17.36.050 Parking area design standards.
A. General Design Requirements.
1. Location of Parking. Off-street parking areas shall be located as follows:
a. Parking shall be located on the same parcel as the use served. Garage parking shall be located in compliance with the garage structure setback requirements of the applicable zoning district within which the use is located.
b. Parking for a nonresidential use may be located on a separate parcel where the review authority determines that the requirements and findings of Section 17.36.060, Shared/Joint Use and Off-Site Parking, are satisfied.
c. No parking space or aisle providing access to parking spaces shall be located in a required front setback or a street side setback of a corner lot.
d. All parking areas shall provide suitable maneuvering room so that all vehicles may enter an abutting street in a forward direction. The planning director may approve exceptions for single-family homes and other residential projects.
e. No parking space shall be located so that a vehicle will maneuver within twenty feet of a vehicular entrance measured from the face of the curb.
f. Off-street parking facilities shall be designed so that each space can function independently of any other space. Tandem parking spaces shall not be permitted.
g. Vehicle parking and access thereto shall be provided on a permanently paved surface. The planning director may approve exceptions for industrial property yard areas where an acceptable dust binder is used in conjunction with an aggregate surfacing material.
2. Driveways and Site Access. Driveways providing access from a street, alley or other public right-of-way shall be designed and constructed as follows:
a. Only one drive approach is allowed per frontage for single-family dwellings, except as provided for in subsection (A)(2)(b) of this section. Any drive approach shall require an encroachment permit issued by the city of Wasco public works department.
b. Single-family lots with street frontage of one hundred feet or greater on one street shall be eligible for two drive approaches (circular drive) with planning department approval.
c. All commercial and industrial developments shall have a drive approach a minimum of twenty feet in width with a minimum vertical clearance of fifteen feet.
d. Curb cuts for proposed development shall be limited to the extent that access is provided to the site with the minimum of ingress and egress points so as to protect the safe traffic flow of abutting streets. Unless an exception is granted by the planning commission drive access points in commercial and industrial zones shall be shared access easements unless it is not feasible to do so.
e. When deemed necessary for the traffic safety of the community, the planning director shall have the right to require as a condition of granting approval of a planning entitlement, that a parcel provide an easement for purposes of vehicular access.
3. Parking Lot Lighting.
a. Lighting shall be hooded and arranged to direct light away from adjoining properties and streets.
b. Light standards within parking lots shall be a maximum of twenty feet in height. When the parking lot abuts a residentially zoned property light standards shall not exceed fifteen feet in height.
4. Electric Vehicle Charging Facilities. Electric vehicle charging infrastructure shall be provided in required parking facilities for multifamily housing and nonresidential developments according to standards outlined by the California Green Building Standards Code. Where electric vehicle charging stations are provided in parking areas they shall follow the development standards outlined in the California Green Building Standards Code.
B. Parking Stall and Drive Aisle Dimensions.
Each parking stall, parking lot layout, and access aisle shall comply with the minimum dimension requirements in Table 3-5 and Figure 3-6.
Type of Parking Stall | Stall Width | Stall Length1 | Drive Aisle Width | Angle2 Width | Angle2 Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Parking Stall Angle | |||||
Parallel (0°) | 8 ft. | 22 ft. | 12 ft. | ||
45 Degree | 9 ft. | 18 ft. | 16 ft. | 13' 5" | 19' 8" |
60 Degree | 9 ft. | 18 ft. | 19 ft. | 11 ft. | 20' 10" |
90 Degree | 9 ft. | 20 ft. | 25 ft. | ||
Access Aisle3 | One-Way | Two-Way |
|---|---|---|
Multifamily | 12 ft. | 20 ft. |
Commercial, industrial | 12 ft. | 25 ft. |
Notes:
1With the exception of parallel parking, wheel stops or a planter curb may be provided for each parking space. The wheel stops or planter curb shall be set a minimum of twenty-four inches from the forward end of the parking stall and shall be six inches high and made of concrete. If a planter curb is used in lieu of a wheel stop, the parking stall paving may be shortened to a minimum of eighteen feet, and the planting materials contained in the area of the vehicle overhang shall be a low-growing groundcover.
2See Figure 3-6.
3Access aisle dimensions assume no parking along them.
Figure 3-6. Minimum Dimensions for Parking Lot Layouts
C. Landscape Standards for Parking Lots. Landscaping requirements outlined in this section shall be applicable to all new development and to modification and/or expansion of nonconforming lots where the modification and/or expansion equals or exceeds twenty percent of the parking lot area or square footage of structures served by the parking lot.
1. Landscape Coverage. A minimum of five percent of the parking lot shall be landscaped and maintained. This landscaping shall be in addition to any other landscaping required pursuant to this division.
2. Trees. Trees shall be planted and maintained in all parking lots at a ratio of at least one tree per ten parking spaces. Trees shall be of a variety that provides a wide canopy, subject to review and approval of the planning director. All newly planted trees shall be a minimum fifteen-gallon size with a one-inch diameter at breast height.
3. Location of Landscaping. Planting areas shall be evenly distributed as possible throughout the entire parking area. A landscaped planter of at least eighty square feet shall be provided at least every ten parking spaces and at the end of parking rows.
4. Perimeter Parking Lot Landscaping.
a. Adjacent to Streets. Where parking areas adjoin a public right-of-way, a ten-foot wide landscape planter strip shall be established and continuously maintained between the public right-of-way and the parking area.
b. Adjacent to Residentially Zoned Property. Where parking areas for nonresidential uses abut property zoned for residential use, a landscaped buffer strip with a minimum width of five feet shall be provided between the parking area and the common property line bordering the residential zone. In addition, a six-foot high solid masonry wall shall be constructed along the common property line bordering the residential zone, subject to review and approval of the planning director.
5. Parking Lot Landscape Plan Approval. Proposed parking lot landscaping as required by this section shall be reviewed and approved by the planning director through a site plan review process. Plans shall include a variety of plant materials with an emphasis on drought-tolerant species. (Ord. 706 §3 (Exh. A), 2019).