Off-site parking is parking that serves a building or use but sits on a different parcel from it. The term shows up in two settings: zoning, where a development meets some or all of its required parking on another lot, and airports, where privately run lots outside the airport compete with on-site parking.
Off-site parking in zoning
Most parking codes assume required spaces will sit on the same lot as the use they serve. Off-site provisions relax that rule, usually with conditions:
- Distance. The off-site lot must be within a set walking distance of the use, commonly a few hundred to about a thousand feet, measured from the lot to the building entrance.
- Control. The owner must show long-term control of the spaces, typically through a recorded covenant, a parking easement or a lease.
- Use. The off-site lot must sit in a zone that allows parking, and codes often limit it to employee or long-term parking rather than customer parking.
- Route. Many codes require a safe, lit walking path that does not cross a major arterial.
The appeal is flexibility. Off-site parking lets infill projects on small or constrained lots build housing or retail instead of stalls, and lets garages with spare capacity earn revenue from their neighbors. It pairs naturally with shared parking, where uses with different peak hours share the same spaces, and with fees in lieu of parking where a city offers them.
Where it gets risky
The weak point is durability. A lease can expire, a neighboring lot can be redeveloped, and an informal agreement can simply lapse. When the off-site supply disappears, the building can fall out of compliance with the approval that depended on it. That is why cities prefer recorded easements or covenants to short leases, and why lenders and buyers check the term and recording of any off-site agreement during due diligence.
Off-site airport parking
At airports, off-site or off-airport parking means privately operated lots and garages outside the airport boundary that shuttle customers to the terminals. They usually compete on price with on-airport economy parking, and many airports charge them trip or access fees for using airport roadways and curbs. For more on how those economics work, see airport parking coverage on Parkonomics.