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Borough of Sellersville, PA
Bucks County
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Table of Contents
Table of Contents
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
LOADING BERTH
A space in a building or on-lot, accessible from a street or way, for the temporary use of vehicles while loading or unloading merchandise or materials and to avoid undue interference with the public use of streets and alleys.
OFF-STREET PARKING SPACE
An area on a lot used for parking a vehicle where there is access from a street.
PARKING LOT
A portion of a lot area containing three or more off-street parking spaces and having direct access to a street.
A. 
In the use of land for residential, commercial, industrial or any other purpose, no residential, commercial, industrial or any other building or structure shall be erected and no major repairs made to an existing residential, commercial, industrial or any other building or structure unless adequate parking already exists upon the lot or unless provision for off-street parking spaces is made on the lot concurrently with such erection or major repairs. The following minimum requirements shall not apply where another part of this chapter specifies a greater parking requirement for a particular use.
B. 
Public parking spaces shall be allocated and delineated for handicapped drivers. The spaces shall be identified as such in accordance with applicable law (federal, state and local). The federal standards for parking spaces allocated for handicapped drivers are provided as follows. These are minimum standards; state or local laws which are more strict would take precedence.
Total Parking in Lot
Required Minimum Number of Accessible Spaces
1 to 25
1
26 to 50
2
51 to 75
3
76 to 100
4
101 to 150
5
151 to 200
6
201 to 300
7
301 to 400
8
401 to 500
9
501 to 1,000
2% of total
1,001 and over
20, plus 1 for each 100 over 1,000
[Amended 11-12-2012 by Ord. No. 681]
For the purpose of this chapter, parking spaces are required for all dwellings. Subject to the restrictions set forth in § 135-20 of the Chapter 135, Subdivision and Land Development, of the Code of the Borough of Sellersville, each bay of an attached or unattached garage on the premises, and that portion of the driveway not within the public right-of-way, may be considered as a single parking space. If a garage bay is designated or counted as an off-street parking space pursuant to § 135-20C(14) of the Chapter 135, Subdivision and Land Development, then the failure to maintain the requirements of § 135-20C(14)(a) and (b) of said chapter shall constitute a violation of this chapter. The required number of parking spaces shall be as follows:
A. 
Single-family, twin, duplex, townhouse, conversion apartments and multiple dwellings: two off-street parking spaces (as defined in § 160-101) per dwelling unit.
B. 
Dormitories and boardinghouses: one space for each two residents, plus one space for each full-time employee.
C. 
Age-restricted multiple dwelling units with one bedroom: one and one-half off-street parking spaces (as defined in § 160-101) per dwelling unit.
[Added 9-10-2018 by Ord. No. 720]
D. 
Age-restricted multiple dwelling units with more than one bedroom: two off-street parking spaces (as defined in § 160-101) per dwelling unit.
[Added 9-10-2018 by Ord. No. 720]
The required number of parking spaces shall be as follows:
A. 
Cemeteries: none, unless in association with a mortuary or monument dealer, in which case the provisions of § 160-105 shall apply.
B. 
Churches and cultural facilities, including community centers, assembly or meeting rooms or other similar places of public or private assembly: one space for each five seats provided for public assembly or one space for each 100 square feet of gross floor area when no seats are provided, plus one space for each two full-time employees.
C. 
Nursing homes/personal care facility: one space for each four beds, plus one space for every employee, plus one space for each staff or visiting doctor.
D. 
Schools (kindergarten, nursery school, day-care facility, elementary and junior high): one space for each faculty member and employee, plus one space per two classrooms and offices.
E. 
Schools (senior high, college and university, business college or trade school, music and dancing and similar organizations): one space for each faculty member and employee, plus one space per 10 students of projected building capacity.
F. 
Private club and public or private noncommercial recreational facility: one space for each five persons of total capacity.
G. 
Police or fire stations: as deemed appropriate by the Borough Council.
The required number of parking spaces shall be as follows:
A. 
Business, financial, professional, public service offices and veterinary offices or hospitals: one space for each 200 square feet of ground floor area plus one space for each 400 square feet of floor area above the ground floor.
B. 
Business service establishments, equipment rental agencies, monument and burial vault dealers: one space for each 800 square feet of gross floor area and one space for each 1,500 square feet of lot area devoted to outdoor sales or storage.
C. 
Commercial recreation and entertainment facilities: one space for each five persons of total lawful capacity as calculated in accordance with the then-applicable International Building Code.
