Castle Rock to step up parking requirements

BY MCKENNA HARFORD MHARFORD@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

Castle Rock is moving forward with increasing parking requirements for multi-family developments.

Town council directed sta at the May 16 meeting to draft an ordinance that would require multifamily parking requirements to have at least two spaces per unit, as well as 1.1 spaces per unit for senior multifamily and 1.25 spaces per unit for downtown multifamily developments.

Currently, the town requires multifamily projects to include one parking space per studio, 1.5 parking spaces per one-bedroom units and two parking spaces per two or threebedroom units, as well as one extra guest space for every four units.

Senior and downtown multifamily developments are required to have one space per unit.

In recent discussions, a majority of council members have expressed concerns with the town not having enough parking to meet demand, particularly in mixed-use areas like downtown and the Meadows Town Center.

“We hear loud and clear that there are some places that are hard to park,” Mayor Jason Gray said. “We want to be reactive, but we don’t want to be over-reactive.”

Town sta recommended a modest increase for multifamily develop- ment that would get rid of the bedroom-based requirements. Instead, the town will require two spaces per unit regardless of size. For a 200-unit multifamily project, sta said the changes would increase the total needed parking from 393 spaces to 400 spaces.

Feedback from developers indicates an average need of 1.25 to 1.5 parking spaces per unit.

SEE PARKING, P31