Town of Smithsburg, MD Article VI Off-Street Parking and Loading

§ 405-34 Required off-street parking spaces.

Off-street parking spaces shall be provided and satisfactorily maintained in accordance with the following provisions for each building or use which, after the effective date of this chapter, is established, erected, enlarged or altered for use for any of the following purposes in any district; for uses not specifically listed, the requirements for the most similar use listed shall be followed:

Use			1 Off-Street Parking Space Required for Each	Plus 1 Off-Street Parking Space Required for Each
A.	Natural Resources and Agricultural Uses
	1.	Agricultural and other full-time employee uses listed in Table of Use Regulations A	—	—
B.	Residential Uses
	1.	Single-family and two-family dwellings	0.5 dwelling unit (2 spaces per unit)	—
	2.	Multifamily and townhouse unit dwellings	0.4 dwelling unit (2.5 spaces per unit)	—
	3.	Conversions and rooming houses	1 dwelling unit	1 rental unit
	4.	Home occupations and home professional offices	See the definition of "home occupation" in § 405-7
C.	Public or Private Recreational Uses
	1.	Commercial swimming pools	4 persons of total capacity	Employee on duty
	2.	Private or membership clubs or lodges	3 persons of total capacity	Employee on duty
	3.	Golf courses	0.25 hole (4 spaces per hole)	Employee on duty
	4.	Miniature golf	0.5 hole (2 spaces per hole)	Employee on duty
	5.	Batting cages, golf driving and indoor target ranges	Cage, practice tee or target	Employee on duty
	6.	Amusement center, billiard hall, bingo parlor, health club, gymnasium	100 square feet of gross floor area	Employee on duty
	7.	Indoor/outdoor commercial racquet clubs or courts	0.33 court (3 spaces per court), plus 1 per 3 users at design capacity	Employee on duty
	8.	Indoor/outdoor riding stables	2 stables, plus 1 per 3 users at design capacity	Employee on duty
	9.	Bowling alleys	0.2 lane (5 spaces per lane)	Full-time employee on duty
	10.	Theaters, auditoriums, stadiums	3 seats (bench capacity computed at 1 seat for each 20 inches)	2 employees on duty
	11.	Skating rinks	100 square feet of skating area	2 employees on duty
	12.	Recreational establishments other than those listed above	80 square feet of floor space and/or as determined by extent of outdoor use	2 employees on duty
D.	Institutional and Educational Uses
	1.	Churches or other places of worship	4 seats (bench capacity computed at 1 seat for each 20 inches	2 employees on duty
	2.	Licensed hospitals, nursing homes and the like as listed in Table of Use Regulations D.32 and 33	3 patient beds	Visiting doctor, plus 1 space for each 2 employees on duty
	3.	Meeting or assembly halls for fraternal or civic organizations	3 persons of total capacity	Employee on duty
	4.	Community centers	250 square feet of gross floor area used by the public	2 employees on duty
	5.	Libraries and museums	400 square feet of gross floor used by the public	2 employees on duty
	6.	Governmental office buildings	200 square feet of gross floor area used by the public	Employee on duty
	7.	Fire and rescue stations	Emergency motor vehicle	Employee on duty
	8.	Child day care	10 children	Employee on duty
	9.	Elementary and middle school	Employee on duty	3 seats in auditoriums and other places of assembly
	10.	High schools and colleges	Employee on duty	2 students aged 16 years or older
	11.	Trade and professional schools	Employee on duty	1 student
E.	Retail and Commercial Services Uses
	1.	Automobile servicing and/or repair	1/4 service bay (4 spaces per bay), plus 5 spaces per fueling station	Employee on duty
	2.	Small engine and related equipment repair	200 square feet of gross floor area	Employee on duty
	3.	Automobile, truck, farm equipment, recreational vehicles, and mobile home sales and service	500 square feet of enclosed sales, 1 per 2,500 square feet of open sales, plus 2 spaces per service bay	Employee on duty
	4.	Furniture and appliance stores	1,000 square feet of sales floor, plus 1 space per company vehicle	Employee on duty
	5.	Building materials and supplies stores	400 square feet of sales floor, plus 1 space per 1,000 square feet of warehousing area	Employee on duty
	6.	Business service and professional offices	200 square feet of gross floor area	Employee on duty
	7.	Professional office for medical, dental and veterinarian	0.25 practitioner (4 spaces per practitioner)	Employee on duty
	8.	Retail stores, business and local convenience centers	150 square feet of area used for serving customers	Employee on duty
	9.	Funeral homes	50 square feet of gross floor area used by the public, plus 1 space per company vehicle	Full-time nonresident employee on duty
	10.	Greenhouses and nurseries and other outdoor retail	1,000 square feet of lot or floor area used for display purposes	Employee on duty
	11.	Hotels and motels	Rental room or suite, plus parking figured separately for banquet meeting rooms and restaurants	Employee on duty
	12.	Personal service businesses	200 square feet of floor area used for service customers	Employee on duty
	13.	Restaurants, drive-in restaurants, taverns, lounges, nightclubs	50 square feet of gross floor area	Employee on duty
	14.	Self-service	2 washing-drying or dry-cleaning machines	2 full-time employees on duty
	15.	Shopping centers and malls	167 square feet of retail sales area (6 spaces per 1,000 square feet)	—
F.	Manufacturing and Industrial Uses
	1.	Wholesaling and warehousing	350 square feet of office and customer service floor area	Employee on duty
	2.	Manufacturing and industrial uses as listed in Table of Use Regulations F	1.5 employees on duty	Company vehicle used in the business

