Parking spaces
Dear parkingproblem,
Thanks very much for your very challenging question!
There is a Rite Aid in Portage, MI that is very similar to
what you are proposing. It is 11,000 square feet, and has
30 parking spaces. This is according to the store?s
assistant manager, Matt LeCureaux. The store is
located at :
Rite Aid
5003 S Westnedge Ave
Portage, MI 49002
269-226-8777
There is also Quinn?s Pharmacy and Gift, in Kalamazoo, MI that has
a shared parking lot with four stores. Their share of the spaces
is 25. Quinn?s has 4,800 square feet. This is according to the
owner, Pat Quinn.
Quinn's Pharmacy & Gift - Pharmacy
6909 West Q Avenue
Kalamazoo, MI 49009
269-372-7872
The CVS Drugstore in Birmingham, MI shares 65 spaces with
three other stores, a Blockbusters, a Little Caesar?s and a cleaners.
That would be only 16.25 spaces per store, plus street parking.
This is according to store manager Christina Cesare-Buonarroti.
She doesn?t know the square footage, but the store is known
for being low-square footage, but high volume.
CVS/Pharmacy
444 S Old Woodward Ave
Birmingham, MI 48009
248-647-0790
Closer to my neck of the woods, The Lone Pine Drug Store, in Lone
Pine,California, has been operating just fine for 34 years with just
10 public spaces. The store has 5,000 square feet and also has 6
spaces that are for private use (owner & employees.) That store is roughly
half the size of yours. So if you double the number of public spaces they
have, you would get 20 public spaces for your store, plus employee spaces.
You can see the Lone Pine Drugstore and its owner on the Chamber
of Commerce website, at:
http://www.lonepinechamber.org/services/memberpage.cfm?memberid=64
The Parking Standard in Tampa, for pharmacy, is 3/ 1,000 gsf.
That would be 33 for a store your size. You can find the
regulation at:
http://216.239.37.104/search?q=cache:yQr7AN5ei60J:www.tampagov.net/dept_land_development/zoning/PktStandards.asp+Parking+standards&hl=en&ie=UTF-8
Donald Shoup, Director of Urban Planning at the University of
California, Los Angeles, says that the square footage ratios which
city planners use to form their parking standards are not necessarily
reasonable. In an article called ?Truth in Transportation,? he states
that parking ratios are based on studies done by the Institute of
Transportation Engineers, who generally do a small group of studies at
peak hours. Shoup says there are inherent problems with that.
Basically, the studies show the MAXIMUM usage of various types
of facilities, then the cities establish an appropriate
amount of parking as the MINIMUM requirement. Shoup also says, ?Floor
area is only one among many factors that influence vehicle trips at a
site, and we should not expect floor area or any other single variable
to accurately predict the number of vehicle trips at any site or land
use.?
This article will be found in the Journal of Transportation and
Statistics, V6/N1 2003.
Jody Cook, public relations manager for Rite Aid Corporation, tells
me that parking for their drugstores is entirely subject to the location.
Some downtown stores require no parking, relying on foot traffic,
some large suburban stores have lots of parking. She says the
prototypical Rite Aid store is 11,000 square feet and has 35 ? 50
spaces. 35 isn?t that far off from 30?
(Jody Cook, Harrisburg, PA, 717- 731-6566)
Robert Dunphy is the Senior Resident Fellow for Transportation
and Infrastructure with the Urban Land Institute in Washington, DC.
He has written articles saying that we have more parking spaces than
we really need. The reason for this, he told me, is that ?there?s
a general tendency among local codes is to err on the high side
to protect the localities from getting complaints about spillover
parking. It also puts businesses in a bind. They assume that
you?re providing all the parking that?s necessary on site. The
way to beat that is to provide parking that?s nearby someplace
else?the easiest solution in a case like that, rather than
battle over what the demand is, is to find other places. And
look at the available street parking as well....I suggest we should
revisit that whole question of allowing parking on the street and
that should be part of the available parking. You should allow
shared parking, common parking.?
Urban Land Institute
1025 Thomas Jefferson Street, NW
Suite 500 West
Washington, DC 20007
Phone: (202) 624-7000
Remember too, that people visiting drugstores don?t stay long, spaces
turn over fast. ?15 minutes. That's the typical time a customer spends
in an Eckerd store.? That?s according to an article in the St.
