1) per four hundred (400) square feet of gross floor area plus three (3) for patron parking.
Taxicab companies	One (1) per taxi operated by the company plus one (1) extra space.
Truck terminals, lumber yards etc.	One (1) per five hundred (500) square feet of gross floor area plus five (5) for patron parking.
Warehouses: Wholesale/retail, and commercial storage	One (1) per two thousand (2,000) square feet of gross floor area, but a total of no less than four (4) spaces.

(Ords. 925, 1862-2000; Amended during 4-7-01 supplement; Ord. 2208-2007)