Township of Warrington, PA Off-Street Parking, Loading, and Unloading

All off-street parking areas, in all districts (except for motor vehicle service stations and automobile sales), shall be reserved and used for automobile parking only, with no sales, dead storage, repair work, dismantling or servicing of any kind.

In motor vehicle service stations, automobile body repair and paint shop and truck repair and sales, the parking of an automobile or truck for sale, storage, repair, dismantling or servicing of any kind, for any automobile not bearing a valid and current state inspection or current and valid vehicle registration, shall not exceed 30 days.

The parking of one commercial vehicle up to one-ton load capacity is permitted in residential districts if needed by an individual for their livelihood for a business not conducted on the premises; or one recreational vehicle dwelling is permitted to be parked and is not to be used for sleeping, as a short-term rental, recreational or living purposes at any time or in any way, shape or form. Commercial and recreational vehicles cannot be parked in any required setbacks or in front of any building.

Vehicles displaying commercial signs cannot be parked in the front yard of a commercial building/use or in a customer or required parking space. As used herein, "front yard" means the area from the front of the building to the street, for the entire length of the street frontage.

Conditional parking reduction. To minimize the creation of excess parking spaces and impervious areas, the Board of Supervisors, after consulting with the Planning Commission and Township Engineer, may permit a conditional reduction of parking space under the following conditions:

The land development plan shall provide the parking requirements established by this chapter. The plan shall also provide a layout for the total number of parking spaces.

The conditional reduction shall not exceed 25% of the required number of parking spaces as specified in this chapter or a total number of parking spaces as proven by the applicant with credible evidence and approved by the Board of Supervisors. This initial phase of the parking provisions shall be clearly indicated on the plan.

The balance of the parking area conditionally reserved shall not include areas for required buffer yards, setbacks or areas that would otherwise be unsuitable for parking due to the physical characteristics of the land or other requirements of this chapter. The parking area which is conditionally reduced shall be located so as to provide usable open space if the additional parking spaces are not required. The developer shall provide a landscaping plan for the reserved area with the land development plan.

Land which has been determined and designated by the Board of Supervisors to remain as public or open space rather than as required parking shall not be used to provide parking spaces for any additional or future expansion of the business use.

Off-street parking and loading space as required in this section shall be provided for all new buildings and structures and for additions to existing buildings or structures. The word "addition" as used above shall include any development (as defined), reconstruction, structural alteration, or alteration intended to enlarge or increase capacity by adding or creating dwelling units or gross floor area.

Existing off-street parking or loading facilities provided at the effective date of this chapter and actually being used at that time in connection with the operation of an existing use shall not be reduced below the minimum required in this chapter.

Whenever the existing use of a building, structure or land shall hereafter be changed to a new use, parking and loading facilities shall be provided as required for such new use. However, if the said building or structure was erected or the use of land established prior to the effective date of this chapter, additional parking or loading facilities are mandatory only in the amount by which the requirements of the new use would exceed this for the existing use.

Shared parking: collective or mixed uses; off-street parking and loading requirements. Collective provision of off-street parking and loading facilities for two or more buildings or uses located on the same or adjacent lots is permitted to allow for the sharing of such facilities for commercial and mixed-use development. Reduction of parking is permitted if credible justification is provided by the applicant that peak period parking for each specific use is not needed. The applicant shall provide, in the traffic impact study, as required by the SALDO, credible evidence that the actual demand for parking will be met during peak business hours for all shared uses.

[Amended 1-10-2023 by Ord. No. 2023-O-2]

Parking, access and circulation roads, driveways and loading and unloading area setbacks, unless specified in Article III, Use Regulations, and Article IV, Classification of Districts, as provided for in Table 7:

Table 7 Land Use Type Setbacks
Uses	Buildings (feet)	Street Line (feet)	Property Lines
Uses	Buildings (feet)	Street Line (feet)	Like Uses (feet)	Unlike Uses (feet)
Single-family detached	0	NA	5	5
Other residential	5³	10	10²	¹
Commercial/institutional	10	15	10	¹
Office/industrial	10	15	10	¹
Other uses	10	15	10	¹

NOTES:
¹	See § 370-806, Buffering, screening, and planting strip requirements.
²	No setback for attached dwelling units.
³	No setback for attached garages.

