Imperial County Municipal Code § 90402.00 Purpose/application

The purpose of this chapter is to reduce street congestion, promote safety, and provide for the convenience of the residents of the county by requiring provisions for adequate and well-designed parking in conjunction with the land use.

Parking required by this title shall be provided at the time that any building or structure is erected, altered or enlarged, or a use is established, changed or expanded. Development involving individual or cumulative expansion in excess of forty percent (40%) or more of the existing use on the effective date of this Title shall comply with off-street parking requirements of this chapter. [The forty-percent (40%) shall be applicable to valuation, size, volume, height, or any combination.]

The standards provided in this chapter are deemed to be the minimum standards.

(Ord. No. 1565, §§ 3, 4, 12-15-20)

Uses permitted by this Division shall provide off-street parking spaces according to the following schedule:.

A. Residential uses:

1. Single-family dwelling, a duplex dwelling, a condominium, or a mobile home (manufactured) unit with three (3) bedrooms or less shall provide two (2) parking spaces per unit. Units with more than three (3) bedrooms shall provide one-half (.5) parking spaces for each bedroom in excess of three (3) bedrooms per unit.

2. For multi-family projects, one guest space for every five (5) units in addition to the minimum under A-1.

3. For Accessory Dwelling Units with one (1) bedroom shall provide one (1) parking space. For Accessory Dwelling Units with two (2) or more bedrooms shall provide two (2) parking spaces. Parking may be provided as tandem parking, on an existing driveway.

a) Property owner identifies on-street parking along frontage of subject property.

b) Where no on-street parking along the subject property frontage is available, property owner shall provide additional parking on-site.

c) Additional State Provisions: Pursuant to Government Code Section 65852.2, subdivisions (d)(1—5), parking standards shall not be imposed for an Accessory Dwelling Unit in any one (1) of the following instances (must provide proof). If the accessory dwelling unit:

1. Is located within one-half (½) mile of public transit.

2. Is located within an architecturally and historically significant historic district.

3. Is part of the existing primary residence or an existing accessory structure.

4. When on-street parking permits are required but not offered to the occupant of the accessory dwelling unit.

5. When there is a car share vehicle located within one (1) block of the accessory dwelling unit.

(Note: For purpose of this section, a room such as a den, study, library, sewing room, hobby room, work room or similar room shall be considered a bedroom.)

4. Junior accessory dwelling units shall not require parking as a condition to grant a permit.

B. Boarding houses, rooming houses, residential hotels, fraternity or sorority houses, dormitories, or similar uses shall provide one (1) parking space per bedroom.

C. Mobile home park:

1. Each park space shall provide two (2) parking spaces per mobile home,

2. One (1) guest parking space for every five (5) mobile home spaces within said park shall be provided.

D. Retirement or rest homes, shall provide one (1) space per three (3) residential bed spaces or bedrooms.

E. Recreation, entertainment and tourism facilities.

1. Bowling alley, four (4) spaces per lane, or one (1) for every five hundred (500) square feet whichever is greater.

2. Dance hall, ballroom, discotheque, one (1) per thirty (30) square feet of gross building area.

3. A country club shall provide the cumulative combination of spaces required for the various uses within a country club, or one (1) per fifty (50) square feet of building area.

4. Equestrian establishment, requires parking plan review by Planning Department.

5. Hotel or motel, one (1) space per room, plus two (2) spaces for a manager's quarters, plus one (1) space for every one thousand (1,000) square feet of gross building area for general public parking. If hotel provides meeting room accommodations, parking as determined by Planning and Development Services Department shall be provided.

6. Golf course, five (5) spaces per hole.

7. Golf driving range, one (1) per tee.

8. Miniature golf course, three (3) per hole.

9. Movie theater, one (1) per two (2) seats.

10. Pool and billiard parlors, three (3) per pool or billiard table, or one (1) per one hundred (100) square feet of building area.

11. Shooting range or gun club, one (1) per member or one (1) per shooting station.

12. Swimming pools, one (1) per one hundred (100) square feet of pool and deck area.

13. Sports arena, one (1) per three (3) seats.

14. Tennis club, health club, one (1) per one hundred (100) square feet of indoor recreational area, plus two (2) per tennis or racquet ball court.

