CITY PLAN PRACTICE NOTE
Unbundled parking
General information
A key focus of the City Plan is to facilitate integrated land-use and transport outcomes. This integration will
provide benefits in the form of increased connectivity across the city, reduced cost of congestion and the
use of convenient alternatives to private car use.
A new initiative brought about by the City Plan is the use of travel demand measures. Unbundled parking is
just one of the City Plan’s travel demand measures to support integrated land-use and transport outcomes.
What is unbundled parking?
Unbundled parking is an arrangement where property can be purchased separately from car parking.
Unbundled parking is for the use of residents or tenants of a building. Unbundled parking is not for use by
the general public or visitors.
The City Plan allows for a 30% reduction in the required number of off-street car parking spaces where development:
 is located within the mapped Transport hub area (Figure 9.4.13-1)
 allocates 20% - 50% of its car parking stock as unbundled parking
The 30% reduction does not apply to visitor parking and parking spaces allocated as unbundled parking.
Note: Where development is required to provide a mandatory amount of unbundled and/or pooled parking,
this amount must be incorporated as part of the 20% – 50%.
What is pooled parking?
Pooled parking refers to a group of parking spaces within a development which are not specifically owned
or assigned. Pooled parking provides residents access to car parks on a non-permanent basis. Pooled
parking spaces are to be kept as a body corporate/common use area and managed by body corporate or
building management.
What is the benefit of unbundled and/ or pooled parking?
The benefit unbundled and/or pooled parking provides is:
 reduced purchase and lease costs of development
 reduced building costs associated with car parking
 increased buyer choice e.g. purchase of a dwelling unit with or without a car parking space
CITY PLAN PRACTICE NOTE
Example scenario
To assist in understanding unbundled parking and how it applies to the reduction in off-street car parking
spaces an example scenario has been provided below.
Example development
An applicant proposes a development which is:

A 100 unit Multiple dwelling

Within the Transport hub area

Within a Centre zone

Within 400 metres walking distance of a
light rail station
Steps in calculating the required number of parking spaces
The applicant goes through the following steps to determine the number of envisaged off-street car parks
they need to provide:
Step 1 – Determine the required base number of parking spaces
The parking rate for Multiple dwellings is 0.75 off-street car parking spaces per unit or dwelling and 1 per 10
units or dwelling for visitors. As a result, 75 parking spaces are required for residents and 10 parking
spaces are required for visitors.
In addition, the development is located within a Centre zone and within 400 metres walking distance of a
light rail station. This requires 17.5% of residential parking stock to be unbundled. As a result, 14 parking
spaces of the 75 parking spaces are required to be available for purchase separate from a unit.
Step 2 – Determine the percentage of residential parking stock to be allocated as unbundled
parking (optional)
The applicant decides to increase the amount of unbundled parking from the mandatory amount to be
eligible for a 30% reduction. An additional 2.5% of total parking stock is then allocated as unbundled
parking.
As a result, 20% of residential car parking is unbundled parking. Therefore, the 75 residential car parking
spaces are now made up of 15 unbundled parking spaces and 60 parking spaces tied to units.
Step 3 – Apply the 30% reduction (if step 2 is taken)
With a 20% allocation of unbundled parking achieved, the development is now eligible for a 30% reduction.
This results in a reduction of 18 car parking spaces i.e. 60 car parking spaces to 42 car parking spaces.
CITY PLAN PRACTICE NOTE
Example scenario continued
The required number of parking spaces
After applying the 30% reduction, the number of off-street parking spaces required is:

57 resident parking spaces (includes 15 unbundled resident parking spaces)

10 visitor parking spaces
If steps 2 and 3 are not taken, the number of off-street parking spaces required is:

75 resident parking spaces (includes 14 unbundled resident parking spaces)

10 visitor parking spaces
Further information
For any further information, please contact the City of Gold Coast Planning and Enquiries Centre on
5582 8708.