Over the last 10 years there has been a lot of very interesting work and research on how much parking is needed in different types of places. One of the leading authorities on parking is Professor Donald Shoup. Prof. Shoup wrote a well researched book called The High Price of Free Parking. 700 some pages on parking. A great resource if the PDF linked below gets you thinking about how parking is managed.

Below is a link to PDF paper publish before the book that digs into how shoddy the work that established parking minimums really was. Where those apparently precise off street parking requirement numbers come from?

This is more than some idle curiosity. When a municipality sets the minimum number of off-street parking spaces too high, the amount of land used by parking is increased and because the effective property tax rate on surface parking is so low, the local tax base is reduced. Essentially, if we spread civilization too thinly we have a hard time paying for it. One of the consequences of _false precision_ turns out to be reduced property tax revenue.

The median price to build a parking space in a parking garage is over $21,000. At that number you really don't want to build more spaces than you need , just because an engineer used some decimal places in the standards published by the Institute for Transportation Engineering (ITE).

Roughly right is always better than precisely wrong.

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/235360495_Roughly_Right_or_Precisely_Wrong

Building Codes, the International Residential Code (IRC ) and the International Building Code (IBC) are written to start out as model codes adopted by the International Codes Council (ICC). These model codes are adopted in to state law in total, or in part, with, or without the model appendixes, and with, or without additional modification by individual states, (It is always important to refer to your state’s version of the model building codes, otherwise you will miss the local modifications and amendments…..)

Some states provide a window of time for municipalities to further amend or modify the State adopted version of the model code. After that window closes, the local municipalities that have not modified the State adopted version of the model codes are typically required to adopt the state version. Some states allow municipalities to decide which year's code they will be using. One town may be operating under the 2012 IRC and IBC while the city next door is on the 2015 version. Municipalities publish information on which edition of the model codes they have adopted. by city council action. Check your town’s website or ask at the counter in the Building Department.

I recommend Francis Ching’s great book pictured above; Building Codes Illustrated if you want to have a good handle on how codes are written and interpreted.

Francis Ching’s indispensable book on Building Codes.

Because Building Codes start out as model codes with a formal revision process at the International Codes Council, the standard of care and precision with which they are written is pretty high. The revisions also need to be consistent with the intent of protecting public health and safety.

Zoning codes on the other hand, are written and adopted at the local municipal level and rarely follow the same standard of care or attention to intent and consistency found in Building Codes. It is painfully common to find a zoning code that contradicts and prohibits the policies and actions set forth in the municipalities adopted Comprehensive Plan or General Plan.

Because zoning codes have been used to reinforce segregation the chances are pretty high that they still have plenty of Exclusionary provisions. They commonly have expensive off-street parking requirements that have no basis in science or good practice. These are typically not rules that were thoughtfully crafted by wise grownups looking after the public interest. If you local zoning code was written in 1979 or earlier and then amended over the years, there is a very good chance that you have rules on the books that contradict the policies adopted in your Comprehensive Plan or General Plan.

Your downtown may be regulated by a heinous bullshit zoning code originally written to insure the predictable development of strip shopping centers in a town in Iowa and imported to your place.

Your zoning code probably treats anything from a duplex to a 30 units to the acre apartment complex as if rental apartments are some sort of noxious land use that should be regulated like a steel mill or a hog rendering plant. Don't be surprised if your zoning code treats sections of town that exclude everything but single family homes as the ideal, and everything else like a problem that must not effect of impact the Single Family House subdivisions build under Exclusionary Zoning.

Check out this conversation with the author of The Color of Law to learn more about Segregation and Exclusionary Zoning practices:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Pb6y9rNKmo

Some general advice for the folks approaching their first project:

A four-plex is a big first step for a new developer. Too big in my view. I think it is better to renovate a house or at most a duplex presents a lot of advantages in scale and complexity your first time out. Hone your craft on a first project that requires less capital and presents less risk . A renovation, a House Hack, an ADU, a flip within the neighborhood you will continue to work are a better fit for a freshman project.

If you are cooking a new recipe for the first time, no matter how much support and encouragement you might have, no matter how many times you have read the printed recipe or written the shopping list, at some point you have to actually cook the thing. There will be things you learn in the process of cooking that you did not pick up on reading the recipe or talking with people who cook the recipe all the time. Start small and learn.

A duplex or a four-plex both have the same sequence. Your financing for either project will be in two stages:

1.) A construction loan for a year or two that will require a downpayment (equity) of 25-30% of the cost of the project.

2.) A 30 year standard mortgage from FHA, VA, Fannie Mae, or Freddie Mac to pay off the short term construction loan.

If you are creating enough value with the construction or renovation of the building, you may be able to take enough cash out at the closing of the 30 year mortgage to pay off an investor or a family member who lent you the rest of the money you needed to have the down payment on the construction loan. The some of the various loan programs above have limits on cash outs. A four-plex is going to require more capital, a larger down payment on the construction loan. t's best to take the next small step unless you are partnering with a seasoned developer. Even then the first time you go solo there will be a lot of learning curve to overcome.

An added caveat. Your first project is going to be a side hustle, since you are probably depending upon other work to support yourself. If you take on too big a project too soon, you may not have the extra time and attention needed to do both gigs decently.

A building/rebuilding a duplex can be a good first project for someone who does not own a house yet. If you build two units or a house hack and live in a portion of the building with your tenants covering the mortgage payment and most of the operating expenses, that lowers you domestic overhead while you learn and build relationships. You are no longer writing a rent check yourself and that can help you make the transition to doing development work full time. All of the 30 year loan programs will count 75 % of the gross rent from your tenant toward your income to qualify you for the mortgage. Your credit score and your Debt To Income ratio (your DTI) are the key things when applying for the 30 year mortgage and those are within your control.

One of the Goal of IncDev is to cultivate lots of incremental developers working at a scale that their development work is their primary or full time gig. You don't want to set yourself back by taking on too large or complex a project from the jump.

Start small with focus and intention. Commit to one neighborhood. Employ your hustle, know how and relationships there to build trust with your neighbors. This will be the foundation for the next couple of projects, so you cannot afford to build a half assed foundation.

Don't be afraid to ask for help here of from one of the IncDev faculty. Everyone one starts somewhere and everyone ends up swallowing their pride and asking for help after making a mistake. Be stubborn in your commitment to the place you care about and to your own constant learning and improvement. Don't be stubborn and go it alone when you really don't need to.

Outdoor Social Space for COVID

Renovated One Bedroom Hurricane Recovery Cottages in the second phase of the Cottage Square Neighborhood in Ocean Springs, MS