§ 405-35 General parking regulations.

A. Existing parking. Structures and uses in existence at the effective date this chapter shall not be subject to the requirements of this article so long as the kind or extent of use is not changed, provided that any parking facility now serving such structures or uses shall not in the future be reduced below such requirement.

B. Alteration in use. Whenever a building is altered or enlarged in floor area, number of employees, number of dwellings, seating capacity or otherwise to create a need, based upon the requirements of § 405-34, for an increase of 10% or more in the number of existing parking spaces, the number of additional spaces to be provided shall be based upon the incremental change or enlargement.

C. Conflict with other uses. No parking area shall be used for any other use that interferes with its availability for the parking need it is required to serve.

D. Continuing character of obligation. All required parking facilities shall be provided and maintained so long as the use which the facilities were designed to serve still exists. Off-street parking facilities shall not be reduced in total extent except when such reduction is in conformity with the requirements of this article in conjunction with a change in the nature of the use.

E. Joint use.

(1) Two or more uses may provide for required parking in a common parking lot; the total number of spaces in such lot shall not be less than the sum of the spaces required for each use individually, unless such lot is provided as specified in Subsection E(2) as follows.

(2) Up to 50% of the parking spaces required for a) theaters, auditoriums, bowling alleys, or private clubs, and up to 100% of the parking spaces required for churches or meeting halls, may be provided collectively and used jointly by b) banks, offices, retail stores, repair shops, service establishments and similar uses not normally open, used or operated during the same hours as those listed in a); provided, however, that a written agreement assuring the continued availability of such parking areas shall be properly drawn and executed by the parties concerned, approved as to legal sufficiency by the Town Attorney, and filed with the application for the zoning permit.

F. Mixed uses. Where a permitted use contains or includes more than one of the types of uses identified in § 405-34, the number of parking spaces required shall be the sum of the computed requirements for the separate types of uses.

G. Location of parking spaces. Required off-street parking spaces shall be on the same lot or premises with the principal use served or, where this requirement cannot be met, within 400 feet walking distance of the principal use. A written agreement assuring the continued availability of such parking areas shall be properly drawn and executed by the parties concerned, approved as to legal sufficiency by the Town Attorney, and filed with the application for the zoning permit.

H. Fractional spaces. Where the computation of required parking spaces results in a fractional number, only the fraction of 1/2 or more shall be counted as one.

