BELFAST CITY COUNCIL

AUGUST 18, 2009

SECOND READING & PUBLIC HEARING

 PROPOSED AMENDMENTS

CITY CODE of ORDINANCES

CHAPTER 98, TECHNICAL STANDARDS  

NOTES TO READER: 

NOTE # 1:  The Council considered the Introduction of this proposed amendment at its meeting of July 7, 2009, and conducted the First Reading of said amendment at its meeting of July 21, 2009.  The Council, at its meeting of July 21^st, scheduled the amendment for Second Reading and public hearing at its meeting of August 18, 2009. The amendment identifies a proposed change to the parking standard identified in the City Code of Ordinances, Chapter 98, Technical Standards, for sit-down restaurants.  No other change is proposed.    

NOTE # 2:  NEW LANGUAGE is shown in bold, italics and red font.  LANUAGE TO BE DELETED is shown in bold and strike-through font.  All other language is existing language in the Ordinance that is not affected by the proposed amendment.   

TEXT OF PROPOSED AMENDMENTS 

CITY CODE OF ORDINANCES

CHAPTER 98, TECHNICAL STANDARDS 

ARTICLE VIII. PARKING AND LOADING FACILITIES

98-242. Off-Street Parking Requirements.    

(a)     Off-street parking space required.  No use of premises shall be allowed, changed or expanded and no structure shall be constructed or enlarged unless adequate off-street parking, including handicapped parking, is provided and maintained.   

(b)     Amount of Parking Required.  An appropriate amount of off-street parking spaces, including handicapped parking spaces (reference 98-243 for these standards), shall be required for each principal and accessory use located on a parcel.  The following table entitled ‘Schedule of Required Off-Street Parking’ (hereinafter, the Schedule), shall serve as a guideline in establishing the minimum amount of parking which must be provided for a use, and also the maximum amount of parking which shall be allowed.  If a specific use is not listed or is dissimilar to a use listed in the Schedule, the Planning Board is authorized to determine an appropriate amount of parking.  

      In determining the minimum amount of parking, any fraction shall be rounded up to the nearest whole number.  In determining the maximum amount of parking allowed, multiply the amount of parking identified in the Schedule by 1.20. 

(c)     Planning Board Use of the Schedule and Ability to Adjust Amount of Parking.  The Planning Board may adjust the amount of parking identified in the Schedule based on factors such as following: 

1.  The Schedule identifies parking requirements for many uses, the City, however, recognizes that some uses are not listed in the Schedule.  As such, the Planning Board may determine that a specific use has specific parking demands and shall consult the most current edition of the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) Parking Generation manual to assist in determining the amount of parking required. 

2.  The Planning Board may use information, such as the following, to allow an increase or decrease in the amount of parking identified in the Schedule:

a.   A parking demand analysis prepared by the applicant that is based on at least 2 comparable sites in Maine for a comparable type of business.  The analysis must compare parking demands for differing days and times of week.  The Board may engage the services of an engineering firm to review this analysis. 

b.   Information from the ITE manual.

c.   Information from another qualified industry source, such as but not limited to information provided by a company that has identified its parking demands for comparable facilities.  The Board may engage the services of an engineering firm to review this information.   

The City, in granting the Planning Board the authority to adjust on-site parking requirements, recognizes that the ITE manual that is used to identify parking requirements is often based on a limited number or variety of analyses of parking demands for specific uses.  For example, the parking studies listed in the ITE manual are often based on 3 or fewer studies, the studies are for limited periods of time, the studies are for uses in communities that may be very dissimilar to Belfast, or the studies are very dated; 15 or more years old, as well as other concerns.  Thus, the City recognizes that better data could be available to assist the Planning Board in making a good decision regarding the amount of on-site parking which it should require. 

SCHEDULE OF REQUIRED OFF-STREET PARKING