It is the purpose and intent of this chapter that off-street
parking and loading areas be provided and adequately maintained in
every zoning district for the purposes of promoting safe and efficient
storage of motor vehicles; to avoid unnecessary congestion and interference
with public use of streets; and to provide for sound and stable environmental
conditions and the prevention of future blighted areas.
A.
In all zoning districts, off-street parking and loading requirements
shall be provided in amounts not less than those specified for the
various districts.
B.
Requirements for a use not mentioned shall be the same for that use
which is most similar to the use not listed.
C.
Additional parking shall be provided and maintained in proper ratio
to any increase in floor area or building use capacity.
D.
For the purpose of determining off-street parking and loading requirements,
the following provisions shall apply:
(1)
In mercantile establishments, "gross floor area" shall mean the floor
area used for service to the public. It shall not include floor area
used for storage or the processing and packaging of merchandise where
it is carried on in a room in which service to the public is not involved.
(2)
In hospitals, bassinets shall not be counted as beds.
(3)
Where benches, pews or other similar seating facilities are used
as seats, each 20 inches of such seating shall be counted as one seat.
E.
It shall be unlawful to use any of the off-street parking or loading
areas established to meet the requirements of this chapter for any
purpose other than the parking of licensed vehicles or the loading
or unloading of necessary service trucks.
F.
In commercial and industrial areas, parking and loading setback areas
shall conform to twenty-foot front yard and street side yard requirements
and off-street parking shall be no closer to any principal building
than five feet. Bumper guards or curbs shall be installed to prevent
yard encroachment.
G.
Parking and loading areas may be extended to the property line except as herein above specified by § 300-16F.
H.
The landscaping must be maintained and kept alive.
A.
Surface material.
(1)
Off-street parking, loading and circulation areas for all uses shall
be surfaced with a material that shall provide a durable, smooth and
dustless surface, as defined below, and shall be graded and provided
with adequate drainage to dispose of all collected surface water.
B.
Marking required. The property owner shall delineate car stalls,
directional arrows and crosswalks within parking areas using paint
or other methods approved by the Zoning Administrator.
C.
Drainage. Stormwater collection, drainage and retention structures
meeting all requirements of the Midland County Road Commission and
the Midland County Drain Office shall be installed for all off-street
parking areas. Care should be taken to integrate any required detention
or retention into the site during the design process.
D.
Driveways and aisles. Adequate ingress and egress to the parking
areas by means of clearly marked and limited drives shall be provided.
Driveways and aisles for any off-street parking area built to accommodate
more than 20 vehicles shall comply with the following requirements:
(1)
Aisle width. Aisles in off-street parking areas shall be at least
20 feet wide.
(2)
Driveway configuration. Each driveway shall be a minimum of 15 feet
and a maximum of 20 feet in width per direction. Lanes for entering
and exiting traffic shall be clearly marked on the pavement. The driveway
shall include on-site stacking area, which does not function as an
access aisle for parking spaces, equivalent to 5% of the total number
of spaces in the parking area. The driveway shall intersect the abutting
street at a 90° angle.
(3)
Shared access. The Planning Commission must require shared access
between and among uses where feasible, excluding single-family residential
uses. Feasibility is determined with respect to the physical design
of the site and not the effort or costs involved with achieving joint
access. This requirement applies to driveways and access drives associated
with site redevelopment or new construction. In the case of new development,
a joint driveway agreement must be signed by all property owners involved
prior to a construction permit being issued. Driveways must be designed
to allow joint access in the future, where feasible, and an agreement
to allow future use of the drive for joint access must be signed at
the time of site plan approval. Shared drives must be shown on site
plans at the time of review by the Planning Commission. Refusal to
design a site with provisions for joint access or refusal to participate
in a joint access agreement is justification for site plan denial
by the Planning Commission.
(4)
Driveway closure. Nonconforming driveways, per this chapter, shall
be made to be less nonconforming at the time a site is redeveloped.
Lessening the degree of driveway nonconformance may include the Planning
Commission requiring closing a driveway or combining driveways or
access points at the time of site plan review.
(5)
Driveway spacing. Each parcel shall be limited to no more than one
driveway entrance and exit opening (including a shared driveway) to
any public street for each 300 feet of frontage, or fraction thereof.
They shall be located at least 150 feet apart as measured from center
line to center line. No driveway shall be located within 30 feet of
a neighboring property line as measured from the end of the radii,
or within 50 feet of any intersecting existing or proposed road right-of-way
unless it is designed as part of a joint access.
E.
Where a required parking area of more than 10 spaces adjoins a parcel
zoned for residential use, the parking area shall be screened by a
solid masonry wall or uniformly treated wood fence not less than five
feet high, and/or by a maintained evergreen planting strip. The planting
strip shall provide a solid visual barrier at least five feet high
and may include a berm. The Planning Commission and/or Zoning Administrator
may allow and/or require the retention of a wooded or treed area as
a visual screen and buffer to a residential area instead of a planting
strip or other such visual barrier.
