19920428 1992-10ORDINANCE NO. 199~-10
AN ORDINANCE TO AMEND SECTIONS 26-39.1 (c), 26-39.3, 26-39.4 (a)(2),
(a)(4) AND (b)(3)j, AND 26-39.7, DIVISION 6 ARTICLE II, CHAPTER 26 OF
THE CODE OF THE CITY OF FAIRFAX, VIRGINIA PERTAINING TO OFF-
SITE PARKING, THE ESTABLISHMENT OF PARKING DISTRICTS,
PARKING STANDARDS FOR USES LOCATED WITHIN PORTIONS OF
OLD TOWN FAIRFAX, THE METHOD FOR ROUNDING FRACTIONAL
SPACES, PARKING STANDARDS FOR MEDICAL USES, AND SPECIAL
EXCEPTIONS; AND AMENDING SECTION 26-39.4 (b) BY ADDING A NEW
SUBSECTION (5) PERTAINING TO PARKING REQUIREMENTS FOR
SHOPPING CENTERS AND MULTIPLE USE STRUCTURES
WHEREAS, the City seeks to encourage economic development activities that
provide desirable employment and enlarge the tax base, to protect against
destruction of or encroachment upon historic areas, to facilitate a convenient,
attractive and harmonious community, and in general promote the health,
safety and general welfare of the inhabitants of the City of Fairfax,
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED by the City Council of the City of
Fairfax, Virginia that Sections 26-39.1 (c), 26-39.3 and 26-39.4 (a)(2), (a)(4),
(b)(3)j, Division 6 Article II of Chapter 26 of the Code of the City of Fairfax,
Virginia are hereby amended to read in their entirety as follows:
Sec. 26-39.1 General Provisions
(c) Off-street parking shall be provided on the same parcel of land with
the principal use, except as modified in Section 26-39.3. However, where all of
the required parking cannot be physically located on the same parcel as the
prindpal use, or if the public safety or convenience would be better served by
the placement of the parking area on another parcel, then the zoning
administrator may approve an off-site location for as much as fifteen (15)
percent of the required parking for a use proposed to be established in an
existing building, provided that:
(1) Any such off-site parking shall be used exclusively as employee
parking for the appurtenant use, and
(2)
Such parking area shall be located on property upon which the right
to said use is established by ownership, easement, or similar
recorded covenant or agreement, the form and content of which shall
be approved by the city attorney to ensure the availability of such
spaces for so long as the use shall exist. The property owner or his
designated agent shall give written notice to the zoning
administrator within two (2) working days of any permanent or
temporary cessation of such right, and
(3)
Such parking area shall be located on property possessing the same
or greater intensity zoning district designation as the principal use,
and
(4)
Such parking area shall be located no farther than five hundred (500)
feet from the principal building entrance and shall be accessible by a
public sidewalk or other improved pedestrian accessway. The right
of said use of such accessway, if not a public sidewalk, shall be
established as set forth in subsection (2), and
1992-10 -2
(5)
Such parking area shall be conveniently accessible without causing
unreasonable hazard to pedestrian and vehicular traffic, traffic
congestion or interference with safe and convenient access to other
parking, and
(6)
Signage shall be provided at such parking location identifying the
facility which it serves. No parking space thus provided shall be
counted toward the required parking for any other business or use,
and
(7)
The person seeking such reduction shall submit to the zoning
administrator an approved site plan of the subject property together
with such additional information deemed necessary by the zoning
administrator and shall pay a fee in accordance with a schedule
established by the city council. In addition, said person shall provide
notice, by certified mail, to the owners of each property abutting or
across the street from the subject property informing them that a
request for off-site parking has been submitted and will be
considered by the zoning administrator for approval not less than ten
(10) working days after the mailing of such notice, and shall provide
the certified mail receipts to the zoning administrator. If the property
abutting or across the street from the subject property is of
condominium ownership, then notification sent to the condominium
association shall be sufficient to satisfy this provision.
An action of the zoning administrator to approve or deny a request for off-site
parking pursuant to this subsection may be appealed to the Board of Zoning
Appeals pursuant to the procedural and substantive requirements of Sec. 26-
222 et seq.
Sec. 26-39.3 Off street parking in Old Town Fairfax.
Due to the unique patterns of development and parking characteristics of
land uses located in portions of Old Town Fairfax (the combined area of the
Old Town Fairfax Historic and Transition Overlay Districts), there is hereby
established two parking districts within which the provisions contained in
this section shall apply, notwithstanding any provision of this chapter to the
contrary.
(a) Parking District A shall consist of the area bounded on the west by
Chain Bridge Road, on the east by East Street, on the north by North Street
and on the south by Sager Avenue containing four (4) blocks, together with
the area bounded on the north and west by North Street, on the east by Chain
Bridge Road, and on the south by Main Street containing one (1) block.
Within Parking District A, there shall be no off-street parking and loading
requirements.
(b) Parking District B shall consist of the area not included in Parking
District A which area is located within the Old Town Fairfax Historic District,
together with the area contained within the Old Town Fairfax Transition
Overlay District.
(1) Off-street parking spaces for uses located within Parking District B
shall be provided in accordance with the following standards:
1992-10 -3
(2)
(3)
Financial institution: One space for every three hundred (300)
square feet of gross floor area, plus stacking spaces for drive -in
windows as prescribed in Section 26-39.4(b)(3)f.
b. Office or office building: One space for every three hundred
(300) square feet of gross floor area.