15. Video game arcades, one (1) per one hundred (100) square feet of gross building area.

F. Office/Business.

1. Business facility or professional offices, one (1) per two hundred fifty (250) square feet of gross building area.

2. Financial institutions including banks, savings and loans, credit unions, etc., one (1) per two hundred (200) square feet of gross building area.

3. Medical or dental office, veterinarian office, clinics, etc., one (1) per two hundred (200) square feet of gross building area.

G. General retail sales.

1. General retail, one (1) per two hundred fifty (250) square feet of gross building area.

2. Furniture store, one (1) per five hundred (500) square feet of gross building area.

3. Nursery, one (1) per two hundred fifty (250) square feet of indoor display area and one (1) per two thousand (2,000) square feet of outdoor sales area.

4. Automobile sales, one (1) per ten thousand (10,000) square feet of sales area plus one (1) per two hundred fifty (250) square feet of office area.

5. Heavy equipment, recreational vehicle truck sales, one (1) per two thousand five hundred (2,500) square feet of sales area plus one (1) per two hundred fifty (250) square feet of office area.

6. Restaurants, cafes, coffee shops, one (1) per one hundred (100) square feet of gross building area.

7. Fast food restaurants, one (1) per seventy-five (75) square feet of gross building area.

8. Bars, taverns, cocktail lounges, one (1) per seventy-five (75) square feet of gross building area.

H. Service facilities.

1. Auto repair, tire sales, and service establishments, one (1) per three hundred (300) square feet of gross building area.

2. Automobile service stations, one (1) per three hundred (300) square feet of gross building area.

3. Barber and beauty shops, one (1) per one hundred (100) square feet of gross building area.

4. Equipment rental facilities, one (1) per one thousand five hundred (1,500) square feet of display and storage area, plus one (1) per two hundred fifty (250) square feet of office area.

5. Laundromat, self-service type, one (1) per three (3) washing machine spaces.

6. Mortuaries or funeral parlors, one (1) per three (3) seats.

I. Industrial uses.

1. Manufacturing or the assembly facilities, one (1) per five hundred (500) square feet of gross floor area and one (1) per two hundred fifty (250) square feet of gross office area.

2. Contractor's storage yards, one (1) per three thousand (3,000) square feet of lot area.

3. Warehouse or wholesale distribution facilities, one (1) per one thousand (1,000) square feet of storage area, plus one (1) per two hundred fifty (250) square feet of office area.

J. Institutional uses.

1. Cemetery, one (1) per three (3) seats in the chapel, plus one (1) per two hundred fifty (250) square feet of office area, plus two (2) per five (5) acres.

2. Church, one (1) per three (3) seats affixed, or one (1) per fifty (50) square feet of gross building area.

3. Auditorium, one (1) per two (2) seats.

4. Convalescent hospitals are sanitariums, one (1) per five (5) patient beds.

5. Hospitals, one (1) per two (2) patient beds.

K. Educational and institutional schools.

1. Pre-schools, one (1) per six (6) students for which the facility is licensed, plus one (1) per employee, plus three (3) additional spaces.

2. Elementary and junior high schools, one (1) per employee, plus one (1) per ten (10) students.

3. High school, one (1) per employee, plus one (1) per ten (10) students.

4. College, business schools, trade schools, one (1) per employee plus one (1) per two (2) students.

5. Child care center, one (1) per six (6) children, which the facility is licensed, plus one (1) per employee, plus two (2) additional spaces.

(Ord. No. 1565, §§ 1, 2, 12-15-20; Ord. No. 1593, §§ 1, 2, 6-18-24)

If the calculation of parking needs results in the requirement for a fraction of a parking space, in excess of .45 an additional space is required. (Does not apply to Subsection 90402.01.A.)

(Ord. No. 1565, §§ 1, 2, 12-15-20)

Floor area shall mean gross floor area unless specified otherwise within this title.

