Government legislation ministry rules out apartment parking in natural green zones

The government legislation ministry said that apartment residents' ground-level self-parking lots cannot be built in natural green zones, even where the apartment is in the general commercial part of a site spanning both zones.

The interpretation concerned a parcel that straddles general commercial and natural green zoning. It assumed the natural green portion exceeded 330 square meters, requiring separate application of building and land-use rules in each zone.

Parking is listed as an ancillary housing facility under the Housing Act. The Building Act enforcement decree also treats parking required for a building's principal function as an accessory use. The ministry said the proposed lot would serve apartment residents' parking demand and would not have an independent principal purpose.

The enforcement decree requires accessory buildings to follow the restrictions applied to their principal buildings. It separately applies restrictions on buildings to facilities that are not buildings, including the ground-level self-parking lot at issue.

Natural green zones are intended to preserve urban green space and allow limited development only where unavoidable. Local planning ordinances may permit certain multifamily housing in those zones, but the decree expressly excludes apartments.

Although local planning ordinances can permit automobile-related facilities in natural green zones, the Building Act classifications depend on a facility's principal use. The ministry concluded that an apartment parking lot is not a permitted automobile-related facility because it is an accessory use rather than a parking lot with an independent principal use.