Off Street Parking in the Midburbs

I can't believe I'm doing this. What's that, you may ask? I wrote an article about parking. Here's the nexus of the article. I heard a great quote recently. The root of all parking problems is a great place. I wish I could take credit for this one, but no. This quote comes straight from Brian Davis, the principal of Studio Davis; a consulting firm focused on parking policy, systems, and management, and a contributing writer to NJ Urbanthinker on occasion. That got my mind thinking (it does work from time to time). In some of my favorite places, parking can be a hassle. On-street parking can be a chore, and a stroke of luck comes into play in getting the prime spot. But also, I'm a parker who doesn't mind walking a bit, so parking farther away is not an issue for me (my wife will think otherwise). Some of my favorite places are midburbs. What are midburbs, you may ask? Well, midburbs are the in-between urban and suburban towns. Smaller towns with a walkable downtown, transit options, an active restaurant, and a retail scene have examples of high-density housing surrounding train or bus stations. These are just some examples of a midburb. In an older blog post, I wrote about midburbs, a new definition of suburbia, which was also an ode to my hometown of Cranford. https://www.njurbanthinker.org/blog/red-hot-4za3y So, with some trepidation, I reviewed the zoning codes for parking requirements for five midburbs with established walkable downtowns to review the parking requirements for commercial and residential uses. Note that some of these established downtowns have redevelopment plans where the parking requirements differ from the zoning ordinance. For the purposes of this article, I'm just reviewing the zoning ordinances. The towns I reviewed were Westfield, South Orange, Metuchen, Scotch Plains, and my hometown of Cranford.

Why does this matter? Well, parking requirements can hold up applications and deter business. In many municipalities, when there is a change of use and the parking requirements change, an applicant who wants to open a new business has to go to the planning or zoning board for a parking variance. This takes time. Time means money. And when it takes time, a new business loses money. Also, to aptly state many of the midburb towns, there is no on-site parking for these new businesses. New businesses must utilize off-street parking and parking in municipal parking lots. This makes sense, as you want your downtown businesses to use these parking lots. Also, the parking requirements for residential change when transit options are nearby. I'm not saying that parking should not be required for residential uses adjacent to train or bus stations, but there should be a reduced standard. This parking reduction is a common practice for residential development near train stations. Aptly named transit-oriented developments, these usually higher-density developments may require one parking space for every one-bedroom unit and 1.5 parking spaces for a two and three-bedroom unit. Is it perfect science? No, but studies have shown that multi-family development near train or bus stations should have reduced parking requirements for residential uses.

Now, let's examine some parking zoning ordinances.

Westfield

Westfield's Downtown, located along North and South Avenue and Broad Street outlined in the zoning map below, is located in the Township's Central Business District, better known as the CBD.

Westfield's off-street parking requirements for all uses within the CBD Zone are one space for every 300 square feet. However, Westfield has an exception for parking in the CBD Zone. As per Section 17.02.G.2, the following applies:

 Waiver of parking requirements in CBD District. In the CBD Zone District only, in the event that an application for development is unable to comply with the required number of off-street parking spaces, the provision of a deficient number of off-street parking spaces may be approved without a hearing by the Planning Board when the applicant demonstrates that the proposed development results in a decrease, no change, or an increase of no more than 30 spaces in the deficiency of the number of off-street parking spaces from that which exists or existed with the most recent development on the site. 

As mentioned before, this is important. A new business does not have to go in front of the Planning or Zoning Board for a parking variance. Thus, they can open up their business without the hassle, time, and money of going in front of these boards. This parking waiver is a pro-business move by Westfield. Regarding parking for residential uses not governed by a redevelopment plan downtown, Residential Site Improvement Standards (RSIS) standards apply of 1.8 parking spaces per 1-bedroom unit, 2.0 parking spaces per 2-bedroom unit, and 2.1 parking spaces per 3-bedroom unit.

South Orange

South Orange's Downtown encompasses South Orange Avenue from South Ridgewood Avenue to Prospect Street. The downtown business district is located within several zoning districts, including the CB Central Business District, CB-1, CB-2, and the B-1 primary business. As per Section 185-174 of the Village's zoning ordinance, retail parking is the standard parking space per 300 square feet of gross floor area, and restaurants are one per 50 square feet of net floor area devoted to patron use. This required parking for restaurant use is high. Furthermore, there are exceptions to off-street parking in business districts per Section 185-176. They are as follows:

• 185-176.a

• Any owner or group of owners of a business building or buildings in the business zones may jointly sponsor off-street parking facilities, provided that the area of the parking facilities equals the total parking area requirements of each owner participating therein, that such jointly sponsored facilities comply with all the other requirements of this Part 13 and further provided that any participating use is no farther from the parking area than 300 feet. 

