§ 47-20.5. General design of parking facilities.

A.

Design plan. An application for approval of a parking facility shall include a site plan prepared by a licensed architect, licensed landscape architect or licensed engineer. The site plan shall show plans drawn to an accurate scale and dimension (minimum one (1) inch equals thirty (30) feet) and shall show the layout of the area, including entrances and exits, all sight triangles and supporting calculations, drainage provisions and supporting calculations, signs and pavement markings, surfacing, curbs or barriers and location and type of landscaping, and a table showing how the proposed parking area meets the minimum requirements in this section.

B.

Access to and from parking facilities.

1.

Entry and exit to and from off-street parking facilities and spaces, circulation within off-street parking facilities, and exit from off-street parking facilities shall conform with engineering standards which assure the safety and convenience of pedestrians and motorists.

2.

Entries and exits must be from or to an improved right-of-way a minimum of twenty (20) feet in width or an improved right-of-way designated by the city as one-way. For purposes of this section, "improved" shall mean paved and provided with drainage in accordance with engineering standards as defined in Section 47-35, Definitions.

3.

Entrances and exits.

a.

General. The location, size and number of entrances and exits shall conform with engineering standards which assure avoidance of congestion, confusion and conflicts between pedestrian and vehicular traffic. The design of entrances and exits shall be coordinated with the design of the vehicular use area landscape requirements provided in Section 47-21, Landscape and Tree Preservation Requirements.

b.

Exclusive use parking. When a parcel is to be zoned to exclusive use, all entrances and exits to the parking facility shall be located on property designated for commercial use by the LUP, except where the city engineer determines that access from the commercial parcel is undesirable or unsafe, or an existing structure prevents access, or the commercial parcel is not under common ownership with the exclusive use parcel. If the entry or exit must be located on the parcel designated for residential use by the LUP based on one (1) of the reasons identified above, then the driveway must be located as near to the commercial parcel as possible while ensuring safety, and signs may be required which direct traffic away from surrounding residential neighborhoods.

4.

All vehicular use areas shall be designed to meet the requirements of the Florida Building Code (Broward County Edition).

C.

Site circulation.

1.

If use of the parking area requires access or maneuvering on property other than the parcel where the parking area is located, a permanent cross-access easement over the other property must be provided to the city, approved as to form by the city attorney and recorded in the public records of the county at the expense of the applicant.

2.

Internal circulation within the parking area must be maintained on site and shall not be blocked by parking spaces.

3.

On-site access drives that do not directly abut parking spaces shall be provided as follows:

a.

For two-way travel:

i.

For all development except for multi-family, townhouse, or cluster development:

A minimum of twenty (20) feet in width shall be provided, except as provided in c. below, and sections of the two-way access drive may be reduced to eighteen (18) feet in width if necessary to preserve an existing tree classified as C or higher with a minimum diameter measurement of eight (8) inches as determined by the City Landscape Inspector.

ii.

For multi-family, townhouse, or cluster development:

Eighteen (18) feet in width shall be provided except as provided in c. below and sections of the two-way access drive may be increased to twenty (20) feet in width if necessary to provide adequate and safe vehicular circulation as determined by the city engineer. Access drives may be increased to twenty-four (24) feet where the drive is perpendicular to another access drive and requires additional width sufficient to maintain a safe turning radius as determined by the city engineer.

b.

For one-way travel:

i.

For all development except for multi-family, townhouse, or cluster development:

A minimum of twelve (12) feet in width shall be provided, except as provided in c. below. Sections of the one-way access drive may be referenced to ten (10) feet in width if necessary to preserve an existing tree classified as C or higher with a minimum diameter measurement of eight (8) inches as determined by the City Landscape Inspector.

ii.

For multi-family, townhouse, or cluster development:

Ten (10) feet in width shall be provided except as provided in c. below and sections of the one-way access drive may be increased to twelve (12) feet in width if necessary to provide adequate and safe vehicular circulation as determined by the city engineer.

c.

Access drives for one- or two-way travel:

May be reduced to no less than ten (10) feet in width for access to ten (10) parking spaces or less, if:

a)

necessary to preserve an existing tree classified as C or higher by the City Landscape Inspector; with a minimum diameter measurement of eight (8) inches, or

b)

There is an existing principal building proposed to be used, and requiring a wider drive would necessitate removal of a portion of such existing building.

4.

Dead-end parking areas shall be prohibited, except where the number of parking spaces in the dead end area is less than twenty-one (21) and a turnaround area is provided which will accommodate a two (2) point turn around by a standard passenger car or where the number of parking spaces in the dead end is ten (10) or less (AASHTO "P" Design Vehicle).

5.

A sight triangle shall be provided in a parking area that abuts the intersection of two (2) streets or where a street intersects with a driveway on the parking area.

