Required Number of Bicycle Spaces

Table 13.16.040-1: Bicycle Parking Spaces Required²
Use	Number of Bicycle Parking Spaces	Classification
Commercial, industrial, office, retail, service	Commercial, industrial, office, retail, service 15% of vehicle parking requirements prior to any reductions applied. Minimum of 2 spaces. Minimum 20% Class 1 80% Class 2	Minimum 20% Class 1 80% Class 2
Multifamily residential (apartments and condominiums)	1 space per unit plus 20% guest parking	100% Class 1 in garages or secure accessible indoor areas 1 space per 4 units Class 2
Townhomes	20% guest parking	100% Class 2
Public facility	35% of vehicle parking, prior to any reductions applied.	Minimum 10% Class 1 90% Class 2
Schools	1 space per 3 students prior to any reductions applied.	100% Class 2 secured, covered
Visitor accommodations	1 space per 5 rooms/beds prior to any reductions applied.	Minimum 10% Class 1 90% Class 2

Bicycle Parking Facility Classes

• “Class 1 bicycle parking facility” means a locker, individually locked enclosure or supervised area within a building providing protection for each bicycle therein from theft, vandalism and weather.
• “Class 2 bicycle parking facility” means a bicycle rack constructed to enable the bicycle to have two points of contact and allow the user to secure a bicycle by locking the frame and one wheel.

Bicycle Facility Location & Installation Guidelines

• Location.Bicycle parking shall be prominently located near the building’s entrance, placed on a paved surface, not impeding pedestrian or vehicular circulation. Bicycle parking should be clustered in groups not to exceed 10 spaces each. If there are separate customer and employee entrances, bicycle parking shall be distributed near both entrances for the convenience of both users.
• Access. Bicycle parking facilities shall provide sufficient spacing to allow for unobstructed access. See Figure 13.16.040-1 below demonstrating aisle width requirements for bicycle parking configurations assuming a parked bicycle’s wheel extends approximately two feet from the rack.
  Where direct access to the bicycle parking area is not provided from the street a minimum five-foot-wide hallway shall be provided unless such access is in the unused corner of a parking garage or lot in which case the access may be three feet as shown in Figure 13.16.040-2 below.
  In the public right-of-way clearance between a building and parking shall have a width of at least 72 inches to the front or rear of a bicycle parked in the facility. See Figure 13.16.040-3 below.
• Security. Bicycle parking facilities shall be located in highly visible, well-lighted areas to minimize theft and vandalism. Bicycle parking facilities shall be securely anchored to the lot surface so they cannot be easily removed and shall be of sufficient strength to resist vandalism and theft.
  Racks must be easily usable with both U-locks and cable locks. Racks should support the bicycles in a stable upright position so that a bicycle, if bumped, will not fall or roll down. Racks that support a bicycle primarily by a wheel are damaging to wheels and thus are not acceptable.

Bicycle Rack Design Standards

• Each bicycle parking space shall be no less than six feet long by two feet wide and shall have a bicycle rack system conforming to the requirements in the following table.
• Bicycle parking facilities shall support bicycles in a stable position without damage to wheels, frame or other components. The inverted “U” style rack shall be used for Class 2 parking (unless parking is incorporated into street furniture or art).
• Bicycle parking facilities within vehicle parking areas shall be separated by a physical barrier, such as curbs, wheel stops, bollards or other similar features, to protect bicycles from damage by vehicles.
• Vertical bicycle parking shall enable the bicycle to be locked to a rack or other object permanently affixed to a wall. A minimum of 16 inches of distance between racks are required to allow for easy mounting which is measured from the mid-point of one rack to the mid-point of another rack. The required aisle space is five feet and is measured from the outer edge of the bicycles.
• Bicycle parking facilities should be harmonious with their environment both in color and design. Incorporating the racks/facilities into street furniture or art is encouraged if the design complies with all other provisions.

Exceptions

• Substitution of Vehicle Parking with Bicycle Parking. Subject to Planning Director approval, new and preexisting developments may convert up to 10 percent of their required vehicle spaces to unrequired additional bicycle parking, if the spaces are conveniently located near the entrance and a parking study prepared by a qualified transportation professional demonstrates that parking demand will not exceed 85 percent of supply. Converted parking spaces must yield at least three racks or six bicycle parking spaces per vehicle space.
• Vertical Bicycle Parking. Subject to Planning Director approval, when the number of bicycle parking spaces required is not feasible due to site constraints, up to 30 percent of the parking may be substituted with vertical bicycle parking spaces.
• If the number of bicycle parking spaces calculated based on the requirements of SCCC 13.16.040 exceeds 50 for commercial, industrial, office, retail, or service land uses, the applicant may request a reduction subject to approval by the decision-making body.
• Where the provision of bicycle parking is physically not feasible, the requirements may be reduced to a feasible level subject to approval by the decision-making body.

