Suffolk City Council voted unanimously Oct. 15 to relax hard-surface parking requirements for certain nonprofit athletic fields and city-owned parks, allowing gravel and other alternative surfaces in situations where paving would pose a financial or environmental burden.

The approved amendment to Sections 31-606(A)(6) and 31-606(A)(9) of the city’s Unified Development Ordinance (UDO) clarifies that required “hard-surface” parking lots must consist of asphalt or concrete, but provides limited exceptions for specific nonprofit and municipal recreational sites. The change codifies flexibility that planning officials said had previously been applied inconsistently and ensures that the city’s smaller, community-based facilities can continue operating without excessive cost.

“Over time, we take a look at our development regulations, particularly as it relates to your non-residential and commercial uses,” Wyne said. “Some of those site requirements that are associated with those types of uses generally [require] a higher standard from a site work perspective. And we’ve revisited our minimum parking standards previously as it relates to what they should be serviced with in areas that are located outside our growth areas, in our agricultural zoning districts, to allow some relief there and allow them to utilize gravel, should they wish, for uses where it’s appropriate and in locations throughout the city where it’s appropriate. So, we’re reevaluating this again as it relates to some relief towards, as it relates to meeting our hard surface parking requirement, and that we’ve had some internal discussions about this as it relates to city owned park developments.”

The amendment also resolves ambiguity around what materials qualify as “hard-surface.” Wyne said codifying asphalt or concrete as the standard would eliminate confusion during site-plan reviews, while explicitly permitting gravel for lower-impact uses such as overflow lots and recreational sites.

The motion carried 8-0.