6.

Minimum stacking distance. Adequate stacking distance shall be required for both inbound and outbound vehicles to facilitate the safe and efficient movement between the public right-of-way and the development. An inbound stacking area shall be of sufficient size to insure that vehicles will not obstruct the adjacent roadway, the sidewalk and the circulation within the facility. An outbound stacking area shall be required to eliminate backup and delay of vehicles within the development. The minimum number of stacking spaces shall be provided on site inclusive of the vehicle being served as applicable, except as provided for outbound vehicles.

a.

Design. A stacking area shall be designed to include a space of twelve (12) feet wide by twenty-two (22) feet long for each vehicle to be accommodated within the stacking area and so that vehicles within the stacking area do not block parking stalls, parking aisles or driveways of off-street parking facilities.

b.

Adjacent to non-trafficway. All off-street parking facilities shall provide a stacking area at the point(s) of connection of a driveway with a public right-of-way. The stacking area for any residential use other than single family detached, shall accommodate at least one percent (1%) of the number of parking stalls served by the driveway up to a maximum of five (5) spaces. For parking lots with fewer than one hundred (100) cars, the stacking area shall be able to accommodate a minimum of one (1) car.

c.

Adjacent to trafficway. The number of vehicles required to be accommodated within a stacking area adjacent to a trafficway shall be in conformance with the stacking requirements as follows:

Type of Parking Facility	Inbound Vehicles	Outbound Vehicles
Residential: Attendant parking	10% of the total parking capacity of the facility up to a maximum of 5 spaces	1 space
Self-parking (residential)	2 spaces or 1% of the total parking capacity, whichever is greater, up to a maximum of 5 spaces	1 space
Gatehouse (residential): Attended	5 spaces	1 space
Nonresidential: Attendant parking	10% of the total parking capacity of the facility, up to a maximum of 8 spaces	1 space
Self-parking (nonresidential)	2 spaces or 1% of the total parking capacity, whichever is greater, up to a maximum of 5 spaces	1 space
Ticket gate (ticket dispensing machine)	3 spaces minimum	1 space
Cashier booth (tickets dispensed manually)	5 spaces	minimum 1 space
Gatehouse (commercial): Attended	5 spaces or 1% of the total parking capacity, whichever is greater, up to a maximum of 8 spaces	2 spaces

 

 

d.

For a development which generates less than five hundred (500) trips per day, a lesser number of stacking spaces may be authorized by the reviewing authority based on a traffic impact statement prepared by a licensed engineer, architect or landscape architect or American Institute of Certified Planners certified planner which indicates that characteristics of the proposed use or abutting right-of-way support a determination that the need for stacking spaces is less than that required by the ULDR. These characteristics may include, but are not limited to, the following:

i.

A deceleration lane will be located at the driveway, or

ii.

The peak hour directional traffic volumes on the abutting right-of-way do not coincide or conflict with peak hour usage on the site, or

iii.

Characteristics of the proposed use such as low traffic generation or low turnover of parking spaces support a finding that the number of stacking spaces provided will be sufficient to protect the safety of those traveling on and off site.

D.

Drive aisles.

1.

Duplex. All duplex units shall have frontage on a street or paved driveway serving the units. Vehicular access for parking shall be from public streets. An easement, satisfactory to the city attorney, shall be granted over the driveway for all public utilities and for use by both unit owners when one (1) single driveway for both units is to be utilized. The easement shall be recorded in the public records of the county at applicant's expense and a copy filed with the department. For dimensional requirements, refer to Section 47-20.5.C.3.

2.

Townhouses. All units in a group of townhouses shall have frontage on a street or paved driveway serving the group. Such private driveway shall be ten (10) feet in width and may be increased to twelve (12) feet in width if necessary to provide adequate and safe vehicular circulation as determined by the city engineer. An easement satisfactory to the city attorney shall be granted over the driveway for all public utilities and for use by all owners of units within the group. The easement shall be recorded in the public records of the county at applicant's expense and a copy filed with the department. For dimensional requirements, refer to Section 47-20.5.C.3.

E.

Parking facility on a waterway. All parking facilities located on a waterway shall meet the requirements of and be approved in accordance with the provisions of Section 47-23.8, Waterway Uses, except parking facilities located within the Downtown RAC districts. Parking facilities on the New River within the RAC districts shall meet the requirements provided in Section 47-13, Downtown RAC Districts.

(Ord. No. C-97-19, § 1(47-20.5), 6-18-97; Ord. No. C-98-3, § 1, 1-21-98; Ord. No. C-00-65, § 6, 11-7-00; Ord. No. C-03-23, § 2, 7-1-03 ; Ord. No. C-04-3, § 4, 2-3-04; Ord. No. C-08-54, § 3, 12-2-08)