Upper Darby, PA Parking Rules: Loading Zones (2026)

§ 550-34 sets Upper Darby's off-street loading standards for every nonresidential use. Subsection A requires loading space for all commercial, office, retail, manufacturing and industrial uses or structures. Subsection B sets a floor of one loading space minimum for most uses, rising to one space per 10,000 square feet of gross floor area for wholesale establishments and light-industrial establishments specifically. Subsection C fixes the minimum dimensions of each space at 14 feet wide by 50 feet long, measured exclusive of drive aisles and maneuvering area.

The remaining subsections protect pedestrians and traffic flow: loading areas cannot intrude onto sidewalks or interfere with vehicular or pedestrian traffic (subsection D), cannot extend into the street right-of-way (subsection E), must be designed so trucks never back out onto a street (subsection F), and cannot be visible from a primary street (subsection G). For the C-3 Traditional Downtown Business District specifically, § 550-33's parking-area design standards add that service and loading areas must sit to the side or rear of the building, reinforcing the citywide ban on street-visible loading docks in the Township's commercial core.

These loading rules sit in Article VIII alongside the Township's use-by-use parking ratios in § 550-33A, and both are administered by the Zoning Officer as part of the zoning use permit review required for new commercial construction under § 550-53B.