Clearlake — Parking

Last reviewed: July 6, 2026

Overview

Clearlake’s zoning code sets citywide off-street parking, bicycle parking, motorcycle parking, and loading requirements in § 18-20.090, with design and driveway standards referenced in § 18-20.100. The Downtown Commercial district has its own calibrated parking rules and incentives within § 18-20.090(h). Use-based parking ratios live in a series of tables (residential, commercial, institutional, recreation, industrial, agricultural, and special uses) under § 18-20.090. Reductions, shared/off-site options, and tandem configurations are allowed only under stated conditions.

The right to occupy and use any premises is contingent on preserving the required parking and keeping it available to the intended users; additional parking can be required via use permits where needed (§ 18-20.090(i)(2) and (i)(3)) .

Core citywide rules you’ll use often

• How to find the baseline requirement
  • Select the applicable table in § 18-20.090 by use: residential (Table 22), institutional (Table 22.1), commercial (Table 23), recreation/amusement (Table 24), industrial (Table 25), agricultural (Table 26), and special uses (Table 27). These tables also include loading requirements for many uses .
  • If a use isn’t listed, the Director determines the closest fit; this can be appealed to the Planning Commission (§ 18-20.090(j)) .
  • Parking is calculated on gross floor area unless stated otherwise; fractional results ≥ 0.5 round up (§ 18-20.090(k)(1)-(2)) . Note: the DC zone has its own rounding rule (halve, then round to nearest per § 18-20.090(h)(5)) .
• Bicycle and motorcycle parking
  • Projects requiring 10+ auto spaces must also provide bicycle and motorcycle spaces. Motorcycle: 1 per 20 auto spaces; providing extras can reduce required car spaces by 1 per 5 motorcycles, up to 10% with Director approval (§ 18-20.090(g)(1)) .
  • Bicycle: provide ground-floor spaces per Table 20: in MDR/HDR/MUX equal to 5% of required auto spaces; in DC/GC/IN equal to 15%. Extra bicycle parking may reduce car spaces by 1 per 5 bicycles, up to 10% with Director approval (§ 18-20.090(g)(2), Table 20) .
• Reductions and flexibility
  • Shared/mixed-use reduction: with an administrative use permit, the Director may allow up to a 30% total reduction where peak demands don’t coincide (§ 18-20.090(d)) .
  • Transportation-demand measures: with an administrative use permit, the Director may reduce parking for documented non-auto travel programs (§ 18-20.090(e)) .
  • Off-site parking: with an administrative use permit, required spaces may be placed off-site within 300 ft, in an allowed zone, with safe pedestrian access (§ 18-20.090(f)) .
• Tandem parking and special residential cases
  • Tandem is allowed for residential spaces reserved to a dwelling with Director approval; cannot be used to convert required garage parking. It is allowed by right for accessory and junior accessory units (§ 18-20.090(l)(1)) .
  • Tandem may be used for hotels/restaurants in DC with an approved parking management plan (§ 18-20.090(l)(2)) .
  • Senior housing may park at 0.5 space per dwelling or 1 per 4 occupants in group quarters; low-income-only housing may reduce to 1 car + 1 bicycle space per unit (§ 18-20.090(m)-(n)) .
• Design and placement
  • Parking and driveway design details (stall sizes, aisles, surfacing, etc.) are provided by Council-adopted parking standards; exceptions may be granted by the Director if specific findings are made (§ 18-20.100) .
  • Vehicles on residential lots must park in driveways leading to approved parking or other approved areas; parking on other front-yard surfaces is prohibited (see Parking and Driveway Standards figures) . Unenclosed parking can occupy yards only as allowed by § 18-20.100 and the yard encroachment tables .
• Downtown-specific framework
  • The DC zone halves many ratios and disallows stacking citywide reductions; it also provides additional ways to meet residential parking (see the DC section below; § 18-20.090(h)) .

For procedural context on how these fit with broader development rules, see the Clearlake Development Standards and overall Clearlake Zoning pages. If your project triggers design review, the Director or Committee may review tandem or parking management plans referenced in § 18-20.090(l) . Overlay constraints may also apply; verify with Clearlake Overlay Districts.

Quick parking and loading benchmarks

These are the ratios applicants reach for most. Always confirm in § 18-20.090 tables and apply DC reductions if you are in the DC zone.

Bicycle parking: add 5% of required auto spaces for MDR/HDR/MUX and 15% for DC/GC/IN where 10+ auto spaces are required; provide at ground floor and apportion long/short-term per Table 20 (§ 18-20.090(g)(2)) .

