Borough of Spring Grove, PA Off-Street Parking and Loading

Number of spaces. Each use that is newly developed, enlarged, significantly changed in type or increased in number of establishments shall provide and maintain off-street parking spaces in accordance with Table 32.1 and the regulations of this article.

Uses not listed. Uses not specifically listed in Table 32.1 shall comply with the requirements for the most similar use listed in Table 32.1, unless the applicant proves to the satisfaction of the Zoning Officer that an alternative standard should be used for that use.

Multiple uses. Where a proposed lot contains or includes more than one type of use, the number of parking spaces required shall be the sum of the parking requirements for each separate use.

Parking landscaping. See §§ 400-50 and 400-51 of this chapter.

Table 32.1 - Off-Street Parking Requirements
Use		Number of Off-Street Parking Spaces Required	Plus 1 Off-Street Parking Space for Each:
A. Residential Uses:
1.	Dwelling unit, other than types listed separately in this table	2 per dwelling unit; if desired, 1 space may be in a garage and 1 space in a driveway
2.	Home occupation	See § 400-21
3.	Housing permanently restricted to persons 55 years and older and/or the physically handicapped	1 per dwelling/rental unit, except 0.4 per dwelling/rental unit if evidence is presented that the nonphysically handicapped persons will primarily be over 70 years old	Nonresident employee
4.	Boardinghouse	1 per rental unit or bed for adult, whichever is greater	Nonresident employee
5.	Group home	See § 400-21
B. Institutional Uses:
1.	Place of worship or church	1 per 5 seats in room of largest capacity	Employee
2.	Hospital	1 per 3 beds	1.2 employees
3.	Nursing home	1 per 5 beds	1.2 employees
4.	Assisted living facility/personal care center	1 per 4 beds	1.2 employees
5.	Day-care center	1 per 10 children, or fraction thereof, with spaces designed for safe and convenient dropoff and pickup	1.2 employees
6.	School, primary or secondary	1 per 4 students aged 16 or older	Employee
7.	Utility facility	1 per vehicle routinely needed to service facility
8.	College, university or trade school	1 per 1.5 students not living on campus who attend class at peak times (plus required spaces for on-campus housing)	Employee
9.	Library, community center, cultural center or museum	1 per 5 seats (or 1 per 250 square feet of floor area accessible to patrons and/or users if seats are not typically provided)	Employee
10.	Treatment center	1 per 2 residents aged 16 years or older, plus 1 per nonresident intended to be treated on-site at peak times	Nonresident employee
11.	Swimming pool, nonhousehold	1 per 50 square feet of water surface, other than wading pools	Employee
C. Commercial Uses:		All commercial uses, as applicable, shall provide additional parking or storage needed for maximum number of vehicles stored, displayed or based at the lot at any point in time; these additional spaces are not required to meet the stall size and parking aisle width requirements of this chapter
1.	Auto service station or repair garage	5 per repair/service bay and 1/4 per fuel nozzle with such spaces separated from accessways to pumps	Employee; plus any parking needed for a convenience store under retail sales
2.	Auto, boat, recreational vehicle or manufactured home sales	1 per 15 vehicles, boats, RVs or homes displayed	Employee
5.	Bed-and-breakfast use	1 per rental unit plus the 2 per dwelling unit required by Item A1. above	Nonresident employee
6.	Bowling alley	2 per lane, plus 2 per pool table	1.2 employees
7.	Car wash	1 space as a waiting area in front of each lane or bay	1.2 employees
8.	Financial institution (includes bank)	1 per 200 square feet of floor area accessible to customers, plus office parking for any administrative offices	1.2 employees
9.	Funeral home	1 per 5 seats in rooms intended to be in use at 1 time for visitors, counting both permanent and temporary seating	Employee
10.	Miniature golf	1 per hole	1.2 employees
11.	Haircutting/hairstyling	1 per customer seat used for haircutting, hair styling, manicuring or similar work	1.2 employees
12.	Hotel or motel	1 per rental unit, plus 1 per 4 seats in any meeting room (plus any required by any restaurant)	1.2 employees
13.	Laundromat	1 per 3 washing machines	On-site employee
14.	Offices or clinic, medical/dental	5 per physician or physician's assistant or 3 per dentist or chiropractor	1.2 employees
15.	Offices, other than above	1 per 300 square feet of total floor area
16.	Personal service use, other than haircutting/ hairstyling (minimum of 2 per establishment)	1 per 200 square feet of floor area accessible to customers	1.2 employees
17.	Indoor recreation (other than bowling alley), membership club or exercise club	1 per 4 persons of maximum capacity of all facilities	1.2 employees
18.	Outdoor recreation (other than uses specifically listed in this table)	1 per 4 persons of capacity (50% may be on grass overflow areas with major driveways in gravel)	1.2 employees
19.	Restaurant	1 per 4 seats, or 3 spaces for a use without customer seats	1.2 employees
20.	Retail sales (other than types separately listed)	1 per 200 square feet of floor area of rooms accessible to customers
21.	Retail sales of only furniture, lumber, carpeting, bedding or floor covering	1 per 400 square feet of floor area of rooms accessible to customers
22.	Tavern	1 per 30 square feet of total floor area	1.2 employees
23.	Theater or auditorium	1 per 4 seats, 1/2 of which may be met by convenient parking shared with other business uses on the same lot that are typically not routinely open beyond 9:00 p.m.	1.2 employees
24.	Trade/hobby school	1 per 2 students on site during peak use	1.2 employee
25.	Veterinarian office	4 per veterinarian	1.2 employee
D. Industrial Uses:		In addition to parking or storage needed for maximum number of vehicles stored, displayed or based at the lot at any point in time, which spaces are not required to meet the stall size and aisle width requirements of this chapter
All industrial uses (including warehousing, distribution and manufacturing)		1 per 1.2 employee, based upon the maximum number of employees on-site at peak period of times
Self-storage development		1 per 25 storage units, plus spaces for any outdoor storage of vehicles	1.2 employee