Petersburg Times at:
http://216.239.53.104/search?q=cache:D-Vh44Oams4J:www.sptimes.com/2003/01/15/news_pf/Columns/Eckerd_waits_for_the_.shtml+drugstore+%2B+%22typical+time%27&hl=en&ie=UTF-8
I spoke with John Forster, a parking consultant at Carl Walker, Inc. in
Kalamazoo, MI. He is helps businesses solve their parking problems, and
regularly argues before city councils for variances for clients of his
company. He told me what he would tell you (or could argue for you at
your meeting).
First of all, he confirmed what I had discovered, that parking ordinances
across the nation generally require ratios between 1/200 and 1/350 square
feet for drug stores. What you are proposing is one space for each 440
square feet. If you look at the bottom of this answer, I provide the long
list of jurisdictions which enforce the greater number of spaces to square
feet. I did find one mention, in Inyo County, California, of a county
planning department requiring 1 space for 400 square feet.
You can find the regulation at:
http://216.239.57.104/search?q=cache:KFEO7zcpNE8J:www.sdsc.edu/Inyo/icc1845.html+%22parking+space%22+%2B+square+feet+%2B+drugstore&hl=en&ie=UTF-8
Suggested negotiating points from John Forster:
Some businesses which operate at different peak hours are able to share
parking. If you can show that your peak hours are after the dentist?s
closing time, you may be able to share parking with him. Or, failing
that, if the dentist has any extra spaces, or by re-striping can create
some, he may be amenable to leasing them to you. The car wash may not have
any spaces, but may also be able to create some by striping, and lease
them to you.
Another possibility is to secure off-site parking for your employees.
That may only add 2-4 spots, but each one counts.
He agrees that you may be able to add you your parking spaces by counting
some on-street parking, though this varies by jurisdiction. Some cities
will not count the street parking available to you, in others it may be negotiable.
You can reach Mr. Forster at:
Carl Walker,Inc.
5136 Lovers Lane, Suite 200
Kalamazoo, Michigan 49002
Tel: 269-381-2222, Fax: 269-349-4656
http://216.239.53.104/search?q=cache:5Z09bUAGl6EJ:www.hgexperts.com/listing/Experts-Parking-Studies.asp+parking+studies&hl=en&ie=UTF-8
An article in Planning Practice Magazine titled, ?Don?t Even Think of
Parking Here, Are We Building Too Many Parking Spaces?, points out
the lack of real research to back up local parking standards.
Lisa Wormser quotes Fred Kent of Partners for Public Spaces, who says,
"Who needs to be in a drugstore for two hours?" he asks. He suggests
that one solution is to pepper downtown streets with metered, short-term parking.
Wormser?s article also points out that unused parking spaces cost
the developer and the city money:?Parking lots exert a powerful
undertow on local economies by taking up space that could be put
to more profitable uses, says John Shaw, assistant professor of urban
and regional planning at the University of Iowa. Shaw cites several
sources, including Richard Wilson and the Washington, D.C.-based
COMSIS Corporation, that say each unused parking space wastes $600 to
$900 a year in land development costs; vacant spaces in parking
structures cost more. And these figures don't include potential
tax revenues that are lost to parking each year.?
You can find the full article at:
http://www.planning.org/planningpractice/1997/june97.html
The FindLaw website has a helpful article on ?Dealing with Zoning
Problems.? Here?s a good suggestion:
?In dealing with administrators and especially with appeals boards,
it's important to have the support of neighbors and others in your
community. A favorable petition signed by most other businesses in
your immediate area or oral expressions of support from half a dozen
neighbors
can make the difference between success and failure at an administrative hearing. ?
You can also offer to re-stripe the 2-line road in front of your store
in order to provide some angle-parking on the street. Or, as mentioned
before, see if the city will agree to put in short-term metered parking
on the street. These are ways to add some spaces to your ratio. Just
adding 8 spaces to your 25 will bring you up to the 1 space/ 300 square
feet that is legal in many places.
The full FindLaw article, ?Dealing with Zoning Problems? is at:
http://216.239.53.104/search?q=cache:BAfL5yazqOYJ:cobrands.business.findlaw.com/business_organizations/starting/nolo/ency/0E475178-81BA-4C41-AF12C82B9D6D71F9.html+parking+variance+%2B+drugstore&hl=en&ie=UTF-8
The National Trust for Historic Preservation has prepared a
tipsheet on how to blend new drugstore construction with older,
historic areas. If you are in an older area, this quote may
bolster your argument:
"Parking
Locating a sizable parking lot in front of a building is
inappropriate. Encourage on-street parking when feasible. Whenever
possible, parking
lots should be located to the rear or side of the new drugstore, in a
location that is unobtrusive to the main streetscape."
http://216.239.59.104/search?q=cache:NwZUHkv6kPQJ:www.nationaltrust.org/issues/drugstores/drugstore_tipsheet.pdf+new+drugstore+%2B+less+parking&hl=en&ie=UTF-8
Just between us, though, most stores your size have much more parking,
and want more. In the story cited below, the store made an incredible
number of expensive concessions, to get ONLY 70 spaces for an 10,000
square foot store.
