ORANGE : City Council OKs New Parking Criteria

The Orange City Council will now require parking spaces for residential developments to be based on the number of bedrooms in a development, not on the development’s zoned density.

The change will make it easier for developers to know how many spaces their residential projects will require, one major developer told the council.

“The current parking ordinance is confusing,” said Coralee Newman, a project manager with the Irvine Co. The old ordinance meant that the Irvine Co. and other developers were “writing our own parking standards for every project.”

Under the new ordinance, developers must provide 1.7 spaces for each one-bedroom apartment, two spaces for each two-bedroom apartment, and 2.2 spaces for each unit with three or more bedrooms.

Councilwoman Joanne Coontz expressed concern, however, about a city staff report that the new ordinance will result in fewer required spaces for new condominium complexes and planned communities.

The council also changed some parking restrictions for non-residential developments. For example, new churches must provide one parking space for every three seats they have. The previous minimum was one space for every four seats.

New hospitals must provide 2.2 parking spaces per bed, rather than 1.5 spaces. However, the figure may be lowered if the city staff determines that 2.2 spaces per bed are not necessary.

These changes affect all new structures and all new additions to old structures.