§ 400-33 General regulations for off-street parking.

General. Parking spaces, aisles and driveways shall be laid out to result in safe and orderly use, and to fully take into account all of the following: vehicular access onto and off the site; vehicular movement within the site; and loading areas, pedestrian patterns and any drive-through facilities. No parking area shall cause a safety hazard or impediment to traffic off the lot.

Existing parking. Any parking spaces serving such preexisting structures or uses at the time of adoption of this chapter shall not in the future be reduced in number below the number required by this chapter.

Change in use or expansion. A structure or use in existence at the effective date of this chapter that expands or changes in use shall be required to provide all of the required parking for the entire size and type of the resulting use, except as follows:

If an existing lawful use includes less parking than would be required, then that deficit of parking shall be grandfathered for new uses. For example, if an existing store included three parking spaces and was required to provide seven spaces, there is a deficit of four spaces. Therefore, if that store is converted to an office that would need 10 spaces, the office would need to provide a total of six spaces (10 minus the preexisting deficit of four).

If a use expands by an aggregate total maximum of 10% in the applicable measurement (such as building floor area) beyond what existed at the time of adoption of this chapter, then no additional parking is required. For example, if an existing building included 3,000 square feet, and a single minor addition of 300 square feet was proposed, then additional parking would not be required.

Continuing obligation of parking and loading spaces. All required numbers of parking spaces and off-street loading spaces shall be available as long as the use or building which the spaces serve still exists, and such spaces shall not be reduced in number below the minimum required by this chapter. No required parking area or off-street loading spaces shall be used for any other use (such as storage or display of materials) that interferes with the area's availability for parking.

Location of parking.

Required off-street parking spaces shall be on the same lot or abutting lot with the principal use served, unless the applicant obtains a special exception to permit parking where the spaces are guaranteed to be available during all of the years the use is in operation within 200 feet walking distance from the entrance of the principal use being served. This distance may be increased to 300 feet for employee parking. A written and signed lease for such spaces shall be provided.

(a)

The Zoning Hearing Board may require that the use be approved for period of time consistent with the lease of the parking and that a renewal of the permit shall only be approved if the parking lease is renewed.

Main Street. Abutting Main Street special exception approval shall be required if part or all of three or more new off-street parking spaces are proposed to be placed within 40 feet from the street curbline of Main Street.

(a)

The Zoning Hearing Board shall only approve such parking if the applicant proves that:

[1]

There is no feasible alternative to placing the parking in that location, as opposed to placing parking to the rear or side of the building;

[2]

The parking will not involve the demolition of a historically significant building;

[3]

There will be adequate landscaping (which may also include a decorative masonry walls) between any parking spaces and the sidewalk to maintain an attractive appearance along Main Street; and

[4]

The parking and any related driveway will be designed to minimize interference with pedestrian movements along Main Street.

