23.54.016

Except in the MPC-YT zone, Major Institution uses are subject to the following transportation and parking requirements: A. General provisions 1. Minimum requirements for parking quantity are established in subsection 23.54.016.B. 2. The maximum number of spaces provided for the Major Institution use shall not exceed 135 percent of the minimum requirement, unless additional spaces are approved through administrative or Council review as provided in subsection 23.54.016.C. For a Major Institution use in a regional center or Station Area Overlay District, the maximum limit shall not exceed 135 percent of the minimum parking requirements calculated pursuant to subsection 23.54.016.B.2. 3. Parking requirements for Major Institutions with more than one type of institutional use (for example, a hospital and a university), if applicable, shall be calculated for each use separately, and then added together to derive the total number of required spaces. 4. When a permit application is made for new development at an existing Major Institution and the new development is a hospital or located outside a regional center or Station Area Overlay District, parking requirements shall be calculated both for the entire Major Institution and for the proposed new development. If there is a parking deficit for the entire institution, the institution shall make up a portion of the deficit in addition to the quantity required for the new development, according to subsection 23.54.016.B.3. If there is a parking surplus above the maximum allowed number of spaces for the institution as a whole, required amounts of parking for new development will first be applied to the surplus in the required ratio of long-term and short-term spaces. Additional parking shall be permitted only when no surplus remains. 5. When determining parking requirements, individuals fitting into more than one category (for example, a student who is also an employee or a faculty member who is also a doctor) shall not be counted twice. The category requiring the greater number of parking spaces shall be used. B. Parking quantity required 1. In regional centers and Station Area Overlay Districts, no parking is required for Major Institution uses, except for hospitals. 2. For all other Major Institutions the minimum number of parking spaces required is as follows: a. Long-term parking 1) Medical institutions. A number of spaces equal to 80 percent of hospital-based doctors; plus 25 percent of staff doctors; plus 30 percent of all other employees present at peak hour; 2) Educational institutions. A number of spaces equal to 15 percent of the maximum students present at peak hour, excluding resident students; plus 30 percent of employees present at peak hour; plus 25 percent of the resident unmarried students; plus one space for each married student apartment unit. b. Short-term parking 1) Medical institutions. A number of spaces equal to one space per six beds; plus one space per five average daily outpatients; 2) Educational institutions. A number of spaces equal to five percent of the maximum students present at peak hour excluding resident students. c. Additional short-term parking requirements. When one of the following uses is a Major Institution use, the following additional short-term parking requirements shall be met. Such requirements may be met by joint use of parking areas and facilities if the Director determines that the uses have different hours of operation according to subsection 23.54.020.G: 1) Museum. One space for each 250 square feet of public floor area; 2) Theater, auditorium, or assembly hall. One space for each 200 square feet of audience assembly area not containing fixed seats, and one space for every ten seats for floor area containing fixed seats; 3) Spectator sports facility containing fewer than 20,000 seats. One space for each ten permanent seats and one space for each 100 square feet of spectator assembly area not containing fixed seats; 4) Spectator sports facility containing 20,000 or more seats. One space for each ten permanent seats and one bus space for each 300 permanent seats. d. Bicycle parking. Bicycle parking meeting the development standards of subsections 23.54.037.B through 23.54.037.G and subsection 23.54.016.D.2 shall be provided in the following quantities: 1) Medical institutions. A number of spaces equal to two percent of employees, including doctors, present at peak hour; 2) Educational institutions. A number of spaces equal to ten percent of the maximum students present at peak hour plus five percent of employees. If at the time of application for a master use permit, the applicant can demonstrate that the bicycle parking requirement is inappropriate for a particular institution because of topography, location, nature of the users of the institution, or other reasons, the Director may modify the bicycle parking requirement. 3. Parking deficits. In addition to providing the minimum required parking for a new structure, five percent of any vehicular or bicycle parking deficit as determined by the minimum requirements of this subsection 23.54.016.B, existing on May 2, 1990, shall be supplied before issuance of a certificate of occupancy. C. Requirement for a Transportation Management Program 1. When a Major Institution proposes parking in excess of 135 percent of the applicable minimum requirement for short-term parking spaces calculated pursuant to subsections 23.54.016.A and 23.54.016.B, or when a Major Institution prepares a master plan or applies for a master use permit for development that would provide 20 or more parking spaces or increase the Major Institution's number of parking spaces by 20 or more above the level existing on May 2, 1990, a transportation management program shall be required or an existing transportation management program shall be reviewed and updated. The Director shall assess the traffic and parking impacts of the proposed development against the general goal of reducing the percentage of the Major Institution's employees, staff, and/or students who commute in single-occupancy vehicles (SOV) during the peak period to 50 percent or less, excluding those employees or staff whose work regularly requires the use of a private vehicle during working hours. 