Chapter 18.76
PARKING AND LOADING REQUIREMENTS – ALL ZONES

Sections:

18.76.010    General requirements.

18.76.020    Number of spaces required.

18.76.030    In-lieu payments.

18.76.040    Off-street parking credits.

18.76.050    Parking lot layout, construction and maintenance.

18.76.060    Loading space requirements.

18.76.010 General requirements.

Off-street parking in conjunction with all land and building uses established after the enactment of the ordinance codified in this chapter shall be provided for to the satisfaction of the Building Official prior to issuance of a certificate of occupancy.

A.    Off-street parking may be either provided by an individual action parking program or carried out through public action by a special assessment district or otherwise.

B.    This chapter is intended to regulate off-street parking requirements for new construction, including major alterations of existing structures, and to preserve the amount of off-street parking already provided for use on the effective date of the ordinance codified in this title.

1.    Provisions for the number of off-street parking spaces specified by this chapter shall not be required as a condition of issuance of a certificate of occupancy for changes of uses located in existing structures except as follows:

a.    Whenever a use requiring off-street parking is increased in floor area by more than 50 percent of the existing building, the minimum number of additional parking spaces shall be based on actual square footage of the increase. Special exceptions may be granted by the City Council upon finding that a specified lesser number of parking spaces will adequately serve the reasonably anticipated increase in parking needs.

b.    Whenever a change in use occurs within a structure existing at the time of this amendment located in the City’s designated parking core, no additional parking will be required, provided no floor area is added to the structure.

c.    When a change in use occurs outside the City’s designated parking core, and the change in use will require 50 percent more parking than the previous use, off-street parking spaces as required by this chapter shall be provided for the new use.

2.    Any area once designated as required off-street parking shall not be changed to any other use unless and until equal parking spaces which conform to the requirements of this chapter are provided elsewhere within 300 feet of subject property or as otherwise approved by the Zoning Administrator.

3.    Off-street parking existing at the effective date of the ordinance codified in this title in connection with the operation of an existing building or use shall not be reduced to an amount less than hereinafter required for a similar new building or use.

C.    Off-street parking for other than residential use shall be either on the same lot or within 300 feet of the building it is intended to serve, except that in those cases where City parking has been developed for a special area, this distance may be extended by the Zoning Administrator.

D.    Residential off-street parking space shall consist of a parking strip, driveway, garage or a combination thereof and shall be located on the lot they are intended to serve.

E.    Two or more buildings or uses may collectively provide the required off-street parking, in which case the required number of parking spaces shall not be less than the sum of the requirements for the several individual uses computed separately. Legally binding documents shall be approved by the City Attorney and filed with the City Clerk and recorded at expense of the applicant in cases of mutual use of parking area.

F.    The required off-street parking shall be for occupants, employees, visitors and patrons and shall be limited in use to parking.

G.    So long as operating hours do not materially overlap, the Zoning Administrator may grant an exception to the separate computation of individual uses in mutual use parking areas or the use of parking spaces. (Ord. 1400 § 2, 2006)

18.76.020 Number of spaces required.

The minimum number of off-street parking spaces to be provided shall be determined in accordance with the following table:    

	Number of Spaces Required per Each Unit of Measure or Portion Thereof
Automobile sales and/or repair	2.5 per each employee and a minimum of 4 spaces
Bank, medical clinic, dental clinic, business office or professional office	1 per each 300 square feet of floor area of the building
Boat moorage or boat landing (public, private or pleasure)	0.7 per each moorage slip
Bowling alley	5 per each alley
Church, mortuary, funeral home	1 per each 4 seats in chapel or nave
Dance or exhibition hall or place of assembly	1 per each 75 square feet of floor area of the building
Drive-in restaurant or similar drive-in use serving autoborne customers outside the building	1 per each 100 square feet floor area of the building
Duplex	2 per each dwelling unit
Fraternity, sorority, cooperative or group home	1 per each 2 occupants
Grocery store or shopping center of 2,000 square feet or less	1 per each 250 square feet of gross floor area
Grocery store or shopping center of between 2,000 and 5,000 square feet	1 per each 300 square feet of gross floor area
Supermarket or shopping center over 5,000 square feet	1 per each 350 square feet of gross floor area
Hospital, sanitarium, convent or home for the aged	1 per each 5 beds plus 1 per each 4 regular employees plus 1 per each 6 staff employees
Hotel	1 per each unit, room or suite
Manufacturing use, including research and testing laboratory, food processing plant, printing and engraving use, or workshop	1.5 per each 2 employees on largest shift
Mobile home park	2 per each mobile home
Motel	1 per each unit
Multifamily dwelling	1.5 per each dwelling unit
Multifamily dwelling in the CB – central business zone	2 per each dwelling unit
Other retail establishment such as furniture, appliance, hardware, equipment service shop, clothing, shoe repair or service shop	1 per each 400 square feet of floor area of the building up to 2,000 square feet and 1 per each 500 square feet of floor area in excess of 2,000 square feet
Restaurant, tavern and any establishment for the sale and consumption of food, alcoholic beverage or refreshment	1 per each 100 square feet of floor area of the building
Retail store, except as otherwise specified herein	1 per each 333.4 square feet of floor area of the building up to 1,000 square feet of floor area of the building; and 1 per each 500 square feet of floor area in excess of 1,000 square feet
Roominghouse and lodginghouse	1 per each roomer or boarder
School – elementary or junior high	1 per each administrator, teacher and other employee
School – high (public, private, parochial)	1 per each administrator, teacher and other employee plus 1 per each 10 students
Single-family dwelling	1 per each dwelling unit
Skating rink or other commercial recreation place	1 per each 100 square feet of floor area of the building
Stadium, sports arena, auditorium or other place of assembly with fixed seats	1 per each 4 seats
Theater	1 per each 100 square feet of floor area of the building
Wholesale store, warehouse or storage buildings	1 per each employee and a minimum of 2 spaces
Mixed use or other use not included in the above	To be established by the Zoning Administrator