Access drives and parking bays.

All access drives and parking bays shall be set back and buffered with a minimum planting strip of 10 feet when directly adjacent to building walls except in loading and unloading areas, drive-through lanes, and single-family detached dwellings. Single-family detached dwellings require a minimum planting strip of five feet, as shown on Table 7.

Contents of this planting strip are subject to Chapter 305, Subdivision and Land Development.

Electric vehicle charging space standards.

All new, expanded, and reconstructed parking areas may provide the electrical capacity necessary to accommodate the future hardwire installation of electric vehicle charging spaces.

Parking configurations, stall dimensions, signage, and the installation of electric vehicle supply equipment shall be designed to the standards of this chapter, as approved by the Township.

At-home, personal chargers not associated with use H12, Electric vehicle charging station may be permitted to count toward the minimum parking requirements as outlined in this chapter.

[Amended 1-10-2023 by Ord. No. 2023-O-2]

At-home, personal chargers shall only to be used by occupants of the property, shall not be advertised or held out as available to the public, and are not required to meet the electric vehicle charging station standards of this chapter.

[Amended 1-10-2023 by Ord. No. 2023-O-2]

Minimum parking space dimensions.

Standard: 9.5 feet by 18 feet.

Parallel: 10 feet by 22 feet.

§ 370-602 Required off-street parking space.

Off-street parking facilities shall be provided as follows, unless specified in parking standards per district or Article III, Use Regulations:

Residential parking requirements.

An attached or unattached garage or carport on the premises does not count towards the parking requirement. Driveways not included in the street line do count towards the parking requirement.

Apartment structures in combination with permitted commercial uses shall provide parking spaces as required as if both uses were established separately.

Required parking may be permitted in driveway front yards.

There shall be a minimum of 18 feet between the face of the garage and the street line.

Table 8 Residential Parking Requirements
Uses	Required Parking Spaces for Each Dwelling Unit
Single-family detached dwelling Mobile/manufactured home park	2
Single-family zero lot line dwelling	2
Two-family detached dwelling (duplex)	2.5 (includes designated visitor and common parking)
Two-family semidetached dwelling (twin)	2.5 (includes designated visitor and common parking)
Townhouse Townhouse village development	2.5 (includes designated visitor and common parking)
Four-family semidetached dwelling Multiplex	2.5 (includes designated visitor and common parking)
Garden apartment	2.5 (includes designated visitor and common parking)
Midrise apartment Town center apartments	2.5 (includes designated visitor and common parking)
Conservation residential development Mixed residential community	2.5 (includes designated visitor and common parking)
Village house	2
Manor house	2
Live-work units	1.5, plus 1 per 500 square feet of gross floor area
Rooming house or boardinghouse	1 per each room in a unit, plus 1 caretaker space per room

Nonresidential parking.

