Old parking regulations stir up sorrow

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    By Lori Ann Lessig

    If built today, most student housing would not comply with the Provo City Off-Street Parking Ordinance.

    However, some student apartment complexes are not required to comply with this ordinance because they were built before it was passed.

    Spring Palmer, a BYU graduate from Morgan, Morgan County, and former tenant at Liberty Square said, “If you ever came home late at night, finding parking was a joke.”

    The Provo City Off-Street Parking ordinance, which was last revised in 1995, requires a minimum of two parking spaces for each 100 square foot bedroom. Smaller bedrooms require only one parking space. There should also be one visitor parking space for every four bedrooms.

    If an apartment complex wants to make an addition to the existing building, only the new addition is required to meet the current ordinance. Remodeled units are not considered additions and abide by the ordinance that was in place when the complex was built.

    Liberty Square apartments, built before the current ordinance, has 400 bedrooms. To meet the current ordinance, Liberty Square would be required to provide almost 800 parking spaces

    Finding visitor parking in some of these student complexes can be a challenge. The Sparks II apartment complex does not provide any visitor parking. However, being built before current ordinances, Sparks II is not required to comply.

    In addition, according to the ordinance, parking spaces are required to be 8 feet 6 inches wide and 18 feet deep.

    Liberty Square”s parking spaces measure under 8 feet wide and just over 14 feet long. King Henry”s parking spaces had similar measurements.

    “I got this big old stupid scratch in my car because the parking spaces were too small,” said Matt Millard, a recent BYU graduate and King Henry resident.

    John Pace of BYU Off-Campus housing said BYU does not regulate off-campus parking.

    “We don”t have any requirements on parking,” Pace said. “We don”t regulate it. It”s the city”s jurisdiction.”

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