Part VIII: General Development & Zoning Standards
A. The minimum number of off-street loading spaces shall be provided in accordance with the requirements of Table 21-1: Minimum Required Off-Street Loading Spaces. Nothing herein prevents the construction of additional loading spaces above the required minimums.
B. The minimum required number of off-street loading spaces may be part of a loading dock or may be freestanding.
C. No more than five loading spaces are required for any single building.
D. Loading spaces shall be required for new construction. Existing buildings without loading spaces or with fewer loading spaces than required by this section, as of the effective date of this Ordinance, are exempt from these loading space requirements.
| Table 21-1: Minimum Required Off-Street Loading Spaces | |
| Use | Minimum Number of Loading Spaces |
| Multi-Family Stacked Dwelling Development and Residential Component for Mixed-Use Development | |
| Total of 50 dwelling units or more - Calculated as the number of dwelling units total in all structures in the development | 1 loading space |
| Nonresidential Development and Nonresidential Component for Mixed-Use Development - Excluding Industrial | |
| Less than 20,000sf total Gross Floor Area (GFA) | None |
| 20,000 - 150,000sf total GFA | 1 |
| More than 150,000sf total GFA | 1 + 1 additional space for each additional 100,000sf GFA above initial 150,000sf GFA |
| Industrial Development | |
| 10,000sf and above total GFA of development | 1 |
A. A loading space shall be located on the site it serves, shall not be located within any required setback, and shall be a minimum size of 10 feet by 25 feet.
B. Any area required for maneuvering a vehicle utilizing a loading space shall be of an adequate size and design to accommodate that maneuverability entirely on the same site as the use it serves, not on any public right-of-way, network-required private street, or off-street public paths and public parks, and shall not be located within any required setback.
C. If a parcel has two or more frontages, then exterior loading spaces or driveway access to loading spaces shall not be located on a primary frontage, except as follows:
1. If a parcel with two frontages is determined to have two primary frontages per the standards of Section 3.5, the Zoning Administrator, in consultation with all the directors of affected agencies and departments, shall designate the location of exterior loading spaces or driveway access to loading spaces to minimize disruption to vehicles and pedestrians in the right-of-way.
2. If the locational requirement creates a public safety issue or impacts operations, the Zoning Administrator, in consultation with the directors of affected agencies and departments, may consider an alternative standard to minimize disruption to vehicles and pedestrians in the right-of-way.
D. Loading spaces may be located in a surface parking lot.
E. Loading spaces may be located on the exit portion of a driveway stem when the driveway has two points of ingress and egress. Loading spaces shall be located a minimum of 20 feet behind any required setback and any sidewalk or other pedestrian facilities. The requirement for two access points may be waived if the loading vehicle is able to turn around on the site.
F. Loading space design shall be shown on all site plans including, but not limited to, loading space location and dimension, clearance, driveway access to loading spaces, and maneuvering areas and access aisles.
G. Loading spaces shall not be utilized for placement or storage of any large waste or recycling containers.
LOADING SPACES ON DRIVEWAY STEM
The purpose of the solid waste and recycling service area standards is to provide safe and convenient access for users and service providers during the depositing and collection of solid waste and recyclable materials and to encourage waste reduction. Where the standards of this section for required solid waste and recycling service areas conflict with Chapter 10 of the City Code, Chapter 10 shall control. In addition to the standards below, Mecklenburg County has a separate Commercial Source Separation Ordinance, which may also apply. Nothing herein prevents the voluntary construction of solid waste service areas and/or additional solid waste service areas above the required minimums. If solid waste service areas are voluntarily constructed, service areas shall be constructed in accordance with the standards of this section.
A. Residential Development
1. Applicability
The following development shall be required to construct on-site space for each large waste container and each recycling station as required by this section:
a. Multi-dwelling development proposing 12 or more dwelling units
b. Multi-family attached dwellings, either as a standalone building or a component of a multi-dwelling development proposing 12 or more dwelling units
c. Multi-family stacked dwellings, either as a standalone building or as a component of multi-dwelling development proposing 12 or more dwelling units
d. Duplex, triplex, and quadraplex developments proposing 12 or more dwelling units except as follows:
i. Duplex, triplex, and quadraplex developments proposing between 12 and 49 dwelling units when each building is located on an individual lot and each lot fronts a public street shall not be required to construct on-site space; however, these developments shall not be eligible for City-provided services in accordance with Chapter 10 of the City Code.
