California’s Building Code Overview for Parking
The California Building Code is a key document for California local governments and developers because it establishes minimum requirements and standards for the regulation of building improvements in the State. The California Building Code is one of 12 codes of the California Code of Regulations and contains technical requirements for most aspects of building and construction, including plumbing, electrical, and green building requirements. Local laws, ordinances, and regulations may establish more or different requirements for certain constituents and properties, so California Building Code Section 106.4 notes that such local laws and requirements "shall be deemed to supplement the provisions of this code except when this code, by specific reference, disallows the supplement." Cities and counties therefore have the authority to implement local parking space requirements and standards that are more or different than the California Building Code requirements discussed in this section.
Historically, the California Building Code has been incorporated into the California Health and Safety Code, which empowers local jurisdictions to enforce the Building Code and adopt amendments that are more restrictive . More recently, California began using a "standards adoption" process for the California Building Code, legislation that included many different sections of State law, therefore shifting some of this authority to the California Department of Housing and Community Development ("HCD"). HCD and the California Building Standards Commission have since adopted what is now known as the California Green Building Standards Code (known as CALGreen), the California Residential Code, and the California Energy Code (known as Title 24 Part 6). In addition, new state legislation, Assembly Bill 1703, added the California Elevator Code to the California Building Code in 2016 and established new permit and fee sharing requirements between the state and local governments.
The California Building Code, along with any amendments a local jurisdiction adopts, specify the minimum number of off-street parking spaces required for various types of uses, where and how those parking spaces must be sited, as well as various safety-related and performance standards, such as how far the parking spaces can intrude on a public right-of-way and how steeply parking spaces can be sloped or how they can be accessed by pedestrians.
Minimum Parking Space Dimensions in California
Beyond the requirements to have parking spaces, the Building Code provides a variety of requirements for the specific size and configuration of required parking spaces. First, the California Code of Regulations Title 24, Part II, § 2105 generally requires that parking spaces (including those for persons with disabilities) have minimum dimensions of 9′ wide and 19′ deep. These dimension requirements can be tightened by local building officials based on site constraints in congested areas to a minimum of 8′ wide and 18′ deep.
For angles of 90 degrees, Table 2-7 (as used below) reflects the required dimensions for parking spaces, as follows: For angled parking configurations, the building official is entitled to require that the distance between parking spaces and the edge of a roadway be kept free from obstruction (typically referred to as a "setback") as necessary for the safety of pedestrian and vehicular circulation.
Exceptions to these dimensions include: The standard requirements described above have been modified, pursuant to local laws, in several cities. In Los Angeles City, for example, the Building Code provides that the maximum dimensions for angle configurations for open air parking garages are as follows: Other cities reduce and increase the required dimensions for certain purposes and/or for angles other than 90 degrees. In San Francisco, the Planning Code limits the maximum dimensions of required parking in city and neighborhood commercial districts to a width of 8 feet and a depth of 18 feet for open air garages. In addition, San Francisco allows angle parking spaces in Central and West Bayshore Area Facilities Regional Commercial District to be as small as 8 feet, while providing slightly larger dimensions for angled parking in Neighborhood and General Commercial Districts. Oakland, California provides for the smallest dimensions for required parking spaces in the Area West of Telegraph and North of 40th Street as well as in the CBD Core. For open air parking garages in the area west of Telegraph and north of 40th Street, required parking spaces need only have dimensions of 8 feet, 6 inches width and 18 feet depth. In the CBD Core, dimension requirements are similarly relaxed for parking spaces in open air parking garages, which only need to be at least 8 feet, 6 inches wide and 18 feet deep. These examples highlight that required parking dimensions vary, sometimes significantly, between cities and even among areas within cities in California.