I. Drive-through/drive-in facilities. At no time shall vehicular traffic utilizing the drive through/drive-in facilities of a commercial establishment interfere with the traffic flow pattern or decrease the design capacity of the off-street parking area serving the commercial establishment. In addition, at no time shall the aforementioned vehicular traffic interfere with the function or decrease the capacity of any public street.

J. Parking exemption for TC District. Commercial uses located within the Town Center Zoning District are exempt from the off-street parking criteria of § 405-34.

K. Landscaping and buffer area. In addition to specific requirements of this chapter, the Planning Commission may require effective vegetative screening or such other device as may be deemed appropriate in areas between off-street parking and/or loading areas and adjacent properties. In all cases, screening shall be continuously maintained.

§ 405-36 Design standards.

The design standards specified in this section shall be required for all new off-street parking facilities with a capacity of four or more vehicles. Such facilities shall be designed so that their use shall not constitute a nuisance or hazard or unreasonable impediment to traffic.

A. Parking lot dimensions shall be no less than those listed in the following table:

					Aisle Width
	Angle of Parking		Width (feet)	Stall Depth (feet)	One-Way (feet)	Two-Way (feet)
	Automobile parking
		90°	9	19	22	24
		60°	9	21	18	21
		45°	9	20	15	18
		Parallel	8	22	12	18
	Automobile and trailer parking
		30°	10	53	15	—

B. Parking areas shall be designed so that each motor vehicle may proceed to and from the parking space provided for it without requiring the moving of any other motor vehicle.

C. The width of entrance and exit drives shall be:

(1) A minimum of 12 feet for one-way use only;

(2) A minimum of 20 feet for two-way use; and

(3) A maximum of 40 feet at the street line.

D. No parking areas shall be designed to require or encourage parked vehicles to back into a public street in order to leave the lot.

E. Except for areas that are landscaped and so maintained, all portions of required parking facilities, including driveways, shall be graded, surfaced with asphalt or other suitable material, and drained to the extent necessary to prevent dust, erosion, or excessive water flow across streets or adjoining properties.

F. All lighting fixtures used to illuminate parking areas shall be arranged to prevent glare into public streets and adjoining properties.

G. Except where entrance and exit drives cross street lines, all parking areas for any purpose other than single-family residences shall be physically separated from any public street by a concrete curb and by a planting strip which shall be not less than 10 feet in depth. This ten-foot landscaped planting strip shall be parallel to the street line and shall be measured from the future right-of-way.

§ 405-37 Off-street loading areas.

A. Off-street truck-loading berths shall be provided as an accessory to any use specified below:

(1) For a public library, museum or similar quasi-public institution or governmental building, community center, hospital or sanitarium, nursing or convalescent home, institution for children or the aged, school, professional, governmental or business offices or laboratory establishments, with a gross floor area between 10,000 and 25,000 square feet, one berth shall be provided, plus one additional berth for each additional 25,000 square feet or fraction thereof.[1]

[1] Editor's Note: Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. II).

(2) For buildings with offices and retail sales and service establishments, with a gross floor area between 8,000 and 25,000 square feet, one berth shall be provided, plus one additional berth for each additional 25,000 square feet or fraction thereof.

(3) For manufacturing, wholesale and storage uses, and for dry-cleaning and rug-cleaning establishments and laundries, with a gross floor area between 5,000 and 10,000 square feet, one berth shall be provided, plus one additional berth for each additional 20,000 square feet or fraction thereof.

B. Each required off-street truck-loading berth shall be at least 55 feet long, measured perpendicular to the loading dock, shall be at least 14 feet wide, and shall provide a minimum overhead clearance of 14 feet.

C. Each required off-street truck-loading berth shall have unobstructed access to a public street. Such access may be combined with access to an off-street parking lot; provided, however, that all berths shall be designed so that maneuvering of trucks to reach the loading dock shall not require the use of any required off-street parking spaces or intrude into any street right-of-way. No off-street loading berth shall be located in any required front yard.

D. All permitted or required loading berths shall be on the same lot as the use to which they are accessory, except that berths may be provided in spaces designed to serve jointly two or more adjacent establishments, provided that the number of berths in such joint facilities shall not be less than the total required separately for all such establishments.