Sumner County, TN Parking Rules: Loading Zones (2026)

Section 1102(F) of the Sumner County Zoning Resolution, effective December 8, 2025, governs off-street loading and unloading in the unincorporated county. Any building or structure "hereafter constructed and used for industry, business, or trade involving the receiving or distribution of vehicles, materials, or merchandise" must provide loading space off the street or public alley. Every loading and unloading area must be surfaced with asphalt, concrete, or another durable dust-free material, and each space must connect to a public or private alley, or to a public street where no alley exists, and measure a minimum of twenty-five feet in length.

The number of required spaces is set by a table keyed to the total usable floor area of the principal building: buildings under 10,000 square feet need one space; 10,000 to 14,999 square feet need two spaces; 15,000 to 19,999 square feet need four spaces; and buildings over 20,000 square feet need three spaces plus one additional space for every additional 20,000 square feet. This table applies chapter-wide to any commercial, industrial, or trade use reviewed under Chapter 11 of the Resolution, and is checked by the Sumner County Planning Department during site plan review under Chapter 14.

The loading requirement sits alongside the county's off-street parking standards in the same section, which separately require parking areas to have a rail, curb, fence, wall, earth berm, or continuous barrier, a maximum eight percent grade within parking spaces, and a maximum twenty percent driveway slope. Loading and parking allocations are calculated together at the site plan stage and must be shown on the plan before a zoning compliance permit is issued.