Chapter 9.54

PARKING AND LOADING STANDARDS

Sections:

• 9.54.010 Purpose. 9.54.020 Application. 9.54.030 General location and use of parking areas. 9.54.040 Number of parking spaces required. 9.54.050 Exceptions to required number of spaces. 9.54.060 Joint use of parking. 9.54.070 Location of parking spaces. 9.54.080 Standards for off-street parking facilities. 9.54.090 Parking dimensions.

• 9.54.100 Off-street loading facilities required. 9.54.110 Standards for off-street loading facilities.

• 9.54.120 Replacement of off-street parking and off-street loading facilities. 9.54.130 Landscaping of parking areas.

• 9.54.140 Parking for bicycle and low-emission vehicles.

• 9.54.150 Garage conversions of required parking to living space. 9.54.160 Unimproved lots.

The purpose of this chapter is to promote parking for the safety and convenience of the residents of the City of Avenal by requiring adequate and well-designed parking areas. The standards of this Chapter are minimum standards. The regulations and standards of this chapter are intended to achieve the following:

• A. To provide accessible, attractive, secure, properly lighted, well-maintained, and screened offstreet parking facilities.

• B. To reduce traffic congestion and hazards.

• C. To protect neighborhoods from the effects of vehicular noise and traffic generated by adjacent non-residential land use districts.

• D. To assure the maneuverability of emergency vehicles.

• E. To provide appropriately designated parking facilities in proportion to the needs generated by varying types of land use.

9.54.020

Application.

The parking and loading standards in this chapter shall apply to all zone districts unless otherwise specified. Parking required by this chapter shall be provided prior to the occupancy of a new building or structure is erected, the enlargement or intensification of a structure, or when use is established, changed, or expanded. Projects involving an increase in use intensity shall comply with these standards for the expansion or intensification..

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The land areas set aside for parking to meet the provisions of this chapter shall be usable and accessible for the type of off-street parking that is required. Off-street vehicle parking is restricted to only approved off-street parking facilities as designed and developed in accordance with this chapter.

• A. At the time of initial occupancy of a site or any existing structure, or of the construction of a building, or of a major alteration or expansion of a site or building, or a change in the use of property that requires additional parking spaces, the number of off-street parking facilities for automobiles shall be provided in accordance with Table 9.54.040-1.

• B. For the purposes of this section, square feet shall mean the gross square feet of a building. Employees shall mean the expected number of employees determined at the time a use commences.

• C. If, in the application of the requirements of this section, a fractional number is obtained, one parking space shall be provided for a fraction of one-half or more, and no parking space shall be required for a fraction of less than one-half.

Table 9.54.040-1 Number of Parking Spaces

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• A. No additional parking spaces shall be required for a building enlargement of less than 1,000 square feet in an existing building.

• m. No additional parking spaces shall be required in the event a change in use requires an increase of three or fewer off-street parking spaces.

• n. The total requirements for off-street parking facilities for a mixed-use development with both residential and commercial uses on the same site shall be 80 percent of the sum of the parking space requirements for the various uses.

• o. No existing land use or structure shall be deemed to be a non-conforming use solely because of the lack of off-street parking or off-street loading facilities prescribed in this chapter.

• A. Joint Use of Parking: If more than one user is required to provide parking spaces in accordance with this chapter occupies the same or adjacent buildings, off-street parking shall be provided in an amount equal to the total number of spaces required for the separate uses, provided, however, that upon written request, the Community Development Director may reduce the number of spaces required in such cases by up to 50 percent if it can be determined based on substantial evidence that the combination of uses in the same or adjacent buildings or premises will, at periods of peak weekly hour use, necessitate provision of a lower number of parking spaces than if the uses were developed independently.

  1. Parking facilities may be shared if multiple uses cooperatively establish and operate the facilities and if these uses generate parking demands primarily during hours when the remaining uses are not in operation. The applicant shall have the burden of proof for a

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reduction in the total number of required off-street parking spaces, and documentation shall be submitted substantiating their reasons for the requested parking reduction. Public rightsof-way and/or on-street parking shall not be used or counted to reduce the number of shared on-site parking spaces. Shared parking may only be approved if:

1. A sufficient number of spaces are provided to meet the greater parking demand of the participating uses.

2. Satisfactory evidence, as deemed so by the Director, has been submitted by the parties operating the shared parking facility, describing the nature of the uses and the times when the uses operate to demonstrate the lack of potential conflict between them.

