Staff recommends easing medical‑office parking minimums but keeps stricter rules for surgery centers

At the May 29 workshop Tory Boone, zoning manager, presented the results of an observation study of medical‑office parking taken during January 2024 peak periods and recommended lowering the city’s minimum parking requirement for medical offices (other than outpatient surgery centers) to match the general‑office rate.

Boone summarized the study: staff observed four medical office buildings, two special medical facilities and two urgent care sites, with peak‑hour occupancy ranging from 32% to 84% (84% at an outpatient surgery center). She told the council that "the observation study reveals there is no shortage of parking supply," and that most observed medical sites would have had sufficient parking if developed at the lower general‑office rate.

Staff compared Boca Raton’s requirements with those in neighboring jurisdictions and with ITE guidance. Boone cited an ITE average rate of roughly 1 space per 333 sq ft for medical uses but noted that ITE reports much higher peak demand specifically for outpatient surgery centers (ITE peak of about 1 per 118 for those centers). Based on that, staff recommended setting medical‑office minimums (except outpatient surgery centers) to 1 space per 200 sq ft up to 4,000 sq ft and 1 per 300 thereafter, and keeping outpatient surgery centers at 1 per 175 for further study.

A local property owner who spoke during public comment supported reconsidering parking rates, citing ITE guidance, and argued reduced minimums would free leasable square footage for future development. Following discussion, councilors signaled agreement and gave staff direction to proceed with the recommended change for most medical offices while retaining and studying the surgery‑center standard.

What’s next: staff will prepare ordinance language and return to council for public hearings; the outpatient surgery‑center requirement will remain under review pending further local data.