A parking lot that serves a business on the same property is usually approved as part of that business, while a standalone pay lot usually needs commercial or industrial zoning and often a conditional use permit. Many downtown codes now limit new surface lots as the main use of a property.
New to zoning types? Read what commercial zoning means and what it allows.
C - Commercial
or
I - Industrial
Is a parking lot allowed in Columbus?
Open the Columbus zoning map to find a property's zoning district, then check what that district allows.
Check zoning in Columbus, OH →Most parking lots are accessory parking, built to serve a store, office or apartment on the same property. They're approved through that building's site plan and don't need a separate zoning use. A standalone lot is the main use of the land, such as a pay lot downtown, an airport lot or a lot leased to a nearby employer.
Standalone lots are usually listed as "commercial parking" or "parking lot, principal use." They're commonly allowed in general commercial and industrial districts. Many downtown and mixed-use codes now restrict new surface lots, because cities want buildings on the street instead.
Most parking lots are private property. A lot owned by a grocery store, office park or apartment complex belongs to that owner, even though customers are welcome to use it. The owner can set rules, post time limits and, where state law allows, tow cars that break them.
Public parking lots are the ones a city, county, transit agency or other government owns. Street parking is public too. Some state traffic laws still apply in private lots that are open to the public, so a private lot isn't a place where anything goes.
An acre is 43,560 square feet. Each space, plus its share of the drive aisle, often takes about 300 to 350 square feet in a simple layout. That works out to roughly 125 to 145 spaces per acre before landscaping, islands, setbacks and entrances.
Real lots usually hold fewer, often closer to 100 per acre once code-required landscaping is in. Angled stalls, one-way aisles and compact spaces change the count. The parking lot size calculator runs the numbers for your lot.
Every lot that serves the public needs accessible spaces. The Justice Department's guide to restriping parking lots sets the minimum by lot size:
| Total spaces | Accessible spaces | Of those, van accessible |
|---|---|---|
| 1 to 25 | 1 | 1 |
| 26 to 50 | 2 | 1 |
| 51 to 75 | 3 | 1 |
| 76 to 100 | 4 | 1 |
| 101 to 150 | 5 | 1 |
| 151 to 200 | 6 | 1 |
At least one in every six accessible spaces must be van accessible.
Zoning codes set design rules for both accessory and standalone lots. Common ones include:
The setback calculator helps you see how much of a lot the setbacks take.
Lots used to store vehicles rather than park them fall under different rules, covered in the guides to outdoor storage and boat and RV storage. The commercial zoning guide explains the districts where pay lots usually fit.
A surface lot is parking on a single paved level at ground height, as opposed to a parking garage or underground structure. It's the cheapest type of parking to build but uses the most land per car.
Each code sets its own ratio, usually by floor area, seats or employees, and it differs by use. The parking calculator gives an estimate based on common ratios.
Usually not as a standalone business. Some codes allow a lot in a residential zone to serve a nearby church, school or business, but often only with a conditional use permit and screening.
Sometimes. Renting out spare spaces can turn accessory parking into a commercial parking use, and the spaces your own business needs under the code generally have to stay available for it.