For all zoning districts, off-street parking
spaces shall be provided for every new structure, the enlargement
of an existing structure, and new or expanded uses, except as noted
below, in accordance with the Table of Off-Street Parking Regulations
and other requirements contained herein.
A.
For all zoning districts, except General Business
(GB) Districts, in cases of a change in use where the existing use
(or in cases of vacancy, the next previous use) did not provide for
the number of off-street parking spaces required under this chapter,
then the proposed use shall only have to provide an additional number
of off-street parking spaces equal to the increase, if any, between
the number required under this chapter for the existing use and the
number required for the proposed use.
B.
For General Business (GB) Districts only, no additional
off-street parking is required for the following:
(1)
Continued use or reuse of existing buildings,
as long as that use or reuse does not increase the total floor area
within the building nor include outside storage of cars for sale or
rent.
(2)
The replacement of existing finished floor space
and unfinished basements on the same parcel with site plan approval
(but no increase in net floor space).
(3)
The addition of a second floor to one-story
(for the purpose of this section, basements shall not count as a story)
buildings existing in the CB Districts only on January 1, 1996. (This
is to encourage the restoration of building heights in the CB Districts
which are more uniform and consistent with the scale of development
which has historically existed.) However, the addition of additional
floors or an expanded building footprint shall be subject to the parking
requirements.
(4)
Municipal facilities and municipal properties.
C.
Table of Off-Street Parking Regulations. Parking shall
be provided to serve the parking needs which are generated by a particular
use or structure. When there is more than one primary use of a structure,
the parking requirements for each use must be met unless one use is
incidental to the principal use of the structure. Additional spaces
where passengers may be dropped off may be required by the Planning
Board for projects which require site plan approval.
|
Table of Off-Street Parking Regulations
| |||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Use
|
In Central Business (CBc and CBs)
(one space per)
|
All Other Districts Including CBg
(one space per)
| |
|
Any dwelling unit (including residential component
of mixed residential/work space), except as noted below
|
See specific district use table, or 1 per 1,000
square feet and 2 maximum per unit
| ||
|
Multifamily dwelling for elderly and people
with disabilities, lodging house, dormitory, SRO, and halfway house
|
1,000 square feet of gross floor area, up to
a maximum of one per dwelling unit for multifamily dwellings
| ||
|
Theater, gymnasium, auditorium, church or similar
place of public assembly, with seating facilities
|
Six seats of total seating capacity
|
Three seats of total seating capacity
| |
|
Automobile retail, sales, rental, service, and
wash, and nonauto retail and service establishment utilizing extensive
indoor and outdoor display areas
|
800 square feet of gross floor space, including
outdoor display areas.
| ||
|
Hotel, motel, bed-and-breakfast (See restaurant
entry for associated restaurants which are open to nonguests.)
|
Establishment, plus one per sleeping room, plus
one per 400 square feet of meeting rooms
|
Establishment, plus one per sleeping room, plus
one per 400 square feet of meeting rooms
| |
|
Takeout restaurants (establishments selling
foods prepared on premises, where consumption is primarily off the
premises)
|
1.3 seats of seating capacity, plus one per
100 square feet of kitchen and waiting areas
| ||
|
Sit-down restaurants
|
Two seats of total seating capacity
| ||
|
Bars and nightclubs
|
Four seats of total seating capacity
|
Two seats of total seating capacity
| |
|
Commercial, retail, personal service, professional
and business offices, including banks, insurance and real estate establishments,
but not medical uses
|
300 square feet of gross floor area
| ||
|
Medical/Dentist offices medical marijuana dispensaries
|
200 square feet of gross floor area
| ||
|
Manufacturing, industrial, utility, power plant,
warehouse, storage, or wholesale establishment (calculate associated
office with office use)
|
1,000 square feet gross floor space
| ||
|
Hospital (excluding medical offices and uses
which are not part of the hospital definition)
|
500 square feet gross floor area
| ||
|
Kindergarten to 12th grade schools, YMCA, community
facility (City building, recreation), library, museum, funeral parlor,
and country club
|
400 square feet of gross floor area
| ||
|
College, business, trade, or industrial school
classroom, laboratory, and other teaching areas
|
200 square feet of gross floor area (no parking
required for on-campus auditoriums of 300+ seats)
| ||
|
Mixed use
|
Sum of various uses computed separately
| ||
|
Temporary and seasonal uses in unheated outdoor
space in any business or industrial district
|
None required
| ||
|
Any permitted use not covered by this schedule
|
Closest use determined by Building Commissioner
| ||
A.