2. Transportation management programs are prepared and implemented in accordance with the Director's Rule governing Transportation Management Programs. The Transportation Management Program shall be in effect upon Council adoption of the Major Institution master plan. 3. If an institution has previously prepared a transportation management program, the Director, in consultation with the Director of Transportation shall review the Major Institution's progress toward meeting stated goals. The Director shall then determine: a. That the existing program should be revised to correct deficiencies and/or address new or cumulative impacts; or b. That the application will not be approved until the Major Institution makes substantial progress toward meeting the goals of its existing program; or c. That a new program should be developed to address impacts associated with the application; or d. That the existing program does not need to be revised. 4. Through the process of reviewing a new or updated transportation management program in conjunction with reviewing a master plan, the Council may approve in excess of 135 percent of the minimum requirements for long-term parking spaces, or may increase or decrease the required 50 percent SOV goal, based upon the Major Institution's impacts on traffic and opportunities for alternative means of transportation. Factors to be considered shall include, but not be limited to: a. Proximity to a street with frequent transit service; b. Air quality conditions in the vicinity of the Major Institution; c. The absence of other nearby traffic generators and the level of existing and future traffic volumes in and through the surrounding area; d. The patterns and peaks of traffic generated by Major Institution uses and the availability or lack of on-street parking opportunities in the surrounding area; e. The impact of additional parking on the Major Institution site; f. The extent to which the scheduling of classes or work shifts reduces the transportation alternatives available to employees or students or the presence of limited carpool opportunities due to the small number of employees; and g. The extent to which the Major Institution has demonstrated a commitment to SOV alternatives. 5. The provision of short-term parking spaces in excess of 135 percent of the minimum requirements established in subsection 23.54.016.B.2 may be permitted by the Director through preparation or update of a Transportation Management Program. In evaluating whether to allow more than 135 percent of the minimum, the Director, in consultation with the Director of Transportation, shall consider evidence of parking demand and opportunities for alternative means of transportation. Factors to be considered shall include but are not necessarily limited to the criteria contained in subsection 23.54.015.D.1.b and the following: a. The nature of services provided by Major Institution uses which generate short-term parking demand; and b. The extent to which the Major Institution manages short-term parking to ensure its availability to meet short-term parking needs. Based on this review, the Director shall determine the amount of additional short-term parking to be permitted, if any. 6. When an institution applies for a permit for development included in its master plan, it shall present evidence that it has made substantial progress toward the goals of its transportation management program as approved with a master plan, including the SOV goal. If substantial progress is not being made, as determined by the Director in consultation with the Seattle Department of Transportation and metropolitan King County, the Director may: a. Require the institution to take additional steps to comply with the transportation management program; and/or b. Require measures in addition to those in the transportation management program which encourage alternative means of transportation for the travel generated by the proposed new development; and/or c. Deny the permit if previous efforts have not resulted in sufficient progress toward meeting the SOV goals of the institution. D. Development Standards for Parking. 1. Long-term Parking. a. Carpools and vanpools shall be given guaranteed spaces in a more convenient location to the Major Institution uses they serve than SOV spaces, and shall be charged substantially less than the prevailing parking rates for SOVs. b. There shall be a charge for all noncarpool/vanpool long-term parking spaces. 2. Bicycle Parking. a. Required bicycle parking shall be in a convenient location, covered in the same proportion as auto parking spaces and provided free of charge. b. Bicycle rack designs shall accommodate locking of the bicycle frame and both wheels with chains, cables, or U-shaped bicycle locks to an immovable rack or stall. 3. Joint use or shared use of parking areas and facilities shall be encouraged if approved by the Director according to the standards of Section 23.54.020 G. 4. The location and design of off-street parking and access to off-street parking shall be regulated according to the general standards of Chapter 23.54 and the specific standards of the underlying zone in which the parking is located. (Ord. 127376 , § 60, 2025; Ord. 127375 , § 88, 2025; Ord. 125558 , § 43, 2018; Ord. 123963, § 21, 2012; Ord. 123939, § 15, 2012; Ord. 122311 , § 69, 2006 [cross-reference and style update]; Ord. 121477, § 31, 2004 [department name change]; Ord. 118409, § 200, 1996 [department name change]; Ord. 118362, § 8, 1996; Ord. 115165, § 1, 1990 [renumbered from 23.54.015.K and amended]; Ord. 115002 , § 13, 1990.)