Chapter 16.72 — OFF-STREET PARKING — Menlo Park Zoning Code

§ 16.72.010. Requirements generally. ¶

Unless otherwise provided for a specific zoning district, off-street parking requirements in all districts and for all uses shall be as stated in this chapter.

(1) Except in the single-family residential districts, subject to approval of the planning commission, a portion of required parking area may be designated landscape reserve parking and developed with appropriate landscaping.
(2) All required parking spaces and access thereto shall conform to city parking standards, as adopted by the city council.
(3) Assessment district, or other cooperative method approved by the city council, may be used in lieu of the stated requirements.
(4) Reductions in parking requirements for commercial and industrial land uses may be allowed through an administrative permit as outlined in Chapter 16.82.
(5) Requirements for electric vehicle charging spaces (EV spaces) are applicable to development in all zoning districts, including the SP-ECR/D district, subject to meeting certain criteria, and are specified in Chapter 12.18 (California Green Building Standards Code Amendments).
- (A) The maximum number of required EV spaces and electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE) shall not exceed the requirement for EV spaces for new construction of an equivalent development on a parcel or project site.
- (B) The EV spaces requirement is based on the required parking associated with the affected area of work.
- (C) Where an existing legal, nonconforming parking condition exists, the EV spaces requirement, including the maximum required, shall be based on a percentage of the existing number of parking spaces equivalent to the percentage of the affected work area to the total building square footage on the parcel or subject site.
- (D) EV spaces and EV charging stations can be used to meet the off-street parking requirement. The EV spaces requirements and the primary off-street parking requirements are not additive.
  - (i) A proportional amount of EV spaces may be set aside in landscape reserve parking, where approved by the planning commission.
- (E) For development projects within the SP-ECR/D district where the EV spaces requirement cannot be met on site for the first one hundred percent (100%) floor area ratio in the downtown shared/unbundled parking area, an applicant shall pay an inlieu fee to meet this requirement as established by the city of Menlo Park.
(6) Allowable intrusions into a garage or carport space (as defined in Section 16.04.320) include:
- (A) Electric vehicle (EV) chargers and tankless water heaters mounted forty-eight (48)

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City of Menlo Park, CA § 16.72.010

MENLO PARK CODE

§ 16.72.030

inches or higher above the slab in a garage or carport.

(B) Electric equipment (as defined in Section 16.04.296) located less than forty-eight (48) inches above the slab may be located in up to two (2) three (3) foot by three (3) foot areas in an existing garage dedicated to a specific dwelling unit. These encroachments may be contiguous, provided the encroachment into the required covered parking space is no more than three (3) feet.
(C) If utilizing the provisions in subsection (6)(B) of this section, the property owner shall provide an acknowledgement of the voluntary reduction in garage or carport dimensions below the minimum required dimensions, if applicable.

(Prior code § 30.520 (part); Ord. 837 § 2 (part), 1992; Ord. 936 § 7 (part), 2005; Ord. 948 § 6, 2006; Ord. 1050 § 4, 2018; Ord. 1102 § 10, 2023)

§ 16.72.020. R district uses. ¶

R district parking uses are as follows:

(1) Dwellings: two (2) spaces per unit, not in any required front or side yard, at least one (1) of which shall be in a garage or carport, unless otherwise specified. However, when required parking is provided in a detached garage or carport, the parking space may be located in the interior side yard, but not closer than three (3) feet from the property line. Any garage or carport entrance fronting on any lot line, except an alley, shall be a minimum of twenty (20) feet from such line. For alleys, the minimum setback for an entrance facing an alley is five (5) feet.
(2) Retirement living units: Adequate parking for the character of the occupancy but not less than one (1) garage space per three (3) units;
(3) Boardinghouses: One (1) space per two (2) occupants, not in any required front or side yard. At least half of the required spaces shall be in a garage or carport;
(4) Rest home, convalescent home: One (1) space per four (4) beds, not in any required front or side yard;
(5) Churches: One (1) space per five (5) seats, not in any required front or side yard;
(6) Offices: One (1) space per two hundred (200) square feet of gross floor area, not in any required yard abutting a street;
(7) R-4 District. Units with two (2) or more bedrooms require two (2) off-street parking spaces per unit; one (1) bedroom units require one and one-half (1 1/2) off-street parking spaces per unit; studio units require one (1) off-street parking space per unit; required off-street parking spaces cannot be located in any required front or side yard setback; each unit shall have at least one (1) covered off-street parking space; one (1) guest off-street parking space for every three (3) units shall be provided on the site.
(Ord. 841 § 2, 1992; Ord. 992 § 6, 2013; Ord. 995 § 3, 2013; Ord. 1006 § 21, 2014; prior code § 30.520(A))

§ 16.72.030. Professional district uses. ¶

Professional district uses are as follows:

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City of Menlo Park, CA

ZONING

§ 16.72.030

§ 16.72.080

(1) C-1 district nonresidential uses: One (1) space per two hundred (200) square feet of gross floor area, not in any required yard abutting a street;
(2) C-1-C district nonresidential uses: One (1) space per two hundred fifty (250) square feet of gross floor area, not in any required yard abutting a street and not in the exterior one-half (1/2) of any required yard or loading area;
(3) C-1 and C-1-C districts residential uses: one (1) space per dwelling unit minimum, one and one-half (1 1/2) spaces per dwelling unit maximum.
(Ord. 979 § 8 (part), 2012; Ord. 897 § 2, 2000; Ord. 1105 § 6 (Exh. E § 5), 2023; prior code § 30.520(B))

§ 16.72.040. C-2 district uses. ¶

C-2 district uses are as follows:

(1) Nonresidential uses: Six (6) spaces per one thousand (1,000) square feet of gross floor area, not in any required yard or loading area;
(2) Residential uses: One (1) space per dwelling unit minimum, one and one-half (1 1/2) spaces per dwelling unit maximum.

(prior code § 30.520(C); Ord. 579 Art. II, 1975; Ord. 769-A § 1, 1988; Ord. 1027 § 4, 2016; Ord. 979 § 8 (part), 2012; Ord. 1105 § 6 (Exh. E § 6), 2023)

§ 16.72.050. M-2 and M-3 district uses. ¶

M-2 and M-3 district uses are as follows: one (1) parking space shall be provided for every three hundred (300) square feet of gross floor area not in the front one-quarter (1/4) of any required front yard.

(prior code § 30.520(D); Ord. 903 § 5, 2001; Ord. 936 § 7 (part), 2005; Ord. 969 § 3, 2010)

§ 16.72.060. Public utility facilities. ¶

For public utility substations, pumping stations, equipment buildings and similar facilities, offstreet parking shall be provided in the ratio of one (1) space for each two (2) employees on the maximum working shift, plus one (1) space for each company vehicle permanently assigned to the facility. Where such facility is unmanned, no spaces need be provided. (prior code § 30.520(E)).

§ 16.72.080. Other uses. ¶

Other uses are as follows:

(1) Well patient/short stay facility for surgery, medical and post operative care, requiring overnight stay: 1.25 spaces per bed plus one (1) space per employee on the largest shift.
(Ord. 805 § 1, 1989)

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City of Menlo Park, CA