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Supervisors approve wider aisles for commercial parking — 26 feet to be standard
Summary
At the board's request and following a presentation from the fire chief, supervisors adopted a 26-foot two-way aisle standard in the county's parking design rules to improve emergency vehicle access and accommodate larger vehicles.
The Caroline County Board of Supervisors adopted a 26-foot two-way aisle standard for commercial parking areas and kept 9-by-18-foot parking stalls, following a presentation from the county fire chief about emergency access needs.
The change, proposed after staff and the fire chief reviewed current site plans and submissions, was intended to address increasingly larger vehicles in commercial parking lots and to ensure aerial and pumper fire apparatus can reach buildings. The board considered options that would lengthen spaces or widen aisles and settled on 26 feet for two-way aisles and 9-by-18 stalls for 90-degree spaces.
Chief Loftus told the board about fire apparatus requirements: "In the fire code world, the fire truck access is 20 feet wide for a pumper, 26 feet wide for an aerial. So we need to get the aerial to at least ... 26 feet wide." He recommended the county require adequate width so emergency equipment can operate.
Supervisors said the decision aims to reduce future approvals conflicts and avoid approving projects that later create rescue and suppression problems. One supervisor noted developers were submitting plans with narrow interior roads and that stronger front-end enforcement would reduce costly corrections later.
The motion to adopt the 26-foot aisle standard passed by voice vote; the board directed staff and the county attorney to update the ordinance language and plan-review checklists to reflect the new aisle width standard.
Ending: The county will amend its site-plan and subdivision review materials to reflect the 26-foot aisle requirement and reiterated that staff will enforce the standard during plan review.