Vehicles – Off-Street Parking Requirements

Use	Requirement
Commercial & Industrial¹
Dine-in restaurants², bars and coffee shops with 13 or more seats	1 per 100 gross square feet (GSF)
Retail, commercial services, shopping centers, convenience stores, supermarkets, fast food, and cafés	1 per 300 GSF
Physical fitness facilities, athletic clubs, gymnasiums, physical recreation	1 per 150 GSF
Office and laboratories	1 per 300 GSF or 1 per 350 GSF if in transit priority area³
Medical offices	1 per 225 GSF
Visitor accommodations (Type A and B)	1 per room or unit
Manufacturing and other industrial uses except warehousing and self-storage	1 per 600 GSF and 2 minimum
Warehousing	1 per 1,000 GSF
Self-storage	1 per 10,000 GSF plus 1 per 500 GSF of accessory office space
Public and Quasi Public Facilities
Hospital	0.5 for each bed, plus 1 for each employee on peak shift
Emergency center	Overnight staff person
Libraries, museums, art galleries, churches, night clubs, Entertainment venues, assembly halls, and other places of public assembly	1 for each 3 seats or for each 3 persons of design occupancy load, if no seats
Elementary school and junior high school	2.25 per classroom or teaching station
High school	1 per employee plus 1 per 6 students
College, university, professional or trade school	1 per employee plus 1 per 3 students
Care Facilities
Day care centers (not including family care homes) or residential care	1 per every 5 persons for whom care is provided, plus 1 for the resident owner or manager
Nursing homes and assisted living facilities	1 per 3 beds/rooms plus 1 per employee on peak shift

• The maximum number of parking spaces allowed shall not exceed by more than 10 percent the requirements as established above, unless approved under an alternate parking plan such as for off-site, shared or consolidated parking strategies.

Accessible Vehicle Parking Requirements

Parking spaces specifically designed, located, and reserved for vehicles licensed by the State for use by the disabled, complying with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), shall be provided for each parking facility according to the following table:

Total number of parking spaces including offsite facilities	Maximum required number of accessible spaces
1-25	1
26-50	2
51-75	3
76-100	4
101-150	5
151-200	6
Total number of parking spaces including offsite facilities	Maximum required number of accessible spaces
201-300	7
301-400	8
401-500	9
501-1000	Two percent of the total parking
1,001 and over	20 plus 1 for each 100, or fraction thereof over 1,000

• Accessible parking spaces shall be assigned and restricted for use by persons with disabilities only.
• Accessible parking spaces shall be located on the shortest accessible route, with a slope not exceeding two percent, from parking to an accessible entrance.
• One in every eight accessible spaces, but not less than two for commercial and tourist uses, shall be served by an access aisle 96 inches wide, minimum, and shall be designated “Van Accessible”. All such spaces shall be grouped on one level of any parking structure.
• Where single accessible parking spaces are provided, they shall be 14 feet wide and outlined to provide a nine-foot parking area and a five-foot loading and unloading access aisle on the passenger side of the vehicle. When more than one accessible parking space is provided, in lieu of providing a 14-foot-wide space for each parking space, two spaces can be provided within a 23-foot area lined to provide accessible parking as required. The minimum length of each parking space shall be 18 feet.

For more detailed information on Accessible Parking requirements see the Accessibility brochures available on the Planning Department website (www.sccoplanninc.com), the current California Building code, or talk to a Building Plan Checker.

Off-Street Loading

All retail business uses larger than 10,000 square feet, wholesale or warehousing establishments, and industrial uses shall provide one loading space, designated for the parking of a vehicle, truck, van or semitrailer while it is being loaded or unloaded, for each 5,000 square feet of floor area. Each mortuary shall provide one loading space for hearses regardless of the amount of floor area devoted to said use, and one additional loading space for each 5,000 square feet over the initial 5,000 square feet devoted to said use.

Standards for Vehicle Parking and Loading Areas

Off-street parking for cars shall conform to the following standards:

• Stall / berth size:
  • Each standard parking space shall be not less than 18 feet in length and 8.5 feet in width exclusive of aisles and access drives.
  • Each compact parking space shall be not less than 16 feet long and 7.5 feet wide.
  • See also standards for accessible parking spaces (above).
  • All parking spaces shall have a vertical clearance of not less than seven feet for standard parking spaces and eight feet two inches for ADA parking spaces.
  • Each loading berth shall be not less than 45 feet long and 12 feet wide, except for mortuaries, each loading berth shall be not less than 24 feet long and 10 feet wide.
• Compact Car Parking: A portion of the total spaces otherwise required by the schedule of off-street parking requirements may be designated and marked for compact car use according to the following table:

