Tonawanda, NY Parking Rules: Commercial & Oversized Vehicles (2026)

Section 215-24.16 of the Zoning Law sets general standards for outdoor assembly, seating, sales, display and storage areas at commercial and industrial properties, and Subsection C targets storage areas specifically. Once a business parks or stores more than five commercial vehicles, defined elsewhere in the Zoning Law as any vehicle exceeding 6,000 pounds empty weight or 20 feet in length, the parking area for those vehicles must move to the rear yard and be screened from the view of adjacent property and public rights-of-way. The Planning Board decides how much screening is enough as part of site plan review, and the same subsection caps most outdoor storage areas at 12 feet in height unless the property sits in the MU-I or GI District and the storage sits at least 150 feet from the right-of-way.

Storage areas generally may not sit in a front yard or a right-of-way, must stay fully screened from residential uses, and must use asphalt, concrete or an equivalent paved surface rather than millings, loose stone or degraded pavement that generates dust, though the Planning Board can waive the paving standard during site plan review. Critically, § 215-24.16 opens by stating these outdoor-area standards do not apply to outdoor residential accessory uses, so a homeowner parking a personal pickup or work van in a residential driveway falls outside this section; the five-vehicle screening rule targets commercial vehicle storage yards, contractor lots and similar business uses.