How many parking spaces does my business need in Sterling Heights?

Section 23.02 sets the ratios. Common ones: general office 1 per 200 square feet, medical or dental office 1 per 100, medical clinic 1 per employee plus 1 per 75, bank 1 per 150 plus 5 stacking spaces per drive-through lane, retail 1 per 200 (easing to 1 per 225 above 75,000 square feet and 1 per 250 above 200,000), restaurant 1 per 90, fast food 1 per 75 plus 10 stacking per lane, manufacturing 1 per 500, warehouse 1 per 1,500 (Section 23.02.D-F). Floor area means 90 percent of gross floor area serving the public (Section 23.01.K). Fractions round up (Section 23.01.I).

Lots must be paved in asphalt or concrete, curbed, striped, and drained on site, with 20 foot maneuvering lanes, no parallel parking, and no backing into the street (Section 23.03). Parking is generally barred from required front yards, with district-specific exceptions in C-2, C-3, C-4, and RM-3 (Section 23.01.M).

Flexibility exists: shared parking for non-overlapping schedules (larger requirement plus 15 percent), a 10 percent mixed-use reduction in O-3 and C-4 over 50,000 square feet with a traffic study, and reserved future parking areas by agreement (Section 23.01.D-F, N). The ZBA can also modify parking counts (Section 30.02.C.3).