Contra Costa County, CA Parking Rules: Loading Zones (2026)
Key Facts
- Threshold
- Triggers at 10,000 sq ft gross floor area
- Base requirement
- 1 space for 10,000-20,000 sq ft
- Scaling
- +1 space per added 75,000 sq ft above 75,000
- Space size
- 10 ft wide x 35 ft long x 15 ft clear
- Placement
- Must be accessible from a public street
- Prohibited use
- No storage or other use of required space
Summary
Any building or facility of 10,000 square feet or more used for manufacturing, warehousing, retail, wholesale sales, a hotel, hospital, mortuary, or laundry in unincorporated Contra Costa County must provide off-street loading space sized to its floor area, under Ordinance Code Section 82-16.410. Each space must be at least 10 feet wide, 35 feet long, and 15 feet clear overhead.
82-16.410 - Loading spaces. (a)In any zoning district, each building or facility with a gross floor area of ten thousand or more square feet that is used for manufacturing, storage, warehousing, displaying of goods, retail sales, wholesale sales, hotel, hospital, mortuary, laundry, dry cleaning, or other land use that requires the receipt or distribution by vehicles of materials and merchandise, must include off-street loading space on the same lot as that building or facility. The required amount of off-street loading space is based on the size of the building or facility that it serves, calculated as follows:(1)Ten thousand to twenty thousand square feet of gross floor area, one space.(2)Twenty thousand one to thirty thousand square feet of gross floor area, two spaces. ... Each loading space must have a minimum unobstructed width of ten feet, a minimum unobstructed length of thirty-five feet, and a minimum unobstructed clearance height of fifteen feet for the entire length and width of the loading space.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Ordinance Code: Supplement 103).
Full Breakdown
410, reaches any building or facility of 10,000 square feet or more devoted to manufacturing, storage, warehousing, product display, retail or wholesale sales, a hotel, hospital, mortuary, laundry, dry cleaning plant, or any other use that regularly receives or ships materials and merchandise by vehicle, regardless of the zoning district it sits in. The number of required spaces scales with size: one space for 10,000 to 20,000 square feet of gross floor area, two spaces from 20,001 to 30,000 square feet, three spaces from 30,001 to 45,000 square feet, four spaces from 45,001 to 75,000 square feet, and one additional space for every additional 75,000 square feet or portion of it beyond that.
Each space itself must be at least 10 feet wide, 35 feet long, and offer 15 feet of clearance height across its full length and width, dimensions sized for a standard delivery truck rather than a passenger vehicle. Placement is restricted too: a loading space must be reachable from a public street, and a vehicle using it cannot encroach onto a sidewalk, a street right-of-way, or a required front or side yard. Once built, the space must be permanently maintained for the life of the building and used only for loading and unloading; the code specifically bars using a required loading space, or letting it be encroached on by buildings or temporary structures, for storage or any other unrelated activity.
Violations & Fines
Failing to provide or maintain the required loading spaces, or converting one to storage or another use, violates Title 8's zoning regulations under Section 82-2.006, which treats any structure or use maintained contrary to Title 8 as a public nuisance. The county can require the space be restored to loading use and may pursue any other remedy the code or state law allows.
Frequently Asked Questions
At what building size does Contra Costa County require a loading dock?
How big does each loading space have to be?
Can a business use its required loading space for extra parking or storage?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Contra Costa County
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