Chapter 17.61
OFF-STREET PARKING
Sections:
17.61.010 Requirements generally.
17.61.015 Parking—Residential lots.
17.61.020 Parking spaces required.
17.61.030 Parking requirements for uses not specified.
17.61.060 Required improvement and maintenance of parking area and used car sales area.
17.61.070 Illumination of parking areas and used car sales area.
17.61.080 Required loading space.
17.61.100 Use of right-of-way.
17.61.010 Requirements generally.
(a) Off-street vehicle parking meeting the requirements of this chapter shall be provided based on the proposed use for:
(1) A new or relocated building;
(2) An expanded or enlarged structure, only for the new floor area;
(3) An existing building that requires a change of occupancy per the Building Code for the new use.
(4) Remodel, alteration, or repair of an existing building where the cost of the remodel, alteration, or repair exceeds twenty-five percent of the existing assessed value of the structure.
(b) All vehicles shall be parked on improved parking spaces (concrete or asphalt). Access from the street and all portions of the parking lot shall be hard surface if the parking spaces are required to be. Parking accessed via an alley shall be hard surfaced even if the alley is gravel.
(1) Exception: Parking accessed from an unpaved street may be compacted gravel until the street is paved. A covenant shall be required, guaranteeing hard surfacing of the parking lot when the street is paved. Regardless of whether a covenant was attached, any gravel parking lot created after August 27, 2018, shall be hard surfaced when the street is paved.
(c) Required parking spaces shall be made permanently available and be permanently maintained for parking purposes.
(d) For the purpose of this chapter, a parking space shall be at least nine feet wide and a minimum of twenty feet long, exclusive of access drives or aisles. Minimum size for a parking space also applies to spaces within a garage. Parking spaces accessed directly from an alley shall be set back at least eight feet from the edge of the alley.
(e) Parking spaces shall have access from a public thoroughfare, and shall be of usable shape and condition. There shall be provision for ingress and egress from each parking space. Except for residences of up to four dwelling units, groups of more than two parking spaces shall be so located and served by a driveway that their use will require no backing movements or maneuvering within a street right-of-way other than an alley. (Ord. 1517 § 1 (part), 2018: Ord. 1220 § 1 (part), 2006: Ord. 948 § 2 (part), 1995).
17.61.015 Parking—Residential lots.
For any residential lot, no vehicle shall be allowed to park on lawn or landscaped areas of the front yard. Parking shall be limited to an improved surface such as gravel, concrete, or asphalt that is no greater than thirty feet in width extending generally perpendicular from the structure to the street. Minimum required parking spaces for new residences must be concrete or asphalt. (Ord. 1517 § 1 (part), 2018: Ord. 1347 § 1, 2011).
17.61.020 Parking spaces required.
Required parking spaces are as follows:
(a) Single-family dwellings in R-1, R-2, R-3 or R-4 zones: in addition to the two parking spaces required in a garage for houses built after 2007, every dwelling shall have a minimum of two, but not more than four, concrete parking spaces in the front yard area. No more than four vehicles shall be parked or stored in the front yard on improved parking spaces. Vehicles can be stored in the back yard if surrounded by a six-foot-high sight-obscuring fence;
(b) Two-family dwellings in R-2, R-3 or R-4 zones: in addition to any parking spaces in a garage, there shall be two spaces for each dwelling unit. No more than three vehicles may be parked off-street that are not within a garage in connection with each dwelling unit. If additional vehicles are to be parked off-street, they must be parked within a garage or within an enclosure surrounded by a sight-obscuring fence;
(c) Multiple-family dwellings in R-3 or R-4 zones: two spaces for each dwelling unit. No more than two vehicles may be parked off-street that are not within a garage or carport in connection with each dwelling unit;
(d) Residential hotels, fraternity houses, rooming houses or boardinghouses: one space for each two guest accommodations or four beds, whichever is greater;
(e) Convalescent homes, sanitariums, institutions for the aged and children, welfare or correctional institutions: one space for each six beds or patients, plus one additional space for each two employees;
(f) Hospitals: one space for each five beds including bassinets, plus one space for each two employees, plus one space for each two visiting and/or staff doctors;
(g) Medical and dental clinics: three spaces for each doctor or three spaces for each two examination rooms, whichever is greater, plus one space for each employee;
(h) Dancehalls: one space for each fifty square feet of dance floor space;
(i) Funeral parlors and mortuaries: one space for each fifty square feet of assembly used for services, plus one space for each employee;
(j) Passenger terminals (bus, rail or air): one space for every one hundred square feet of gross floor area used for passenger waiting area plus one space for each two employees;
(k) Manufacturing and industrial buildings: one space for each two employees on the largest shift;
(l) Stadiums, sports arenas, auditoriums (including school auditoriums) and other places of public assembly and clubs and lodges having no sleeping rooms: one space for each four seats or eight feet of bench length for spectators;
(m) Bowling alleys: three spaces for each alley plus one space for every four seats or eight feet of bench devoted to spectator area, plus one space for the proprietor and one space for each two employees;
