Code Section: 151

Subject: Condominium conversion parking requirements for legal, non-conforming parking situations

Effective Date: 02/2002

Interpretation:

   A question was raised regarding parking requirements as applied to condominium conversions. Section 151 of the Planning Code defines parking requirements for dwellings. Many proposals requesting condominium conversions for buildings that pre-date the Planning Code parking requirement contain no parking or non-complying parking areas. Parking spaces may be sub-standard in size, not meet independent accessibility requirements and structures may not contain the required number of parking spaces. The Zoning Administrator notes that assigning a parking space to a particular unit, while potentially creating a permanently non-conforming parking situation for a portion of the structure, would bring some dwelling unit(s) into conformity and therefore meets the intent of Section 151 of the Planning Code. In practice, the market will allocate the parking spaces to individual units. Therefore, the Department will approve parking as "Common Area for the Exclusive Use of Unit X."

Code Section: 153 (a)(1)

Subject: Parking calculation, mixed use developments

Effective Date: 1/86

Interpretation:

   In mixed use developments, if total nonresidential usable floor area (for uses which have the same unit of measurement for parking) exceeds the parking threshold for the use on the lot with the lowest threshold, all nonresidential uses are considered to be over their respective thresholds and the parking requirement is calculated for each use per Section 153(a)(1).

Code Section: 153 (a)(2)

Subject: Aggregated parking requirement

Effective Date: 

Interpretation:

   Table 151, the "Parking Table" presents the formula for determining the required number of parking stalls for a type of use but indicates that if a use contains less than a stated quantity of occupied floor area, no parking need be provided. Paragraph 153(a)(2) states that if the table's initial amount is exceeded for a structure, lot or development, the uses in or on the entire structure, lot or development are all considered to have exceeded the initial amount and all the uses are subject to the parking requirement based upon each use's entire occupied floor area with no exempted initial amount. For buildings built after the effective date of the parking requirement, this initial amount is not permanently exempted; it is a threshold beyond which there is a parking requirement based upon the entire floor area. The following determinations are based upon this principle.

9/72:   When a series of developments are contiguous and under single control but on separate Assessor's lots, they will be treated as though they are a single development and their occupied floor areas shall be aggregated to determine whether the combined development is over the threshold. The Planning Code's definition of "Lot" states that a zoning lot may consist of a combination of contiguous Assessor's lots where necessary to meet the requirements of the Code. The Zoning Administrator may determine that a series of contiguous Assessor's lots are under single control even where the official records list separate owners for the lots. For example, when a series of separate permit applications for separate stores, each under the parking threshold were proposed for individual contiguous Assessor's lots by the lot's separate owners acting together at the same time, the development was determined to be a single zoning lot subject to the parking requirement based upon the aggregate occupied floor area.

NOTE: This paragraph is a clarification of what the Code states: Code Paragraph 153(a)(2) goes on to say that, when combining the requirements for different uses within a single development, the only threshold to consider is that of the use in the development with the lowest threshold. In other words, all the uses "borrow" this lowest threshold for determining whether the aggregate occupied floor area is subject to the parking requirement. If so, the number of parking stalls is calculated by using the respective formula for each use and applying it to that use. The results of these calculations are added unrounded to the calculations for the other uses and the total rounded up to determine the total number of stalls for the development. The parking requirement for most uses is based upon floor area but for others it is number of seats, rooms, dwelling units, etc. Only those uses using the same basis for measurement can "borrow" this lowest threshold.

6/96:   150(c) states that buildings built prior to the effective date of the parking requirement need provide parking only for an addition or cumulative additions representing an increased parking requirement of the greater of five spaces or 15 percent. Therefore, for buildings built prior to the parking requirement, the threshold amount is a permanent exemption. Since there was no parking requirement when these buildings were built, the owners may reasonably have expected to be able to add to them at a future date without having to provide parking. The apparent rationale for this Code provision is that it is reasonable to require parking for a major addition to "pre-requirement" buildings but not retroactively for the entire building if the addition or change in use brings the total occupied floor area over the parking threshold. On the other hand, the owners of buildings built after the parking requirements went into effect but built under the threshold should have known about the parking requirement, the threshold and the consequences of exceeding the threshold. To allow the threshold to be permanent for the "post-requirement" buildings would reward those owners who, to minimize their parking requirement, deliberately held their building sizes and/or uses under the threshold and added to them later, while those who built their buildings to their ultimate size in the first place had to provide more parking. Therefore, any floor area built after the effective date of the parking requirement but under the parking threshold, shall be subject to the parking requirement once additions or changes in use bring that floor area over the threshold. The effective date of parking requirements are: December 26, 1955 for residential and May 2, 1960 for nonresidential. Modification to the requirements were made 8/7/68 and 10/6/78.

Code Section: 153 (a)(2)

Subject: Parking calculation, mixed use developments

Effective Date: 1/86

Interpretation:

   This Paragraph says that in mixed use developments, the total parking shall be the sum of all the parking required for each use computed separately. This provision was clarified and elaborated upon by concluding that, in mixed use developments, if total nonresidential usable floor area (for uses which have the same unit of measurement for parking) exceeds the parking threshold for the use on the lot with the lowest threshold, all nonresidential uses are considered to be over their respective thresholds and the parking requirement is calculated for each use per Section 153(a)(1). Note. The various parking requirements are added first, then rounded.

Code Section: 153 (a)(2)

Subject: Parking requirement after merger of lots

Effective Date: 5/96

Interpretation:

   This Section states that when the initial quantity of floor area that is exempted from parking is exceeded, the entire structure, use or development shall be subject to the parking requirement. There are cases where it is not clear what constitutes an increase in floor area that would exceed the initial exemption. For example, two lots each containing previously existing buildings individually under the parking threshold were proposed to be merged and subsequently combined for use as a single store, the combined area of which would exceed the exempt amount. In this case, the situation is treated as if the buildings had always been on the same lot for parking purposes, so no parking is required for such merger and combining of use if all the buildings involved predated the parking requirement. If the lot line had always been there, the situation would be legally noncomplying and the only parking trigger would be major addition to a building. It is also consistent with Interpretation 134(c)(4)(C) 5/85 which discounted the "paper" presence (or absence) of lot lines on adjacent lots for purposes of allowing buildings at either end of a subject lot.

Code Section: 153 (a)(5)

Subject:

Effective Date: 4/97

Interpretation:

   See Interpretation 151 1:4 Parking, rounding

Code Section: 153 (a)(6)

Subject: Freight loading requirement reduction

Effective Date: 5/93

Interpretation:

   This Paragraph says that two service vehicle spaces may be substituted for each required off-street freight loading space as long as a minimum of 50 percent of the required freight loading spaces are provided. In the case where one freight loading space was required, two service vehicle spaces could not be substituted for it because to do so would reduce the freight loading spaces to less than 50 percent of the requirement.