1. General
   1. No permit for the construction, reconstruction, extension, repair or alteration of any building, structure or use of land and no building or land or any part of any building or land, may be occupied or used until bicycle and vehicle parking has been provided in accordance with the requirements of this UDO.
   2. As applied in this section and elsewhere, the term “parking” may mean both bicycle parking or vehicle parking. Where bicycle parking is the specific subject of a code section, the term “Bicycle Parking” will be used. If the term “parking” would create a lack of clarity, the term “Vehicle Parking” will be used.
2. Definitions
   1. Vehicle parking. This refers to cars, trucks, and similar vehicles. No parking is required for vehicles, but this code regulates the design and other aspects of any vehicular parking spaces that are provided.
   2. Bicycle parking. This refers to bicycles and scooters, whether motorized or not.
3. Additions
   1. A building or site may be renovated or repaired without providing additional parking, provided there is no increase in gross floor area or improved site area.
   2. When a building, use or site is increased in gross floor area or improved site area by up to 25% cumulatively, any new bicycle parking that is required for the additional floor or site area or additional vehicular parking that is provided in the absence of any requirement shall comply with all of the related parking standards of this UDO.
   3. When the gross floor area or improved site area is increased by more than 25% cumulatively, both the existing use and the additional floor or site area must conform to the bicycle parking requirements of Sec. 7.1.2.C.
   4. When the gross floor area or improved site area is increased by more than 25% cumulatively, both the existing bicycle and vehicle parking and the new bicycle parking required for the additional floor or site area or vehicle parking that is provided in the absence of any requirement must conform to all related parking standards of this UDO.
   5. Any additions to a vehicle parking area must meet all requirements of this UDO.
   6. No provisions of this section shall mean that existing vehicle parking must be removed to meet maximum parking requirements.
4. Change in Use
   1. A change in use based on the parking table of Sec. 7.1.2.C. must comply with the parking requirements. Where existing parking spaces exceed the maximum, no existing spaces must be removed and no other mitigation will be required to comply with maximum parking requirements.
5. Raleigh Street Design Manual
   Except as otherwise provided in this UDO, all parking spaces and areas must comply with the Raleigh Street Design Manual.

1. Calculation of Parking Requirements
   1. Parking shall be provided in accordance with Sec. 7.1.2.C. Where a use is not specifically listed or only a broad use category is shown, the Zoning Administrator is responsible for categorizing the use in accordance with Sec. 6.1.2.
   2. When a lot is used for a combination of uses, the parking minimum or maximum requirements are the sum of the requirements for each use and no parking space for one use can be included in the calculation of parking requirements for any other use, except as allowed as in Sec. 7.1.5.A. For sites that contain more than one use and where at least one use has no maximum, the Shopping Center category will serve as the maximum for that use or uses.
   3. In determining the minimum or maximum number of parking spaces, fractional spaces are rounded to the nearest whole number, with one-half or more counted as an additional space.
2. [Reserved for Future Codification]
3. Parking Requirements by Use 

These requirements control over any other requirements in this UDO.

1. Downtown District (DX-)
   1. No more than 2 on-site vehicle parking spaces per dwelling unit are allowed. For studio or one-bedroom units, no more than 1.5 spaces per unit are allowed.
   2. The ground story of structured parking must have active uses (such as, but not limited to, residential, commercial, office or civic space) located between the parking structure and any public sidewalk along a primary street or where the structured parking is within 30 feet of any other public sidewalk notwithstanding the existence of an intervening lot, unless the intervening lot is improved with an active use between the sidewalk and the structured parking.
   3. Ramping in the parking structure shall be internalized or otherwise screened.
   4. The ground floor facade treatment of any parking structure facade (building materials, windows and architectural detailing) shall be continued on upper stories. Upper stories of shall be designed with a maximum horizontal and vertical rhythm of 30 feet that aligns with other elements along the block face.
   5. The maximum blank wall area (see Section 1.5.10.) of any parking structure façade shall be 20’. This requirement does not apply to screening elements affixed to the façade and used tp meet the requirements of Sec. 7.2.5.F.
2. TOD Overlay District (-TOD)
   1. No more than 2 on-site vehicle parking spaces per dwelling unit are allowed. For studio or one-bedroom units, no more than 1.5 spaces per unit are allowed.
   2. Surface vehicle parking associated with a nonresidential use may not exceed the number enumerated in Sec. 7.1.2.C.