(n) Libraries: one space for each two hundred square feet of gross floor area of the reading room, plus one space for each two employees;
(o) Churches: one space for each four seats or eight feet of pew bench and one space for each four hundred square feet of gross floor space used for assembly and not containing fixed seats;
(p) Colleges or commercial schools for adults: one space for each six seats in classrooms, plus one space for each two employees;
(q) High schools, elementary schools and other children’s schools: one space for each six seats in the auditorium or assembly room or one space per six high school students, whichever is more, plus one space for each two employees, plus sufficient off-street space for the safe and convenient loading and unloading of students from school buses;
(r) Theaters: one space for each four seats, plus one space for each two employees;
(s) Mobile or manufactured home parks: two spaces for each mobile or manufactured home lot and one additional space for each four mobile or manufactured home lots for guests;
(t) Motels and auto courts: one space for each unit, plus three additional spaces for every ten units;
(u) Semi-private golf courses, country clubs, gun clubs, etc.: one space for each three members;
(v) Public utility stations: one space;
(w) Retail stores and personal service shops:
(1) Retail stores primarily handling bulky merchandise such as furniture, machinery, farm or agricultural equipment, lumber, construction materials, livestock feed, or heavy equipment: one-and-one-half spaces for each one thousand square feet of gross floor area;
(2) Personal service shops and other retail not addressed in subsection (w)(1) of this section:
|
Building size, gross floor area |
Parking requirement |
|---|---|
|
Up to 2,000 square feet |
4 spaces/1,000 square feet |
|
2,001—7,500 square feet |
3.5 spaces/1,000 square feet |
|
7,501—40,000 square feet |
2.85 spaces/1,000 square feet |
|
40,001+ square feet |
2.5 spaces/1,000 square feet |
(x) Banks: one space for each four hundred square feet of gross building area, plus one space for each two employees;
(y) Restaurants, taverns or bars: one space for each one hundred square feet of gross floor area;
(z) Notwithstanding the off-street parking requirements defined in this chapter, those buildings located within commercially zoned districts may be permitted to obtain permits for renovation or expansion of the existing building space or use without fully complying with the off-street parking requirements of this section. Prior to the issuance of the development permit which would impose the off-street parking requirement sought to be modified, the owner or owner’s agent shall apply to the community development director for a waiver of some identified portion of the off-street parking requirement. The proponent shall bear the burden and expense of establishing to the community development director:
(1) The lack of reasonably available off-street parking within a reasonable distance to the subject property, either through purchase, lease or joint use agreement;
(2) What studies, measurements, or other indicia of adequate parking exist to support the request; and
(3) How the proponent would propose to deal with overflow parking.
The community development director may: grant a waiver for a specified period of time after which the waiver shall terminate or be subject to further review; grant a waiver conditioned on average daily trip measurements remaining below a certain number and after that number is exceeded, additional parking shall be required to be provided; or deny the request. (Ord. 1555 § 1, 2020: Ord. 1517 § 1 (part), 2018: Ord. 1280 § 1 (part), 2008: Ord. 1220 § 1 (part), 2006: Ord. 1198 § 1, 2005: Ord. 974 § 1, 1995: Ord. 948 § 2 (part), 1995).
17.61.030 Parking requirements for uses not specified.
Where the parking requirements for a use are not specifically defined in this title, the parking requirements for such use shall be determined by the community development director and such determination shall be based upon the requirements for the most comparable use specified in this chapter. (Ord. 1517 § 1 (part), 2018: Ord. 1280 § 1 (part), 2008: Ord. 948 § 2 (part), 1995).
17.61.040 Mixed occupancies.
In the case of mixed occupancies in a building or on a lot, the total requirements for off-street parking shall be the sum of the requirements for the various uses computed separately. Off-street parking facilities shall not be considered as providing required parking facilities for any other use except as hereinafter specified for joint use. (Ord. 1517 § 1 (part), 2018: Ord. 948 § 2 (part), 1995).
17.61.050 Joint uses.
The community development director may, upon application by the owner or lessee of any property, authorize the joint use of parking facilities by the following uses or activities under the conditions specified in this section:
(1) Up to fifty percent of the parking facilities required by this chapter for a use considered to be primarily a daytime use may be provided by the parking facilities of a use considered to be primarily a nighttime use or vice versa; provided, that such reciprocal parking area shall be subject to the conditions set forth in subsection (4) of this section.
(2) Up to one hundred percent of the parking facilities required by this chapter for a church or auditorium incidental to a public or parochial school may be supplied by parking facilities for a use considered to be primarily a daytime use, provided such reciprocal parking area shall be subject to the conditions set forth in subsection (4) of this section.
(3) For purposes of this section, the following uses are typical daytime uses: business offices, barbershops and beauty shops, manufacturing or wholesale buildings. The following uses are typical nighttime and/or Sunday uses: auditoriums incidental to a public or parochial school, churches, dancehalls, theaters and taverns.