[Amended 4-9-2018 by Ord. No. 719]
(1) 
In recognition of the need to limit the amount of paved parking areas to preserve open space and limit stormwater runoff, as well as the unique circumstances and various forms of commercial recreation and entertainment facilities, as part of any conditional use application, Borough Council may, in its sole discretion, allow the construction of up to 25% of the required parking spaces to be deferred and reserved for potential future development and use under the following conditions:
(a) 
The applicant shall demonstrate to Borough Council, using existing employment, customer, and other relevant data, and projected employment, customer, and other relevant data for each of the next five years, that placing certain parking spaces in reserve is warranted and will not adversely affect neighboring or adjacent property owners or otherwise cause an in increase in on-street parking;
(b) 
The applicant's plans shall clearly designate those parking spaces to be immediately constructed and those parking spaces to be reserved for potential future use;
(c) 
The parking spaces to be reserved for potential future use shall not be within areas for required buffer yards, setbacks, or areas that would not be suitable for parking due to physical characteristics of the land or other requirements in this chapter and Chapter 135;
(d) 
The parking spaces to be reserved for potential future use shall remain open space and attractively landscaped;
(e) 
All stormwater engineering shall be designed as if the total amount of required parking spaces, including any parking spaces to be reserved for potential future use, were being immediately constructed;
(f) 
The spaces to be reserved for potential future use shall not be used to meet the parking requirements for future expansions of the facility;
(g) 
If, within five years of the applicant's satisfactory completion of any other public improvements related to the development, in Borough Council's opinion, construction of some or all of the reserved parking spaces is reasonably necessary or desirable, Borough Council shall provide written notice to proceed with construction of the parking spaces identified in the notice;
(h) 
The applicant will be required to provide financial security in a form acceptable to the Borough Solicitor to guarantee the future construction and maintenance of any parking spaces held in reserve for potential future construction.
D. 
Gasoline-dispensing facilities and motor vehicle service stations: one space for each 300 square feet of gross floor area devoted to service facilities or two spaces for each service bay, whichever is larger, plus one space for each 100 square feet of gross floor area devoted to sales facilities or convenience store, plus one space for each full-time employee on the largest shift.
E. 
Vehicular sales and rental establishments: one space for every 1,500 square feet devoted to outdoor sales or storage in addition to space assigned to vehicles in storage awaiting sales, plus one space for each full-time employee on the largest shift. Also, one space for each 300 square feet of gross floor area devoted to service facilities or two spaces for each service bay, whichever is larger, plus one space for each 100 square feet of gross floor area devoted to sales facilities.
F. 
Hotels and motels: one space for each guest room, plus one space for each two employees on the largest shift.
G. 
Mortuaries: one space for each 50 square feet of floor area in parlor or service rooms or one space for each five seats or five persons of total capacity in assembly rooms.
H. 
Quick-service restaurant: one space for each 50 square feet of floor area for public use or one space for every four seats, whichever is greater, plus two spaces for every three employees on the largest shift.
I. 
Sit-down restaurant, tavern or nightclub: one space for each 100 square feet of gross floor area or one space for every four seats, whichever is greater, plus one space for every two full-time employees of the largest shift.
J. 
Retail stores and businesses and personal service establishments: one space for each 200 square feet of gross floor area, plus one space for each two full-time employees of the largest shift.
All industrial establishments (in addition to vehicular storage for company vehicles or vehicles in storage awaiting repair, delivery, etc.) shall have one parking space for each 600 square feet of total gross floor area or one parking space for every two employees engaged during the peak hours of operation, whichever results in the greater requirements.
Utility and transportation parking shall be as required by the Borough Council.
Accessory use parking shall be as follows:
A. 
Apartment combined with a commercial use: one bedroom, one space; two or three bedrooms, two spaces.
B. 
Home occupations: one space, in addition to the requirement for the dwelling unit, plus one additional space for each full-time employee, plus any additional spaces as may be required by the Zoning Hearing Board as part of a special exception.
C. 
Rooming house: one space for each roomer.
A. 
Existing parking. Structures and uses in existence at the date of adoption of 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 be reduced below such requirements.
B. 
Change in requirements.
(1) 
In all districts except BC, whenever there is an alteration of a structure or a change or extension of a use which increases the parking requirements according to the standards of § 160-102, the total additional parking required for the alteration, change or extension shall be provided in accordance with the requirements of that section.
(2) 
In the BC District, whenever there is an alteration of a structure or a change of use which does not enlarge the building in which such use is located, then no additional parking spaces shall be required; however, when new construction or building enlargement is involved, then additional parking in accordance with the standards of § 160-102 shall be required for the use occupying such new construction or enlargement.
C. 
Conflict with other uses. No parking area shall be used for any use that interferes with its availability for the parking need it is required to serve.
D. 
