Forsyth County › Unified Development Code
Chapter 17 — Parking and Loading Regulations, Article 2 — REQUIRED PARKING
§ 17-2.1
Required Minimum Number of Parking Spaces.
No existing facility used for off-street parking shall be reduced in capacity to less than the minimum required number of spaces, or altered in design or function to less than the minimum standards, unless specifically provided for in this chapter. Buildings, structures, and uses shall meet the following:
TABLE 17.1
| 17-2.1 Required Minimum Number of Parking Spaces. No existing facility used for off-street parking shall be reduced in capacity to less than the minimum required number of spaces, or altered in design or function to less than the minimum standards, unless specifically provided for in this chapter. Buildings, structures, and uses shall meet the following: | |
|---|---|
| TABLE 17.1 | |
| MINIMUM NUMBER OF OFF-STREET PARKING SPACES REQUIRED | |
| Use | Parking Spaces Required (Per Gross Floor Area Devoted to the Use, or Per Employee on Largest Shift, Except as Otherwise Specified) |
| Commercial Uses | |
| Art gallery | One per 400 square feet |
| Auto parts store | One per 400 square feet plus one per employee |
| Automobile service and repair | Two per service bay |
| Bank, credit union, savings and loan | One per 300 square feet (also see stacking requirements for drive-throughs) |
| Bed and breakfast inn | Two for the owner-operator plus one per guest bedroom |
| Billiard hall/amusement arcade | One per 200 square feet |
| Bowling alley | Two for each alley, plus one per each employee |
| Use | Parking Spaces Required (Per Gross Floor Area Devoted to the Use, or Per Employee on Largest Shift, Except as Otherwise Specified) |
| Commercial Uses | |
| Convenience store | One per 250 square feet plus one per employee |
| Dance hall or school | One space per 150 square feet |
| Funeral home or mortuary | One per four seats, plus one per two employees, plus one for each hearse, ambulance, or company vehicle |
| Furniture, carpet, appliance and home furnishing store | One per 1,000 square feet plus one per employee and one per delivery truck |
| Hardware store | One per 400 square feet plus one per employee |
| Health or fitness club | Ten plus one per each 250 square feet over 1000 square feet |
| Hotel, motel, or extended stay hotel or motel | One per guest room, plus one per employee, plus one per specified requirements for restaurants and meeting rooms as applicable |
| Kennel | One per 400 square feet, plus one per employee |
| Laundromat | One per each two washer/dryer combinations |
| Nursery or greenhouse | One per 1,000 square feet devoted to sales |
| Office – medical | One per 300 square feet |
| Office – professional | One per 300 square feet |
| Open air sales | One per 600 square feet of area devoted to open sales |
| Photographic studio | One per 400 square feet |
| Restaurant, bar, or tavern | One per 100 square feet |
| Retail store, not otherwise classified | One per 250 square feet |
| Salon | One and one-half per operator’s chair, plus one per employee |
| Self-service storage facility | One per facility manager, plus one per each forty storage units, with two spaces total minimum |
| Shopping center | Four and one-half spaces per 1000 square feet. |
| Theater, cinema | One per three fixed seats |
| Vehicle sales | One per employee, plus one per 150 square feet of repair space, plus one per 600 square feet of showroom |
| Veterinarian, animal hospital | Four per practitioner |
| Industrial Uses | |
| Manufacturing, processing, assembling | Two per three employees |
| Warehouse | One per two employees or one per 1,000 square feet, whichever is greater |
| Wholesale merchandise | One per 2,000 square feet |
| Institutional Uses | |
| Clubs/Lodges | One per four seats in room with greatest seating capacity |
| Day care center | One per employee, plus one per eight children, plus one space for each vehicle associated with facility |
| Government office | One per 300 square feet |
| Hospital | One per four beds, plus one per two employees |
| Library or museum | One per 300 square feet |
| Nursing home | One per three patient beds |
| Place of worship | One per four seats in room with greatest seating capacity |
| Post office | One per 200 square feet |