2. Large Waste Containers and Recycling Stations
On-site spaces for large waste containers and the number and space of residential recycling stations shall be provided in accordance with Table 21-2: On-Site Solid Waste and Recycling Service Areas:
| Table 21-2: On-Site Solid Waste and Recycling Service Areas | |||
| A | On-Site Large Waste Container Space for Duplex, Triplex, Quadraplex, Multi-family Attached Dwellings, Multi-Family Stacked Dwellings, & Multi-Dwelling Developments 1 | ||
| Number of Dwelling Units | Minimum Square Feet (sf) Required for Large Waste Containers | ||
| Up to 11 | No space required 2 | ||
| 12-30 | 120sf | ||
| 31-60 | 240sf | ||
| 61-90 | 360sf | ||
| 91-120 | 480sf | ||
| 121+ | 600sf; Every group of 30 dwelling units over 120 requires an additional 120sf |
||
| B | On-Site Space for Residential Recycling Stations | ||
| Number of Dwelling Units | Number of Required Recycling Stations | Minimum Square Feet (sf) Required for Recycling Stations | |
| Up to 11 | Zero | No space required 3 | |
| 12-80 | One | 144sf | |
| 81-160 | Two | 288sf | |
| 161-240 | Three | 432sf | |
| 241-320 | Four | 576sf | |
| 321+ | Five + One additional recycling station for each subsequent group of 80 dwelling units above 320 dwelling units | 720sf + 144sf for each additional recycling station | |
1 If developments propose to utilize compactor-type large waste containers, one eight cubic-yard compactor-type large waste container is required per every 90 dwelling units. Developments utilizing a compactor-type large waste container larger than eight cubic yards shall construct on-site space large enough to fit all compactor-type large waste containers.
2 If space for a large waste container is provided, the minimum space constructed shall be 120 square feet.
3 If space for a recycling station is provided, the minimum space constructed shall be 144 square feet.
a. On-site space for large waste containers shall meet the following requirements:
i. The minimum depth dimension for the on-site space shall be 10 feet. The minimum width dimension for on-site space shall be 12 feet. The dimensions shall be measured from the inside surface of the wall or fence screening the solid waste service area.
ii. Space may be distributed throughout the development, however, the minimum required space provided per large waste container area shall be 120 square feet and meet the dimensional standards in Section 21.3.A.2.a.i.
iii. Service areas constructed for large waste containers shall not be used for purposes other than large waste container space.
iv. The Planning Director, in consultation with the Solid Waste Director, may modify the requirements for on-site space for large waste containers required by Table 21-2, if the development proposes to utilize a compactor-type large waste container.
b. On-site space for recycling stations shall meet the following requirements:
i. The minimum width dimension of the space shall be 34 inches and accommodate five, 96-gallon carts.
ii. Space may be distributed throughout the development, but the minimum required space provided per recycling station area shall be 144 square feet and meet the dimensional standards in Section 21.3.A.2.b.i.
iii. Service areas constructed for recycling stations shall not be used for purposes other than recycling station space.
c. In residential zoning districts, on-site spaces for large waste containers and recycling stations shall be colocated except when site constraints make a colocation area infeasible as determined by the Planning Director in consultation with the Solid Waste Director.
B. Nonresidential Development
If large waste containers and recycling stations are provided within a nonresidential development, service areas shall be constructed on-site for each large waste container and each recycling station as follows:
1. Any on-site service area in a nonresidential development constructed for a dumpster-type large waste container shall be at least 120 square feet and meet the dimensional standards in Section 21.3.A.2.a.i. Any on-site service area in a nonresidential development constructed for a compactor-type large waste container shall be large enough to fit all compactor-type large waste containers. If more than one large waste container is provided, then the minimum service area constructed shall be large enough to accommodate all the large waste containers on the lot.