Provisions must be made for adequate off-street loading
for all uses, except for residential and agricultural use. At a minimum,
each retail, wholesale and industrial use over 25,000 square feet
of gross floor area and all other service, community facility, utility
and business uses over 75,000 square feet of gross floor area shall
have at least one loading space. The Planning Board may, as part of
site plan approval, require additional loading spaces or reduce the
requirement for loading spaces.
B.
The loading spaces shall be on the same lot as the
use they are intended to serve. Loading spaces shall not be used to
satisfy parking requirements.
A.
Parking or loading spaces being maintained in any
district in connection with any existing use on the effective date
of this chapter, or any spaces subsequently provided in accordance
with this chapter, shall not be decreased or any way removed from
service to the use originally intended to be served, so long as said
use remains, unless a number of parking or loading spaces is constructed
elsewhere, such that the total number of spaces conforms to the zoning
requirements. This regulation shall not, however, require the maintenance
of more parking or loading spaces than is otherwise required. Existing
or new parking spaces that are not allocated to specific projects
or uses can be allocated to future projects that are developed within
two years by site plan approval.
B.
Off-street parking or loading spaces which are developed
to serve a use or structure and which are subsequently accepted by
the City of Northampton for parking or loading purposes shall be considered
to continue to meet the parking and loading space requirements so
long as said use and structure remains.
When the computation of required parking or
loading spaces results in the requirement of a fractional space, any
fraction of 1/2 or more shall require one space.
The Planning Board may issue a special permit permitting two or more buildings or uses located on separate lots to provide for their required parking in combined facilities on the same lot, subject to the provisions of § 350-8.7.
In all zoning districts, except the Central
Business (CB) Districts, the Planning Board may:
A.
Through site plan approval, allow the reduction of
the parking space requirements of up to 20% of that required in the
Table of Off-Street Parking Regulations where conditions unique to
the use will reasonably justify such a reduction, including two-story
buildings in the Highway Business (HB) District.
B.
Through site plan approval, reduce parking requirements for major projects listed in § § 350-8.1 by up to 20% of parking needed for employees (no credit for parking needed for visitors or customers) if:
(1)
The applicant incorporates satisfactory methods,
acceptable to the permit granting authority, to reduce the need for
parking into their design and into the trip-reduction plan described
in § § 350-11.5B(3)by at least the same percentage;
and
(2)
If the site plan approval is conditioned on
the on-going use of those trip-reduction methods with effective enforcement
tools included.
C.
Through a special permit, allow a greater percentage
reduction where joint use of the same spaces by two or more uses or
establishments is justifiable by virtue of the fact that the uses
or establishments generate peak demand at substantially different
time periods.
A.
Required off-street parking spaces shall be provided
on the same lot as the principal use they are required to serve. When
practical difficulties exist which prevent their establishment on
the same lot, the Planning Board may grant a special permit to allow
off-site parking spaces in a nonmunicipal lot. When measured along
pedestrianways from the edge of the principal use's parcel, the closest
point of that nonmunicipal lot must be:
(1)
Five hundred feet; or
(2)
One thousand feet from the premises to which
they serve if:
(a)
The off-site parking will be shared by more
than one land use; and
(b)
The greater distance is justified because of
pedestrian traffic patterns and the vitality of the adjacent land
uses that would be part of the walk; and
(c)
Patrons or employees of the principal land are
likely to actually utilize the provided off-site parking; or
(3)
Parking spaces for colleges or educational uses
shall be located on contiguous or adjacent land owned by the college
or educational use. For the purposes of this section, contiguous or
adjacent land shall include land in common ownership, even if separated
by public or private roads, or rivers, or streams, or private property,
when said private property is not more than 150 feet wide.
