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Council adopts ordinance allowing stacked below‑grade parking with design limits
Summary
Midway City adopted Ordinance 2025‑18 to permit stacked/below‑natural‑grade parking under conditions: only one level visible above natural grade, no berm-created grade changes, ramp access limits on listed corridors, and two accesses for below‑grade garages exceeding 150 stalls.
The Midway City Council voted to adopt Ordinance 2025‑18, amending off‑street parking regulations to allow stacked (multi‑level) parking where only one parking layer is visible above natural grade and all other layers are completely below natural grade and not visible from adjacent streets or properties.
Key provisions adopted include prohibiting the use of berms or camouflage to create a new 'natural grade' to hide below‑grade parking; restricting ramp access so that direct entries from Main Street, Center Street, River Road and roads fronting the town square are not allowed; limiting access ramp grade to 10% unless heated or protected from the elements; and requiring below‑grade parking facilities with more than 150 stalls to provide two accesses. The ordinance also specifies that any area gained by below‑grade parking cannot be used for additional building floor area and must remain landscaping, roofless sports facilities, or parking.
Council discussed clarifications — defining 'natural grade,' preventing artificial fill to bypass the intent of below‑grade requirements, addressing hardscape/open‑space tradeoffs, and adding a reference to arterial and collector roads on the existing ramps list. Staff said they will address details such as requiring conservation of open space and future consideration of Main Street open‑space percentages in coming code updates.
A motion to approve the ordinance as amended (to reference current arterials and collectors) passed with recorded 'Aye' votes from the members present. Staff will publish the ordinance and incorporate the implementation details into building‑permit review and engineering requirements.