1. Applicability
   This section applies to all projects that meet both of the following criteria:
   1. Include more than 16 residential units and/or more than 10,000 square feet of nonresidential gross floor area.
   2. Provide more than the number of vehicle parking spaces shown in Section 7.1.2.
2. Mitigation Requirements
   Projects that meet the above criteria must mitigate the impact of the provided vehicle parking as follows:
   
   Projects in DX or TOD districts or in zones with an Urban Frontage, projects that provide vehicle parking beyond the maximum shall incorporate all of the following:
   1. Include any vehicle spaces beyond the maximum within a parking structure.
   2. Make at least 20 percent of vehicle spaces beyond the maximum available to the general public or shared with another property or use.
   3. Provide, for the vehicle spaces beyond the maximum, 50 percent more electric vehicle ready, capable, or similar EV-supporting spaces than would otherwise be required.
   4. 
      Projects in all other districts that provide vehicle parking beyond the maximum shall choose one of the following two options:
      1.  
3. Parking Alternate Means of Compliance

The parking ratios of this UDO apply unless an alternate parking ratio is approved by the Transportation Director in accordance with the requirements below. An alternate will involve a showing of compatibility and a mitigation of impacts of higher levels of parking provision. This finding can be supplemented by the following information:

1. Alternate parking ratios may be approved where an applicant submits a parking study, prepared and sealed by a registered professional engineer in the State of North Carolina. Such a study must illustrate that the maximum vehicle parking ratios of Sec. 7.1.2.C. do not accurately apply to a specific development proposal.
2. The data submitted must include, at minimum, the size and type of the proposed development, the mix of uses, the anticipated rate of parking turnover and the anticipated peak parking and traffic loads of all uses.
3. The data must be obtained either from relevant studies published in refereed journals or other secondary source of comparable authority; or from primary studies of no fewer than 3 comparable developments within the regional market. The regional market shall be the Consolidated Metropolitan Statistical Area. The data must consist of accumulation counts in the typical peak hour for the dominant land use and have been collected in the prior 24 months.

1. Shared Parking
   1. Shared vehicle parking means that a parking lot or structure has vehicle spaces that are available to the general public or that are available to another property.
2. [Reserved for Future Codification]
3. [Reserved for Future Codification]
4. Tandem Parking
   1. Tandem vehicle parking is allowed for single-unit, two-unit and multi-unit living.
   2. Two vehicle parking spaces in tandem must have a combined minimum dimension of 8.5 feet in width by 36 feet in length.
   3. Both vehicle parking spaces in tandem must be assigned to the same dwelling unit.
5. [Reserved for Future Codification]
6. Queuing Areas
   1. Adequate space must be made available on-site for the stacking, storage and queuing of vehicles.
   2. Vehicles using drive-thru facilities may not encroach on or interfere with the public use of streets and sidewalks by vehicles or pedestrians.
   3. A restaurant with drive-thru facilities must provide at least 8 queuing spaces for vehicles when 1 drive-thru lane exists and 6 spaces at each drive-thru when more than 1 lane exists.
   4. A bank with drive-thru facilities must provide at least 3 queuing spaces per drive-thru lane.