B.
A special permit issued under this provision shall
be coterminous with the length of the lease and shall expire if and
when the lease for said parking expires.
All parking and loading areas shall comply with
the following:
A.
A parking space shall be at least 8 1/2 feet
in width and 18 feet in length, with at least 18 feet of backing-up
and maneuvering area directly behind the space (which may be shared
with other spaces). Except for parking spaces for the same residential
housing unit, each space must be laid out so that it does not block
access to another parking space.
 |
B.
The layout of the parking area shall allow sufficient
space for the storage of plowed snow without reducing the number of
required parking spaces, unless removal by some other means is provided.
C.
Any fixture used to illuminate any parking area shall be so arranged as to direct the light away from the street and away from adjoining premises used for residential purposes and shall be in conformance with § 350-12.2.
D.
Parking shall not be located within five feet from
the front lot line for residential uses, 15 feet for uses in M District,
nor 10 feet for other uses.
 |
(1)
For
all residential uses in all residential districts except for URC,
parking for more than two vehicles shall not be permitted within the
front yard setback.
(2)
Within
the URA, B and C Districts, no more than one parking space may be
located between a public street and directly in front of a dwelling's
front facade. The width of pavement for driveways and parking shall
be no greater than 20 feet across the width of the parcel between
the house and the street. Parking may be located in the frontage to
the side of the front facade.
E.
Parking and loading spaces, other than those required
for single- and two-family dwellings, shall be so arranged as to prohibit
backing of vehicles onto any street.
F.
Unless directly opposite an intersecting street, no
portion of a driveway entrance or exit shall be closer than 50 feet
to the curbline of an intersecting street nor shall it be closer than
50 feet to any portion of an existing driveway located in a business
or industrial district.
G.
There shall be a maximum of one driveway curb cut
per lot. In GB and HB Districts, and for all new two-family lots,
a special permit from the Planning Board is required for more than
one curb cut. See also requirements in §§ 350-21 and
350-22 for Character District standards as applicable. The Planning
Board may only issue a second curb cut if the applicant can show that
there is something unique about the property that would otherwise
render flow to and from the property unsafe and unmanageable. If the
Board finds that more than one curb cut is necessary for traffic safety
purposes, then additional off-site traffic mitigation may be required
by the Planning Board to address pedestrian safety within the abutting
street network. In all other districts, the Planning Board may, as
part of site plan approval, allow additional driveways/curb cuts if,
and only if, such permit will promote and improve safe and efficient
traffic circulation. Residential driveways shall generally be over
the front lot line directly from the street. Residential driveways
may be constructed across side and rear lot lines directly from the
street, however, when the Department of Public Works finds, or the
Planning Board issues a site plan approval, that the driveway will
not degrade safety. Driveways shall not cross lot lines of adjoining
properties without Planning Board site plan approval.
H.
A driveway's entrance or exit shall not exceed, at
its intersection with the front lot line, a width of 15 feet for single-,
two- and three-family uses and 24 feet for all other uses, except
that the Planning Board may, as part of site plan approval, allow
a thirty-foot width if, and only if, such approval will promote safe
and efficient traffic circulation. See also requirements in §§ 350-21
and 350-22 for Character Districts as applicable.
I.
The parking area and access driveways thereto shall
be graded and drained so as to dispose of all surface water accumulation
in accordance with acceptable engineering practices.
J.
