Tallahassee, FL Parking Rules: Driveway Rules (2026)
Key Facts
- R-4 rule
- No perimeter parking between street and new multifamily or nursing home buildings
- OR-1 front yard
- No off-street parking between a building and the street
- OR-1 side-corner driveway setback
- Ten feet (none if driveway is shared)
- OR-1 rear and side-interior driveway setback
- Four feet (none if driveway is shared)
- OR-1 driveway width
- Narrowest possible, as determined by the City Traffic Engineer
- Small conversion parking surface
- Gravel or paver block, up to four new spaces
- Source
- Land Development Code §§ 10-247 and 10-251
Summary
Tallahassee's Land Development Code keeps off-street parking out of the front yard in two districts. In R-4, parking for new multiple-family dwellings and nursing homes must sit on the interior of the site, not the perimeter facing the street. In OR-1, parking cannot go between a building and the street, and driveways face setback and width limits.
7. Off-Street Parking Requirements: To further promote the compatibility among permitted residential uses in the R-4 district, off-street parking facilities associated with the construction of new multiple-family dwellings or nursing homes or other residential care facilities shall not be located on the perimeter of the site between a street right-of-way and the proposed buildings. Instead, the off-street parking facilities shall be located on the interior of the site. ... b. Driveway Setbacks: Side-Corner: Ten feet (none if driveway is shared) Rear and Side-Interior: Four feet (none if driveway is shared) c. Off-street parking may not be placed in a front yard between a building and the street. ... g. Driveways connecting to a public street shall be the narrowest possible width to ensure appropriate safety standards, as determined by the City Traffic Engineer.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Land Development Code: Supplement 75 | Code of Ordinances: Supplement 75).
Full Breakdown
These rules come from the Land Development Code (LDC), not the general Code of General Ordinances, and they apply only inside the named zoning districts.
R-4 Urban Residential district (LDC § 10-247, item 7): off-street parking for new multiple-family dwellings, nursing homes and other residential care facilities cannot be located on the perimeter of the site between a street right-of-way and the proposed buildings. It has to go on the interior of the site. The district page closes with a design note calling the prohibition of off-street parking in the front yard the key provision that lets multi-family housing keep the low-density character of the district. The R-4 item is written for new construction of those three use types. It sets no front-yard parking rule for single-family houses.
OR-1 Office Residential district (LDC § 10-251, item 7): the parking rules cover permitted principal non-residential uses. Off-street parking cannot be placed in a front yard between a building and the street. Driveways have their own setbacks: ten feet from a side-corner lot line, or none if the driveway is shared, and four feet from rear and side-interior lot lines, again none if shared. Driveways connecting to a public street must be the narrowest possible width to meet safety standards, as determined by the City Traffic Engineer. Parking setbacks are separate: 20 feet on a side-corner lot and ten feet at the rear and side-interior lines.
OR-1 also carries a surface rule for small conversions. A converted or expanded existing structure (expansion up to 50 percent of the existing size) is exempt from the item 7 parking requirements if it adds no more than four new off-street spaces and the surface of the new parking is gravel or other paver block material. Spaces stacked on an existing paved driveway can count toward the requirement if they do not back directly into a public right-of-way.
City Traffic Engineer approval governs driveway width in OR-1. Neither section prints a separate penalty, so enforcement runs through the LDC's general enforcement provisions.
Violations & Fines
Neither district section prints its own fine or penalty clause. A front-yard parking area or oversized driveway that breaks these standards is treated as a Land Development Code violation, so it is enforced under the LDC's general penalty provisions rather than a fee schedule on the district page. Compliance is checked at site plan and permit review, and driveway width in OR-1 is decided by the City Traffic Engineer.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a new apartment building in an R-4 district put its parking in front?
How close can an OR-1 driveway be to a neighbor's side line?
Who decides how wide an OR-1 driveway can be?
Is gravel allowed for new parking in OR-1?
Do these rules apply to single-family driveways?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Tallahassee
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