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Hamilton County, TN Parking Rules: Driveway Rules (2026)

Some Restrictions
Compiled from the official code textEditor Martyn O'NeillLast verified September 2026

Key Facts

Rule
Parking areas and driveways must be paved
District
MH Manufactured Home District, §1004.B
Same rule also in
R-3 Multi-Family District, §704
Parking ratio
1.5 spaces/unit rental, 2/unit owner-occupied
Countywide front-yard rule
No blanket single-family paving mandate found

Summary

In Hamilton County's Manufactured Home (MH) zoning district, off-street parking areas and driveways serving multi-family dwellings must be paved under Zoning Regulations § 1004.B, and no parking area may be designed so vehicles must maneuver via a dedicated street. Rental units need 1.5 spaces per dwelling unit; owner-occupied units need 2.

City-specific rules exist: Chattanooga has its own driveway rules rules that differ from Hamilton County's county-level regulations. If you live in Chattanooga, check the city-specific page instead.

1004. Regulations for Multi-Family Dwellings ... B. Off-Street Parking There shall be at least one and one-half (1 ½) off-street parking spaces for each dwelling unit in rental units and two (2) off-street parking spaces for each dwelling unit in owner-occupied units. All parking areas and driveways shall be paved. No parking areas will be allowed which require the use of a dedicated street to maneuver into or out of.

Full Breakdown

Article IV, § 1004 sets the off-street parking standard for multi-family dwellings within the county's MH Manufactured Home District: rental units must provide at least one and one-half off-street parking spaces per dwelling unit, and owner-occupied units must provide two spaces per unit. The same subsection requires that all parking areas and driveways be paved and bars any parking layout that would force vehicles to back onto or maneuver from a dedicated public street. The identical paving and space-count language appears in § 704 for the R-3 Multi-Family Residential District, so the paving requirement is a standard the county applies wherever it regulates off-street parking for multi-family dwellings, not a one-off MH provision.

A separately requires that the main vehicle entrance to a manufactured home park's apartments sit on an existing collector street, or within 500 feet along the street of a major street on the Chattanooga-Hamilton County Regional Planning Commission's adopted General Regional Plan. These MH and R-3 provisions govern multi-family parking lots and internal driveways inside those two zoning districts specifically; the Zoning Regulations do not carry a separate blanket rule barring single-family homeowners countywide from parking on grass or gravel in a front yard, so no equivalent paving mandate applies outside districts that specifically impose one.

Violations & Fines

Operating an unpaved parking area or driveway for a multi-family use in the MH or R-3 districts violates § 1004.B or § 704 and is a misdemeanor under Article VIII § 105.B, punishable by a fine of $25 to $100 on conviction, with every day the unpaved lot remains in use counted as a separate offense enforceable by the Hamilton County Sheriff.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Hamilton County require driveways to be paved?
Only in specific zoning districts. In the MH Manufactured Home District and the R-3 Multi-Family Residential District, § 1004.B and § 704 both require that all off-street parking areas and driveways serving multi-family dwellings be paved. The Zoning Regulations do not impose an equivalent blanket paving requirement on single-family front yards countywide.
How many parking spaces does a manufactured home park apartment need?
Section 1004.B requires one and one-half off-street parking spaces per dwelling unit for rental units and two spaces per dwelling unit for owner-occupied units, in addition to the requirement that the parking areas and driveways themselves be paved.
Can a multi-family parking lot require backing onto the street?
No. Section 1004.B bars any parking arrangement that requires the use of a dedicated street for vehicles to maneuver into or out of the lot, on top of the paving mandate for the parking areas and driveways.

Sources & Official References

Other rules in Hamilton County

All Hamilton County rules

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