3. Additional documents, covenants, deed restrictions, or other agreements as may be deemed necessary by the Director are executed to assure that the required parking spaces provided are maintained and uses with similar hours and parking requirements as those uses sharing the parking facilities remain for the life of the commercial/industrial development.

• B. Affordable Housing. Housing Projects proposed and developed in compliance with Chapter 9.58 of this Title may be eleigilbe for parking reductions.

• A. Off-street parking and off-street loading shall be located on the same site as the use for which they are required or on an adjoining site, except that within the C-D or MU Overlay zone may locate required off-street parking within 600 feet of the use for which the spaces are required, measured by the shortest route of pedestrian access.

• B. All parking spaces, whether required by this chapter or in addition to that which is required, shall be located outside of the front building setback, except those within an approved driveway for a single-family residence or duplex. No parking spaces shall be allowed within a street-side yard setback.

Off-street parking facilities shall conform to the following standards and be approved by the Director in accordance with Chapter 9.54:

• A. All parking areas shall have ingress and egress to and from a street or alley as required by the City’s Standard Specifications and Drawings.

• B. Sufficient room for turning and maneuvering vehicles shall be provided on the site.

• C. Parking areas shall be designed to the City’s Standard Specifications and Drawings and approved by the City Engineer.

• D. Developed parking areas are to be utilized by all vehicles associated with or visiting the site.

• E. Entrances and exits to parking lots and other parking facilities shall be provided only at locations approved by the Director.

• F. The parking of vehicles on lawns, landscaped areas, or other areas not designed for parking is prohibited.

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• G. Parking lot lighting shall be deflected away from adjoining sites so as not to cause glare to surrounding properties. Off-site illumination shall be limited to 0.5 foot-candles where the adjacent property is residential. Parking areas shall have lighting capable of providing adequate illumination for security and safety.

• H. No commercial repair work or servicing of vehicles shall be conducted in a parking area.

• I. Parking areas, aisles, and access drives shall be paved with a solid material to provide a durable, dustless surface and shall be so graded and drained as to dispose of surface water, except that long-term storage areas for vehicles in the C-S and M districts may be surfaced with rock, gravel, granite, or solid paving.

• J. All commercial parking lots shall be landscaped and shall be provided with pedestrian-oriented circulation patterns.

• K. All vehicle parking areas within single-family zones shall occur on approved paved surfaces such as concrete or asphalt, except for vehicles parked in side yard setback areas and back yards, which are enclosed by a six-foot high solid fence, such that the vehicles are not visible from the adjacent street or alley. Any request to use alternative surfaces such as gravel or turf stone shall be approved by the Director under Administrative Approval.

• L. Standards applying to commercial vehicles.

  1. Definition.

     • a. A commercial vehicle shall be defined as a vehicle required to be registered which is used or maintained for the transportation of persons for hire, compensation, or profit or designed, used, or maintained primarily for the transportation of property.

  2. Use of private driveways.

     • a. No person shall operate or drive a commercial vehicle having a rated capacity of ½ ton or more in or across any private driveway approach or the driveway itself without the consent of the owner or occupant of the property, or

  3. Commercial Vehicles, All Night Parking Prohibited Except in Service Commercial Zones.

• a. No person shall stop, stand, or park, or permit to be stopped, left standing, or parked, any commercially registered bus, semi-truck, trailer, tractor, or motor truck with a rated carrying capacity in excess of three tons on any street between the hours of 7:00 P.M. and 7:00 A.M. except in service commercial zones, parking may be allowed overnight in the street by permit. Permit Fee shall be established by a City Council resolution.

  4. Overnight Parking Permits on Weekends in the Servive Commerical Zone.

     • a. The Finance Department shall be responsible for the issuance of overnight parking permits to addresses in the service commercial zones. A permit shall be issued by the Finance Department only upon receipt of a valid application.

     • b. The Finance Department may not issue more than two annual permits to any one address.

     • c. The Finance Department shall either grant or deny an overnight parking permit within ten working days from the receipt of a valid application. If the application

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involves parking in front of or near residentially zoned property, or property owned by someone other than the applicant, the Finance Department shall contact such person(s) and may impose conditions on the permit to mitigate any adverse impacts. If the Finance Department denies a permit, the written reasons for the denial shall be provided to the applicant, in person or by mail, within the time period specified herein.