(4) Conditions required for joint use are as follows:
(A) The building or use for which application is made for authority to utilize the existing off-street parking facilities provided by another building or use shall be located within four hundred feet of such parking facilities.
(B) The applicant shall show that there is not substantial conflict in the principal operating hours of the buildings or uses for which the joint use of the parking facilities is proposed.
(C) Parties concerned in the joint use of off-street facilities shall evidence agreement for such joint use by a proper legal instrument approved by the city attorney as to form and content. Such instrument when approved as conforming to the provisions of this title shall be recorded in the office of the city clerk. (Ord. 1517 § 1 (part), 2018: Ord. 948 § 2 (part), 1995).
17.61.060 Required improvement and maintenance of parking area and used car sales area.
Every lot or parcel of land used as a public or private parking area, or used car sales area and having a capacity of three or more vehicles, shall be developed and maintained in the following manner:
(1) Surfacing. Off-street parking areas and used car sales areas shall be paved or otherwise hard-surfaced (concrete or asphalt) and maintained so as to eliminate dust or mud and shall be graded and drained so as to dispose of surface water in compliance with the Eastern Washington Stormwater Manual. In no case shall such drainage be allowed across sidewalks or roadways or onto another property. As an alternative to on-site stormwater disposal for existing developed sites, connection to the city’s stormwater system may be allowed, if approved by the public works director and the appropriate fees paid.
(2) Border Barricades. All parking areas and used car sales areas that are not separated by a fence from any street or alley property lines upon which they abut shall be provided with a suitable concrete curb or timber barrier not less than six inches in height, located not less than four feet from such street or alley property lines and such curb or barrier shall be securely installed and maintained; provided, that no such curb or barrier shall be required across any driveway or entrance to such parking area.
(3) Screening and Landscaping. Every parking area or used car sales area which abuts a residential district shall be separated from such residential district by a solid wall, view-obscuring fence, at least six feet in height, or a green belt planted and maintained at least five feet in width; except, that along any street frontage onto or from which an entrance is provided, the fence, wall or green belt shall not exceed forty-two inches in height. Said wall or fence shall receive normal maintenance in keeping with the character of the adjacent development. No such wall, fence or green belt need be provided where the elevation of that portion of the parking area or used car sales area immediately adjacent to any residential district is six feet or more above or below the elevation of such district along the common property line.
(4) Entrances and Exits. The location and design of all entrances and exits shall be subject to the approval of the public works director.
(5) Parking spaces shall be marked with white or yellow painted lines or similar materials.
(6) Aisle Width. Parking lots shall provide minimum aisle widths per the following table:
|
Parking angle (degrees) |
Minimum Aisle Width |
|
|---|---|---|
|
One-Way Traffic |
Two-Way Traffic |
|
|
45 |
15' |
24' |
|
60 |
18' |
25' |
|
75 |
22' |
25' |
|
90 |
26' |
26' |
(Ord. 1517 § 1 (part), 2018: Ord. 948 § 2 (part), 1995).
17.61.070 Illumination of parking areas and used car sales area.
Any lights provided to illuminate any public parking area, any semi-public parking area, or used car sales area permitted by this title, shall be arranged so as to reflect the light away from any dwelling unit and the public right-of-way. (Ord. 1517 § 1 (part), 2018: Ord. 948 § 2 (part), 1995).
17.61.080 Required loading space.
On the same premises with every building, structure, or part thereof, erected and occupied for manufacturing, storage, warehouse, goods display, department store, wholesale store, market, hotel, hospital, mortuary, laundry, dry cleaning, or other uses involving the receipt or distribution of vehicles or material or merchandise and providing access to a public thoroughfare, there shall be provided and maintained on the lot adequate space for standing, loading and unloading services in order to avoid undue interference with public uses of the streets or alleys. Such space, unless otherwise adequately provided for, shall include a twelve-foot-by-forty-foot loading space, with fourteen-foot height clearance, for every twenty thousand square feet, or fraction thereof, of building floor used or land used for the above-mentioned purposes. No part of the truck or van using the loading space may project into the public right-of-way. (Ord. 1517 § 1 (part), 2018: Ord. 948 § 2 (part), 1995).
17.61.090 Accessibility.
Any public or private building that was built or substantially remodeled after October 1, 1976, is required to meet federal and state requirements for accessible parking (Washington State Regulation for Barrier Free Facilities, Chapter 51-10 WAC). (Ord. 1517 § 1 (part), 2018: Ord. 948 § 2 (part), 1995).
17.61.100 Use of right-of-way.
Vehicles parked behind the curb such that all or part of the vehicle extends over the public right-of-way shall be parked:
(a) No closer than six feet from the curb face;
(b) Not to encroach on the public sidewalk;
(c) At least fifteen feet from all alley rights-of-way;
(d) At least thirty feet from the projection of street curbs on corner lots;
(e) On a surface improved with gravel. (Ord. 1517 § 1 (part), 2018: Ord. 1220 § 2, 2006).