Table 9 Nonresidential Parking Requirements
Uses	Required Parking Spaces
Agricultural sales/roadside farm stands	1 for every 200 square feet of retail space
Kennel	1 for each employee, plus 1 for each 8 animals in capacity except for training where 1 shall be provided for each 3 animals
Riding academy/livery or boarding stable	1 for every 3 persons present at such facilities when they are used to capacity
Nursery	1 for every 250 square feet of retail space
Cemetery	1 for each employee, plus 1 for each 4 visitors in total capacity for an on-site chapel
Crematorium	1 for each 4 seats for patron use or 1 for every 50 square feet
Hospital	1.5 for each patient bed, plus 1 for each staff and visiting doctor; plus 1 for each employee on the 2 largest shifts
Library or museum	3 per 1,000 square feet of gross floor area
Municipal use	1.2 for each 250 square gross floor area used by the public, plus 1 per employee
Nursing home	1 per 2 patient beds, plus 1 for each staff and visiting doctor; plus 1 for each employee on the 2 largest shifts
Assisted living/personal care facility	1 per 2 patient beds, plus 1 for each staff and visiting doctor, plus 1 for each employee on the 2 largest shifts
Recreation facility community center	1 for each 4 seats provided for patron use or 1 for each 50 square feet of gross floor area, whichever requires the greatest number of spaces, plus 1 additional for each employee
Continuing care retirement community	1 per 2 patient beds, plus 1 for each staff and visiting doctor, plus 1 for each employee on the 2 largest shifts
School	12 per 100 students for elementary school, 15 per 100 students for middle/junior high school, and 38 per 100 students for high school
Academic or administrative building for educational facilities of higher learning	1.3 per employee, plus 1 per each 3 students
Place of assembly - theater	22 per 100 theater seats
Place of worship	1 for each 2 seats provided for patron use or 1 for each 40 square feet of gross floor area, whichever is greater, plus 1 for each full-time employee
Professional or business office	5 per 1,000 square feet of gross floor area
Veterinary office	1.4 per 500 square feet of gross area
Medical service, clinic, urgent care	1 per 200 square feet of gross floor area
Research and development lab	3.5 per 1,000 square feet of gross floor area, plus 1 per employee
Medical service - physician's office	4.3 per 1,000 square feet of gross floor area
Medical services integrated medical health center	3 per exam/procedure unit, plus 1 per employee (including doctors and nurses) on the largest shift
Adult-oriented business	1 for each 4 seats devoted to patron use or 1 for each 50 square feet of gross floor area, whichever is greater, plus 1 for each employee
Financial establishment	1 per 200 square feet of gross floor area
Automotive body repair Automotive repair Truck repair	1 per 200 square feet of gross floor area devoted to retail, plus 4 per each service bay, plus 1 for each employee
Automotive sales	1.5 per 1,000 square feet of gross area, plus 1 per employee
Motor vehicle service station	1.7 per 1,000 square feet of gross area, plus 1 per employee
Car wash	1 per employee, plus 1 per vacuum
Restaurant Tavern Restaurant, fast-food Nightclub Brewpub Microbrewery Similar uses	1 per employee, plus 1 per 2 persons of capacity or 2 seats (whichever is greater)
Private club	1 per 5 members, plus 1 per 50 square feet of service area, plus 1 per employee
Bed-and-breakfast	1 for each guest room, plus 1 for each employee, plus 2 for the owners of the property
Private recreation area Outdoor entertainment	1 for every 3 persons of maximum occupancy
Retail/store, trade and service	1.3 for each 250 square feet of sales floor area
Personal service business establishment	1 for each 100 square feet of building floor area up to 400 square feet, plus 1 for each 200 square feet of building floor area above 400 square feet
Repair shop Smoking lounge	1 per 300 square feet of gross floor area
Golf course	1 per 5 people of total capacity, including accessory uses, plus 1 per employee
Hotel/motel	1.1 per room, plus the required parking for associated uses, such as restaurant, banquet, assembly, and meeting rooms, etc.
Mini warehouse Limited-access self-storage facility	1 per 10,000 square feet of warehouse space, plus 1 for each 20 rental units
Sale of fireworks	1 per 200 square feet of gross floor area
Pet day-care	1 per employee, plus 1 for each 5 dogs/animals
Convenience store with fuel sales	1.6 for every 125 square feet of sales floor area
Shopping center	5 for each 1,000 square feet of gross floor area; if the shopping center has multiple tenants, parking calculations for each business shall be calculated separately
Garden center	5 per 1,000 gross floor and display area (both indoor and outdoor)
Day-care center	1 per employee and 1 dropoff space per 10 patrons
Dwelling in combination with a business	2 per dwelling unit
Combined office/commercial multifamily building	1 per 250 square feet of nonresidential gross floor area, plus 1.25 per efficiency unit, 1.5 per one-bedroom unit, and 2 per two-bedroom unit
Short-term rental	1.5 per dwelling unit, plus 2 if the primary dwelling is owner-occupied
Private kindergarten, child nursery, or day-care	1 for each 600 square feet of building floor area
Indoor entertainment facility Athletic recreation facility	1 per 250 square feet of gross floor area
Medical service lab	1 per 200 square feet of gross floor area
Commercial school	1 per 250 square feet of gross floor area
Medical marijuana dispensary	1 per 150 square feet of gross floor area, plus 1 per employee
Funeral home	1 per 4 seats or 1 for every 50 square feet of gross floor area used for viewing or ceremonial purposes, plus 1 per employee
Village shops	1 for each 150 square feet of gross floor area
Utility operating facility	2 or 1 per employee, whichever requires the greatest number of spaces
Emergency services	3 per 4 employees or 4 per fire truck
Truck terminal	1 per 500 square feet of gross floor area, plus 1 for each company vehicle
Manufacturing	1.2 per employee on the largest shift
Laboratories, research and testing	1 for every 200 square feet of gross floor area
Wholesale business/wholesale storage Warehouse	1 for every 500 square feet of gross floor area, plus 1 for each company vehicle normally stored on the premises
Flex space	1 per employee or 1 per 250 square feet of total floor area
Transfer station	1 per employee plus 2 visitor spaces
Quarry	1.1 for each employee on the largest shift, plus 1 in a dedicated area for utility vehicles
Junkyard	1.1 for each employee on the largest shift
Contracting	3 per 4 employees on the largest shift or 1 per 500 square feet of gross floor area, whichever is greater, plus 1 for each company vehicle normally stored on the premises
Fuel storage and distribution	1 per each employee, plus 1 for each company vehicle normally stored on the premises
Medical marijuana grower/processor	1 per 450 square feet of gross floor area, plus 1 per each employee
Multigenerational apartment	1 per multigenerational apartment in addition to the parking requirement for the primary dwelling
Professional home occupation	1.25 per employee in addition to the parking requirement for the primary dwelling

