Off-Street Parking Standards for the SD: Special District in Kissimmee
In the City of Kissimmee, residential and commercial projects within the SD: Special District must provide off-street parking based on specific use-based ratios, such as one space per 200 square feet for retail and two spaces per unit for townhomes. Parking in the SD: Special District is strictly regulated regarding placement, requiring facilities to be located to the side or rear of buildings and masked by street walls when visible from the public right-of-way.
Overview of Parking Requirements
The SD: Special District is a component of the City of Kissimmee’s Form-Based Code. This district is primarily designed to accommodate large-scale campus-type facilities like hospitals and schools while ensuring they contribute to the urban setting of downtown Kissimmee [Section 14-5-4.H]. Consequently, parking requirements are governed by both the general City of Kissimmee parking ratios and specific form-based design standards.
Minimum Off-Street Parking Ratios
For developments within the SD: Special District, the number of required spaces is determined by the specific use of the property. If a project in the City of Kissimmee contains multiple uses, the total requirement is the sum of the requirements for each individual use [Section 14-7-22.C].
Residential Parking Ratios
| Use Type | Minimum Parking Requirement |
|---|---|
| Townhouses | 2 spaces per unit |
| Multi-family (4–8 units) | 1.5 per unit (Efficiency/1BR) or 2 per unit (2+ BR), plus 0.5 per unit for guest parking |
| Multi-family (Over 8 units) | 1 per unit (Efficiency/1BR) or 1.5 per unit (2+ BR), plus 0.5 per unit for guest parking |
Commercial and Institutional Parking Ratios
| Use Type | Minimum Parking Requirement |
|---|---|
| Retail Stores | 1 space per 200 sq. ft. GFA, plus 1 per 250 sq. ft. of outdoor display |
| Restaurants (Indoor/Outdoor) | 1 space per 80 sq. ft. GFA (Min. 8 spaces per takeout window) |
| Hospitals | 1 space per 0.5 beds |
| Colleges & Vocational Schools | 1 space per 3.5 students plus 2 spaces per 3 employees |
| Office Buildings | 1 space per 300 sq. ft. GFA |
GFA = Gross Floor Area [Table 7-2]
Placement and Design Standards
The City of Kissimmee enforces strict placement rules for the SD: Special District to maintain the pedestrian-oriented character of the area.
- Location: Parking must be located behind the primary building. If rear parking is determined to be unfeasible by the City of Kissimmee, it may be placed to the side [Section 14-5-9.B.3].
- Setbacks: Surface parking areas must maintain a minimum setback of 10 feet from the front and street side property lines, matching the building façade's minimum setback for the SD: Special District [Table 5-2, Section 14-5-9.B.4].
- Masking and Street Walls: Any parking located to the side of a building in the SD: Special District must be masked from the street by a "street wall" between 2.5 and 5 feet in height [Section 14-5-9.B.3, Section 14-5-11.F.1].
- Compact Spaces: Up to 25% of the required parking spaces in the City of Kissimmee form-based zones may be designated as "compact" spaces, which are reduced to 8.5 feet in width [Section 14-5-9.B.1.b].
- Materials: Within the SD: Special District, all parking lots are encouraged to use decorative pavers or stamped/decorative concrete [Section 14-5-9.B.10].
Shared and Reduced Parking
The City of Kissimmee permits and encourages shared parking solutions in the SD: Special District to improve land-use efficiency.
- Shared Parking Calculation: Total required spaces can be adjusted by adding the requirements for each separate function and dividing by a "sharing factor" based on the time of day and use type [Section 14-5-9.B.8].
- Traditional Neighborhood Development (TND) Waiver: The City of Kissimmee may waive up to 50% of the parking requirements for non-residential uses if the project is oriented toward serving neighborhood residents [Section 14-7-22.E.2].
- Bicycle Facilities Incentive: For every shower facility or bicycle locker provided on-site, the total number of required vehicular spaces may be reduced by two, provided the total reduction does not exceed 10% of the total requirement [Section 14-7-22.E.1].
Sections Cited
- Section 14-5-4: Transect zones established
- Section 14-5-9: Access, circulation and parking requirements
- Section 14-5-11: Landscape, buffers and screening standards
- Section 14-7-22: Automobile parking ratios
- Section 14-7-25: Shared Parking
- Table 5-2: Transect Zone Dimensional Standards
- Table 7-2: Minimum Parking Ratios