(Ord. 1400 § 2, 2006)

18.76.030 In-lieu payments.

In-lieu payments may be allowed in the following circumstances:

A.    Within the GC and CB zone, in lieu of furnishing the parking spaces required herein, the requirements and provisions hereof may, if approved by the Zoning Administrator, be satisfied by paying the City Treasurer prior to the issuance of a building permit a sum of money to be deposited by the City Treasurer in a special fund to be designated “City of Ferndale off-street parking cumulative fund,” and to be used exclusively for acquiring, developing and maintaining off-street parking facilities by purchase or lease in accord with any guidance in the Comprehensive Plan. Such facilities shall, wherever feasible, and having due regard to the status and sources of said fund, be acquired in the general vicinity of the buildings for which the in-lieu payments were made.

B.    The amount of in-lieu payments shall as contained in the City’s most current approved Fee Code.

C.    In the downtown “core area,” no off-street parking may be required. The parking provisions shall be met by payment into the “City of Ferndale off-street parking cumulative fund.” Nothing herein shall prevent the owners from providing all or a portion of required spaces if they so desire.

D.    In the event that in-lieu parking is requested outside the “core area,” the Zoning Administrator shall call for a public hearing to be held before the Hearings Examiner on said request.

E.    Parking core area map may be seen at the Ferndale City Hall. (Ord. 1400 § 2, 2006)

18.76.040 Off-street parking credits.

Limited credits shall be allowed toward off-street parking requirements in the following circumstances:

A.    Within the CB pedestrian-oriented zone, the parking space requirement of this title can be reduced by 25 percent. This is to be done by deducting 25 percent from the gross floor area prior to calculating required spaces per square foot.

B.    Within the CB zone, an applicant may receive credit for one space for each two on-street spaces within 100 feet of a property line of the use, or within such greater distance from the property line as may be allowed by the Zoning Administrator. (Ord. 1400 § 2, 2006)

18.76.050 Parking lot layout, construction and maintenance.

Off-street parking lot layout, construction and maintenance requirements shall be as follows:

A.    The party developing an off-street parking area shall submit to the Zoning Administrator for approval a plan of the parking area showing adjacent streets, proposed circulation of traffic, proposed drainage, lighting and landscaping, fencing and screening planting.

B.    Off-street parking area lot dimensions and layout shall be guided by the design standards approved by the Institute of Traffic Engineers insofar as not otherwise prescribed by this title.

C.    Except for compact car space, each parking space shall be at least nine feet wide and 19 feet long. Twenty-five percent of the total spaces required may be for compact cars only. These spaces must be so designated. Each compact space shall be at least eight feet wide and 16 feet long.

D.    Ingress and egress to the parking lot or area shall be provided at locations approved by the Zoning Administrator. In no case shall improved roadways be used for maneuvering into or out of the parking area.

E.    Construction. All required off-street parking areas shall be graded and surfaced to a standard comparable to the street which serves the parking area as determined by the Administrator and shall be developed and completed to the required standard before a certificate of occupancy for the building is issued. All traffic-control devices such as parking strips, designated car stalls, directional arrows or signs, rails, curbs and other developments shall be installed and completed as shown on the approved plans. Hard surfaced parking areas shall use paint or similar devices to delineate car stalls and direction of traffic. Where pedestrian walks are used in parking lots for the use of foot traffic only, they shall be curbed, or raised six inches above the lot surface.

F.    Adequate setbacks and buffer strips shall be provided when an off-street parking area or lot abuts a residential zone.

G.    Before the granting of a building permit for any new building or structure, or for any enlargement thereof or a change of use, the applicant must present in writing the arrangements that have been made to provide any required off-street parking.

H.    Driveway Dimensions. When off-street parking is provided in the rear of a building and a driveway or land alongside the building provides access to the rear parking area, such driveway shall have a minimum width of 12 feet and a three-foot minimum width sidewalk adjoining the building, curved or raised six inches above the driveway surface.

I.    When due regard to public safety so indicates, the Zoning Administrator may require that up to 50 percent of the required off-street parking area must be clearly marked as customer parking with signs as necessary directing the public to the premises from adjacent street or streets. During business hours customer vehicles only may occupy parking spaces so marked. (Ord. 1400 § 2, 2006)

18.76.060 Loading space requirements.

An off-street loading space having access to a public thoroughfare shall be required adjacent to each building hereafter erected or enlarged to the extent specified in FMC 18.76.010(B)(1) if the use of such building entails deliveries or shipments to or from it. Such loading space shall be adequate size to accommodate the number and size of vehicles simultaneously loaded or unloaded in connection with the business conducted in such building. No part of the truck or van shall extend into the public right-of-way when using the loading space. (Ord. 1400 § 2, 2006)