Updating Parking Requirements to Reduce Impervious Cover

Vehicle parking is a significant source of impervious cover in the Chagrin River watershed. It is well within the purview of local governments to examine parking requirements and modify as necessary to meet actual parking needs. Several CRWP member communities are interested in parking requirement modifications to ensure that excess impervious cover and corresponding storm water management problems are not created.

While significant work on updating parking requirements to minimize impervious cover has been done throughout the country, this issue has not been addressed in light of Ohio zoning authorities and land use patterns. To address this shortfall and assist members in updating parking requirements as a tool to minimize impervious cover, the following activities are necessary:

• Examine current parking requirements and actual parking needs in several representative Chagrin River watershed communities to determine where communities are requiring excess parking lot construction.
• Examine national trends in parking requirements for innovative solutions to minimize parking requirements while meeting parking needs. Such innovative solutions include shared parking between uses that occur at different time such as churches and offices.
• Develop model parking codes for member consideration.
• Host workshop for member communities, planners, engineers, and other interested parties to present model regulation and supporting materials.

This project provided local governments with clear and up-to-date model for parking requirements that meet parking needs while minimizing impervious cover and provide supporting materials and documentation in the report, Review of National Trends in Parking Requirements (pdf 12MB, published in 2005), to support implementation of new parking requirements. A fact sheet, Parking Lots, Impervious Cover & Storm Water (pdf 156 KB published in 2006), introduces options to reduce impervious cover in off street parking areas.

This report has been prepared by the Chagrin River Watershed Partners under award NA03NOS4190052 from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce through the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Office of Coastal Management.