| School - elementary | One per employee plus 1 additional per 10 employees |
| School - middle | One per ten students or one per five seats in auditorium or main assembly area, whichever is greater |
| Use | Parking Spaces Required (Per Gross Floor Area Devoted to the Use, or Per Employee on Largest Shift, Except as Otherwise Specified) |
| Institutional Uses | |
| School - high | One per employee plus 1 per 10 students or 1 per 5 seats in auditorium or main assembly area, whichever is greater |
| Residential Uses | |
| Apartment, one bedroom | One per unit |
| Apartment, two bedroom | One and one-half per unit |
| Apartment, three bedroom | Two per unit |
| Home occupation | See Section 16-3.1 and 17-6.4 of this Code |
| Manufactured/Mobile home | Two per unit |
| Manufactured home park | See R-4 district provisions |
| Residence within building containing a non- residential use | One per unit |
| Single family detached or attached | Two per unit |
| Two family dwelling | Two per unit |
| Recreational Uses | |
| Amusement park | Per parking generation study funded by applicant and approved by the Director |
| Assembly hall or auditorium | One per four fixed seats, or one per 150 square feet of seating area, whichever is less |
| Basketball court | Five per court |
| Billiard hall | Two per table |
| Community center | One per 250 square feet |
| Country club | One per four hundred (400) square feet of gross floor area. Plus one and one-half per hole for golf course, two (2) per tennis court, and one (1) per one hundred (100) square feet of surface for swimming pools |
| Golf course | Three per hole |
| Golf driving range, principal use | One for every tee |
| Marina | One per two boat slips |
| Miniature golf | Two per hole |
| Shooting Range | One per firing point, plus one per employee |
| Skating rink | One per 250 square feet |
| Stadium or sport arena | One per twelve feet of bench seating |
| Swimming pool – subdivision amenity | One per 150 square feet of surface water area |
| Swimming pool – public | One per 100 square feet of surface water area |
| Tennis or racquet ball court | Two spaces per court |
Reading grid · rebuilt for display · verify at source (p. 231) ↗
§ 17-2.2
Interpretations of Parking Requirements.
(A)Fractions. Where a fractional space results during the calculation of required parking, the required number of parking spaces shall be construed to be the next highest whole number.
(B)Parking Space Requirement Not Specified. Where the parking requirement for a particular use is not described in this chapter, and where no similar use is listed, the director shall determine the number of spaces to be provided based on requirements for similar uses, location of the proposed use, the number of employees on the largest shift, and the expected demand and traffic generated by the proposed use.
(C)Required Parking for Multiple Uses. When a building includes a combination of uses, the required number of parking spaces shall be the sum of the required parking for each use, when the multiple uses operate simultaneously. For non-simultaneous use, the parking requirements for the use requiring the greater number of parking spaces will govern.
§ 17-2.3
Reduction of Required Parking for Off-Site Arrangements.
Off-site parking may be used in combination to meet minimum parking space requirements; a reduction of required off-street parking spaces on a given site may be permitted by the director in cases where additional off-street, off-site, parking area of sufficient quantity and in conformity with this chapter compensates for the reduction, subject to the following:
(A)The property is under one ownership, or a valid agreement exists between the two property owners for use of the parking area;
(B)Off-site parking shall not exceed fifty (50) percent of the required parking for a building or buildings.
(C)Off-site parking shall be located within eight hundred (800) feet of the building or buildings in which it is leased to serve.
(D)Lease agreements, as applicable, must be of sufficient duration to serve the use or uses proposed to be partially served by the off-site leased parking.
(E)Safe and convenient pedestrian access, such as a sidewalk or path, must exist or be provided from the structure or use to the off-site parking lot.
§ 17-2.4
Reduction of Required Parking for Mixed or Joint Use of Parking Spaces.
