The Henderson City Commission on Tuesday approved beginning the process to change some of the parking regulations currently in place for businesses.
Steve Davis, the City of Henderson’s codes administrator, said city officials surveyed surrounding communities’ parking regulations and compared them to Henderson’s, looking for how current local regulations may pose difficulties on businesses.
The proposed changes involve individual business types that would want to locate in the city. The changes do not include any business that locates in the central business district where parking regulations are still being considered.
In the proposed changes, the number of required parking spots would be reduced from what current parking regulations require.
Mayor Brad Staton said that complaints have come to him that parking requirements make it difficult to develop, and these proposals will make it easier for those who want to develop.
A committee of city employees looked at parking regulations from Frankfort, Paducah, Owensboro, Hopkinsville, Madisonville and Bowling Green to gauge proposed changes here.
Proposals include:
- Dance halls, pool and billiard halls, skating rinks, lodge halls: The proposed change is to require one parking space per 250 feet of the building’s usable floor space. That’s a change from current regulation of one spot per 40 square feet of building space. The proposal also includes a requirement for one space per two employees on the maximum shift.
- Bowling alleys: The proposal requires four parking spots per each bowling lane with the additional required parking for attached bar, restaurant or assembly space.
- Laundromat and/or dry cleaning center: The proposed change is for requiring one parking spot per six machines. That’s a change from one parking spot per each combination of a washer and dryer plus an additional space.
- Libraries and museums: The proposed change is to require one parking spot per 400 square feet of building floor space. That’s a change from one spot per 200 square feet of floor space.
- Retail stores: The proposal requires one parking space per 300 square feet of usable building floor space. The current regulation requires one parking spot per 200 square feet of usable building floor space.
There are also proposal for automobile service stations (five spots per 1,000 square feet of usable floor area, plus more specifics); daycares (one space per employee plus one space for every ten children or persons under care); shopping center parking (many points); and buildings used for loading/unloading.
Commissioners said the proposals will help business.
“For all those watching, this is business friendly,” Commissioner Rodney Thomas said.
Up next the committee will look at ideas on how to encourage filling vacant buildings and properties and potentially limiting the number of vape shops in the city, Staton said.
The parking regulation changes will be sent to the Henderson City-County Planning Commission to hold a public hearing on the proposals.
In other news:
- The city commission OK’d City Attorney Dawn Kelsey presenting at a later meeting pertaining to city homeowners having chickens in their backyards. Kelsey said that the city currently has two regulations related to backyard chickens. One requires poultry to be raised in an agricultural zone and another is a nuisance ordinance for animal, fowl and bees. Kelsey said there is a growing interest for city residents raising backyard chickens and a number of Kentucky communities have allowed it. She said she’ll bring back information about what those communities are doing.