• d. The permit shall be clearly displayed on the vehicle for which it has been issued as instructed.

• e. The Finance Department shall maintain a record of the number of parking permits issued to each address, the names of permit holders, the license numbers of vehicles for which a permit has been issued, documents checked to establish address and vehicle ownership, and any other information as required.

• f. The Finance Department may revoke the parking permit(s) for any address known to the Finance Department to no longer be eligible for a permit(s) for failure to meet permit conditions, or for causing adverse impact to adjacent property owners or residents. The Finance Department shall give written notice to the permit holder of said revocation and the reasons therefor. The owner shall not display the revoked or expired permit from the individual vehicle.

5. Commercial Vehicles on Private Property.

   • a. No person shall park a “heavy duty” commercial vehicle for more than three hours on private property visible from public right-of-way, in any land use district zoned other than commercial and industrial, except:

     • i. While loading or unloading materials and goods and the time required to complete the work exceeds the three-hour period; or

     • ii. When the vehicle is parked in connection with and in aid of providing a service to or on a property in the block in which the vehicle is parked and time in addition to the three-hour period is necessary to complete such service; or

• iii. When the vehicle is parked in connection with and is owned or leased by an approved business in a non-residential zoning district, or when the vehicle is loading or unloading goods in connection with such a business and is parked adjacent to a loading dock or loading area for a period of time not to exceed forty-eight hours.

  • b. For the purpose of this section "heavy-duty" commercial vehicle means a single vehicle or combination of vehicles having more than two axles, a single vehicle or combination of vehicles twenty feet or more in length or a single vehicle or combination of vehicles having a manufacturer's gross vehicle weight rating of 10,000 pounds or more. It includes, but is not limited to a dump truck, moving van, tractor, pole or pipe dolly.

6. Display of Warning Devices When Commercial Vehicle Disabled.

   • a. Every motor truck having unladen weight of 4,000 pounds or more, and every truck tractor irrespective of weight when operated upon any street or highway during

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darkness shall be equipped with and carry at least two flares or two red lanterns or two warning lights or reflectors, which reflectors shall be of a type approved by the Department of California Highway Patrol. When any vehicle above-mentioned or any trailer or semitrailer is disabled upon streets or highways outside of any business or residence district within this City and upon which street or highway there is insufficient street lighting to reveal a vehicle at a distance of 200 feet during darkness, a warning signal of the character indicated herein shall be immediately placed at a distance of approximately 100 feet in advance of, and 100 feet to the rear of, such disabled vehicle by the driver thereof. The continuous flashing of at least four approved Class A-type 1 turn signal lamps, at least two toward the front and at least two toward the rear of the vehicle, shall be considered to meet the requirements of this section until the devices mentioned herein can be placed in the required locations. The warning signals herein mentioned shall be displayed continuously during darkness while such vehicle remains disabled upon such street or highway.

• A. A standard parking space shall not be less than 19 feet in length and nine feet in width, exclusive of aisles and access drives. The length of the space may be reduced by up to two feet where the top of the parking space is adjacent to a low groundcover or sidewalk that is at least six feet wide and allows for vehicle overhang.

• B. A compact parking space shall not be less than 16 feet in length and eight feet in width and marked for compact cars. Parking lots with 10 or more spaces may substitute up to 20 percent of all parking spaces in a parking lot or parking structure with compact parking spaces. There shall be no more than two compact spaces adjacent to each other.

• C. Motorcycle spaces shall be a minimum size of four feet by eight feet. Parking lots with 40 or more spaces may substitute up to 2.5 percent of all standard parking spaces with motorcycle spaces if they are located within 150 feet of a building entry.

• D. The dimensions, design, and construction of parking spaces reserved for handicapped access shall meet the latest adopted California Building Code and/ or Building Ordinance.

At least one off-street loading space shall be provided in connection with a building having a gross floor area of 10,000 square feet or more and intended for a use that typically receives or delivers goods. This requirement shall not apply to a building adjacent to a public alley. The Director may waive this requirement for buildings located within the Downton Commercial zone or Mixed-Use Overlay zone.