Except on a farm, not more than one commercial vehicle,
and said vehicle shall not exceed a weight of 10,000 pounds gross
weight shall be garaged or in any way stored on any lot in any Residential
(R) District.
K.
No private access street or driveway serving a parking
lot for nonresidential use shall cross property in a residential district
except with a special permit granted by the Planning Board.
L.
No more than two unregistered motor vehicles (any
vehicle that does not have a valid registration legally issued by
a governmental authority), and no motor vehicle accessories which
are not parts of said two vehicles may be parked, stored or otherwise
placed on a parcel of land in the City of Northampton without a special
permit from the Zoning Board of Appeals. This section shall not apply
to the parking, storage or otherwise placing of unregistered motor
vehicles and/or motor vehicle accessories where such parking, storage
or placement is in connection with a legally established business
selling new and/or used automobiles and trucks, or automotive repair
or automobile service stations. This section shall also not apply
to trucks and tractors which are in use for bona fide agricultural
purposes.
M.
All permitted unregistered motor vehicles and/or motor
vehicle accessories shall be screened from the view of the public
and from abutting public ways and from abutting properties by being
enclosed within a structure or sight impervious fencing or screening.
N.
A zoning permit must be received from the Building
Commissioner and a driveway permit from the Department of Public Works,
for all new or relocated driveways or parking lots.
O.
Any use (drive-ins, etc.) which requires the "stacking"
of vehicles waiting in line must be able to provide for the stacking
of at least five vehicles in each line without the cars exceeding
the boundaries of the lot.
P.
No portion
of individual, private driveways shall exceed a slope of 10% with
switchbacks and turns reasonable for emergency vehicle access. However,
driveways between 10% and a maximum of 12% on south-facing slopes
with no curves may be approved by the Office of Planning and Sustainability
in consultation with the Fire Department when it is determined that
no public safety issues will be created with such driveways. However,
the Planning Board may allow steeper grades by special permit, when
it is determined that no public safety issues will be created with
such driveways.
Q.
For all
driveways with grades greater than 8% or longer than 500 feet and
which do not result in total site disturbance of one acre or more
triggering a Department of Public Works stormwater permit, a drainage
plan shall be submitted to the Office of Planning and Sustainability
for review and approval.
R.
Shared
driveways for residential access in residential districts require
site plan approval from the Planning Board and:
(1)
Shall
not service more than three lots (six lots for common driveways that
loop to a road in two locations and are not dead-ends in any location).
(2)
Shall
provide the only vehicular access to the lots being serviced by it,
and shall be so stated in the lot deeds.
(3)
Shall
be of suitable construction, grade, length and location, in the opinion
of the Planning Board, for the access and turnaround of cars, trucks,
ambulances, fire, and police, which will be utilizing such driveway.
At a minimum, a common driveway shall not exceed grade of 10%, shall
have a width of a least 15 feet, shall have passing turnouts providing
a total width of at least 20 feet along a distance of at least 25
feet, spaced with no more than 300 feet between turnouts, and with
the first such passing turnout being located within 10 feet of the
driveway connection to the street, and shall conform to all other
driveway requirements of this chapter.
(4)
Shall
be described on easements and easement plans approved with the site
plan
In addition to § 350-8.8 above, all parking and loading areas containing over five spaces, including automotive and drive-in establishments of all types, shall either be contained within structures or shall also comply with the following:
A.
The area shall be effectively screened with suitable
planting or site impervious fencing on each side which adjoins or
faces the side or rear lot line of a lot situated in any Residential
R District.
B.
The area and access driveways thereto shall be surfaced
with bituminous concrete, cement concrete or pervious pavement (not
to include any form of gravel or equivalent). The location of spaces
shall be suitably marked by painted lines or other appropriate markings.
C.
A substantial bumper of masonry, steel, or heavy timber,
or a concrete curb or berm curb which is backed, shall be placed at
the edge of surfaced areas except driveways in order to protect abutting
structures, properties and sidewalks and screening materials.
