Chapter 148 SUBDIVISION AND LAND DEVELOPMENT. (updated 7-28-08)

Section 148-48 PARKING AREAS.

A.  Off-street parking areas shall be oriented to the buildings they are designed to serve and shall be within a reasonable walking distance.  Parking areas shall be set back a minimum of five (5) feet from any building or structure.  This setback area may be used for sidewalks or landscaping. All parking areas and access aisles shall be paved.

B.  The access to off-street parking areas shall be designed so as not to obstruct the free flow of street traffic.  There shall be adequate provision for ingress and egress to ensure ease of mobility, ample clearance and the safety of vehicles and pedestrians.  For corner lots, the distance from the center line of the parking lot entrance to the curbline or pavement edge of the street intersection shall be adequate to, in the opinion of the town, provide a safe and sufficient margin for normal traffic patterns and pedestrians at or about the intersection in question.

C.  Width of aisles.

1.  The width of all interior parking lot aisles providing direct one-way access to individual parking spaces shall be as follows:

               Parking Angle                                                       Aisle Width

                 (degrees)                                                                   (feet)

                    30                                                                              12

                    45                                                                              15

                    60                                                                              18

                    90                                                                              24

2.  The minimum width of all interior parking lot aisles designed for two-way traffic flow shall be twenty (20) feet.

D.  Interior parking lot landscaping.

1. Parking areas shall be suitably landscaped to minimize noise, glare and heat.  Large parking areas shall be broken down into sections appropriate for the type and size of the development.  Sections shall be separated by landscaped dividing strips, berms or similar features.  The landscaped areas shall be reasonably dispersed throughout parking areas.

2. Parking lots of fifteen (15) or more spaces shall have a total interior landscaped area of not less than five percent (5%) of the total area of the parking lot.  Parking lot landscaped areas shall be more than five (5) feet from any principal structure.

3. The primary landscaping materials to be used in parking lots shall be shade trees.  Shrubs and other plants may be used to complement the tree landscaping, but shall not constitute the only landscaping.

4. The requirements for interior parking lot landscaping shall not apply to any lots used solely for the storage of vehicles or the display of vehicles for sale.  Such lots shall comply, however, to the requirements for peripheral parking lot landscaping.

E.  Peripheral parking lot landscaping.  In addition to the requirements for interior parking lot landscaping, parking areas with fifteen (15) or more parking spaces shall provide peripheral parking lot landscaping as follows:

1.  A landscaped buffer strip at least five (5) feet in width hall be located between the parking lot and each abutting property line.  A total of one (1) tree for each fifty (50) feet of landscaped buffer shall be planted.  Trees may be massed or spaced evenly.

2.  In the event that the parking lot adjoins a public street with no intervening structures, a landscaped buffer strip of at least ten (10) feet in width, which shall not include a sidewalk or other paved surface, shall be located between the parking lot and the street right-of-way.  A total of one (1) tree for each forty (40) feet of landscaped buffer shall be planted. Trees may be massed or spaced evenly.

F.   All trees planted shall be a minimum caliper of two (2) inches in diameter and shall be nursery grown.  All materials and installation shall be in accordance with the adopted Landscape Preservation and Planting Guide for the Town of Front Royal.

G.   The requirements of this section shall apply to the all new parking lots and to the enlargement of any existing lot.  The requirements shall not apply to the resurfacing of any existing parking lot.

H.   The town may, in its discretion, waive or modify the requirements for parking lot landscaped buffer strips in cases where berms, grade separation, plantings or other approved  designs provide an effective screen and do not adversely impact on adjoining properties, traffic patterns or safety.