(b)

This Subsection E(2) shall not apply to a Borough-owned parking lot.

Flexibility in parking. As a special exception, an applicant may be permitted to provide a reduced number of off-street parking spaces if the applicant proves that either or both of the following circumstances exist:

Parking will be shared with another use that will reduce the total amount of parking needed because the uses have different peak times of parking need. In such case, a written agreement shall guarantee that the parking will continue to be available during all of the years that the use is in operation; or

The parking demand for a particular use is unusually low because of some unusual and peculiar characteristic of the use.

§ 400-34 Design standards for off-street parking.

General requirements.

Backing onto a street. No parking area shall be designed to require or encourage parked vehicles to back into a public street in order to leave a parking space, except for a single-family or two-family dwelling with its access onto a local street or parking court. Parking spaces may back onto an alley.

Access. Every required parking space 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 vehicle, except for spaces serving a single-family, twin or townhouse dwelling.

Location. Parking areas shall not be within a required buffer yard or street right-of-way.

Separation from street. Except for parking spaces immediately in front of individual dwellings, all areas for off-street parking, off-street loading and unloading and the storage or movement of motor vehicles shall be physically separated from the street by a continuous grass or landscaped planting strip, except for necessary and approved vehicle entrances to and exits from the lot.

(5)

Stacking and obstructions. Each lot shall provide adequate area upon the lot to prevent backup of vehicles on a public street while awaiting entry to the lot or while waiting for service at a drive-through facility.

Size and marking of parking spaces.

Each parking space shall be a rectangle with a minimum width of 9.5 feet and a minimum length of 18 feet, except the minimum length shall be 22 feet for parallel parking.

If a parking area includes 15 or more spaces, then a maximum of 20% of the spaces may include a rectangle with a minimum width of nine feet and a minimum length of 16 feet. Such spaces shall be clearly marked "For Compact Cars Only" and shall not include the most desirable spaces within the parking area.

For handicapped spaces, see § 400-34G below.

All spaces shall be marked to indicate their location, except those of a one- or two-family dwelling.

Aisles.

Each aisle providing for one-way traffic to access parking stalls shall have the following minimum width:

	Angle of Parking	Minimum Aisle Width (feet)
	Parallel or 30°	12
	45°	14
	60°	18
	90°	20

Each aisle providing access to stalls for two-way traffic shall be a minimum of 24 feet in width, except a width of 20 feet may be allowed for parking areas with spaces that are parallel or involve an angle of parking of 45° or less.

Access drives and driveways.

Width of driveway/accessway at entrance onto a public street, at the edge of the cartway (unless a different standard is required by PennDOT for an entrance to a state road, or the applicant proves to the satisfaction of the Zoning Officer that a wider width is needed for tractor-trailer trucks.)

		1-Way Use (feet)	way Use (feet)
	Minimum	12	25
	Maximum	20	30

Drainage. Adequate provisions shall be made to maintain uninterrupted parallel drainage along a public street at the point of driveway entry. The Borough may require an applicant to install an appropriate type and size of pipe at a driveway crossing.

Paving, grading and drainage.

Parking and loading facilities and including driveways shall be graded and adequately drained to prevent erosion or excessive water flow onto streets or adjoining properties.

Except for landscaped areas, all portions of required parking, loading facilities and driveways shall be surfaced with asphalt or concrete or paving block.

Lighting of parking areas. See light and glare control in Article V.

Handicapped parking.

Number of spaces. Any lot including four or more off-street parking spaces shall include a minimum of one handicapped space. The following number of handicapped spaces shall be provided, unless a revised regulation is officially established under the Federal Americans With Disabilities Act or the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act:

	Total No. of Parking Spaces on the Lot	Required Minimum No./Percent of Handicapped Parking Spaces
	4 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 required number of spaces
	1,001 or more	20, plus 1% of required number of spaces over 1,000

Location. Handicapped parking spaces shall be located where they would result in the shortest reasonable accessible distance to a handicapped accessible building entrance. Curb cuts shall be provided as needed to provide access from the handicapped spaces.

Minimum size. Each required handicapped parking space shall be eight feet by 18 feet. In addition, each space shall be adjacent to a five feet wide access aisle. Such access aisle may be shared by two handicapped spaces by being placed between them. However, one out of every eight required handicapped parking spaces shall have an adjacent access aisle of eight feet width instead of five feet.