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INFORMAL REPORT TO CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS No. 9464
January 31, 2012
To the Mayor and Members of the City Council
Page 1 of 1
SUBJECT: PARKING REGULATIONS IN THE ZONING ORDINANCE AND
CONSIDERATION OF POTENTIAL AMENDMENTS
The purpose of this Informal Report is to information
concerning the current parking regulations and potential amendments to update the regulations.
The parking regulations were last reviewed by a Commercial Zoning Task Force established by the Zoning
Commission in 2006, as part of a larger project to review appropriate uses and development standards in
commercial zoning classifications. The review also included reconsideration of some commercial u as
neighborhood or general commercial that resulted in an August 2006 amendment to the nonresidential
land use chart to reclassify certain uses (Ordinance No. 17093).
One of the outcomes of the Task Force was the determination thata minimum parking requirement was
not necessary for nonresidential uses that would not affect residential areas.
operators explained that the market would determine the parking need. The
business owner/operator would be sensitive ters can get
to their business.
The Task Force recommended a minimum parking standard for those commercial areas near resid
areas. Ordinance No. 17024, approved in June 2006, requires that any nonresidential use within 250 feet
of one or two-family zoned property provide parking spaces based on the ratio in the Zoning Ordinanc
the use. The intent was to ensure that the business operator provide al
customers without any spill over or usage of residential streets for business parking. A maximum number
of parking spaces is applied citywide based on each use to avoid over-parking, with additional tree
planting required to mitigate extra spaces.
After a review of the parking standards by staff, a few potential amendments have been identified:
1. Remove required parking when an adjacent one or two-family residential district does not and will
not include residential uses (e.g. the Trinity River, parks, utility and drainage easements, railroads,
etc.).
2. Add standards for parking for gathering facilities with no permanent seating, e.g. and
community halls. These uses typically generate large parking demands that the cur
do not address.
3. Add standards for parking for automatic car washes that are not full service. New technology
allows car washes and drying to be computer-driven with self-service vacuums, which require
minimal staffing.
Staff will pursue any or all of these potential amendments if rety Council.
If you have any questions, please contact Randle Harwood, Planning and Development Director
.
Tom Higgins
City Manager
ISSUED BY THE CITY MANAGER FORT WORTH, TEXAS