Yes or No?: Are developers allowed to count parking lots as parkland and open space in the City of Santa Clarita within specific plan areas?
Answer: NO
The City’s code section (Unified Development Code, Section 17.16.030 C. 2. b.) reads, “Consideration of other forms of access, such as pedestrian ways, courts, plazas, driveways, horse trails, bike trails, or open parking lots offered for dedication may be made at the time of the specific plan consideration as a means of meeting requirements for open space or park dedication requirements.”
An example of how this would be applied by the City of Santa Clarita would be when a park or trail head is proposed and built in a specific plan area and it provides parking for that use. Then, that entire amenity, the park and/or trail and associated parking, could, at the Council’s discretion, be accepted as a dedication of open space. In no way does this code section relieve an applicant of any parking requirements, nor does it suggest or allow that required commercial or residential parking could be used as a means to meet providing required open space.
