Off-street parking

[shell_waster]

My fair city's council is contemplating taking a giant leap backwards and amending an ordinance adopted in 2008 that prohibits off-street parking to be located between a building's street-front and the adjacent street. We have had about 15 new commercial developments since the adoption of the ordinance, all of which have conformed but that is not enough to convince the council that it isn't hindering commercial growth.

Many of you have read, or at least become familiar with, Dr. Donald Shoup's work regarding the wastefulness, among many other reasons, of the conventional "sea of parking" located in front of a building and some may have adopted similar ordinances limiting the location of off-street parking. We adopted said ordinance to mold new development and redevelopment into a more pedestrian scale and create a more intimate sense of place throughout the entire city. I should ad that the city is 14 sq.miles with a population of 13,000.

My question to you is, do you have any pictures I may use in a presentation to my council illustrating how non-residential developments, particularly retail commercial, succeeds without parking between the building street-front and the adjacent street? Or, are you familiar with a similar presentation or study I may reference?

Wouldn't you know all this discussion got started because a gas station developer doesn't want to vary from his standard model of parking spaces along the building with the gas pumps and canopy between the building and the adjacent street.

Thanks all.

[dvdneal]

Most of my examples show the usual side parking. You can always turn the gas station sideways. Look up 13811 W Bell Rd Surprise, AZ on google.
Personally I've always been a fan of allowing a single row of parking up front for retail. If they need more parking it can go on the side or in back. It doesn't overload the parking lot and makes the retailers happy. It might be a good compromise for the council.

[Cardinal]

I am also not totally sold on the idea of placing all of the parking in back or to the side. It depends on the street. If all you get is the back of the building on the street, even if it is dressed up, it provides no egress and does nothing to make the street more pedestrian friendly. In these cases, good landscaping can provide a more pleasant walking environment and the businesses can have their parking up front.

[stroskey]

Can I switch gears and ask how many spots your communities require for banquet/assembly halls?

We are torn between the restaurant requirements of 1 per 100 square feet of floor area and the assembly hall of 1 per 3 guests.

Thanks!

[shell_waster]

Can I switch gears and ask how many spots your communities require for banquet/assembly halls?

We are torn between the restaurant requirements of 1 per 100 square feet of floor area and the assembly hall of 1 per 3 guests.

Thanks!

Gear switching away!

We do not have a minimum number of parking. When our code was adopted in 2008 the staff at the time, who ironically is no longer employed here, decided to only establish a maximum number of spaces. Currently for non-residential uses they are limited to a maximum of 1 space per 200 sq.ft. of gross building square footage.