Title
Amending Legislative Code Chapter 63 pertaining to off-street parking facility standards and design.
Body
WHEREAS, on March 17, 2023, the Planning Commission initiated a zoning study to consider amendments to the Zoning Code pertaining to the off-street parking facility standards and design in Section 63.300 of the Zoning Code; and
WHEREAS, the Planning Commission duly conducted a public hearing on April 28, 2023 regarding the potential amendments;
WHEREAS, in a memo dated May 26, 2023, the Comprehensive and Neighborhood Planning Committee submitted a report to the Planning Commission in which it made recommendations and provided a rationale for amending specific sections of the Zoning Code regulating parking landscaping and design; and
WHEREAS, on May 26, 2023, the Planning Commission, based upon the Comprehensive and Neighborhood Planning Committee’s report and all the testimony received from the April 28, 2023 public hearing, duly submitted its recommendation to amend certain sections of the Zoning Code regulating parking landscaping and design to the Mayor and City Council for its review and consideration; and
WHEREAS, a public hearing before the City Council having been duly conducted at which all interested parties were given an opportunity to be heard, and having considered all the testimony and recommendations concerning the proposed zoning text amendments, including the Planning Commission’s minutes and the Comprehensive and Neighborhood Planning Committee’s memorandum and their rationale for the recommended Zoning Code amendments which the Council finds persuasive and thus hereby incorporates by reference into this ordinance for the specific purpose of articulating the Council’s reasons and rationale for enacting the recommended amendments as set forth below in Section 1, in addition to any other reasons the Council might articulate on the record in adopting these amendments the Council, having considered all the facts and recommendations concerning the proposed zoning amendments and pursuant to the authority granted by and in accordance with the procedures set forth in Minnesota Statutes Sec. 462.357 states as follows:
THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SAINT PAUL DOES ORDAIN:
SECTION 1
Chapter 63 of the Saint Paul Legislative Code is hereby amended to read as follows: Existing language to be deleted shown by strikeout. New language to be added shown by underlining.
Chapter 63. Zoning Code - Regulations of General Applicability
ARTICLE III. 60.300. OFF-STREET PARKING FACILITY STANDARDS AND DESIGN
Sec. 63.314. Landscaping.
For any parking facility, other than structured parking, landscaping shallmust be provided to buffer the facility from adjacent properties and from the public right-of-way; reduce the visual glare and heat effects of large expanses of pavement; and provide areas for the retention and absorption of stormwater runoff. All required yards setbacks and any undeveloped underdeveloped space shallmust be landscaped using materials such as trees, shrubs, sod, groundcover plants, or stormwater landscaping as required in section 63.319, stormwater runoff, and defined in section 60.213. Any landscaped area shallmust be planted and maintained in accordance with section 63.115, Landscaping and plant materials.
All parking and loading areas (including drive-through facilities, outdoor auto sales and rental, pump island service areas and stacking spaces) adjoining public streets or sidewalks with more than twenty (20) parking spaces shallmust provide:
(a) Perimeter landscape. A landscaped yard at least four (4) feet wide along the public street or sidewalk. If vehicles overhang the yard, an additional three (3) feet of width shall be provided.
(b) Screening landscape. In all districts except industrial districts, screening shall be provided consisting of a masonry wall or decorative fence (not including chain link) supplemented with landscape material, forming a screen a minimum of three (3) feet in height, a maximum of four and one-half (4½) feet in height not including trees, and not less than fifty (50) percent opaque.
(ca) Interior landscape. Parking facilities with more than twenty (20) parking spaces or six thousand (6,000) square feet of paving, whichever is less, shallmust provide fifteen (15) square feet of interior landscaped area for every one hundred (100) square feet of paving. Interior landscaping may not substitute for perimeter landscaping (if applicable, see below), but may join perimeter landscaping as long as it extends at least four (4) feet into the parking area from the perimeter landscape line.
(db) Tree plantings. A minimum of at least one (1) shade tree shallmust be planted for every five (5) parking spaces in a surface parking lot. Trees shallmust be planted within the perimeter landscaping (if applicable, see below) and any required interior landscaping. Each tree shallmust be planted in landscaped areas or in the center of unpaved tree wells of at least three (3) feet in soil depth and one hundred (100) square feet in area as measured from the interior edge of curbing or paving, with a minimum dimension of four (4) feet wide. A soil volume of greater than five hundred (500) cubic feet per tree with a minimum planting dimension of eight (8) feet is recommended for improved tree health and survival.
(e) Internal walkways. Parking facilities with more than two hundred fifty (250) parking spaces one hundred twenty-five thousand (125,000) square feet of paved area shallmust provide internal walkways that divide the parking lot into smaller areas no greater than one hundred fifty (150) parking spaces. fifty-five thousand (55,000) square feet. Internal walkways shallmust be a minimum width of five (5) four (4) feet and must should connect primary buildings on the site with access to parking areas, and the public sidewalk system on adjacent street, and transit stations, if applicable. With the exception of walkway/driveway crossings, walkways must should be separated from vehicle parking or maneuvering areas by grade, different paving material, low maintenance surface materials such as pavers, bricks, or scored concrete, other markings, weather protection features such as awnings or arcades, and/or landscaping. Internal sidewalks must shall meet the requirements of applicable accessibility standards and other design and construction standards adopted by the city.
All parking and loading areas adjoining public streets or sidewalks, regardless of size, must provide:
(c) Perimeter landscape. A landscaped yard at least four (4) feet wide along the public street or sidewalk. If vehicles overhang the yard, an additional three (3) feet of width must be provided. Internal walkways may interrupt perimeter landscape areas to connect to the public sidewalk system, if applicable.
(d) Screening landscape. In all districts except industrial districts, screening must be provided consisting of a masonry wall or decorative fence (not including chain link) supplemented with landscape material, forming a screen a minimum of three (3) feet in height, a maximum of four and one-half (4½) feet in height not including trees, and not less than fifty (50) percent opaque.
(e) Internal walkways. Internal walkways must be provided in parking facilities with more than two hundred fifty (250) parking spaces. Walkways must divide the parking lot into smaller areas no greater than one hundred fifty (150) parking spaces. Walkways must be a minimum width of five (5) feet and must connect primary buildings on the site with access to parking areas, the public sidewalk system on adjacent streets, and transit stations, if applicable. With the exception of walkway/driveway crossings, walkways must be separated from vehicle parking or maneuvering areas by grade, low maintenance surface materials such as pavers, bricks, or scored concrete, other markings, weather protection features such as awnings or arcades, and/or landscaping. Internal sidewalks must meet the requirements of applicable accessibility standards and other design and construction standards adopted by the city.
SECTION 2
This ordinance shall become effective thirty (30) days after its passage, approval and publication.
At a meeting of the City Council on July 12, 2023, this Ordinance was Passed.