17-2.4 Reduction of Required Parking for Mixed or Joint Use of Parking Spaces. The director may
authorize a reduction in the total number of required off-street parking spaces for two or more uses jointly providing parking facilities when their respective hours of need of maximum parking do not normally overlap, provided that the developer submits sufficient data to demonstrate that the hours of maximum demand for parking at the respective uses do not normally overlap.
§ 17-2.5
Reduction of Required Parking for Alternative Transportation Arrangements.
17-2.5 Reduction of Required Parking for Alternative Transportation Arrangements. The director
may in individual cases administratively authorize a reduction in the minimum number of parking spaces for projects that are directly served by public transit and for projects that provide bicycle parking, provided that it can be shown that such available alternative travel modes will reduce the overall need for parking on the site proportional to the requested reduction in parking spaces.
§ 17-2.6
Reduction of Required Parking When On-Street Parking is Permitted.
17-2.6 Reduction of Required Parking When On-Street Parking is Permitted. The director may in
individual cases administratively authorize a reduction in the minimum number of parking spaces for projects that are directly served by on-street parking approved by the Director of Engineering.
§ 17-2.7
Parking Maximums.
To avoid excessive surpluses which increase development costs and impervious surfaces, parking shall not be provided in quantities greater than twenty five (25) percent above the required minimum; provided, however, the following:
(A)The director may allow parking at a rate in excess of twenty five (25) percent above the required number of spaces, on a case-by-case basis based upon the scale and impacts of the request, for good cause shown.
The applicant shall make said request in writing which shall include documentation from an acceptable industry publication (e.g., Institute of Transportation Engineers, Urban Land Institute, American Planning Association, etc.) or by a study prepared by a traffic engineering firm that documents parking requirements.
(B)The director may allow a land area for parking that exceeds twenty five (25) percent above the required number of spaces to be designed and reserved for future parking use. In such a case, said reserved parking area shall not be developed except by written permission from the Director, upon demonstration by the applicant that existing parking spaces are occupied at a rate of ninety (90) percent or higher for twenty five (25) percent or more of the regular business hours in which the business or use operates during a non-holiday week.
§ 17-2.8
Parking Space and Isle Specifications.
(A)Space Size. An off-street parking space shall be a minimum of nine (9) feet in width and eighteen (18)
feet in length.
(B)Compact Parking. Compact auto parking spaces, shall be not less than eight (8) feet wide by seventeen
(17)feet long and may be used in commercial parking uses when more than twenty (20) parking spaces are required, provided the area is clearly marked and not more than twenty (20) percent of the entire parking area is designated compact auto parking.
(C)Ninety Degree Angled Parking. For a single row of ninety (90) degree head-in parking, the minimum depth for a parking space plus the width of the aisle shall be forty-two (42) feet. For two (2) rows of ninety (90) degree head-in parking using the same aisle, the minimum depth for parking spaces plus the width of the aisle shall be sixty (60) feet.
(D)Forty Five Degree Angled Parking. For a single row of forty-five (45) degree head-in parking the minimum width of parking space plus aisle shall be thirty-one (31) feet. For two (2) rows of forty-five
(45)degree head-in parking using the same aisle, the minimum width for parking space plus aisle shall be fifty (50) feet.
(E)Thirty Degree Angled Parking. For a single row of thirty (30) degree head-in parking the minimum width for a parking space plus aisle shall be twenty-nine (29) feet. For two (2) rows of thirty (30) degree head-in parking using the same aisle, the minimum width for parking spaces plus aisle shall be forty-five (45) feet.
(F)Parallel Parking. A single row of parking spaces may be provided parallel to an aisle, provided they are at least twenty-two (22) feet in length and eight (8) feet in width.
(G)Driveway Direction. Driveways less than twenty (20) feet in width, if provided, shall be marked and limited to traffic flow in one (1) direction only.
ARTICLE III, LOADING AREAS: