Chapter 17 — Parking and Loading Regulations, Article 5 — PARKING AND LOADING AREA IMPROVEMENT REQUIREMENTS
Access.
All parking shall have access to a public street. All loading areas shall have access to a public street or alley.
Drainage.
Parking and loading areas shall be properly graded for drainage, and they shall be drained so as to prevent damage to abutting properties or public streets. Curbing shall be installed as required by the Director of Engineering when considered necessary for drainage.
Surfacing.
Parking and loading areas shall be surfaced with concrete, asphaltic concrete, asphalt, pavers, or other dust-free surface; provided, however, that porous pavement parking spaces may be substituted for standard dust free pavements subject to the approval of the Director of Engineering according to standards that may be adopted by the Director of Engineering. The Board of Commissioners, however, may grant a variance for standard dust free pavements if (a) the applicant is a non-profit and tax-exempt organization, (b) the parking area under consideration is only for parking that is more than the required minimum as identified by this Code, or (c) the average daily traffic (ADT) associated with the use located on the property is less than 200 vehicles per day as determined by a traffic study. The variance shall be requested by variance application meeting the requirements of section 8-6.3 and in accordance with procedures in section 8-6.4. If a variance is granted, the dust-free pavement parking area shall not exceed a four percent (4%) grade. The Director may approve a gravel parking lot if (i) the lot is to be used for the storage of vehicles or heavy equipment; or (ii) all or a portion of the lot will provide parking for agritourism (Section 15-4.1) and/or special event (Section 15-3.2) uses and the Board of Commissioners authorizes a gravel parking lot for such use. In the event only a portion of a lot would be used for agritourism or special event uses, gravel shall only be authorized for those portions that are used for agritourism or special event use. Notwithstanding the requirements of this section, excess parking for large scale retail establishments shall comply with 12-11.5(F)(4). The provision of this section shall not prevent the use of pervious parking as provided in 21-6.5(D)(3). For purposes of 17-5.3(a-c and ii), all required accessible parking spaces shall be surfaced and shall comply with all requirements of the State of Georgia, including, but not limited to location, dimensions, and identification of accessible spaces.
Striping.
All parking and loading spaces must be striped with paint lines, lined with curbstones, or otherwise permanently marked to designate the space.
Lighting.
Adequate lighting shall be provided if the facilities are to be used at night or if necessary for security purposes. See Chapter 16 for lighting requirements.
Signs.
Signs essential to the proper functioning of the parking lot and loading areas shall be installed. Such signs shall not be illuminated, shall not exceed four feet in area, or nine feet in height.
Landscaping.
For all parking lots, a ten (10) feet wide strip of land along the entire front perimeter of the site, located between the front property line and any vehicular use area, shall be landscaped. Any appropriately located landscaped or buffered areas, required by this Code, or other codes, can be counted toward this requirement,
Applicants may opt to provide an additional five (5) feet to the landscape strip [for a total of fifteen (15) feet] in lieu of the aforementioned features.