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Opelika board approves reduced parking ratio for proposed Gateway Drive apartment project
Summary
The Zoning Board approved reducing required parking from two spaces per unit to 1.75 for a proposed multifamily development at Gateway Drive, a change the developer and staff said aligns with bedroom-count analysis and current multifamily trends.
The Opelika Zoning Board of Adjustment approved a request to reduce the minimum parking requirement for a proposed multifamily project at Gateway Drive near Satigo Road from two spaces per dwelling unit to 1.75.
Planning staff said the project, proposed by Cash Family Partners with Continental Properties as the contract purchaser for roughly 16 of the 22 acres shown, would contain a large share of one-bedroom and studio units — staff cited industry practice of measuring parking by bedrooms rather than units. Staff estimated the requested change would remove roughly 50 parking spaces overall while still providing more parking than some recent multifamily projects in the area.
Mark McLaughlin, development director with Continental Properties, told the board the company routinely uses a 1.75 parking-ratio on its multifamily properties and presented a bedroom-based breakdown showing the request aligns closely with an internal 1.74 estimate. "We use a 1.75 ratio on parking across all of our properties," McLaughlin said.
A board member moved to approve the parking reduction; the motion was seconded and carried by voice vote. The conditional-use and rezoning steps noted by staff will proceed through the planning commission as part of the project's next approvals.
The board did not attach special conditions to the parking reduction during the meeting.