• 185.175.b

• Parking requirements for individual uses in the B-1 and B-2 Business Districts may be reduced to the extent it can be demonstrated to the approving authority by the applicant that parking requirements will be provided in public or private off-street parking facilities open for use by the general public.

Though parking exceptions exist in business districts, unlike Westfield, there is no waiver for off-street parking requirements. Duly noted, parking in the B-1 and B-2 zones may be reduced, but this does not apply to the CB Zone, which is the core of South Orange's Downtown. Having parking requirements for retail and restaurant uses when there is limited on-site parking, can result in delays for opening businesses, which may require parking variances for properties not governed by a Redevelopment Plan. Also, it is worth noting that South Orange requires two parking spaces for every multi-family residential unit. Generally, properties governed by a Redevelopment Plan within Midburbs within walking distance to a bus or train station will see 1.5 parking spaces required for every one and 2-bedroom unit and 2.0 parking spaces for every 3-bedroom unit.

Metuchen

Now, let's focus on Metuchen, the recent recipient of the 2023 Great American Main Street Award. Kudos to Issac Kremer for all your great work in Metuchen. Best of luck in Princeton. Anyway, back to boring parking talk. Metuchen's Downtown is located in the D-1 Downtown Development Zone. In reviewing Metuchen's off-street parking requirements, I noticed the higher-than-usual parking requirements. For example, retail uses one parking space per 180 square feet of floor area when the space is less than 2,000 square feet and one parking space per 200 square feet for spaces larger than 2,000 square feet. Then, for restaurants, it is one parking space for every 200 sf of floor area or one parking space per every three seats, whichever is greater. This parking requirement is higher than the other midburbs analyzed, and I did not see any waivers. This can result in delays for businesses opening due to the parking variances they may need.

Scotch Plains

Scotch Plains downtown is located in the B-2 zone. As with other midburbs examined, there is limited on-street parking along Park Avenue the downtown corridor, and several municipal parking lots exist for off-street parking. There is one parking lot on Park Avenue, next to the municipal hall, and two parking lots just off Park Avenue. Seeing the burden for businesses requiring parking variances, the Township reduced the parking requirements for retail and restaurants in the B-2 Zone in 2023 to one parking space for every 400 sf for these uses. This proactive measure has reduced the number of businesses requiring parking variances and the burden of going to the Board to open up a business.

Cranford

Last but not least, let's take a look at my hometown of Cranford's parking regulations. Cranford's Downtown (winner of NJ.com's Great Downtown in 2018 and 2019 and Great Downtown by APA-NJ in 2018) is located within the D-C Downtown Core Zone. As I read sections 255-44 of Cranford's code, something jumped at me right away

 In all zones, off-street parking shall be provided for all uses in accordance with the following schedule. All ground floor nonresidential principal permitted uses in the D-C and D-T Zones, except offices, shall not be required to provide off-street parking spaces. These are Central Business District blocks for which public parking shall be provided by the Township. 

Wait, did I read that right? All principally permitted non-residential uses in the D-C and D-T zones don't require parking? That is correct. Cranford is proactive and showcases their business-first model by not burdening businesses with requiring parking variances.

The opening of Cranford's newest restaurant Vine and Oak last year was a prime example of how the non-parking requirement does not impede business. The location of Vine and Oak was the previous location of Wells Fargo on the prominent corner of South and Walnut Avenue in Cranford's downtown core (no pun). A developer purchased the property and started construction in 2020 for extensive exterior facade and interior changes. No planning or zoning board requiring a site plan was required. A restaurant is a permitted use in the D-C Zone. When there is an adaptive reuse of a building, in this case, changing from an outdated bank building to a new dining and drinking destination (yes, Vine and Oak has a liquor license) there can be issues with parking requirements and how this new restaurant will provide this parking. But this was not the case in Downtown Cranford, as no parking was required for Vine and Oak opening. What resulted is a new dining and drinking destination for Downtown Cranford that wasn't faced with the burden of going in front of a planning or zoning board to open.

What did my parking analysis of the Midburbs of Westfield, South Orange, Metuchen, Scotch Plains, and Cranford tell me? Some of these Midburbs, such as Cranford and Westfield, seeing the importance of business growth in their downtowns, limit the burden of off-street parking requirements, making it easier for businesses to open Downtown. All midburbs, aka small suburban downtowns, with walkable downtowns, on-street parking, and municipal parking lots should either eliminate or significantly reduce parking requirements for non-residential uses in order not to deter new business opening in their downtowns.