Off-street loading facilities shall conform to the following standards:

• A. Commercial, industrial, office, institutional, and public uses exceeding 10,000 square feet in size shall be required to install one off-street loading space. For uses exceeding 25,000 square feet in size, the Director may find that more than one off-street loading space should be required. This determination is made during the site plan review process in accordance with Chapter 9.72.

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• B. To the extent possible, loading facilities should be located at the rear or side of the building that they are to serve.

• C. Loading spaces shall be situated to ensure that all loading and unloading, as well as vehicular maneuvers, take place on-site and in no case within adjacent public rights-of-way or interfere with other traffic circulation areas on site.

• D. Loading facilities, at a minimum, shall have a length of 25 feet, a width of 15 feet, and an overhead clearance of 14 feet. All loading surfaces shall be paved consistent with Avenal’s Standard Specifications and Drawings.

• E. Where a loading facility is near or adjacent to a residential district or other noise-sensitive land uses, noise-attenuating design measures will be incorporated into the project. These design measures could include increased setback distances, the construction of a seven-foot solid block wall, landscaping, or locating the loading facilities away from noise-sensitive land uses.

• F. Loading areas shall have lighting capable of providing adequate illumination for security and safety. Lighting standards shall be energy efficient and in scale with the height and use of the structure. Any illumination, including security lighting, shall be directed away from adjoining properties and public rights-of-way.

• G. Loading and unloading areas shall be striped, indicating the loading spaces and identifying the spaces for loading only. The striping shall be permanently maintained in a clear and visible manner.

• H. Passenger loading spaces shall be provided in addition to any required freight and equipment loading spaces whenever required by a discretionary or ministerial permit. Loading spaces shall not be less than 10 feet wide and 20 feet long, shall be located in close proximity to the structure entrance, and shall not require pedestrians to cross a driveway, parking aisle, alley, or street in order to reach the structure entrance. Required loading spaces shall not count as required parking spaces.

Unless specifically stated otherwise in this title, no off-street parking or off-street loading facility provided per this chapter shall be reduced in capacity or in an area without sufficient additional capacity or additional area being provided to comply with the requirements of this chapter.

• A. Parking areas are to have at least one tree placed after every four lineal parking spaces. Landscaped areas shall be distributed throughout the parking area and peripheral areas to the extent practical in consideration of the size and design of the parking area. Landscaped areas shall be delineated by a six-inch-wide and six-inch-high concrete curb. Parking lots developed next to a street shall provide a landscape buffer between the street and the parking lot of at least five feet in width. When parking lots face a residential district directly across the street, there shall be a four-foot-high hedge to block headlights from shining into residential structures.

• B. Trees shall be planted and maintained throughout the parking area to achieve a 50 percent shade coverage of the parking area within 10 years of installation. A landscaped planter of at least 80 square feet shall be provided at least every 10 parking spaces. The minimum tree size

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shall be a 15-gallon container (or three-inch trunk diameter). Landscaping materials and trees shall be selected from a list of approved trees as may be established by the Director.

• C. Parking lot landscaping shall be designed and constructed in accordance with Figure 9.54.1501, Typical Parking Lot Landscaping Scheme.

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Figure 9.54.150-1 Typical Parking Lot Landscaping Scheme

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Parking for bicycles and low-emission vehicles shall be provided in accordance with the latest adopted version of the California Building Code.

• A. It is the purpose of this section to allow, in certain cases and subject to specific design requirements, the conversion of garages and carports for living space in circumstances where the provisions of Section 9.54.040 cannot be met post-conversion.

• B. Garage conversions are allowed if the following requirements are met:

  1. The area converted shall be subject to all applicable building code requirements.

  2. The garage door shall either be removed from the structure and replaced with a wall, or a wall shall be constructed behind the pre-existing garage door with the garage door remaining in place. The exterior elevation of the conversion shall be compatible in design with the existing dwelling.

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• C. Required parking is not required to be replaced for garage conversions if there is space in a driveway for at least two parking spaces. The spaces are not required to be covered and may be tandem spaces.

Vacant or unimproved lots shall not be used as vehicle parking facilities and/or outdoor storage of equipment, construction equipment, and similar uses unless approved by site plan review per Chapter 9.72. Conditions shall indicate appropriate fencing and screening requirements, paving surface, and landscaping.

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