Off-Street Parking Requirements for Raleigh Planned Development (PD) Districts

Off-street parking requirements for projects in a City of Raleigh PD: Planned Development District are established by the customized PD Master Plan, which has the authority to modify the standard ratios and design requirements found in the general Unified Development Ordinance. If a specific parking standard is not modified within the approved Raleigh PD Master Plan, the project must adhere to the default vehicle and bicycle parking ratios specified for the individual building types and uses. Additionally, any project in the City of Raleigh providing vehicle parking in excess of the established maximums must implement mitigation measures, such as utilizing parking structures or providing increased electric vehicle (EV) support [Sec. 4.7.2, Sec. 7.1.4].

Customization through the PD Master Plan

The PD: Planned Development District is designed as a customized zoning category for the City of Raleigh. It is approved in conjunction with a Planned Development Master Plan [Sec. 4.7.1].

While most developments in the City of Raleigh must follow the prescriptive standards of their assigned zoning districts, the Raleigh City Council has the authority to approve modifications to "Chapter 7: General Development Standards" specifically for a PD District [Sec. 4.7.2.B]. Because Article 7.1 (Parking) is part of Chapter 7, a developer may propose unique parking ratios or layouts that differ from the city-wide defaults to better suit the specific needs of the high-quality project design intended for the PD District.

If a Planned Development Master Plan is silent regarding a specific parking requirement, the general provisions and ratios of the Raleigh Unified Development Ordinance apply by default [Sec. 4.7.2.A].

Baseline Vehicle Parking Ratios for Residential Uses

In the City of Raleigh, unless the PD Master Plan dictates otherwise, the following vehicle parking maximums apply to residential components of a development. Note that many residential types do not have a maximum limit on the number of spaces provided [Sec. 7.1.2.C].

Use Category	Vehicle Parking (Maximum)
Single-unit living	No maximum
Two-unit living	No maximum
Multi-unit living: Townhouse	No maximum
Multi-unit living: 0 - 1 bedroom	1.5 spaces per unit
Multi-unit living: 2 bedrooms	2.25 spaces per unit
Multi-unit living: 3 bedrooms	3 spaces per unit
Multi-unit living: 4 bedrooms	4 spaces per unit
Multi-unit living: 5+ bedrooms	5 spaces per unit
Accessory dwelling unit	No maximum
Group Living (General)	1 space per bed
Boardinghouse	2 spaces per bedroom

Baseline Vehicle Parking Ratios for Commercial Uses

For commercial and office projects within a Raleigh PD District, the following default ratios are used to determine the maximum allowable off-street parking [Sec. 7.1.2.C].

Use Category	Vehicle Parking (Maximum)
Office (except Call Centers)	1 space per 200 SF of gross floor area
Call Center	1 space per 100 SF of gross floor area
Retail Sales	1 space per 200 SF of gross floor area + 1.5 spaces per 600 SF of outdoor display area
Restaurant/Bar	1 space per 100 SF of gross floor area
Personal Service	1 space per 250 SF of gross floor area
Day Care (Center)	No maximum
Shopping Center	1 space per 200 SF of gross floor area

Vehicle Parking Mitigation Requirements

The City of Raleigh imposes specific mitigation requirements on projects that provide more vehicle parking than the maximums shown in the tables above. This applies to any Raleigh PD District project that includes more than 16 residential units or more than 10,000 square feet of nonresidential gross floor area [Sec. 7.1.4.A].

If a project in a Raleigh PD District includes an "Urban Frontage" or is located in a Transit Overlay District, and exceeds the parking maximum, the developer must:

Place all spaces exceeding the maximum within a parking structure.
Make at least 20% of those excess spaces available to the general public or shared with another use.
Provide 50% more EV-ready or EV-supporting spaces than otherwise required [Sec. 7.1.4.B].

For PD District projects in other areas, the developer must either provide all parking in a structure or meet enhanced landscaping and environmental standards, such as retaining all rainfall from the 90th percentile storm event [Sec. 7.1.4.B].

Baseline Bicycle Parking Ratios

Raleigh PD Districts are also subject to bicycle parking requirements. Short-term spaces typically serve visitors, while long-term spaces are intended for residents or employees [Sec. 7.1.2.C, Sec. 7.1.6].

Use Category	Short-Term Bicycle Parking (Min)	Long-Term Bicycle Parking (Min)
Multi-unit living (non-townhouse)	1 space per 20 units (min. 4)	1 space per 7 bedrooms
Retail Sales	1 space per 5,000 SF (min. 4)	None
Office	1 space per 10,000 SF (min. 4)	1 space per 5,000 SF (min. 4)
Restaurant/Bar	1 space per 50,000 SF (min. 4)	1 space per 25,000 SF (min. 4)

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