Continuing obligation. All required parking facilities shall be provided and maintained, so long as the use exists which the facilities were designed to serve. Off-street parking facilities shall not be reduced in total extent after their provision, except upon the approval of the Zoning Hearing Board, and then only after proof that, by reason of the diminution in floor area, seating area, number of employees or change in other factors controlling the regulation of the number of parking spaces, such reduction is in conformity with the requirements of this article. Reasonable precautions are to be taken by the owner or sponsor of particular uses to assure the availability for required facilities for the employees or other persons whom the facilities are designed to serve. They shall at no time constitute a nuisance, hazard or unreasonable impediment to traffic.
E. 
Joint use. Two or more uses may provide for required parking in a common parking lot if the total space provided is not less than the sum of the spaces required for each use individually. However, the number of spaces required in a common parking facility may be reduced below the total only as a special exception under Article XII if it can be demonstrated to the Zoning Hearing Board that the hours or days of peak parking needed for the uses are so different that a lower total will provide adequately for all uses served by the facility.
F. 
Fractional spaces. Where the computation of required parking spaces results in a fractional number, any fraction equal to or exceeding 1/2 space shall be counted as one; any fraction less than 1/2 space may be dropped.
G. 
Location of spaces. Required off-street parking spaces shall be provided either:
(1) 
In the same lot or premises with the principal use served; or
(2) 
Where the requirements in Subsection G(1) cannot be met, the Zoning Hearing Board, by special exception under Article XII, may authorize within the same district, required parking on any lot in the same ownership within 300 feet of the principal use served, subject to such bond or other assurance of performance as it may deem adequate.
H. 
Waiver of requirements. In order to prevent the establishment of a greater number of parking spaces than is actually required, the minimum off-street parking provisions of § 160-102 may be waived by the Borough Council after consultation with the Planning Commission and Municipal Engineer, provided that:
(1) 
The land development plan shows all required space, including required buffer strips and accessways.
(2) 
The land development plan shows specifically which spaces are to be waived.
(3) 
Satisfactory documentation is submitted attesting to the reduced need for off-street parking.
(4) 
The developer enters into an agreement and executes a performance bond to construct the waived spaces if, in the opinion of the Borough Council, such additional parking is deemed necessary. The performance bond and agreement shall terminate after five years.
(5) 
In the BC District, a fee agreed to and stipulated by the Borough Council may be paid in lieu of the provision of spaces. The fee shall be paid on a per-space basis and in an amount comparable to the construction of a public parking space and shall be entered into an escrow account by the Borough Council for the specific purpose of constructing public parking lots or garages.
I. 
Design and maintenance standards.
(1) 
Off-street parking lots shall be designed in accordance with § 135-20 of Chapter 135, Subdivision and Land Development, and for sight triangles, which shall be in accordance with § 160-68 herein.
(2) 
Maintenance of parking lots. Drainage, surfacing and maintenance of parking lots shall be as follows:
(a) 
The area of the lot not landscaped and so maintained, including driveways, shall be graded, surfaced with asphalt or other suitable material and drained to the satisfaction of the Code Enforcement Officer to the extent necessary to prevent nuisance of dust, erosion or excessive water flow across public ways.
(b) 
Lots shall be kept clean and free from rubbish and debris.
A. 
Required spaces and berths.
(1) 
For all institutional, commercial, industrial and utility/transportation uses whose principal buildings have an aggregate floor area exceeding 6,000 square feet, at least one off-street loading space shall be provided. Where there is an aggregate of 20,000 square feet or more, one off-street loading berth shall be provided for the initial 20,000 square feet, plus one additional berth for each 60,000 square feet above 20,000 square feet.
(2) 
For the purposes of this chapter, off-street loading berths shall be distinguished from off-street loading spaces in that a berth shall have a platform or dock raised to the height of a truck bed, whereas a space may off-load at ground level. All off-street loading spaces and berths shall be provided and maintained so long as the use exists which the facilities were designed to serve. They may, however, be reduced in number by special exception in a manner similar to that provided in § 160-108D.
B. 
Existing structures and loading facilities.
(1) 
Structures and land uses in existence or for which building permits have been issued at the date of adoption of this chapter shall not be subject to the requirements stated in Subsections C and D so long as the kind or extent of use is not changed, provided that any loading facilities now serving such structures or uses shall not in the future be reduced below such requirements.
(2) 
Where a structure existing on the effective date of this chapter is altered or extended in such a way as to increase the gross floor area only, this additional gross floor area shall be counted in computation of the off-street loading requirements. Alterations or extensions aggregating less than 5,000 square feet subsequent to the effective date of this chapter do not require such provision of loading space.
C. 
Design standards. Off-street loading facilities shall be designed to conform to the following specifications:
(1) 
Each required berth shall be not less than 12 feet in width, 55 feet in length and 14 feet in height, exclusive of drives and maneuvering space and located entirely on the lot being served.
(2) 
There shall be appropriate means of access to a street or alley as well as adequate maneuvering space.