  Total Spaces Required	Allowed Percentage of Compact Car Spaces
  0-5	0
  6-50	10%
  51-80	30%
  81 or more	40%

• Clearance: All parking spaces shall have a vertical clearance of not less than 7.5 feet and loading berths shall have an overhead clearance of not less than 14 feet, except that mortuaries shall have an overhead clearance of not less than 8 feet.
• Street access: Each parking space and loading berth shall have direct access to and from a street, interior driveway, aisle or alley. Driveways between commercial or industrial parcels shall be shared whenever possible to reduce the number of driveways on a street frontage and shall be coordinated with existing or planned median openings Entrances and exits shall be provided at locations according to encroachment permit procedures. Backing out movements onto the street shall be discouraged and backing out movements onto major streets shall not be allowed where a reasonable alternative exists. For loading berths, sufficient room for turning and maneuvering vehicles shall be provided on the site.
• Surface: All parking areas, aisles, access drives and loading areas shall be paved with 2” of asphalt concrete over 5” Class II base rock or equivalent permeable or non-permeable surface to provide a durable, dustless surface, graded and drained to prevent erosion and disperse surface water.
• Safety: Wheel stops and bumper rails shall be provided where needed for safety or protection of property.
• Lighting: All lighted parking and circulation areas shall utilize low-rise light standards or light fixtures attached to the building. Light standards shall not exceed a maximum height of 15 feet. Lighting shall be deflected away from residential sites so as not to cause annoying glare.
• Drainage: Onsite drainage percolation or detention shall be provided so as not to exceed pre-development runoff levels and designed for a 10-year storm. Drainage shall be filtered to reduce urban contamination of downstream drainage. The installation and maintenance of traps for oil, grease and silt is required for all commercial and industrial projects. Refer to County Design Criteria for stormwater design guidance.
• Layout: Parking within structures including basement and roof parking is encouraged to minimize asphalt pavement and maximize open areas. Parking shall be laid out in accordance with standards as set out in Figures 13.16.060-3, 4 and 5, of the County Code. Tandem parking spaces are prohibited except for hotels and restaurants located in existing structures where the ability to meet current parking requirements is not possible. Tandem spaces shall be defined within an approved valet parking plan and guaranteed to operate full time during established business hours for the life or the use.
• Maintenance: Parking areas and loading berths shall be maintained in good condition and kept free of trash, debris, display or advertising uses. No repair work or servicing of vehicles shall be conducted in a parking or loading area.
• Changes: No changes shall be made to the number of spaces designated on the parking plan unless the permit is appropriately amended.
• Pedestrians: On-site pedestrian pathways shall be provided from street, sidewalk and parking areas to the central use area. These areas should be delineated from the parking areas and driveways by walkways, landscaping, changes in paving materials, or other design techniques. An accessible path of travel, with a slope of no more than two percent, is required from accessible parking spaces to the nearest accessible building entrance(s).
• Electric Vehicles: Electric vehicle supply equipment shall be installed as required by the California Green Building Standards Code of California Building Standards regulations chapters 4 and 5.

For additional design criteria, see Chapter 13.11 for the Santa Cruz County Design Guidelines.

Landscaping of Parking Areas

• Parking lot landscaping shall be designed to visually screen parking from public streets and adjacent uses. Shade trees shall be installed to provide shade over 50 percent of the parking area within 15 years. A comprehensive landscape plan shall be submitted for review and approval for developments requiring five vehicle parking spaces or more. See County Code Ch. 13.11 Design Review for additional guidelines, such as landscape strips and fencing required along property lines.
• All planted materials shall comply with the governing Water Efficient Landscape Ordinance (WELO) (see County Code Ch. 13.13). Drought-tolerant, summer-dry vegetation is encouraged or required; native vegetation is encouraged.
• Planting areas for trees required within parking rows should be achieved by one of the following methods (see diagrams below):
  1. A continuous landscape strip, at least five feet wide net, between rows of parking spaces; or
  2. Tree wells, at least eight feet wide, resulting from the conversion of two opposing full-sized spaces to compact spaces; or
  3. Tree wells, at least five feet square, placed diagonally between standard or compact car spaces.

Vehicle Parking Reductions

The off-street parking requirements may be reduced or modified in alternate ways:

• Shared Parking. Parking reductions for two or more uses that share parking may be authorized by an Administrative Use Permit. The total number of spaces required for all uses sharing the parking may be reduced to no less than the number of spaces required for the single use among those proposed which is required to provide the most parking. Where the shared parking involves two or more separately owned properties, the owners of the properties shall enter into a legal agreement that describes access, use and maintenance of the shared parking, which shall be recorded on the title of both properties. The reduction(s) shall be quantitatively justified by one or more of the following criteria applied to the participating uses:

  - To propose a parking reduction, submit a parking study prepared by a qualified, independent, professional transportation planner or transportation engineer. The analysis shall:

  The requirement for a parking study may be waived by the Planning Director if the proposed parking reduction is clearly proportionate to the proposed and possible future uses involved.

