As local business owners question city
policy on parking, Clarkston City Manager
Carol Eberhardt deferred the issue to others.
‘The planning commission is really the
expert when it comes to the parking issues
and requirements,? Eberhardt said.
The Planning Commission reviews construction
plans before it reaches city council
for approval, she said.
Clarkston business owners and investors
Bob Roth and Ed Adler said the city must
address parking as new businesses and expansion
projects are considered.
‘Those are our parking lots,? said Roth,
who along with Adler owns Washington
Management and its two parking lots behind
the Clarkston Mills building.
Employees from local restaurants already
park in his lot all day long, Roth added.
Roth and Adler allow the public to park in
the lots, but their proposed multi-million-dollar
inn and conservatory project stretching
from Washington south towards Depot Park
could change that.
That project is on hold for now as developers
get approval for work including planting
grass at another of their lots, at Waldon
and Main.
Roth and Adler said they may close the
parking lots, which have well over 100 spaces.
Brightside Dental was approved for an
addition to expand its practice by 1,500 square
feet. The addition would mean the business
needs 27 parking places.
Various projects in question include several
new restaurants planned at downtown
buildings.
An up-scale Italian restaurant had approached
the owners of a historic building
located at 55 S. Main, but owner Dave Carter
said the offer was contingent upon getting
rezoning approval from residential to commercial.
The deal fell through, owners say,
but they still sought and were approved for
re-zoning.
The 15 S. Main building, which was home
to Clarkston State Bank since 1999, switched
ownership from the bank to two local residents
earlier this year. The new owners said
they are fine tuning plans for the two-story
building.
Curt Catallo of Union Joints, umbrella company
of several restaurants and an advertising
agency, plans to renovate the current
Morgan’s Service, an auto repair shop at 28
S. Main Street, into a 138-seat restaurant.
The plan has the approval of city council.
Several residents spoke about parking in
the city at a June 22 City Council meeting.
Council took no action.
Section 20-8 of a Zoning Ordinance, dated
1999, specifies how many spaces are required
for each type of business.
In addition to a set amount of parking, the
ordinance requires any facility requiring over
four spaces be designed, constructed, and
maintained according to the ordinance ?
‘Plans for the construction of any parking
lot in conjunction with a new development
shall be submitted for review and approval
according to the normal site-plan review procedures.?
The ordinance also mandates inspection
and approval of parking areas by the code
enforcer before certificates of of occupancy
can be issued.
The Planning Commission will discuss 55
S. Main and 28 S. Main at a meeting at City
Hall on July 20.

Required parking
based on footage

According to the Clarkston Zoning Ordinance
Section 20-8, businesses are required to provide
parking spaces based on square footage:
Medical/dental office/clinic, seven spaces
per 1,000-square-foot gross floor area, plus one
for each examining room, dental chair, or similar
use area;
General retail business under 10,000 square
feet, three spaces per 1,000 square feet;
Sit-down restaurants with liquor license, 20
spaces per 1,000 square feet or 0.6 per seat,
whichever is greater;
Bars/lounges/taverns/nightclubs, majority of
sales consist of alcoholic beverages, 25 spaces per
1,000 square feet of usable space;
Restaurant with bar and lounge, 14 spaces
per 1,000 square feet or 0.5 spaces per table,
whichever is greater, plus spaces for banquet and
meeting rooms; and
Restaurant carry-out or deli with less than
six tables or booths, six spaces plus one per employee
during peak shift.