Personal service establishment: One space for every three
hundred (300) square feet of gross floor area, provided that no
less than three (3) spaces shall be provided.
do
Restaurant: Restaurants located in Parking District B within five
hundred (500) feet of a public parking lot or structure shall
provide one space for every three hundred (300) square feet of
gross floor area; all other restaurants shall provide parking as
required by Section 26-39.4 (b).
e. Retail sales establishment: One space for every three hundred
(300) square feet of gross floor area.
f. All other uses: As required by Section 26-39.4 (b).
Seasonal outdoor dining areas that are appurtenant to restaurants or
refreshment areas located in Parking District B shall require no
parking in addition to the existing restaurant or refreshment area
parking. However, such outdoor dining area shall not increase the
seating capacity of the restaurant or refreshment area by more than
twenty-five (25) percent, or seat more than twelve (12) persons,
whichever is greater, without providing the requisite parking for the
additional patrons as specified in this section and in Sec. 26-39.4
(b)(3)n.
Off-site parking for uses located within Parking District B shall be
permitted as specified in Section 26-39.1 (c), with the following
modifications:
a. The off-site parking may accommodate as much as fifty (50)
percent of the required parking, and
b. Such off-site parking shall not be limited to employee parking.
Sec. 26-39.4
(a)(2)
(a)(4)
Required off-street parking area
Where the calculation of parking area requirements results in a
fraction of a space, the number of parking spaces required shall be
the next highest integer if the resultant fraction is .5 or greater. No
such additional increment shall be required if the resultant fraction
is less than .5.
The minimum parking required for multiple uses situated within the
same structure or otherwise located on the same lot shall be the sum
of the spaces required for each individual use, except as provided
for in Sec. 26-39.4(b)(5).
1992-10 -4
(b)(3)j.
Medical or dental office or clinic: One space for every two hundred
(200) square feet of gross floor area; provided, however, that any
such use proposed to be established in an office building that was
constructed prior to August 27, 1985, or for which a site plan was
approved on or before August 27, 1985, shall be required to provide
only the amount of parking required prior to such date.
BE IT FURTHER ORDAINED that Section 26-39.4 (b) is amended to add
thereto a new subsection (5) to read as follows:
(5) Shopping centers and multiple use developments:
Shopping centers and multiple use developments shall provide off-
street parking equivalent to the sum of the required parking of the
individual uses located therein. For the purpose of this division, a
multiple use development shall be the development of a parcel of
land or building with two (2) or more different uses, including but
not limited to residential, retail, restaurant or office uses. In
conformance with the criteria listed below, the zoning administrator
may permit up to a ten (10) percent reduction in the number of
required off-street parking spaces in such development. The person
seeking such reduction shall submit a parking study in a form
acceptable to the zoning administrator that identifies the proposed
uses to be located in such development and the parking generation
characteristics thereof, and shall pay a fee in accordance with a
schedule established by the city council. In addition, said person
shall provide notice, by certified mail, to the owners of each property
abutting or across the street from the subject property informing
them that a request for such a reduction has been submitted and will
be considered by the zoning administrator for approval not less than
ten (10) working days after the mailing of such notice, and shall
provide the certified mail receipts to the zoning administrator. If the
property abutting or across the street from the subject property is of
condominium ownership, then notification sent to the condominium
association shall be sufficient to satisfy this provision. The zoning
administrator shall not grant any reduction of required parking
unless the applicant has made every reasonable effort to remove or
reduce to the extent possible any parking-related nonconformities on
the site, and the parking study indicates that:
The uses within such development shall be of such a nature that
major parking demands occur on different days of the week or
during different hours and, because of alternative parking
demands, parking spaces will be generally available for each use
in accordance with the normally applicable standards, and
Any reduction in required parking will not unreasonably increase
the congestion on public streets, endanger the public safety,
diminish or impair established property values in the
surrounding area, or in any other respect impair the health,
safety, comfort and welfare of the inhabitants of the City, and
Any reduction of required parking granted under these
provisions shall remain effective only so long as the total parking
requirements applicable to all uses within the development do
not exceed those existing at the time of granting the reduction.
1992-10 -5
Any increase in total off-street parking required by this division
whether by virtue of a change of use or an increase in building
capacity shall invalidate the reduction granted by the zoning
administrator.
An action of the zoning administrator to approve or deny a request
for reduction of the required amount of parking pursuant to this
subsection may be appealed to the Board of Zoning Appeals
pursuant to the procedural and substantive requirements of Sec. 26-
222 et seq.
BE IT FURTHER ORDAINED that Section 26-39.7 is amended to read in its
entirety as follows:
Sec. 26-39.7 Special Exceptions
The city council may, by special exception, modify the requirements
contained in this division in accordance with the procedures and limitations
established for special use permits set forth in section 26-103. Special
exceptions shall be subject to such conditions deemed necessary by city
council to ensure compatibility with surrounding land uses and conditions.
At the time of application for a special exception, the applicant shall submit
all information deemed necessary by the zoning administrator to permit
adequate review of the application. In addition to the requirements of Section
26-103, no such modification or waiver shall be granted until the applicant
has dearly demonstrated that the request:
(a) Will not result in increased traffic congestion or otherwise negatively
impact existing traffic flow or pedestrian and vehicular safety, and
(b) Will not be contrary to the objectives specified in the Comprehensive
Plan, and
(c) Is necessary to permit the reasonable use of the subject property, and
(d) Will not adversely impact adjacent property or the surrounding area.
BE IT FURTHER ORDAINED that the remaining subsections of the sections
hereby amended shall continue to read as previously enacted.
This ordinance shall become effective as provided by law.
Planning Commission public hearing: March 9.
City Council public hearing: APri I 28, 1992
Adopted: April 28, 1992
Attest:
C Cl k
1992
~~Mayo~
Date