06-16-2025 - Agenda Packet Planning Commission - Planning Commission Packet

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17 space per 900 square feet, depending on the type of zoning district. Maxi- mum standards in Cambridge vary by district as well. Portland, Oregon, does not require off-street parking in several of its commercial zoning districts (e.g., Mixed Commercial/Residential zone, Storefront Commercial zone, and the Office Commercial 1 zone). Where parking is required, the city makes distinctions based on the scale of devel- opment allowed in the district and, in some cases, the residential density of the surrounding area. There are no minimum parking requirements as- sociated with uses in the Neighborhood Commercial 1 zone, which “is in- tended for small sites in or near dense residential neighborhoods.” Off- street parking is required for uses in the Neighborhood Commercial 2 zone, which “is intended for small commercial sites and areas in or near less dense or developing residential neighborhoods.” Off-street parking require- ments are generally less in the Neighborhood Commercial 2 zone than in another level of commercial activity, the General Commercial zone, which “is intended to allow auto-accommodating commercial development in areas already predominantly built in this manner and in most newer com- mercial areas.” The Role of Overlay Districts Overlay districts can be an effective tool for incorporating unique parking requirements that recognize and foster unique characteristics associated with particular areas in a community. Minneapolis has several overlay districts that incorporate special park- ing requirements. The Pedestrian Oriented Overlay Districts, scattered throughout the city, include maximum parking standards and restrictions on the location of parking facilities. The Downtown Parking Overlay Dis- trict prohibits new commercial parking lots in the downtown area and lim- its the size of new accessory surface parking lots to no more than 20 spaces. Greensboro, North Carolina, uses unique parking standards in its East Market Street Pedestrian Scale Overlay District. One purpose of the over- lay district is to “modify the image of the corridor, moving away from the existing vehicular-oriented thoroughfare to an image which is attractive to pedestrian access and use.” The parking regulations in the overlay district include the following: Parking Credits and Exceptions: i. In all areas, on-street parking spaces on the right-of-way between the two side lot lines of the site may be counted to satisfy the minimum off- street parking requirements. ii. Where parking is available off-site within 400 feet of the front entry to the building, and that parking is owned or controlled under a perma- nent and recorded parking encumbrance agreement for use by the oc- cupants or employees on the site, said parking may be counted to sat- isfy the off-street parking requirements. iii. In those portions of the Overlay District with underlying zoning of GB, GO-H and HB and which are occupied as a retail use, all parking lo- cated behind the front setback of the building shall be double-counted so that each such parking space behind the front setback shall be counted as if it were two (2) spaces available to satisfy the off-street parking requirements for such retail use. iv. Where it can be demonstrated through a documented parking study that the demand for parking of the combined uses of two (2) or more buildings can be satisfied with the shared and jointly accessible off- street parking available to those buildings, then a special exception to these parking requirements may be granted by the Board of Adjust- ment to satisfy the minimum parking requirements. 134