F.
Drive-through facility stacking lanes. A property owner proposing
a drive-through facility shall provide seven stacking spaces for each
drive-through station in addition to the parking required by this
section. Each lane of stacking space must be at least nine feet wide
and must be delineated with pavement markings. Each stacking space
must be at least 12 feet long; however, individual spaces within the
lane need not be delineated with pavement markings. Stacking lanes
may not be located within the required driveway, internal circulation
drive or parking aisle widths. Parking as specified and/or provided
in any residential district shall not be allowed to encroach into
the front yard area.
G.
Solid waste collection facilities. The following rules are intended
to prevent unhealthful or unsightly conditions regarding solids waste
handling facilities. These rules apply to any solid waste container
large enough to require a mechanical device to empty it.
(1)
Enclosure. Each such container must be located in an enclosure which
is screened on at least three sides by an opaque wood or metal fence
(excluding chain link) or masonry wall at least as high as the container.
The fourth side of said enclosure may be left open if the container
has a lid which is kept locked except when waste is being deposited
or removed.
(2)
Paving. Solid waste enclosures and an approach area for trucks shall
be paved with reinforced concrete not less than nine inches thick.
(3)
Location. Solid waste enclosures and containers shall be situated
so that trucks collecting waste from the container shall not conflict
with the orderly flow of traffic onto or through the parcel or any
parking spaces thereon. Solid waste enclosures or containers shall
be located so that trucks collecting waste will not block any portion
of a public street or alley.
The minimum number of off-street parking spaces by type of use
shall be determined in accordance with the following schedule:
|
Use
|
Minimum Number of Standard Off-Street Parking Spaces Per
Unit of Measure
|
|---|---|
|
Residential
| |
|
Residential, one-family and two-family
|
1 for each dwelling unit
|
|
Mobile home parks
|
2 for each mobile home unit
|
|
Institutional
| |
|
Religious institutions or buildings of similar use with fixed
seats
|
1 for each 5 seats
|
|
Hospitals
|
1 for each 3 patient beds, plus 1 space for each staff doctor
or visiting doctor plus 1 space for each employee on maximum working
shift
|
|
Human care institutions
|
1 space for each 4 beds, plus 1 space for each employee including
nurses on maximum working shift
|
|
Preschool care (day nurseries) (commercial)
|
1 for each employee
|
|
Elementary and middle schools
|
1 for each 1 teacher and administrator, in addition to the requirements
of the auditorium
|
|
Senior high schools and colleges
|
1 for each 1 teacher and administrator, in addition to the requirements
of the auditorium
|
|
Public office building not elsewhere specified
|
1 for each 300 square feet of gross floor area, plus 1 space
for each employee employed herein
|
|
Private golf clubs, swimming pool clubs, tennis clubs or other
similar uses
|
1 for each 2 member families or individual and 1 employee
|
|
Golf courses open to the general public, except miniature or
par-3 courses
|
6 for each 1 golf hole and 1 for each employee
|
|
Theaters and auditoriums
|
1 for each 4 seats, plus 1 for each employee on maximum working
shift
|
|
Stadium, sports arena or similar place of outdoor assembly
|
1 for each 3 seats or 6 feet of benches, and 1 for each employee
on a maximum working shift
|
|
Business and commercial
| |
|
Auto wash
|
1 for each employee. In addition, adequate waiting space for
autos shall be provided on the premises to accommodate 10% of the
hourly rate of capacity.
|
|
Beauty parlor or barbershop
|
3 spaces for each of the first 2 beauty or barber chairs and
1 space for each additional chair
|
|
Bowling alleys
|
4 for each 1 bowling lane, plus 1 for each employee on maximum
shift
|
|
Assembly halls, without fixed seats, for commercial recreation,
including dance halls, pool or billiard parlors, skating rinks, lodge
halls and exhibition halls or buildings for similar assembly uses
|
1 space for each 50 square feet of gross floor area used for
permitted use
|
|
Establishments for sale and consumption on the premises of beverages,
food or refreshments
|
1 for each 100 square feet of usable floor space, except as
otherwise specified herein
|
|
Drive-in restaurants or similar drive-in uses for the sale of
beverages, food or refreshments
|
1 for each 50 square feet of floor area
|
|
Furniture and appliances, household equipment, repair shops,
showroom of a plumber, decorator, electrician or similar trade, shoe
repair and other similar uses
|
1 for each 800 square feet of usable floor area; 1 additional
space shall be provided for each person employed on maximum working
shift
|
|
Laundromats and coin-operated dry cleaners
|
1 for each 2 washing machines
|
|
Miniature or par-3 golf courses
|
3 for each 1 hole plus 1 for each employee
|
|
Funeral home
|
1 for each 100 square feet of usable floor space, plus 1 for
each employee on maximum working shift
|
|
Motel, hotel or other commercial lodging establishment
|
1 for each 1 occupancy unit, plus 1 for each employee on maximum
work shift, plus extra spaces for dining rooms, ballrooms or meeting
rooms as required above (for assembly halls and establishments for
the sale and consumption of beverages and food), where the capacity
of such areas exceeds the number of beds in the building
|
|
Motor vehicle sales or service establishment
|
1 for each 200 square feet of usable floor space of sales room
and 1 for each 1 auto service stall in the service room
|
|
Retail stores except as otherwise specified herein
|
1 for each 200 square feet of usable floor space, plus 1 for
each employee on maximum working shift
|
|
Offices
| |
|
Banks
|
1 for each 300 square feet of usable floor space
|
|
Business offices
|
1 for each 300 square feet of usable floor space
|
|
Professional offices of lawyers, architects, accountants, etc.