1. Location
   All on-site parking must be arranged so that no vehicle is forced onto any public street, not including an alley, to gain access from 1 parking aisle to another parking aisle.
2. Layout
   1. Parking spaces and drive aisles must meet the required dimensional standards. Parking spaces and drive aisles using dimensions other than those specified may be approved if prepared and sealed by a registered engineer in the State of North Carolina with expertise in parking facility design, subject to a determination by the Development Services Director.
   2. Within a structured parking facility, up to 30% of the total parking spaces provided may be compact spaces. No more than 2 compact parking spaces may abut each other. Compact spaces can be reduced to 7.5 feet in width and 15 feet in length. All compact parking spaces must be clearly and visibly striped and labeled for compact car use only. Other than the stall width and length reduction, compact parking spaces must comply with all other parking layout standards.

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1. Intent
   1. The intent of the vehicle parking lot landscaping requirements is to minimize the visual impacts of large areas of vehicular parking as viewed by the public right-of-way, minimize the impacts of stormwater runoff, and dissipate the effects of the urban heat island.
   2. A well designed parking lot utilizes landscaped islands and clear delineations to break the parking lot into smaller segments.
   3. Tree and shrub plantings should not interfere with the pedestrian circulation on the site.
2. Applicability
   1. This section applies to all on-site surface parking areas with more than 10 spaces. For purposes of this section, multiple platted lots contained on a single site plan and any separate parking areas connected with drive aisles are considered a single parking area.
   2. At least 1 shade tree must be planted in each surface parking area with 10 spaces or less.
   3. In an Urban Frontage or -TOD, this section applies only to on-site surface parking areas with more than 40 parking spaces. At least 1 tree must be planted for every 10 spaces in each surface parking area with 40 spaces or less.
   4. All surface parking areas of any size within any district with frontage on any portion of a street right-of-of way (not including an alley) must be screened along the street edge by a Type C3 street protective yard under Sec. 7.2.4.B.
3. Perimeter Islands
   1. A landscape perimeter island shall be provided along primary internal access drives.
   2. A landscaped perimeter island must be a minimum of 5 feet wide, landscaped with shrubs installed at a rate of 30 shrubs per 100 linear feet that under typical conditions can be expected to reach a height and spread of 3 feet within three years of planting. All shrubs shall be a minimum of 18 inches tall when planted. In lieu of planting a hedge, a wall at least three feet in height may be installed. GSI practices may be located in perimeter islands if part of an approved stormwater management plan for the site. The shrub requirements may be met within GSI practices.
   3. A perimeter island may also serve as the location for a sidewalk connecting the use and the street. In such case, the sidewalk shall be a minimum of 6 feet wide and the remaining planting area shall be no less than five feet wide.
4. Interior Islands
   1. A landscaped interior island must be provided every 10 parking spaces. Interior islands must be distributed evenly throughout the parking area.
   2. An interior island must be a minimum of 8 feet in width and be a minimum of 300 square feet in area.
   3. All rows of parking must terminate with a landscaped interior terminal island. No more than 30 parking spaces may be located between terminal islands.
   4. Interior islands may be consolidated or intervals may be expanded in order to preserve existing trees.
   5. GSI practices may be located in interior islands and terminal islands if part of an approved stormwater management plan for the site. Required shade trees may be placed within GSI practices. A maintenance plan must be approved for the GSI practices according to Sec. 9.2.2.D.
5. Median Islands
   1. A landscape median island must be provided between every 6 single parking rows.
   2. A landscape median island must be a minimum of 6 feet wide.
   3. A median island may also serve as the location for a sidewalk connecting the parking and the use served by the parking area. The sidewalk must be a minimum of 5 feet wide. If trees or shrubs are planted in the median, the median with must be expanded by at least five feet.
   4. Median islands may be consolidated or intervals may be expanded in order to preserve existing trees.
   5. GSI practices may be located in median islands if part of an approved stormwater management plan for the site. Required shade trees and required shrubs may be placed within GSI practices. A maintenance plan must be approved for the GSI practices according to Sec. 9.2.2.D.
6. Tree Coverage
   1. Each interior island (and terminal interior island) must include at least 1 shade tree.
   2. In no case shall there be less than 1 shade tree for every 2,000 square feet of parking area, except in an Urban Frontage or -TOD, where there shall be no less than 1 shade tree for every 4,000 square feet of parking area.
7. Parking Lot Lighting
   1. Lighting fixtures must be located at least 20 feet from a tree, measured from the pole of the lighting fixture to the trunk of the tree.
   2. Additional requirements for lighting fixtures in parking lots are listed in Article 7.4. Site Lighting
8. Tractor Trailer Staging, Loading and Parking in IH Districts
   The parking lot landscaping provisions do not apply to areas specifically designated for tractor trailer staging and loading areas and tractor trailer parking areas provided the staging, loading or parking area is screened along the street edge by a Type C1 or C2 street protective yard as set forth in Sec. 7.2.4.B.
9. Design Alternate Findings
   The Planning Commission or Design Review Commission performing the quasi-judicial duties of the Planning Commission (as designated by the City Council), after conducting a duly noticed quasi-judicial evidentiary hearing in accordance with Sec. 10.2.17., shall approve an design alternate, if all of the following findings are satisfied:
   1. The approved alternate is consistent with the intent of the vehicle parking lot regulations; and
   2. The approved alternate is considered equal or better to the standard.