§ 370-603 Additional parking standards for nonresidential land use.

Parking prohibitions. Nonresidential parking shall not be permitted along the street (cartway) except in designated areas.

Agricultural uses. One off-street parking space shall be provided for every 200 square feet of agricultural use with a devoted retail component, such as a roadside farm stand, with a minimum of three off-street parking spaces required. Vehicle ingress and egress is exempt from parking surface requirements and the required landscaping requirements.

All other nonresidential land uses. If a parking requirement for a nonresidential land use is not listed on the tables in § 370-602B, the parking requirement for such use will be as follows:

Less than 400,000 square feet of gross floor area: one parking space for each 250 square feet of gross floor area.

More than 400,000 square feet of gross floor area: one parking space for each 200 square feet of gross floor area.

§ 370-604 Additional specific parking standards per district.

BZ Business Zone and CBD Central Business District districts. All parking areas shall be set back a minimum of 25 feet from the street line of any public street. The area between the cartway and the parking area shall be devoted to required streetscape amenities and public realm, such as street trees, landscaping, and sidewalks. Parking lots are encouraged to be designed so that a portion of the parking spaces is located to the side and the rear of the building. Parking layout shall provide for pedestrian circulation throughout the parking area. The pedestrian circulation system shall be illustrated on the site plan.

The number of required parking spaces shall be as determined by this article, unless otherwise stated in § 370-604A(2).

Surface parking lots are required and shall be designed to be coordinated and have access to adjoining lots to control the number of access points to Route 611. Toward this goal, access drives may be removed when alternate access becomes available via cross easements with adjacent land development. The preferred location for off-street parking shall be to the side and rear of buildings. Proposed parking in front of buildings shall be limited to one double bay of parking with access aisle and shall be limited to no more than 15% of the total required parking spaces.

[Added 4-12-2022 by Ord. No. 2022-O-06]

The parking requirements shall be established by this chapter. The plan shall provide a layout for the required total number of parking spaces.

The conditional reduction shall provide for not less than 80% of the required number of parking spaces specified in this chapter. The initial phase of the parking provisions shall be clearly indicated on the plan.

(d)

Land which has been determined and designed by the Board of Supervisors to remain as public or open space rather than as required parking shall not be used to provide parking spaces for any additional or future expansion of business use.

For parking facilities which contain 25 or more parking spaces, no more than 25% of the parking spaces may be eight feet by 16 feet, provided that such spaces are each clearly designated to be limited to use by compact and/or subcompact automobiles.

[Added 4-12-2022 by Ord. No. 2022-O-06]

WV Warrington Village District. All parking areas shall be set back a minimum of 25 feet from the street line of any public street. The area between the cartway and the parking area shall be devoted to required streetscape amenities and public realm, such as street trees, landscaping, and sidewalks. Parking lots are encouraged to be designed so that a portion of the parking spaces is located to the side and the rear of the building. Parking layout shall provide for pedestrian circulation throughout the parking area. The pedestrian circulation system shall be illustrated on the site plan.