2. The constructed recycling station in a nonresidential development shall be at least of equal size as the on-site service area constructed for the large waste containers as required in item 1 above.
3.Sufficient space to allow a collection vehicle to service all containers in on-site service areas shall be required as per Section 21.4.
Where the standards of this section for the design of required solid waste and recycling service areas conflict with Chapter 10 of the City Code, Chapter 10 shall control.
A. Any large waste container and recycling station spaces shall be located entirely on the same site as the use it serves and shall meet the following location standards:
1.Large waste container and recycling station spaces shall be located a minimum of 25 feet from 1) any property in a Neighborhood 1 Zoning District or Neighborhood 2 Zoning District; 2) public streets; 3) network-required private streets; and 4) transit stations, off street public paths, and public parks.
2. Large waste container and recycling station spaces shall not be located in landscape yards, parking spaces, and sight triangles.
3. Large waste container and recycling station spaces may be located on the exit portion of a driveway stem when the driveway or the development has two points of ingress and egress. Large waste containers and recycling station spaces shall be located a minimum of 20 feet behind any required setback and any sidewalk or other pedestrian facilities. See illustration example in Section 21.2. The requirement for two access points may be waived if the loading vehicle is able to turn around on the site.
B. If a parcel has two or more frontages, then large waste container and recycling station spaces located outside shall not be located on a primary frontage, except as follows:
1. If a parcel with two frontages is determined to have two primary frontages per the standards of Section 3.5, the Zoning Administrator, in consultation with all the directors of affected agencies and departments, shall designate the location of the outdoor large waste container and recycling station spaces.
2. If the locational requirement creates a public safety issue or impacts operations, the Zoning Administrator may consider an alternative standard to minimize disruption to vehicles and pedestrians in the right-of-way.
C. Any area required for maneuvering a vehicle for the collection of large waste containers and recycling containers shall be of an adequate size and design to accommodate that maneuverability entirely on the same site as the use it serves, and not on any public right-of-way, or network-required private street, and shall not be located within any required setback.
1. Solid waste service vehicle maneuvering areas are allowed to back-up within the site when maneuvering, but shall not encroach into the setback, sidewalk, or public right-of-way.
D. The CDOT Director, in consultation with the Solid Waste Director, may consider an alternative requirement for providing required on-site maneuvering space for collection of large waste containers and/or recycling containers to allow on-street pick-up for developments that either do not provide on-site parking or provide all parking within a parking structure, under the following scenarios:
1. Duplex, triplex, quadraplex, multi-family attached, and multi-family stacked dwellings, either as a standalone building or as a component of a multi-dwelling development of more than 49 dwelling units where all the following conditions are met:
a. The collection location of all containers shall not obstruct vehicular and/or pedestrian traffic. Sidewalks shall remain unobstructed.
b. The collection location for all containers shall be from a collector or local street.
c. The containers in the collection location shall be removed from the on-street collection location and returned to the building or structure on the same day of collection.
2. The site is located in an IC-2, RC, IMU, NC, CAC-1, CAC-2, RAC, UE, UC, TOD-CC, TOD-NC, or TOD-UC Zoning District where all the following conditions are met:
a. The standards of items D.1.a, D.1.b, and D.1.c above are met.
b. It shall be demonstrated that on-site collection cannot be provided due to site constraints or unusual circumstances.
c. It shall be demonstrated that Section 21.4.A.1 cannot be reasonably accommodated on the site.
d. If the street does not already include curb-to-curb dimensions of a collector or office/commercial wide street, the curb shall be moved to reflect the office/commercial wide cross-section along the affected frontage. If the exception listed in Section 32.7.C.3.b.iii applies and the curb-to-curb dimension cannot be provided, the exception shall not apply.
e. The on-street collection location shall be clearly marked and designed to prevent intrusion into adjacent parking spaces.
E. Solid waste and recycling stations shall meet the required screening standards in Section 20.12.
F. Solid waste service, collection, and maneuvering areas shall be shown on all site plans. Information to be provided shall include, but is not limited to, service area locations and dimensions as required by this section and by Section 20.12, any required height clearance, driveway access to service areas, and maneuvering areas and access aisles.