Stafford Township, NJ Parking Rules: Loading Zones (2026)

Stafford Township regulates commercial loading through its site plan standards in Chapter 130, Land Use and Development, rather than through a posted curb-zone schedule. Section 130-81C requires adequate off-street loading and maneuvering space for every retail or wholesale commercial and/or industrial use, and then sets the count by use and floor area. Schools and funeral homes need one loading space each. Hospitals under 10,000 square feet need one space, and hospitals from 10,000 to 30,000 square feet need two. Office, hotel, retail service, wholesale, warehouse, manufacturing, processing and repair uses need one space under 10,000 square feet, two from 10,000 to 25,000, three from 25,001 to 60,000 and four from 60,001 to 100,000 square feet of gross floor area.

Separate uses can share loading facilities if the total provided is not less than the sum of the separate requirements, and no space can count as the required space for more than one use. A use on a tract of at least 50 acres can ask for fewer spaces, but only where no part of the loading area, including maneuvering areas, is closer than 200 feet to any property line and the driveway connecting the loading area to the street is at least 300 feet long. The applicant must document to the approving authority, as part of the site plan, why the smaller number meets the needs of the use.

Placement and design rules sit alongside the count. Under § 130-81D(1), loading spaces go on the same lot as the use served, at least 20 feet from any building being served, and no off-street parking or loading space has direct access from a street. Section 130-81D(2) keeps loading spaces out of any required buffer area. Section 130-81A(2) sets a minimum height clearance of 15 feet and a design table of 60-foot-long spaces in widths of 10, 12 and 14 feet. Section 130-81A(7) requires loading areas to be designed so vehicles never maneuver into or out of spaces within any portion of any street. Loading areas are provided in addition to parking and do not count as parking spaces under § 130-81C(6).