(3) 
The maximum width of driveways and sidewalk openings measured at the street lot line shall be 30 feet; the minimum width shall be 20 feet.
(4) 
All accessory driveways and entranceways shall be graded, surfaced and drained to the satisfaction of the Code Enforcement Officer to the extent necessary to prevent nuisances of dust, erosion or excessive water flow across streets or adjoining property.
(5) 
Such facilities shall be designed and used in such a manner as at no time to constitute a nuisance or hazard or unreasonable impediment to traffic.
D. 
Maintenance requirements. All required loading facilities shall be provided and maintained in accordance with the following requirements:
(1) 
They shall be provided and maintained so long as the use exists which the facilities were designed to serve.
(2) 
They shall not be reduced in total extent after their provisions, except when such reduction is in conformity with the requirements of this subsection.
(3) 
Reasonable precautions shall be taken by the owner or sponsor of particular uses to assure the availability of required facilities to the delivery and pickup vehicles that they are designed to serve.
[Amended 4-9-2018 by Ord. No. 719]
The number of off-street parking spaces for each use shall be as set forth in the following table:
Use
One Off-Street Parking Space Required for Each
Plus One Off-Street Parking Space Required for Each
A.
Residential uses.
(1)
Dwelling
2 spaces per dwelling unit
Council may increase requirements not to exceed 3 spaces/dwelling
(2)
Home occupation
2 spaces per dwelling unit
Nonresident employee
(3)
Boardinghouse; dormitory; other similar uses
0.5 rental or living units
Employee on shift of highest employment
(4)
Group home
4 residents
Employee on shift of highest employment
B.
Public or private recreational uses.
(1)
Commercial recreation and entertainment facilities
1 space for each 5 persons of total lawful capacity
(2)
Private clubs and public or noncommercial recreational facility
1 space for each 5 persons of total lawful capacity
C.
Institutional and educational uses.
(1)
Churches and other places of worship
5 seats provided for public assembly or 100 square feet of gross floor area
2 full-time employees
(2)
Nursing home/personal care facility
4 residents
Staff doctor, plus 1 space for each employee on the shift of highest employment
(3)
Medical or dental office
200 square feet of gross floor area and 400 square feet of gross floor area above ground floor
Employee
(4)
Nursery/day-care center
Employee, faculty member
2 classrooms and offices
(5)
School (elementary, junior high)
Faculty or other part or full-time employee
2 classrooms and offices
(6)
School (senior high, business or trade school)
Faculty or other part or full-time employee
10 students of projected capacity
(7)
Cultural facilities
5 persons of total capacity
(8)
Utility
Vehicle normally required to service such facility
D.
Retail and commercial service uses.
(1)
Gas-dispensing facility
100 square feet of floor area of the convenience store
Employee on highest shift
(2)
Motor vehicle service station
300 square feet of gross floor area devoted to service facility or 2 spaces/service bay, whichever is larger, plus 1 space for each 100 square feet of gross floor area devoted to sales
Employee on highest shift
(3)
Auto, recreational vehicle and boat sales or rental
300 square feet of gross floor area devoted to service facility or 2 spaces/service bay, whichever is larger, plus 1 space for each 100 square feet of gross floor area devoted to sales
Employee on highest shift, plus 1 space for each 1,500 square feet devoted to outdoor sales or storage
(4)
Business, financial, professional, public service offices
200 square feet of gross floor area
400 square feet of gross floor area above ground floor
(5)
Fast-food restaurant
4 seats or 50 square feet of floor area for public use
2 spaces for each 3 employees
(6)
Funeral home
50 square feet or 5 seats
(7)
Hotel/motel
Rental unit
1 space for each 2 employees
(8)
Business service establishments; equipment rental agencies; monument and burial vault dealers
800 square feet of gross floor
1,500 square feet of lot area devoted to outdoor storage and sales
(9)
Restaurant, tavern or nightclub
4 seats or 100 square feet of floor area
1 space for each 2 employees
(10)
Retail store, businesses and personal service establishments
200 square feet of gross floor area
1 space for each 2 employees
(11)
Animal hospital/veterinarian, kennel
200 square feet of gross floor area
E.
Industrial and wholesale trade uses.
(1)
Manufacture, industrial, wholesale trade, warehouse uses, research or testing laboratories
600 square feet of floor area or 1 space per 2 employees at highest shift, whichever number is greater
F.
Accessory uses.
(1)
Accessory building
Additional vehicle over existing parking spaces for the principal use
(2)
Apartment combined with a commercial use
Required parking for the commercial use
2 spaces per dwelling unit
(3)
Family/group day-care home
2 spaces per dwelling unit
Nonresident employee, (one off-street passenger space)
(4)
Produce stand
100 square feet devoted to sales areas