Seniors Housing Car Parking Requirements

With the rise of seniors living projects, there is a bit of confusion between designers and consultants regarding the applicable car parking requirements.

SEPP (Housing for Seniors or People with a Disability) 2004, Schedule 3 specifies private car accommodation for each dwelling (not being car parking for employees) must comply with the following :

a.   Car parking spaces must comply with the requirements for parking for persons with a disability AS2890; and

b.   5% if the total number of car parking spaces (or at least one space if there are fewer than 20 spaces) must be designed to enable the width of the spaces to be increased to 3.8 metres; and

c. Any garage must have a power-operated door, or there must be a power point and an area for motor or control rods to enable a power-operated door to be installed at a later date.

It is noted that at the time when the SEPP was released, the applicable standard was AS2890.1-1993 Part 1 – Off-street car parking and not the current standard AS2890.6-2009 Parking Facilities: Part 6 – Off-street parking for people with disabilities.

The current standard AS2890.6-2009 calls up for 2400mm wide x 5400mm long accessible car parking spaces with a similar sized shared zone. It is a general consensus with other consultants within the industry that this would not be ideal solution for seniors housing projects where each car parking space within a car park or garage would require a shared zone.

The applicable standard AS2890.1-1993 requires 3200mm wide x 5400mm long accessible car parking spaces if located within a car park and 5% of the spaces with a 3800mm width. In an enclosed garage with walls, the standard requires a 3800mm wide x 5400mm long accessible car parking space.