Section 7.05 Design Standards for Multi-Residence (Five (5) or More Dwelling Units) and Nonresidential Development
The following design standards apply for the location and design of parking areas for multiple-family residences of five (5) or more dwelling units and all nonresidential developments:
A. Location. Required off-street parking shall be located within 300 feet of the building or use it is intended to serve, the distance being measured along a straight line from the nearest point of the building or use to the nearest point of the parking lot. Whenever the use of a separate lot or parcel is proposed for fulfillment of minimum parking requirements, the owner shall submit as a part of the application assurance satisfactory to the Zoning Administrator that the separate lot or parcel is permanently committed to parking use by enforceable legal measure.
B. Off-Street Parking. Off-street parking spaces shall be situated in a manner which will not result in automobiles backing onto a public street.
C. Covered Parking. Covered parking shall be provided according to the following requirements:
1. Multiple-residence, a minimum of one (1) covered space per unit.
2. Business and office use developments with at least ten (10) parking spaces, one (1) covered space per office suite.
D. Curbing. A six (6) inch wide by six (6) inch high curb or bumper guard shall be installed along all property lines bordering the parking and maneuvering area, excluding necessary points of ingress and egress, and shall be so located that no part of a vehicle shall extend over or beyond any property line.
E. Ingress, Egress, Internal Traffic Circulation. Off-street parking and loading facilities and pedestrian ways shall be designed so as to promote safety and convenience and so that traffic visibility is not obstructed. (See Exhibit 7.05(E).)
1. No building wall, except garage doors, may be closer than 10 feet to any internal drive aisle of any parking lot.
2. No garage doors may be closer than six (6) feet to any internal drive aisle of any parking lot.
3. Parking spaces backing into main drive aisles connecting directly to a street and drive aisles that cross such main drive aisles shall be separated at least 30 feet from the property line abutting the street.
4. Drive aisles with no direct access to a parking space must be a minimum of 20 feet wide.
F. Landscaping.
1. As indicated in Exhibit 7.05(F)(1), the perimeter of all areas of the parking lot, with the exception of necessary points of ingress and egress, shall be no closer than 10 feet from all street or alley property lines. Along interior property lines, parking spaces and drive aisles shall be set back at least five (5) feet from the property line unless approved as cross-access driveway and parking area. That unoccupied area shall be landscaped and maintained with trees, shrubs, ground cover, undisturbed natural growth, pedestrian walkways, and plazas. Selection of vegetation shall be from the low water use plant list in Section 6.09 of the Subdivision Ordinance, Table 4, Fountain Hills Plant List, and shall include a minimum of four (4) trees and twenty (20) shrubs per 100 linear feet of length.
2. In addition to the perimeter landscaping, a minimum of five percent (5%) of the interior of the parking lot must be landscaped with plantings, and one (1) tree for each ten (10) spaces shall be installed. Planting required within the parking lot is exclusive of other planting requirements, such as for shade trees planted along the street (see Exhibit 7.05(F)(2)).
3. The landscaping should be located in protected areas, such as along walkways, in center islands, at the ends of bays, or between parking stalls. All landscaping in parking areas and on the street frontage shall be placed so that it will not obstruct sight distance.
a. Landscaping materials such as walls, shrubs, and rocks shall not be taller than two (2) feet above the top of the paved parking lot surface.
b. Landscaping materials such as trees shall be trimmed so that no parts of their canopies are less than seven (7) feet above the top of the paved parking lot surface.
c. A landscape island at least five (5) feet in width shall be provided at the end of each row of parking and be landscaped with ground cover, shrubs, and trees. Parking lot light fixtures are not permitted in these islands.
4. Visibility. A five (5) foot tall clear visibility zone must be maintained between two (2) and seven (7) feet above the top of the paved parking lot surface and the bottom of tree canopies at all times as shown in Exhibit 7.05(F)(4). Any parking lot signage shall meet the requirements of this section for visibility.
5. Plant Type. A mixture of hardy flowering and/or decorative desert plants and deciduous trees may be planted. Plants that provide maximum screening at ground level up to three and one-half (3 1/2) feet should be used along the perimeter of the lot for screening, and the deciduous trees for shade within the lot. The area between trees shall be mulched, planted with shrubs or ground cover, or covered with paving material. Any area that will be under the overhang of vehicles shall be mulched or covered with paving materials.
G. Width and Number. Access to off-street parking areas from a public street shall be from a two (2) way driveway with a minimum width of 20 feet and a maximum width of 28 feet, or two (2) one (1) way driveways each with a minimum width of 12 feet and a maximum width of 15 feet. No access driveway shall be located closer than 20 feet from a street intersection or other access driveway, unless more restrictive provisions apply under Section 7.03(G)(9). No access driveway shall be located any closer than 10 feet from any property line unless a joint-use access driveway is approved by the Town Engineer.
H. Screening. Whenever a parking lot or a driveway to a parking lot is established so as to adjoin the side or abut the rear line of a lot in a residential zoning district, a solid masonry or solid material fence six (6) feet in height or of other material or height as allowed or required by the Planning and Zoning Commission (subject also to the fence height regulations established in Sections 5.08 and 5.09 of the ordinance codified in this chapter) shall be constructed and maintained along said side or rear lot line.
I. Lighting. The lighting levels used in parking lots used during hours of darkness shall not exceed five (5) foot-candles. Lighting shall be indirect, hooded and arranged so that the source of light is not directly visible from any street or adjoining property as required by Chapter 8, Outdoor Lighting Control. Light standards shall be a maximum of 20 feet in height above grade.
J. One (1) parking space for persons with disabilities shall be required for any development having twenty-five (25) or more parking spaces. Thereafter, not less than two percent (2%) of the parking spaces within a development shall be built and maintained as parking spaces for persons with disabilities.
K. In multi-residential developments tandem parking may only be used when parking spaces are assigned for each unit or for parking in addition to the required parking. In commercial developments, tandem parking may be used for full-time valet or attended parking or as approved by the Zoning Administrator, for parking in addition to the required parking. (23-05, Amended, 10/17/2023, Deleted and replaced)