|
1 for each 300 square feet of usable floor space
|
|
Professional offices of doctors, dentists or similar professions
|
1 for each 20 square feet of usable floor area in waiting rooms,
and 1 for each examining room, dental chair or similar use area
|
|
Industrial
| |
|
Industrial or research
|
1 for each employee on the maximum working shift, plus 5 additional
|
|
Wholesale establishments
|
1 for each employee on the maximum working shift, plus 5 additional
|
A.
General. The Zoning Administrator may approve shared use of parking
facilities located on separate properties if:
B.
Number of spaces required. In case of a situation where there is
more than one use in a single structure, the following off-street
parking regulations may apply. The Planning Commission shall have
the power to reduce parking further in the case of shared drives,
shared parking or other circumstances where a reduction in parking
will contribute to the safety, function or overall site design.
C.
Documentation required. Prior to establishing shared use of parking,
the property owner or owners shall file with Midland Charter Township
a written agreement approved by the Zoning Administrator providing
for the shared parking use. The agreement shall be recorded on the
deed of each affected property.
A property owner shall provide an off-street loading space that
can access a public street. The number and size of loading spaces
must be equal to the maximum number and size of vehicles that would
be simultaneously loaded or unloaded in connection with the business
conducted on the property.
A.
Standard requirement. Each loading space must be a minimum of 10
feet wide and 55 feet long. Where a loading space is adjacent to an
arterial road, the property owner shall provide an additional 40 feet
in maneuvering length.
B.
Reduction. The Zoning Administrator may reduce the required stall
length and maneuvering length if the property owner demonstrates that
known delivery vehicles can park and maneuver within the proposed
loading and maneuvering spaces so that no part of a vehicle using
or maneuvering into the loading space projects into a public right-of-way,
access easement or private road.
A.
Parking area and other exterior on-site lighting fixtures shall not
exceed a height of 12 feet when located within 200 feet of a residential
district and, further, may not exceed a height of 16 feet.
B.
Exterior lighting shall be so arranged that it is deflected away
from adjacent residential districts and adjacent streets.
Landscaping is intended to provide visual separation of uses
from streets and visual separation of compatible uses so as to add
natural materials that enhance the appearance of street, parking areas
and building elevations.
A.
Required amount. If the parking area contains no more than 50 parking
spaces, at least 20 square feet of landscape development must be provided
for each parking stall proposed.
B.
If the parking area contains more than 99 parking spaces, at least
40 square feet of landscape development must be provided for each
parking stall proposed.
C.
If the parking area contains more than 50 but less than 100 parking
spaces, the Building and Zoning Administrators shall determine the
required amount of landscaping by interpolating between 20 and 40
square feet for each parking stall proposed.
D.
Landscaping material and standards. Each area of landscaping must
be at least 100 square feet of area in size and must be at least four
feet in any direction. The area must contain at least one tree at
least six feet in height. A minimum size of 1 1/2 inches in caliper
must be met if it is deciduous. The remaining ground area must be
landscaped with plant materials, grass, decorative mulch or unit pavers,
as approved by the Zoning Administrator. No landscaping shall interfere
with visibility within the parking area.
E.
A landscaped area must be placed at the end of each parking row in
a multiple lane parking area. This area must be at least four feet
wide and must extend the length of the adjacent parking stall.
|
F.
Plantings used to buffer a parking area, parking access, or development
on the site other than a building shall use any of the following alternatives
unless otherwise noted:
(1)
Shrubs, a minimum of 3 1/2 feet in height, and living ground
cover must be planted so that the ground will be covered within three
years.
(2)
Earth-mounding, an average of 3 1/2 feet in height, planted
with shrubs or living ground cover so that the ground will be covered
within three years.
(3)
A combination of earth-mounding and shrubs to produce a visual barrier
at least 3 1/2 feet in height.
(4)
Retention of wooded areas or mature trees which, by their nature,
provide a visual screen.