District-by-district: how parking applies

DC — Downtown Commercial

• Purpose and where it applies: Downtown main-street context along Lakeshore and adjoining streets emphasizes walkability and consolidated/shared parking. On new driveways, an administrative use permit is required to preserve pedestrian continuity; on-site residential parking isn’t guaranteed (§ 18-20.090(h); DC vehicle access standard) .
• Core parking standards:
  • Restaurants/entertainment/churches: one-half the Table 23 requirement, capped at 1 space per 350 sf GFA (§ 18-20.090(h)(2)) .
  • Dwellings, motels, hotels, B&Bs: one-half of the Table 22 requirement (§ 18-20.090(h)(3)) .
  • All other uses: 1/500 sf GFA (§ 18-20.090(h)(4)) .
  • Rounding: to the nearest whole number after applying DC rates (§ 18-20.090(h)(5)) .
  • How to meet it: on-site; off-site within 500 ft (not in a residential zone); common/shared lots; parking district; in-lieu fee; plus up to an extra 10% reduction for residential by the Director with a trip-reduction plan (§ 18-20.090(h)(7)) .
  • Citywide reductions (shared/TDM in § 18-20.090(d)-(e)) do not apply in DC because DC already embeds reduced rates (§ 18-20.090(h)(1)) .
  • Tandem for hotels/restaurants is allowed with a parking management plan (§ 18-20.090(l)(2)) .
• Bicycle parking: 15% of auto spaces where 10+ auto spaces are required (Table 20) .

GC — General Commercial

• Purpose and where it applies: General retail and service corridors intended to be “diverse [and] convenient in terms of parking and access.” Key height/location standards are at § 18-9.020; parking defers to § 18-20.090 .
• Core parking standards: Use Table 23 (commercial), plus Table 27 for special uses (e.g., cannabis, self-storage). Loading often triggers at 25,000–50,000 sf ranges (§ 18-20.090 Tables 23 and 27) .
• Bicycle parking: 15% in GC for projects with 10+ auto spaces (Table 20) .

IN — Industrial

• Purpose and where it applies: Wholesale, production, and heavier commercial services; property standards at § 18-10.020; parking per § 18-20.090 .
• Core parking standards: Use Table 25 for industrial (e.g., 1/300 sf for R&D; 1/750 sf for other light industry; warehouse plus loading bay-linked loading). Loading can be the greater of 1 per 20,000 sf or 1 per bay (§ 18-20.090 Table 25) .
• Bicycle parking: 15% in IN for 10+ auto spaces (Table 20) .

RR — Rural Residential and LDR — Low Density Residential

• Purpose and where they apply: Detached residential neighborhoods. Dimensional standards at § 18-3.020 and § 18-4.020; both rely on § 18-20.090 for parking .
• Core parking standards: See Table 22 (e.g., single-family and manufactured homes; multifamily guest parking where applicable). Home occupations with customer access must maintain at least 1 on-site customer space; a 20 ft deep driveway may count (§ 18-20.090 Table 22; home-occupation parking rule) .
• Placement note: Vehicles must be in driveways or approved areas; no front-yard surface parking outside those areas (Parking and Driveway Standards figures) .

MDR — Medium Density Residential and HDR — High Density Residential

• Purpose and where they apply: Higher-density housing areas close to services; standards at § 18-5.020 and § 18-6.020; parking per § 18-20.090 .
• Core parking standards: Table 22 sets tiered ratios by bedroom count and includes guest spaces; reduced caps apply for qualifying low-income multifamily (§ 18-20.090 Table 22) .
• Bicycle parking: 5% in MDR/HDR for 10+ auto-space projects (Table 20) .

MUX — Mixed-Use

• Purpose and where it applies: Enables integrated residential and commercial on the same site (§ 18-7.010); parking per § 18-20.090 .
• Core parking standards: Nonresidential portions may be set by special parking study (Table 23 “Mixed-Use” line). Mixed-use projects may qualify for up to a 30% reduction with an administrative use permit where peaks don’t overlap (§ 18-20.090 Table 23; § 18-20.090(d)) .
• Bicycle parking: 5% in MUX for 10+ auto-space projects (Table 20) .

O — Open Space

• Purpose and where it applies: Parks, resource protection, and hazard areas (§ 18-11.010). Parking is not independently specified in O; applicable requirements default to § 18-20.090 when an allowed use requires parking. Verify use-specific needs with the City .

SP — Specific Plan (combining)

• Purpose and where it applies: Areas governed by an adopted specific plan. Parking follows the adopted specific plan; if a plan is silent, the underlying zone controls (§ 18-12.030(b)) .