?Bitter Pill for Drugstores? by Lisa Wormser
?In Mt. Morris, Rite Aid's site plan was approved only after the
company agreed to 24 conditions, including contributing $250,000
toward new sidewalks, decorative brick surfaces, benches, lighting,
and burying some downtown utility lines. Mt. Morris also made some
concessions: It changed its parking requirements to allow up to 40
percent less parking in some cases, and it changed its zoning to
allow drive-throughs.
You can find the full article at:
http://216.239.37.104/search?q=cache:Max-kEXaTGYJ:www.planning.org/hottopics/drugstores.htm+parking+to+square+feet+ratio+%2B+drugstore&hl=en&ie=UTF-8
Michael Davidson, on the research staff of the American Planning
Association, has co-authored a 181 page study of Parking Standards,
which is for sale by the Association, for $60. He sent me the pages on
drugstores and pharmacies:
"drug store (see also dry goods store; notions store; pharmacy)
1 space per each 350 Square feet of gross floor area excluding storage
areas which shall not exceed 15percent of the gross square footage
(St. Tammany Parish, La.)
1 space/200 square feet (Columbia, Mo.; Kennewick, Wash.)
5.5 spaces for each 1000 square feet of gross floor area for building
over 3000 square feet; all smaller buildings, one space for each
200 square feet. (Evansville, Ind.)
Five spaces per 1,000 square feet of gross floor area.
(Spartanburg, S.C.) 4.5 parking spaces per each 1,000 square feet
of gross floor area (Naperville, Ill.)
1 per 250 square feet of gross leasable space. (North Ogden, Utah)
Three and one half (3.5) parking spaces for each one thousand (1000)
square feet of gross leasable area shall be required for any
individual, freestanding retail or service commercial use unless
listed separately
in this section, in which case the parking requirement noted for that
specific use shall be utilized. Provided, however, that in no case
shall any individual use provide less than five (5) parking spaces.
(Indianapolis, Ind.)
1 space per 300 square feet for stores 20,000 square feet and under
and 1 space per 225 square feet for stores over 20,000 square feet.
(San Mateo, Calif.)
.................................
Minimum Parking Standard: 1 per 300 square feet gross floor area.
Maximum Parking Standard: 1 per 200 square feet gross floor area.
(San Antonio, Tex.)
Minimum Parking Standard: 1 space for each 300 square feet of
gross floor area used by pharmacist and related waiting areas,
plus 1 space for each 250 square feet of gross floor area of
retail space (see Section 9.1.14 for queue space requirements).
Maximum Parking Standard: 1 space for each 200 square feet of
gross floor area used by pharmacist and related waiting areas,
plus 1 space for each 150 square feet of gross floor area of retail
space. (Jefferson County, Ky.)
Minimum Parking Standard: 1 per 250 sq. ft. of gross floor area.
Maximum Parking Standard: 1 per 150 sq. ft. of gross floor area.
(Glenville, N.Y.)
pharmacy (see also drug store)
one space for each 150 square feet of gross floor area.
(Grants Pass, Ore.)
One parking space for each 275 square feet of retails sales,
office or work area plus warehouse requirements for designated
storage, receiving and shipping area not open to the public. (Ormond
Beach, Fla.)
3.0/1,000 square feet gross floor area (Tampa, Fla.)
.....................................
Minimum Parking Standard: 1 space for each 300 square feet of
gross floor area used by pharmacist and related waiting areas,
plus 1 space for each 250 square feet of gross floor area of retail
space (see Section 9.1.14 for queue space requirements). Maximum
Parking Standard: 1 space for each 200 square feet of gross floor
area used by pharmacist and related waiting areas, plus 1 space for
each 150 square feet of gross floor area of retail space.
Jefferson County, Ky.)"
The American Planning Association can be found at:
http://www.planning.org/
American Planning Association
122 S. Michigan Ave., Suite 1600
Chicago, IL 60603
Phone: 312-431-9100
Fax: 312-431-9985
Mike Davidson,
American Planning Association
Anyway, you can cut off the bottom section of my answer when you make
your argument to the city planners. But I included it to show you that
you will be getting quite a variance from standard practice. If
anything is unclear or incomplete in my answer, please press the
?Clarify Answer? Button before you rate it. Good luck with your
new store!
Take care,cath-ga
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on Google News:
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