Calculating the Size of Attended Parking Facilities with Car Stackers in New York City

Disclaimer: This post is based on a partial review of ZRD1 approvals. A more thorough analysis of all ZRD1’s approved by the department may lead to alternate conclusions. In addition, department practice may have evolved in more recent approvals. The ZRD1 Project strives to be accurate and fair-minded and we welcome clarifying information from the department or anyone who has better information on the subject discussed below. Please email info@zrd1.com with any questions or concerns.

July 2024 Update - The City of Yes for Economic Opportunity text amendment makes portions of these blog posts obsolete.  Some text sections have been reorganized and links to section references may no longer be accurate.  More importantly, the text amendment opens a new chapter in New York City zoning analysis.  Until such time that these posts can be updated, please consider this post as representative of NYC zoning prior to the enactment of the City of Yes text amendments.

One of the fundamental controls that the Zoning Resolution places on parking facilities is the average minimum amount of parking and maneuvering area required for each vehicle. When parking is provided entirely at the floor level, the calculation is rather clear. But when car stackers are used in an attended parking facility, the Zoning Resolution does not provide uniform guidance for facilities in all areas. Fortunately, Department practice appears to allow a portion of the Manhattan Core parking regulations to apply to zoning lots throughout the City.

Special regulations applicable to developments in the Manhattan Core are found in Article 1, Chapter 3 while the regulations applicable to developments in the Long Island City Area are found in Article 1, Chapter 6. For all other developments, parking regulations are found in the respective chapters pertaining to Residential Districts (Article II, Chapter 5), Commercial Districts (Article III, Chapter 6) and Manufacturing Districts (Article IV, Chapter 4). Certain Special Districts, such as the Special Downtown Brooklyn District, include additional parking regulations.

For self parking or attended facilities outside of the Manhattan Core or Long Island City Area, the minimum area required per vehicle is 200 square feet. The following excerpt from section 25-62 is echoed in sections 36-521 and 44-42:

In all districts, as indicated, for all accessory off-street parking spaces, open or enclosed, each 300 square feet of unobstructed standing or maneuvering area shall be considered one parking space. However, an area of less than 300 square feet, but in no event less than 200 square feet, may be considered as one space, where the layout and design of the parking area are adequate to permit convenient access and maneuvering in accordance with regulations promulgated by the Commissioner of Buildings, or where the developer or applicant for a building permit or certificate of occupancy certifies that such spaces will be fully attended.

The minimum size of a parking stall is defined as 18 ‘-0” x 8’-6”, which equals 153 square feet. Since the required minimum area per vehicle is 200 square feet, we can conclude that the Zoning Resolution requires a minimum maneuvering area of 47 square feet per vehicle. If we apply this factor to a hypothetical parking facility with a capacity of 100 vehicles, we must provide at least 4,700 square feet of unobstructed maneuvering area. This maneuvering area is in addition to the 15,300 square feet of area occupied by parking stalls, for a total area of 20,000 square feet. With 100 vehicles, the average area per vehicle in this facility is 200 square feet.

Beyond this minimum requirement, the Department appears to allow designers much discretion in the layout of parking facilities. The practicality of the layout does not seem to be an issue. Take for instance this layout for a project in Queens at 37-14 36th Street.

Or this one for 30-17 40th Avenue:

or this one for 35A Bay Street in Staten Island:

It does not matter that many cars must be moved to access one of the remote spaces. For attended parking facilities we only need to show that the amount of maneuvering area provided exceeds the minimum amount required.

A typical ZRD1 approval response might look like this:

CALCULATING THE SIZE OF ATTENDED PARKING FACILITIES WITH CAR STACKERS

Attended parking facilities often include car stackers to increase the efficiency of the space. In the example of the 100 car attended facility, we know that we need at least 20,000 square feet of parking and maneuvering area. But what if we utilized 50 double stackers? Must the parking facility measure 20,000 square feet, or can it be reduced by some amount?

If the parking facility is in the Manhattan Core, we can look to section 13-27 to find the answer. This section states, in part:

For the purpose of calculating surface area in attended parking facilities with parking lift systems, the lifted tray upon which a vehicle is stored shall constitute surface area.