D.
There shall not be any business operation for vehicle
repair for profit or gasoline or oil service facilities or any repair
made to any motor vehicles, except on a lot occupied by a permitted
automotive use. Any gasoline or oil facilities shall be at least 25
feet from any lot line.
E.
There shall not be any storage of materials or equipment
or display of merchandise within parking areas except as part of approved
building operations.
F.
In surface parking lots with more than 75 parking
spaces, the expanse of pavement shall be interrupted by separating
rows of parking spaces from each other and from driveways by using
planting strips which may also contain pedestrian sidewalks at least
six feet in width. Provision of these planting strips shall take into
account the need to store snow, to locate light poles, to allow safe
pedestrian movement, to maximize emergency access, and to separate
different traffic movements. In addition, if an existing parking lot
is expanded to over 75 spaces, planting strips shall be required for
the entire lot. All proposals to construct or modify such parking
lots shall be reviewed by the Planning Board in light of the requirements
of this section. The Planning Board may waive planting strips if it
deems appropriate only for the portion and number of parking spaces
that are covered by one or more photovoltaic canopies.
 |
G.
Fire lanes or emergency access points required for
buildings or other structures shall be protected from unauthorized
parking through the provision of curbs, mountable barriers, landscaped
areas or such other improvements subject to the approval of the Fire
Chief and Chief of Police, which in turn meets the objective of precluding
parking in the restricted area.
H.
Surface parking lots with over 15 parking spaces serving
uses located in Business, Industrial or Planned Village Districts
must have at least one shade tree (minimum two-inch caliper) for every
15 provided parking spaces. The number of trees per 15 parking spaces
shall be tabulated for all spaces unless the Planning Board finds
that, for the spaces covered by photovoltaic canopies, there is no
adequate location on site to meet the requirement for those covered
spaces.
I.
For new or expanded parking lots that result in the provision of
25 or more spaces, one electric vehicle charging port space per 15
parking spaces shall be installed.
A.
Payment made to the City of Northampton in lieu of
providing some or all of the required off-street parking spaces for
a project in the CB Districts shall be allowed by right.
B.
The fee to be paid shall be $2,000 per parking space.
Fees paid to the City of Northampton, in lieu of providing required
parking spaces on site shall be deposited into a Downtown Parking
Reserve Account to be used solely for expenses (land acquisition,
design engineering services and construction costs, but not maintenance
costs) related to adding parking spaces, improving the utilization
of existing parking spaces, or reducing the need for new parking to
serve the Central Business District. Requests to appropriate funds
out of this reserve account shall be filed with the City Council and
referred to the Office of Planning and Sustainability, Planning Board,
and Northampton Transportation and Parking Commission, which shall
have 60 days to forward their comments and recommendations before
a City Council vote of the appropriation is taken.
A.
Bicycle parking shall be provided for any new building, addition
or enlargement of existing building, or, except for in the Central
Business Districts, for any change in the use of a building.
B.
The number of bicycle parking spaces shall be calculated using the
following table.
|
Table of Short-Term and Long-Term Bicycle Parking Requirements
| ||
|---|---|---|
|
Use
|
Bicycle Parking Requirement*
| |
|
Residential, hotel, motel, bed-and-breakfast
|
0.1 space per dwelling unit or hotel room (of which at least
50% shall be long-term)
| |
|
Theater, gymnasium, auditorium, church, takeout or sit-down
restaurant, bar, nightclub, YMCA, library, museum, funeral parlor,
country club, community facility, commercial, retail, seasonal retail,
personal service, office, hospital, other medical uses
|
1.0 space per 1,000 square feet
| |
|
Manufacturing, industrial, utility, power plant, warehouse,
storage, wholesale establishment, automobile retail, sales, rental,
service and wash
|
0.1 space per 1,000 square feet
| |
|
K-12 school, college, classroom, laboratory, and other teaching
areas
|
5.0 spaces per classroom
| |
|
Mixed use
|
Requirements for each use
| |
|
Business, trade, or industrial school
|
2 per classroom
| |
|
Temporary uses in unheated outdoor space in any business or
industrial district
|
None required
| |
|
Any permitted use not covered by this schedule
|
Closest use determined by Building Commissioner
| |
|
NOTE:
| ||
|
*The Office of Planning and Sustainability can authorize a reduction
in parking requirements when there are unique reasons why new bicycle
parking is not required, including the availability of adequate public
bicycle parking, or accept payment in-lieu of bicycle racks when providing
racks on public property provides a better option.
