Staff recommends aligning most medical-office parking minimums with general office rates; council directs staff to proceed

Tory Boone, zoning manager in Development Services, presented a staff parking study at the May 29 workshop and recommended changing the city's minimum parking requirements so that most medical offices use the same standard as general office: 1 parking space per 200 square feet up to 4,000 square feet, and 1 per 300 square feet thereafter.

Boone said staff observed several types of medical uses in January 2024 during peak hours and found occupancies ranging from 32% to 84%, with outpatient surgery centers showing the highest peak occupancy (84%). Based on the study, Boone recommended aligning medical-office parking minimums (other than outpatient surgery centers) with general office standards to allow leasing of existing office buildings to medical tenants without requiring additional parking.

Boone recommended retaining the current 1 space per 175 square feet minimum for outpatient surgery centers because the ITE parking generation manual and observed peak demand for those facilities remain significantly higher; staff also recommended further study of surgery-center parking before considering changes for that use.

During public comment, Jonathan (gives address 6501 Congress Avenue) thanked staff and cited ITE guidance suggesting a medical rate of 1 per 333 square feet, urging the council to "do it right". Council members signaled support for staff's recommendation to proceed with the parking-rate alignment for most medical offices while continuing separate study for outpatient surgery centers. Staff said they will continue to review parking generation citywide.