Accessible Parking Spaces Requirements
The CBC has separate and specific requirements for "accessible" parking spaces within a parking lot, which is more restrictive than the state parking code requirements discussed above. The CBC defines an accessible parking space as "a designated parking space for persons with disabilities." An area being what is commonly referred to as a "van space." The CBC requires that all parking lots have accessible parking spaces to be located on the shortest accessible route to the accessible building entrances. If there are more than five parking spaces total, then at least one accessible van parking space must be provided. If there are at least six accessible spaces, two of them need to be accessible van parking spaces. For every additional 25 accessible spaces to be provided, one additional accessible van parking space needs to be provided. Specifics concerning the physical size requirements of these spaces and how they are to be designed under are set forth in Section 11B.503 of the CBC.
Residential vs Commercial Parking Spaces Guidelines
The California building code specifies that the number of parking spaces required for a property depends on its residential or commercial use. A residential property needs one parking space per studio or one-bedroom unit, 1.5 spaces per unit for two-bedroom spaces, and two spaces per unit for three or more bedroom apartments. In the event of a large building site that includes two 3-bedroom units and six 2-bedroom apartments, two guest parking spaces must also be included.
One thing to note is that these spaces do not need to be the same. For example, a housing complex could dedicate one of its spaces as a "tandem" spot (meaning it will be used for vehicles parked back-to-back) in order to save on space. However, you would need twice as many of these parked cars (as two regular spaces will usually take up the length of four).
Spaces in a commercial property are considered differently. The building codes state that there must be one space for each 2,000 square feet of retail or restaurant space , and one space for every employee where the use exceeds 25,000 square feet.
However, if a business is not required to have an operating food service establishment, the number of spaces might be different. California building codes say that you should "average each of the various areas to determine the average parking load." Since food establishments typically require additional parking for food pickup lanes and dining, fluctuations in the number of patrons may alter the parking space requirements.
If a property has mixed-uses of both residential and commercial purposes, you must separate the spaces into different totals and apply the appropriate rules for each type. Where there are lots with spaces for shared-use or where building space is shared between multiple communities, the spaces must be better factored based on the "individual" needs of the local buildings. If you are considering building a unit on top of a commercial space, additional requirements for a multi-family structure may be needed.
Environmental and Sustainable Parking Spaces Design
California is leading the way in sustainable parking requirements. These requirements have been adopted in new code sections including EV charging stations. California Title 24, Part 11 (Section 5.106.5.1.3), addressing parking for electric vehicles, requires additional spaces (one per every 25 total parking spaces) reserved in commercial projects for EV charging stations. The code requires that the parking spaces be marked and reserved with a sign interpreting the International Symbol of the "EV Charging Station."
Pervious (or permeable) surfaces are at the forefront of sustainable parking criteria. Permeable pavements can reduce the need for traditional piping systems, allowing for a cleaner and more sustainable stormwater management system. Many project-specific General and Precise Plans within the City of Los Angeles include requirements for pervious materials or require implementation of LADWP’s Stormwater Low Impact Development BMPs, including the use of permeable materials.
Requirements, Compliance and Penalties for Failing to Comply
Compliance with provisions of the California Building Code is generally ensured through the adoption and enforcement of local ordinances and policies. The city or county that exercises jurisdiction over a given project is typically responsible for ensuring that those requirements are met when issuing permits for the development, design, and construction that will occur on the tracked property. These enforcement mechanisms differ by jurisdiction, and can often be found in municipal codes. For example, a city could administratively enforce those code provisions by issuing citations to violators, or it could prosecute those property owners who are not in compliance with those requirements through civil actions under its municipal code.
The California Building Code is also sometimes enforced and monitored by the State Architect and the Department of General Services. Often associated with government and public building projects , these state entities will sometimes require public disclosure that the Building Code requirements relating to parking have been satisfied.
No matter who monitors adherence to the California Building Code, the state’s courts support and require injunctive action if parking requirements are not satisfied. Injunctive relief is an order that requires a property owner to stop or start the construction or alteration of his or her building or development. Because the California Building Code has been adopted by all cities and counties in California to ensure safe and sanitary construction, the courts will issue an injunction if that construction is not taking place in accordance with the Code.