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1. Exemptions
   In no case is a single use or single lot required to provide more than 30 bicycle parking spaces. A mixed use facility shall not be required to provide more than 50 bicycle parking spaces.
2. Required Types of Bicycle Parking Facilities
   1. General Provisions
      Bicycle parking may be provided through various types of facilities, provided the facility meets the following:
      1. Bicycle racks are securely anchored, are easily usable with both U-locks and cable locks and support a bicycle at 2 points of contact to prevent damage to the bicycle wheels and frame.
      2. Spacing of the racks shall provide clear and maneuverable access.
      3. Where a bike can be locked on both sides without conflict, each side can be counted as a required space.
      4. Facilities may be placed on private property or within the public right-ofway. Short-term and long-term facilities must comply with the Raleigh Street Design Manual.
   2. Short-Term Bicycle Parking
      Short-term bicycle parking must be publicly accessible and convenient. Short-term bicycle parking must be located no more than 100 feet from the building entrance the bicycle rack is intended to serve.
   3. Long-Term Bicycle Parking
      Long-term bicycle parking provides employees, students, residents, commuters and others who generally stay at a site for several hours a protected and secure place to park. Required long-term bicycle parking must meet the following standards.
      1. Long-term bicycle parking must be covered and weather resistant.
      2. Long-term bicycle parking must be located no more than 300 feet from the building entrance or 660 feet from a parking structure.

A. Loading Not Required
If determined by the Development Services Director, adequate space must be made available on-site for the unloading and loading of goods, materials, items or stock for delivery and shipping.

B. Location
If a loading area is provided, it must meet the following standards.

1. Loading areas must be located to the side or rear of buildings and be screened as set forth in Sec. 7.2.5.B.
2. Loading areas cannot be located in an A or B neighborhood transition zone.
3. With the exception of areas specifically designated by the City, loading and unloading activities are not permitted in the public right-of-way.
4. Loading and unloading activities may not encroach on or interfere with the use of sidewalks, drive aisles, queuing areas and parking areas by vehicles or pedestrians.

All off street parking and driveway areas meet the following standards.

1. Parking and driveway areas must be constructed of permanent non-erodible surface treatment as follows:
   1. porous or semi-porous monolithic or paver materials;
   2. masonry or concrete pavers;
   3. poured concrete or asphalt; or
   4. crushed stone or crush and run installed with a minimum depth of 4 inches.
2. Crushed stone or crush and run must be delineated with anchored man made material or natural landscape edging materials that define and contain the stone or crush and run.
3. These regulations do not apply to off-street parking and driveway areas that serve single and two-unit living and that are not located in the front yard.