Gravel/Concrete Ordinance

There have been several questions regarding some information in the "spring clean-up guide". The statement being: Parking on an un-surfaced area is prohibited. Make sure all vehicles and trailers are parked on an appropriate solid surfaced area. By June 2010 all parking areas from the front corner of the house to the street will be required to be surfaced with concrete or asphalt. Gravel already in place will no longer be an acceptable parking surface.

This has raised some questions from residents. One friend, wanted to know where in the actual city code this was addressed. I talked with my Neigborhood Services contact, Craig Thomas & he sent me the following information. He said, "Okay - it was adopted May 2005. The reference in City Code is 7-9-115 (see attached). Code Enforcement will be the ones enforcing the code. If you go to the City webpage, there is a box on the left side that says "Code and Ordinances" click on it and it takes you to the City Code. Then click on "Title 7 - Land Use Development and Management Act" it will open the document I attached. Page 83-84 has section 115 that talks about surfacing.

Here is that specific information:

7-9-115. SURFACING.
The following requirements apply to all new off-street parking spaces and maneuvering areas as of May 1, 2005. Off-street parking spaces and maneuvering areas that do not meet one or more of the following requirements and were completed prior to May 1, 2005 must comply with the following requirements by June 1, 2010.
(1) All minimum number of
off-street parking spaces and maneuvering areas shall be paved and permanently
maintained with asphalt or concrete with the following exceptions:
(a)
Agricultural and heavy equipment uses will be evaluated as to their impact on
City streets, neighboring properties and the subject property with appropriate
dustless surfacing to be determined by the Zoning Administrator. Access to
detached garages which provide parking areas in excess of minimum parking stall
numbers, shall provide an appropriate dustless surface provided the minimum
front yard driveway is paved with asphalt or cement. A dustless surface can be
gravel provided the gravel is a minimum of two inches deep and contained with
durable borders.
(b) Surfacing standards for single family dwelling and duplex lots are found in Subsection 2 below.
(2) All off-street parking areas
for single family dwelling or duplex lots shall meet the following standards:
(a) All parking and maneuvering areas shall be paved and permanently maintained with a hard-surface with the following exceptions:
(i) Access to detached garages, which provide parking areas in excess of the minimum required parking spaces, shall be either gravel or a hard-surface provided the front yard access is a hard-surface.
(ii)
Recreational vehicles such as boats and campers that are used infrequently shall
be parked on either gravel or a hardsurface if they are placed in the rear yard
or a side yard that is not adjacent to a public or private street. The access to
recreational vehicle parking spaces may be through landscaping, as defined in
Section 7-1-103, provided the landscaping is maintained in a healthy
condition.
(iii) Parking and maneuvering areas in excess of the minimum required parking spaces shall be either gravel or a hard-surface if they are within the rear yard or a side yard that is not adjacent to a public or private street, except as provided in
(ii) above.
(b) Whenever gravel is used for parking in a residential zone, the gravel must be a minimum of two inches deep, compacted, free of grass and weeds, and contained with durable borders.
(c) For the purposes of Section 7-9-115 Subsection 2, a hard-surface shall only include concrete, asphalt, brick pavers and stone.

West Valley City Municipal Code Title 7 – Land Use Development and
Management Act
Title 7 – Pg 84 (Revised 2/28/2008)
(d) Hard surfaced
parking strips with a minimum width of two feet (2’) each may be used for
parking and maneuvering areas instead of a solid driveway. Landscaping, as
defined in Section 7-1-103, must be installed and maintained in a healthy
condition between the parking strips. For the purposes of the determining the
hard surface percentage in the front yard for item e below, the landscaped space
between the parking strips shall be included in the hard surface percentage.
(e) In order to allow double driveways, and to allow hard-surface
access to the rear yard, up to, but not more than, 40 percent of a front yard
may be covered with a hardsurface. Lots with duplexes, twin home lots,
cul-de-sac lots, or lots on major streets needing circular driveways may
increase the hard-surface percent to 50 percent.
3) All off-street vehicle parking must occur in an area that meets the requirements of Subsections 1 and 2 of Section 7-9-115. No parking shall be allowed in landscaped areas.

(Ord. No. 02-59 Amended 09/17/2002; Ord. No. 05-19 Amended 04/19/2005)

If you have further questions, please contact me.