The process of opening a restaurant can be a lot to handle. From staffing concerns to the entrepreneurial aspects of opening a business, you’re sure to be juggling many things at once. In metropolitan areas, codes and regulations about parking can be complex! Read on to learn more about parking requirements for San Jose restaurants.
In recent years, the city of San Jose has made many changes to their parking requirements to fulfill the city’s goal of a more sustainable and environmentally friendly economy. The City of San Jose’s parking requirements are defined in Table 20.90 located here.
The City of San Jose commercial parking requirements are designed to encourage business patrons to walk, ride their bikes, use bike-sharing services, or ride public transit to get around the city. This goal has led to a reduction in the requirements for new projects’ on-site parking requirements.
What are the Parking Requirements for San Jose:
For restaurants in most of the San Jose area, the city requires that owners provide one parking spot per 2.5 seats in the restaurant or one parking space per 40 square feet of dining area — whichever requires a greater number of parking spaces. To support its goals for a greener economy, the city also requires that you provide bike parking: one spot per 50 seats or 800 square feet of dining area, again, whichever requires a greater number of parking spaces.
For outdoor dining areas incidental to a public eating establishment, the city requires that business owners provide one space per 2.5 dining seats if the outdoor area has more than 25 seats. If the outdoor dining area has less than 25 dining seats, no additional parking spaces are mandatory beyond those required by the number of seats or square footage of the indoor dining area.
If your restaurant is located in the Downtown Zoning District, many commercial and retail uses have no off-street parking requirements — check with a Permit Place San Jose expert to see which regulations apply to your restaurant.
As you can see, parking regulations in the San Jose area can be complex. Thankfully, Permit Place can make the process a little simpler. If you’re located in San Jose CA or the surrounding areas, Permit Place’s team of experts can help you identify what permits you need and handle the necessary paperwork to get you up to local codes. Call today to see what we can do for your business!