  • - The uses occur at separate times of day or different days of the week.
  • - The uses overlap, but their peak hours occur at different times of day.
  • - The uses are complimentary or foster multipurpose trips.
  • - The uses serve seniors, youth or other groups with below-average rates of vehicle ownership.
  • - Valid statistical parking data from the site, neighborhood or applicable larger area indicate an appropriate level for shared parking.
  • - The parking reduction is appropriate for the level of vehicle activity typically associated with the proposed use(s), site location or incremental change in site floor area or intensity of use.
  • - Recommend an appropriate parking reduction based on the above criteria, and,
  • - Where the shared parking involves separately owned properties, recommend terms of the associated parking agreement.
• Transportation and Parking Demand Management. Parking requirements prescribed for any use or combination of uses on the same or adjoining sites may be reduced by the approving body based upon a transportation and parking demand management program supplied by the applicant and certified by the County as established in SCCC 13.16.200.
• Parking Plan: A specific parking plan initiated by the County and approved by the decision-making body may supersede those parking standards contained in section 13.16.050 of the County Code, if the purpose of this section is met, or to permit or preserve public amenities. For either case, in the Coastal Zone, a specific finding is required to be made that visitor access and parking will not be preempted.

Location of Off-Street Vehicle Parking and Loading Facilities

In all Commercial Industrial and Public and Community Facilities Districts, off-street parking facilities prescribed in this handout shall be located within 300 feet of the use for which the spaces are required, measured by the shortest route of pedestrian access. Wherever possible, parking shall be provided on-site.

Off-site Parking Facilities: Where parking or loading cannot be provided on-site to meet the requirements of the County Code, the requirements for parking or loading facilities may be satisfied by the permanent allocation of the required number of spaces or loading berths for each use, in either a shared-use or in an exclusive-use off-site parking or loading facility. Offsite facilities shall meet all location requirements as otherwise set out in this document. An easement for the life of the business, attached to the land for which the application is being made, granting such off-site parking or loading rights shall be recorded in the office of the County Recorder. The easement shall designate the off-street parking or loading facility and the uses of structures to be served, with legal descriptions of the sites involved and shall specify the hours of operation and provide for maintenance. It shall also certify that the easement will not be terminated and that the off-street parking or loading facility will not be used for any other purpose, unless a Development Permit amendment has been approved pursuant to Chapter 18.10 of the County Code, either eliminating the requirement for the parking facility or approving alternative parking facilities.

Compact car stalls: When designing the location of compact car stalls, the developer shall take all necessary steps to ensure that the stalls will not cause traffic jams and confusion for drivers. In long-term facilities, compact stalls should be located close to entrances, while in facilities with high turnover, stalls should be scattered throughout the facility.

Loading Areas: Loading areas shall not be in a required front, side or rear yard. Off-street loading facilities as required shall be located on the same site for which the berths are required or on an adjoining site as described above.

Exceptions

• A request for an exception to the provisions of the requirements as set out above may be considered as a Minor Permit by the Zoning Administrator, pursuant to Chapter 18.10 of the County Code.
• Existing uses: No existing use of land or structure shall be deemed to be a nonconforming use or a nonconforming structure solely because of the lack of off-street parking or loading facilities, provided that facilities being used for off-street parking and loading shall not be reduced in capacity to less than the number of spaces or berths, or standards, as set out in the County code.
• Substandard lots: In any "C" or "M" District on a site with a width of 60 feet or less, situated between sites improved with buildings or where sites comprising 40% of the frontage of the block are improved with buildings, the off-street parking and loading regulations of the County Code may be waived by the approving body upon finding that no parking overflow issues exists in the area or will result from such a waiver.
• The requirements for off-street loading facilities may be satisfied by the permanent allocation of the required number of loading berths for each use on an adjoining site. An easement for the life of the business, attached to the land for which the application is being made, granting such loading rights, shall be recorded in the office of the County Recorder. The easement shall designate the off-street loading facility and the uses or structures to be served, with legal descriptions of the sites involved, and shall specify the hours of operation, provide for maintenance, and certify that the easement shall not be terminated and that the off-street loading facility shall not be used for any other purpose unless a development permit amendment has been approved pursuant to Chapter 18.10 of the County Code, either eliminating the requirement for the loading facility or approving alternative loading facilities. In addition, no off-street parking space or loading berth provided for a use of land or a structure shall be deemed to provide an off-street parking or loading berth for a use on any other site except as otherwise set out. All changes to parking or loading facilities are subject to review by the decision-making body.