18.83.020 Applicability of regulations
18.83.030 Parking assessment districts and areas
18.83.050 Schedule of off-street parking, loading and bicycle facility requirements
18.83.060 Design standards: Purpose
18.83.070 Design standards: Accessible parking
18.83.080 Design standards: Bicycle parking facilities
18.83.090 Design standards: General parking facilities
18.83.100 Design standards: Landscaping in Parking Facilities and Required Landscaped Areas
18.83.110 Design standards: Other
18.83.120 Adjustments to requirements by the director of planning and community environment
18.83.130 Adjustments to requirements in Parking Assessment Areas by the zoning administrator
Off-street parking, loading and bicycle facilities are required for new uses and enlargements of existing uses, proportional to the need created by each use, in order to alleviate traffic congestion. Development regulations and design standards are intended to ensure the usefulness of parking, loading, and bicycle facilities, protect the public safety, and, where appropriate, to mitigate potential adverse impacts on adjacent land uses.
For purposes of this chapter:
(a) "Parking assessment areas" means either:
(b) "Construction of floor area" means the construction or building of "floor area" as that phrase is defined and used in Title 16 of this code except for new floor area added to an existing, restored, or partially reconstructed building to meet the minimum requirements of federal, state or local laws relating to fire prevention and safety, handicapped access, and building and seismic safety;
(c) "Design approval" means approval pursuant to Chapter 16.48 by the director of planning and community environment upon recommendation of the architectural review board of the design of a project as distinguished from either preliminary review applications or later minor approvals and recommendations for landscaping and design details;
(d) Within the downtown parking assessment area, "exempt floor area" means all or a portion of that floor area of a building which is located at nearest grade and which does not exceed a floor area ratio of 1.0 to 1.0;
(e) Within the California Avenue area parking assessment district, "exempt floor area" means either: (1) all or a portion of that floor area of a building which is located at or nearest grade and which does not exceed a floor area ratio of 0.5 to 1.0 or (2) the amount of floor area shown on the 1983-84 California Avenue area assessment district rolls in the engineer's report for bonds issued pursuant to Title 13 of the municipal code, whichever is greater;
(f) "Accessible" means the ability to be used by persons with disabilities as defined in the Americans with disabilities Act of 1990.
18.83.020 Applicability of regulations.
The regulations of this chapter shall be applicable to each district established by this title.
18.83.030 Parking assessment districts and areas.
(a) Except as provided in subparagraph (b) below, within any parking assessment district established by the city for the purpose of providing off-street parking facilities, all or a portion of the off-street parking requirement for a use may be satisfied by payment of assessments or fees levied by such district on the basis of parking spaces required but not provided.
(b) Unless a project for the construction of floor area has received design approval prior to December 19, 1983, or has undergone preliminary review pursuant to Chapter 16.48 on December 1st or 15th, 1983, the only portion of off-street parking required for construction of floor area in a parking assessment area which may be satisfied by payment of assessments or levies made within such area on the basis of parking spaces required but not provided, is that portion of the parking requirements associated with the uses proposed to be conducted in that area of the floor equal to the exempt floor area for the site. Where only a portion of floor area constitutes exempt floor area, and uses with more than one parking standard as required by this chapter are proposed for said floor, the use on that portion of the floor which generates the highest parking requirement will be designated as the exempt floor area.
All other required off-street parking, which is not satisfied by such payment of assessments, shall be provided in accordance with this chapter.
This subsection shall be interpreted to allow changes in the use of all exempt floor area and nonexempt floor area existing as of February 16, 1984 without requiring additional parking; provided, that the change in use does not consist of a change from residential to nonresidential, or an increase in actual floor area which does not constitute exempt floor area.
No project which has received design approval prior to December 19, 1993, or which has undergone preliminary review on December 1st of 15th, 1983, shall increase the amount of floor area approved or reviewed or decrease the area designed or intended for parking without meeting the requirements of this chapter.
(a) Off -street parking, loading and bicycle facilities shall be provided for any new building constructed and for any new use established, for any addition or enlargement of an existing building or use, and for any change in the occupancy of any building or the manner in which any use is conducted that would result in additional spaces being required, subject to the provisions of this chapter.
(b) No use of land lawfully existing on July 20, 1978 is nonconforming solely because of the lack of off-street parking, loading, or bicycle facilities prescribed in this chapter; provided, that facilities being used for off-street parking on July 20, 1978, shall not be reduced in capacity to less than the number of spaces prescribed in this chapter or altered in design or function to less than the minimum standards prescribed in this chapter.
(c) For additions or enlargements of any existing building or use, or any change of occupancy or manner of operation that would increase the number of parking, loading or bicycle spaces required, the additional parking shall be required only for such addition, enlargement, or change and not for the entire building or use.
(d) Parking, loading or bicycle spaces required by this chapter for any building or use shall not be considered to meet the requirement for any other building or use, except where a joint facility servicing more than one building or use contains the total number of spaces required for each building or use separately, or where adjusted parking requirements for joint use parking facilities are specifically authorized pursuant to Section 18.83.120.
(e) Parking, loading or bicycle facilities required by this chapter, or provided optionally in addition to the minimum requirements prescribed by this chapter, shall conform to the design standards set forth in Sections 18.83.060 through 18.83.110.
(f) Parking, loading and bicycle facilities required by this chapter shall be maintained for the duration of the use requiring such facilities, except as authorized pursuant to Section 18.83.120.
(g) All off-street parking facilities required by this chapter shall be located on the same site as the use for which such facilities are required, except as authorized pursuant to Section 18.83.120.
(h) No use shall be required to provide more spaces than prescribed by this chapter, or prescribed by the director of planning and community environment in accord with this chapter, or prescribed by any conditional use permit, variance, or planned community district. Where additional spaces are provided, such spaces may be considered as meeting the requirements for another use, subject to Section 18.83.120 and 18.83.130.