The number of required parking spaces shall be as determined by this article, unless otherwise stated below.

IST Industrial Science Technology District.

All parking areas shall be set back a minimum of 25 feet from the street line of any public street. The area between the cartway and the parking area shall be devoted to required streetscape amenities, such as sidewalks, street trees, and landscaping. Parking lots are encouraged to be designed so that a portion of the parking spaces is located to the side and the rear of the building. Parking layout shall provide for pedestrian circulation throughout the parking area. The pedestrian circulation system shall be illustrated on the site plan.

Proposed parking in front of buildings shall be limited to one double bay of parking with access aisle and shall be limited to no more than 15% of the total required parking spaces.

EV Eureka Village District.

Parking standards.

Amount of required parking. All uses shall comply with the minimum parking requirements of § 370-602, except as adjusted below:

[1]

On-street parking along the front property line of a lot may be used to meet the minimum parking requirement for nonresidential or multifamily uses on that lot.

[2]

Required parking for a nonresidential use may be located in a common parking facility or on an abutting lot, provided that such spaces are located within 200 feet of the nonresidential use.

[3]

When different nonresidential uses or multifamily uses share common parking, the total number of spaces required for all uses may be reduced as part of a conditional use process when the Board of Supervisors determines that the peak parking demand between two or more uses will be different enough to allow an overall reduction. The amount of required shared parking will depend on the amount and type of each use but may never be less than 75% of the total amount of parking required when shared parking is not used.

Garages, parking lots, and driveways should not be the dominant aspect of the building design, as seen from the street.

Garages shall not front a public street in the front yard. Garages may be accessed by an alley or a driveway from the street. If two adjacent dwellings have garages accessed by a driveway, the driveway may be shared with maintenance and access easements between property owners by a legally binding homeowners' association agreement.

Residential parking design standards.

Townhouse parking design standards.

[1]

Interior units.

[a]

Garages shall be located behind the dwelling unit.

[b]

All off-street parking spaces must be located to the rear of the unit or in common parking areas and to the side of the townhouse building.

[2]

End units.

[a]

Garages shall be located in the rear of the dwelling unit or may be side entry, so the garage doors are perpendicular or radial to the street which the front facade faces.

[3]

Off-street, unenclosed parking spaces may be located to the side or rear yards. They may not be located in front yard areas.

[a]

Detached and attached garages are permitted. Detached garages may connect with the main building via a breezeway. Garages shall be in the rear of dwellings and accessed by alleys.

[b]

Parking for single-family detached and other residential uses shall be located to the side or rear of the units.

Driveway design standards.

For mixed-use or mixed residential developments on tracts of five acres or more, no lot, nonresidential use, or dwelling unit shall take driveway access from an existing collector or existing higher classification road (County Line Road, Lower State Road or Limekiln Pike).

On existing tracts of land less than five acres, existing as of the date of adoption of this chapter, and on lots created from such tracts of land, each lot shall have not more than one driveway access point per existing street on which the lot fronts.

Nonresidential parking design standards. Off-street parking for nonresidential buildings shall comply with the following requirements:

Off-street parking areas shall be located to the side and/or rear of nonresidential buildings, unless there is an additional and larger building on the lot between the proposed parking/building and the street.

Off-street parking shall be visually screened from existing and proposed streets by hedges, walls, buffer plantings, or similar site elements.

Parking areas on abutting nonresidential lots shall be interconnected by access driveways.

(d)

Each nonresidential lot shall provide easements for its parking areas and access driveways guaranteeing access and use to all other nonresidential lots within the tract.

(e)

Garage doors in nonresidential buildings shall not face any existing or proposed street.

(f)

Nonresidential parking lots shall be set back at least 10 feet from residential lots within the mixed-use development and at least 10 feet from the street line.

(5)

Off-street loading areas, outdoor storage, and trash disposal areas.

All loading areas and loading docks shall be located to the sides and rear of buildings.

Loading docks shall not be visible from public streets. All loading areas and loading docks shall be set back at least 25 feet from residential property lines.