For residential add-ons like ADUs, Clearlake’s Table 22 incorporates state-driven parking relaxations; see the Clearlake ADUs and California ADU law pages for how state law interacts with local standards. Do not confuse zoning parking with the California Building Standards Code; accessibility/striping fall under Title 24, separate from zoning.

Checklist

• Identify your zoning district on the map and confirm whether you are in DC, GC, IN, MUX, RR/LDR/MDR/HDR, O, or SP (Clearlake Zoning).
• Select the correct use table in § 18-20.090 and compute vehicle spaces; apply rounding per § 18-20.090(k) or DC rounding per § 18-20.090(h)(5) as applicable .
• Check loading space triggers in the same table row (e.g., office, retail, warehouse) .
• Add bicycle and motorcycle spaces per § 18-20.090(g) and Table 20; consider the allowed 10% car-space reduction for providing extras with Director approval .
• If downtown, apply DC’s reduced ratios and allowed methods to meet residential parking (on-site/off-site/common lots/parking district/in-lieu; § 18-20.090(h)(2)-(7)) .
• If seeking shared parking, mixed-use, or TDM reductions, prepare an administrative use permit package; document non-overlapping peaks or TDM measures (§ 18-20.090(d)-(e)) .
• For off-site parking, secure control of spaces and ensure they are within 300 ft (citywide) or 500 ft (DC) with safe pedestrian access (§ 18-20.090(f), (h)(7)(b)) .
• If using tandem spaces, confirm eligibility (residential reserved spaces, hotels/restaurants in DC with management plan, or limited employee-only office tandem) (§ 18-20.090(l)) .
• Ensure location/design conforms to Council-adopted Parking and Driveway Standards; any exception needs Director findings (§ 18-20.100) and may involve Clearlake Design Review .
• Check for nonconforming site conditions and additions because expansions can trigger added parking (§ 18-20.090(o)); also review Clearlake Nonconforming Uses for site legacies .

Risks & Ambiguities

Plain-English Summary

In Clearlake, start with the use-specific tables in § 18-20.090 to count vehicle spaces (and any loading), then add required bicycle and motorcycle parking. Downtown projects use special reduced DC ratios and can meet parking via off-site or in-lieu options. If you want fewer spaces, you’ll need an administrative use permit and a clear case for shared peaks or TDM. Keep required spaces available at all times, and build them to the City’s adopted Parking and Driveway Standards.

Source References

• § 18-20.090 Parking Space Requirements (including Tables 20, 22, 22.1, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27; DC standards; shared/TDM; off-site; bicycle/motorcycle; tandem; rounding; additions/changes; uses not listed) .
• § 18-20.100 Parking and Driveway Design and Exceptions (design standards by Council resolution; exceptions) .
• DC vehicle access standard (driveway permits; pedestrian continuity in DC) .
• Zone property standards referencing § 18-20.090: RR § 18-3.020; LDR § 18-4.020; MDR § 18-5.020; HDR § 18-6.020; GC § 18-9.020; IN § 18-10.020 .
• SP combining zone — parking governed by specific plan § 18-12.030(b) .
• Home occupation on-site customer parking rule (20' driveway may count) .

Retrieved passages

• Clearlake Zoning Code High relevance show source text
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• Clearlake Zoning Code (section shall) High relevance show source text
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• Clearlake Zoning Code (Section 65583) High relevance show source text
• Clearlake Zoning Code Medium relevance show source text
• Clearlake Zoning Code (Section 18-20.090.) Medium relevance show source text
• Clearlake Zoning Code (Section 18-20.040.) Medium relevance show source text
• Clearlake Zoning Code (Article Standards) Medium relevance show source text

Cited sections

• § 18-20.090 Parking Space Requirements (including Tables 20, 22, 22.1, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27; DC standards; shared/TDM; off-site; bicycle/motorcycle; tandem; rounding; additions/changes; uses not listed) . (§ 18-20.090)
• § 18-20.100 Parking and Driveway Design and Exceptions (design standards by Council resolution; exceptions) . (§ 18-20.100)
• DC vehicle access standard (driveway permits; pedestrian continuity in DC) .
• Zone property standards referencing § 18-20.090: RR § 18-3.020; LDR § 18-4.020; MDR § 18-5.020; HDR § 18-6.020; GC § 18-9.020; IN § 18-10.020 . (§ 18-20.090)
• SP combining zone — parking governed by specific plan § 18-12.030(b) . (§ 18-12.030)
• Home occupation on-site customer parking rule (20' driveway may count) .
• Clearlake_ZoningCode.md