(Ord. No. 1565, §§ 1, 2, 12-15-20)

Where a proposed use is not listed within this chapter, the planning and development services department shall determine the parking needs based on the list of uses, which most nearly resemble the proposed use. The department may use national or state standards or guidelines for determining parking needs.

(Ord. No. 1565, §§ 1, 2, 12-15-20)

Where parking requirements are based on the number of seats, eighteen (18) inches per pew or bench seating shall be equivalent to one seat.

(Ord. No. 1565, §§ 1, 2, 12-15-20)

Seven square feet of floor area shall be equivalent of one seat for concentrated use. Fifteen (15) square feet floor area shall be equivalent of one seat for non-concentrated use. The calculation is per the California Building Code.

(Ord. No. 1565, §§ 1, 2, 12-15-20)

All parking spaces shall be a minimum of nine (9) feet in width and twenty (20) feet in length. Handicapped automobile parking spaces shall comply with the requirements of California Code of Regulations, Title 24, Part 2, Volume 1, Chapter 11A Housing Accessibility and 11B Accessibility to Public Buildings, Public Accommodations, Commercial Buildings and Public Housing.

(Ord. No. 1565, §§ 1, 2, 12-15-20; Ord. No. 1587, §§ 1, 2, 12-5-23)

Up to ten percent (10%) of the spaces required for a facility (provided that the facility has more than ten (10) spaces), may be designated for compact cars. Compact car size spaces shall not be less than eight feet in width and eighteen (18) feet in length.

(Ord. No. 1565, §§ 1, 2, 12-15-20)

All handicapped parking spaces and access areas between handicapped parking spaces and primary entrances of associated buildings or facilities shall be surfaced in a manner to facilitate wheelchair use.

(Ord. No. 1565, §§ 1, 2, 12-15-20)

In addition to any automobile parking required by this chapter, for every building or facility occupied by a manufacturing, storage, warehouse, wholesale, retail store, market, passenger terminal, theater, hotel/motel restaurant, hospital, laundry, dry cleaning plant or other similar use, requiring receipt of or the distribution of vehicle or merchandise, adequate space for loading and unloading shall be provided and maintained on the same lot. Where a facility requires large vehicle (semi-truck/trailer) deliveries, designated loading and unloading provisions shall be made and reviewed and approved by the department of public works.

(Ord. No. 1565, §§ 1, 2, 12-15-20)

A. Residential.

1. Required residential off-street parking space(s) shall be located on the premises that they are intended to serve.

2. Parking shall not be located within the front yard setback area. (Accessory dwelling units are exempt. These spaces may be provided as tandem parking on an existing driveway. Off-street parking shall be permitted in setback areas in locations determined by the local agency or though tandem parking, unless specific findings are made that parking in setback areas or tandem parking is not feasible based upon specific site or regional topographical or fire and life safety conditions, or that it is not permitted anywhere else in the jurisdiction.)

3. Required spaces shall not be eliminated unless alternate spaces are provided.

B. Nonresidential.

1. Off-street parking for other than residential uses shall be located on the same premise as the use it is intended to serve or within three hundred (300) feet thereof. Where required parking is provided on a site other than on the principle use site, the other site shall likewise be owned by the same property owner and said owner shall file an agreement with the county of Imperial (planning and development services department) to provide for the maintenance of the parking facility as long as the associated principal use is maintained. Said agreement shall be recorded against said property. In the event that the adjoining property is owned by other than the principal owner, for which the parking is required, an agreement by the owner of record of said parcel shall be filed with the planning department, and be recorded designating the lot as a parking facility for the adjacent use for as long as the associated use is maintained.

(Ord. No. 1565, §§ 1, 2, 12-15-20)

If a parking area accommodates more than one use, off-street parking shall be provided in an amount equal to the total number of spaces required for the separate uses in accordance with this chapter.

(Ord. No. 1565, §§ 1, 2, 12-15-20)

Off-street parking areas required to be provided by this chapter shall be designed and developed in accordance with the following standards:

A. All off-street parking areas, as well as, ingress and egress areas to parking areas shall be surfaced with the following materials:

For all multifamily residential, recreational, entertainment, and tourist facilities, commercial, industrial, and institutional and other high-density uses, parking areas shall be surfaced with one of the following materials, on top of a properly prepared base.

