APRIL 20 DRC MEMO (TOD OVERLAY CODE TEXT AMENDMENT).PDF

MEMORANDUM 
TO: 
Development Review Commission members 
FROM: 
Michelle Dahlke, Principal Planner, Community Development Department - Planning Division 
DATE: 
April 20, 2026 
SUBJECT: 
Transportation Overlay District (TOD) Draft Zoning Code Text Amendment 
 
 
BACKGROUND: 
 
In 2020, Planning staff introduced an Urban Code District (UCD) to be added to the Zoning and Development Code (ZDC) which 
was to be applied to the 1) downtown area, 2) the area between Rural Road to the west and Dorsey Street to the east and roughly 
between University Drive to the north and Mill Avenue to the south, and 3) those areas along Apache Boulevard from Rural Road 
to the west and the Price - 101 freeway to the east. There were to be seven zones within the UCD that ranged in density and 
included permitted land use, development standard and parking requirements. This included a consultant provided study of parking 
reductions for these areas. The UCD and the Urban Core Masterplan were withdrawn and did not ultimately move forward for City 
Council at that time. 
 
In January 2024, the Phoenix City Council approved a zoning ordinance code text amendment to reduce the minimum parking 
requirements for multi-family, single-family attached, and affordable housing projects, and introduced the definition of “unreserved 
spaces”, also known as guest parking spaces. It is important to note that at the time, many other cities across the country were 
undertaking similar code text amendments to address parking issues to accommodate the need of changing demographics.   
 
At the Joint City Council/Development Review Commission meeting on May 13, 2024, Planning staff presented an analysis of the 
parking requirements of the City of Tempe compared with those of the City of Phoenix.  The purpose of the analysis was to evaluate 
the adequacy of parking in Tempe’s downtown area and to provide recommendations for improving parking inadequacies.   
 
In conducting its research, Tempe Planning staff determined that the parking requirements of Tempe’s Transportation Overlay 
District (TOD) were higher comparable to those of the City of Phoenix’s Walkable Urban Code.  As a result, Tempe staff realized 
that it could bring its TOD parking requirements in line with those of the Phoenix Walkable Code and in line with more recent 
project entitlements. This code text amendment includes amending Part 5, Chapter 6, Transportation Overlay District of the ZDC 
as follows: 
 
Section 5-602 – Boundaries  
 
• 
The seven Station Areas within the TOD are listed by name (i.e. Mill Avenue and Third Street, Veteran’s Way and College 
Avenue, University Drive and Rural Road, Dorsey Lane and Apache Boulevard, McClintock Drive and Apache Boulevard, 
Smith-Martin and Apache Boulevard, and Price-101 and Apache Boulevard) and renumbering of this section is required 
due to this addition.  
• 
Figure 5-602A – Transportation Overlay District Boundary Map, has been replaced with a new map that more clearly 
delineates the Station and Corridor areas and includes the seven Station Areas by name and location. 
 
Section 5-603 – Applicability  
 
• 
Section 5-603.C – Amendments, has been revised to include additional property that can be added to the TOD subject to 
proximity of future streetcar alignment or streetcar line.  
 
Section 5-612 – Pedestrian Oriented Design Standards 
 
• 
Sections 5-612 J (Minimum Parking Ratios), K (Maximum Parking Ratios) and L (On-Street Parking) have been deleted 
and moved to a new section related to parking. 
• 
Table 5-612A (Transportation Overlay District Reductions to Minimum Parking) has been deleted and a new table is 
proposed for the new parking section.

• 
Section 5-612 M (Sidewalk Standards) has been renumbered 5-612 J and language has been added that would allow 
exceptions to be made to the minimum 8-foot public sidewalk width for neighborhood or local streets subject to Traffic 
Engineering approval.  
• 
Section 5-612 O (Loading, Delivery and Service Entrances) has been renumbered 5-612 L and includes language stating 
that drop off and pickup spaces for passenger share ride shall not occupy required parking or travel lanes and shall be 
clearly visible and accessible to development entrances.  
• 
Re-lettering of Section 5-612 is required due to the relocation of parking related standards to the new parking section. 
 
Section 5-613 – Parking Standards  
 
• 
This is a new parking section that includes standards for: 
 
o Minimum parking requirements based upon the location of a property within a specific Station Area or Corridor 
(identified in Table 5-613A); 
o Maximum and on-street parking standards; and  
o Clarification of parking requirements for guest parking and mixed-use developments.