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Sentence structure

D

DwightB

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Need an opinion on this clause:

"(e) Places of assembly. For every structure or part thereof hereafter erected, converted or structurally altered, to be used as a theater, auditorium, stadium or other place of public assembly, except in district E, there shall be provided and maintained accessible off-street parking space for the storage of motor vehicles on the basis of one (1) vehicle for each five (5) seats of the total audience seating capacity of the building, structure or part thereof. Such parking shall be located on the same lot with such building, structure, or part thereof, or within two hundred (200) feet thereof. Churches shall be exempted from this provision."

Are churches exempt from the requirement for parking, the 1/5 ratio, the same lot requirement, the 200' minimum, or all of the above? I'm thinking the intent was to exempt the requirement for parking within 200' and on the same lot, but the sentence structure suggests that the exemption applies to everything in (e).
 
Intended or not, it is all one provision.

My question is, when exactly will they begin the exemption? '... shall be exempted...' is in the future tense.

By the way it's on the same lot or within 200'...
 
I read it as everything in (e), but it seems a bit ridiculous. From my experience, lack of parking at churches can inhibit growth of a church, so no parking would not be ideal.

I have a catholic church up the road from my house. Not ideally designed. The main entry for the sanctuary is on the opposite side of the building from the parking lot, so most of the "older" people tend to park on the street which is closer to the sanctuary. In the 20 years of living there, I've come to the realization that catholics must be the worst drivers in the US. I feel fortunate that I have no hit a car door swinging in front of my path or hitting a car appearing to park on the right shoulder and then suddenly doing a u-turn in front of me to get that better parking space on the other side of the road. Oh, and of course catholics have the right away anywhere in the block. It seriously like a game of dodge ball to drive through there just before or after a service.
 
My problem is that I have a small church, currently running 300-400, who is meeting temporarily in a gym, which at 7 sf/person, would seat 2420 people. In this town, this group is unlikely to ever have that sort of attendance, so even at 1/5, 484 parking spaces uses up an excessive portion of the site, and also generates an unreasonable requirement for retention/detention.
 
Yes, and nothing gets political faster than churches. The reason most churches get a break on parking is there is an assumption that the time of most intense use, Sunday mornings, is a time when the businesses around them have their least intense use.

This can be burdensome at other times, because most churches have other functions, such as "mothers day out", Saturday services, weddings etc. during peak parking times. It can also be burdensome for churches in the middle of residential neighborhoods, because there are no large adjacent parking areas. But that's just the way it is.
 
Talk about political: at another location, a builder tried to put up a non-code building and get annexed. The city provided a short list of "must-do's". He chose not to do them, and still attempted the annex. The city refused and his site is now a non-city island surrounded by annexed properties. Now, he is aware of my client's project and has told the city that if they allow any conciliatory options for this project, his lawyer will be calling.
 
MarkRandall said:
I read it as everything in (e), but it seems a bit ridiculous. From my experience, lack of parking at churches can inhibit growth of a church, so no parking would not be ideal.
Click to expand...
Some people would say that it is in fact ideal.
 
BTW, Sentence Structures should be allowed by right in all zoning districts.
 
It seems the main idea is the parking ratio

What does the city attorney say??

Has this provision been there for awhile?? As in are some of the people that wrote it still around?? To interpret??

Has it been applied to other churches and if so how??
 
Lawyers, etc.. tend to put in language that is unenforceable under the code. This sounds all day long like a zoning thing. (The whole District E verbiage). Churches are generally exempt from ADA. .. not local requirements.
 
In a perfect world, if you are meeting at a gym, there should already be adequate accessible parking for the occupant load of the gym whether your church needs that much or not.
 
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