| ||
C.
All short-term bicycle parking shall incorporate bicycle racks and
the following additional specifications (See Northampton Bicycle Parking
Guide for graphics and precedents.):
(1)
Bicycle racks shall be located within 50 feet of the primary
building entrance. If the primary building entrance is within 50 feet
of the public right-of-way, the bicycle rack should also be located
adjacent to public streets or sidewalks or, with City approval, within
the public right-of-way.
(2)
Bicycle racks shall allow at least 2.5 feet of clear horizontal
distance from the center point of the bicycle rack in a direction
perpendicular to the length of the bicycle, and at least three feet
of clear horizontal distance from the center point of the bicycle
rack in each direction parallel to the length of the bicycle, to provide
adequate space to store and remove a standard bicycle.
(3)
Bicycle racks shall be arranged either in rows (bicycles are
parked side-to-side) or in alignment (bicycles are parked end-to-end).
Where bicycle racks are arranged in rows, they shall be spaced at
least 2.5 feet apart on center. Where bicycle racks are arranged in
alignment, they shall be spaced at least eight feet on center.
(4)
When a bicycle rack is placed perpendicular to the curb, it
must be located on the sidewalk with at least four feet from the curb
to the nearest vertical component of the bicycle rack, and units placed
parallel to the curb must be placed on the sidewalk with at least
two feet from the curb to the bicycle rack.
(5)
Bicycle racks shall be at least eight feet from a curbside or
wall fire hydrant.
(6)
Where 20 or more bicycle parking spaces are required, at least
5% of the required spaces must provide an additional two feet of space
parallel to the length of the bicycle to accommodate tandem bicycles
or bicycles with trailers.
(7)
Bicycle racks shall include surfacing that is designed and maintained
to be mud and dust free. The use of rock or gravel areas is permitted,
provided that edging materials, such as landscape timbers, are used
so that the bicycle parking space is clearly demarcated and the rock
material is contained.
(8)
With the exception of residential uses, bicycle racks must be
sufficiently separated from motor vehicle parking areas to protect
parked bicycles. The separation may be accomplished through grade
separation, distance or physical barrier, such as curbs, wheel stops,
poles, vegetation, or similar features.
(9)
With the exception of single- and two-family uses, bicycle racks
must be accessible by way of at least one clear, lighted, ADA-accessible
stabilized-surface five-foot-wide access route from bicycle parking
to a public right-of-way that does not require carrying the bicycle
and is free of any obstructions.
(10)
Bicycle racks that require a use-supplied locking device shall
be designed to accommodate both chain and U-shaped locking devices
and shall support the bicycle frame at two locations (not just the
wheel).
(11)
Bicycle racks may provide bicycle parking spaces on each side,
provided that both sides meet the spacing requirements set forth herein.
If a bicycle rack meets the spacing requirements on one side of the
stand but not the other (as may be the case where a bicycle rack is
attached to a wall), then it may provide bicycle parking spaces on
that side only.
(12)
The preferred designs for bicycle racks are post and loop, and
inverted "U." Other designs may be approved by Planning Board or Office
of Planning and Sustainability to allow new or innovative technologies
that provide equal or greater convenience and accessibility to bicyclists
when compared to facilities designed according to the Northampton
Bicycle Parking Guide standards.
