Concord Moves Parking Rules Into Site Plans

The city council finalized a change folding most parking requirements out of zoning rules and into overall site plan regulations.

Updated on Nov. 2, 2026 in City Hall

Concord Moves Parking Rules Into Site Plans

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Should Concord make it easier to approve new development by loosening parking rules?

Concord City Council has finalized a change that moves most parking requirements from zoning rules into site plan regulations, removing the need to go to the Zoning Board of Adjustment for parking-related matters. The change was finalized this month.

Why it matters

Under prior zoning rules, Steeplegate Mall redevelopers' plans required well over 3,000 parking spaces, and local developers and city leaders viewed outdated parking regulations and a meandering approvals process as a drag on tax base expansion. The change is intended to speed approvals for commercial and residential development in Concord.

City regulations required 703 parking spaces for Altitude Trampoline Park and nearly 300 for Zoo Health Club under the prior zoning rules. The Zoning Board previously granted Steeplegate exceptions to its parking requirements, and the projected reduction in zoning board workload is 20 to 50 cases a year.

The players

Concord City Council

The elected legislative body of the City of Concord that finalized the change to city parking rules.

Steeplegate Mall

The Concord shopping center whose redevelopment plans required well over 3,000 parking spaces under prior zoning rules.

The details

Most parking requirements are removed from zoning rules and folded into overall site plan regulations, so the Planning Board rather than the Zoning Board now oversees parking arrangements in development proposals. Zoning rules are more rigid than planning board permitting, and the zoning ordinance will receive a full rewrite after the city updates its master plan.

Concord City Council finalized the parking rules change in November 2026.
The zoning ordinance will receive a full rewrite after the city updates its master plan.

City Planning Approach

The change moves parking requirements out of Concord's zoning ordinance ahead of the planned full rewrite that will follow the city's master plan update. It reflects a shift from rigid zoning rules toward planning board site plan review for development approvals.

Developers seeking approval for commercial or residential projects in Concord will now have parking arrangements reviewed by the Planning Board instead of the Zoning Board. The change could reduce the number of zoning board cases by 20 to 50 each year.

The takeaway

Developers and residents tracking Concord projects should expect parking reviews to move to the Planning Board. Watch for the upcoming zoning ordinance rewrite that will follow the master plan update.