Section 13-27(a)(2) states:

the surface area, in square feet, of the portion of the parking zone allocated to elevated parking spaces shall be 153 times the number of elevated spaces able to be provided on lifted trays.

So if we have 50 double stackers, we would add 50 x 153 sf = 7,650 sf of surface area to the surface area of the parking facility. That 20,000 square foot parking facility would be considered to have 27,650 square feet of surface area, for an average of 277 square feet of surface area per vehicle.

If we want to determine the minimum amount of floor space required to accommodate 100 vehicles we would use the following method (which is the typical method shown in ZRD1 approvals). First, we provide 200 square feet for every vehicle that is stored at the floor level. Then we add 47 square feet (of maneuvering area) for each car that is on a lifted tray. The calculation for our 100 vehicle capacity facility utilizing double stackers would look like this:

(50 x 200 sf) + (50 x 47 sf) = 10,000 sf + 2,350 sf = 12,350 sf

In this example, the average floor space per vehicle in the parking facility would be 124 square feet. This is a measure of the actual amount of area at the floor level, which appears to be less than the required 200 square feet. But when we add the surface area of the lifted trays back into the equation, we see that we are indeed providing 200 square feet of surface area per vehicle. That calculation would look like this:

(50 x 200 sf) + (50 x 153 sf) + (50 x 47 sf) = 10,000 sf + 7,650 sf + 2,350 sf = 20,000 sf

If the same 100 vehicle capacity garage utilized triple stackers, the calculation for the minimum amount of floor space would look like this:

(34 x 200 sf) + (66 x 47 sf) = 6,800 sf + 3,102 sf = 9,902 sf

This appears to be 99 square feet per vehicle, but actually provides 200 square feet of surface area per vehicle, as per the following calculation:

(34 x 200 sf) + (66 x 153 sf) + (66 x 47 sf) = 6,800 sf + 10,098 sf + 3,102 sf = 20,000 sf

A typical ZRD1 approval might be worded like this:

The strange thing is that this concept of a lifted tray counting towards surface area only appears in the parking regulations for the Manhattan Core and in the Special Downtown Brooklyn Special DIstrict. No mention of car stackers is made in sections 16-24, 25-62, 36-521 and 44-42. Nonetheless, based on the review of dozens of ZRD1’s, the Department appears to allow for the application of section 13-27 to car stackers regardless of the zoning lot’s location. Take a look at the following examples that illustrate this concept:

• 826 4th Avenue (Brooklyn)

• 1040 Dean Street (Brooklyn)

• 77 Commercial Street (Brooklyn)

• 37-29 31st Street (Queens)

• 2420 Amsterdam Avenue (Manhattan)

On a related note, automated parking facilities are exclusively defined in the Manhattan Core parking regulations at section 13-02 and the Special Downtown Brooklyn District at section 101-01:

an accessory off-street parking facility or public parking garage where vehicular storage and retrieval within such facility is accomplished entirely through a mechanical conveyance system.

Sections 13-27 and 101-535 then state that automated parking facilities are not constrained by minimum or maximum sizes. Although section 13-27 pertains to the Manhattan Core, these regulations have been applied to automated parking facilities in other parts of the City. For instance, this ZRD1 for 280 Bond Street in Brooklyn (but not in the Special District), confirms that 21 cars parked in an area measuring 3,976 square feet (for an average of 189 square feet per vehicle) is acceptable. This is less than the 200 sf per vehicle that would otherwise be required by section 25-62.

One final word, although the majority of the City requires at least 200 square feet of surface area per vehicle in attended parking facilities, zoning lots in the Manhattan Core and the Long Island City Area have unique requirements. In these areas, 200 square feet is generally the maximum amount of surface area allowed per vehicle in attended parking facilities. The Long Island City Area does not regulate the minimum area per vehicle, but the Manhattan Core requires at least 180 square feet of surface area per vehicle.

Please note that every parking design is unique and requires careful review of the zoning regulations. The ZRD1's discussed in this post are applicable only to the projects for which they have been approved.