1. Three inches of asphaltic concrete

2. Three and one-half inches of Portland cement concrete.

B. For all other uses, except as specified above, the parking area shall be surfaced with one of the following materials:

1. Three inches of bituminous road mix

2. Three inches of asphaltic concrete

3. Three and one-half inches of Portland cement concrete.

4. Three inches of decomposed granite

5. Three inches of gravel.

C. A private driveway or parking area serving a single-family residential dwelling is exempt from the paving requirements specified within this section, and provided further, that it is not a requirement of another agency, such as Air Pollution Control District or by public works.

D. In the case of uses subject to discretionary approvals, the required parking spaces shall be surfaced with materials and to the standards specified in accordance with the conditions of approval, notwithstanding this chapter.

E. All parking spaces shall be clearly marked and/or striped.

F. Parking aisles shall comply with the following minimum standards.

G. Off-street parking facilities shall be designed so that each space can function independently of any other parking space. Tandem parking may be allowed in residential zones only when a minimum of three off-street parking spaces are provided.

H. Private driveways for residential development on same lot shall be a minimum of fourteen (14) feet in width, with fifteen (15) feet of unobstructed vertical clearance. Driveways for commercial and industrial development shall be a minimum of twenty (20) feet in width with a minimum of eighteen (18) feet unobstructed vertical clearance. These requirements may be reduced by the mutual approval of the planning director and the director of public works.

I. No parking space shall be designed to require backing into a street or right-of-way.

J. In no case shall any parking intended to meet off-street parking requirement be located within an existing right-of-way, proposed secondary or major highway or within an adopted official or specific plan line, setback area or lot line.

K. All parking lots shall meet landscaping requirements in Division 3.

L. Lights used to illuminate parking areas shall be directed away from any adjacent properties and streets.

M. Design and development standards for EV charging spaces.

1. Residential Standards:

a. SFD/duplex.

i. EVCS spaces shall be protected adequately to prevent damage by automobiles and weather; EVCS shall be designed to be tamper-resistant for children, vandalism and theft of electricity.

ii. EVCS spaces shall, at all times, include a complete set of instructions and warning signs posted.

b. MF dwelling.

i. At least one EVCS space shall be located in a common use area that may be accessed by any and all residents.

ii. Any EVCS space provided shall be located adjacent to an accessible parking space or shall be located on an accessible route to the building, in accordance with state requirements.

iii. At a minimum, EVCS spaces dimensions shall be eighteen (18) feet in length by nine feet width (18'L x 9'W minimum).

iv. At a minimum, one eight-foot wide aisle shall be provided for every twenty-five (25) EVCS spaces, with no less than one aisle provided.

v. The surface slope for all EVCS spaces shall not exceed one unit (vertical) in forty-eight (48) units (horizontal).

2. Nonresidential Standards:

a. EVCS shall be in an easily seen location for informational and security purposes.

b. EVCS shall be illuminated during evening business hours.

c. EVCS shall be located in highly desirable and convenient parking locations to encourage the use of EV.

d. EVCS shall be protected adequately to prevent automobile damage, vandalism, and weather.

e. EVCS shall, at all times, include a complete set of instructions and warning signs posted.

f. There shall be at least one non-illuminated sign for each cluster of EVCS.

g. Private EVCS shall be located in a manner not to allow public access to EVCS.

(Ord. No. 1565, §§ 1, 2, 12-15-20)

No use shall be established or changed and no development shall occur or be expanded and no building or grading permit or business license for any use or development shall be issued until an application with a plot plan review has been submitted and approved by the planning department.

(Ord. No. 1565, §§ 1, 2, 12-15-20)

Where discretionary or ministerial approval is required for the use or uses for which parking is being provided the off-street parking plot plan application shall be reviewed and approved or denied in conjunction with that discretionary or ministerial approval process.

No plot plan application shall be required for lots containing only one single-family dwelling.

(Ord. No. 1565, §§ 1, 2, 12-15-20)

This section is reserved for future use.

(Ord. No. 1565, §§ 1, 2, 12-15-20)