14-15-106 OFF-STREET PARKING - LAYOUT

A. Surface Parking Design. 1. Five percent (5%) of the gross parking surface area shall be of dispersed interior landscaping, designed so as to reduce the Aheat island@ effect and to enhance the aesthetics of a parking area. The following are acceptable interior landscaping designs. See Figure 14-15-106 (conceptual parking layout). a. Five (5) feet by five (5) feet tree diamonds placed not more than six (6) parking spaces apart and located at the intersection of parking space striping. Tree diamonds shall be used only with ninety (90) degree parking spaces. b. Minimum five (5) foot wide landscaped medians with trees planted forty (40) feet apart; or c. Other similar designs that disperse landscaping throughout a parking area, to be determined by the Planning Commission. 2. Parking areas should be buffered from adjacent residential property and screened from streets so automobiles are not visible below the average headlight height. Screening methods may include landscaped berms, low walls and hedges. 3. Access drives, internal circulation drives, parking areas, and pedestrian walkways shall be designed to provide safety and convenience for both motorists and pedestrians and to ensure access for the physically disabled. Areas where pedestrian walkways cross driveways shall be constructed of stamped and/or raised concrete, or of other material and design so as to differentiate the area as a pedestrian/vehicle interface. 4. In projects greater than 1 acre, every parking space should be no greater than one hundred fifty (150) feet from a sidewalk leading to a building entrance. In projects less than 1 acre, every stall should be within fifty (50) feet of a sidewalk leading to building entrance. 5. Joint use of parking is encouraged in order to reduce trips. Access to, and the location of, new parking areas should relate to adopted area plans, planned parking in the area, or to existing area parking schemes. The Planning Commission may increase or reduce the minimum required number of parking spaces required in Title 14 Chapter 18 based on City approved parking studies. 6. The number of curb cuts (street accesses) should be minimized and pedestrian access enhanced. 7. Site lighting should be aesthetically attractive, of pedestrian scale, and provide pedestrians with a sense of security. 8. All sites shall meet the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). B. Overall Design Concepts. 1. Parking lot design shall consider development on adjacent sites. The City may require cross access connections/easements to improve traffic circulation and to enhance public safety. 2. Traffic circulation patterns should direct commercial traffic onto arterial streets and not local/neighborhood streets. Multiple-family residential traffic should be directed onto collector streets. The City may deny access onto a local/residential street if access to a collector or arterial street is available. 3. A site plan should include landscaped buffers that separate pedestrian and vehicular traffic.