Small multifamily parking - van accessible space and allocation strategy

[Michelle W.]

Hi all - I am in the design and permitting stage for a new construction 4-plex on a 6,000 sf lot in Northern Virginia. This is a new building type after some zoning reforms implemented this year, so the local industry and code officials don't have much experience with new construction of these kinds of properties.

One thing that we were recently made aware of is the requirement in the IBC (which applies to this project since it is 4 units) to provide at least one van accessible space as one of the parking spaces. We had designed the site to have room for 4 parking spaces (2 full size and 2 compact), but now that one has to be a van accessible space we are having to reconfigure the site and only have room for a total of 3 spaces now. There is street parking available, and the site is on a bus route that goes to the metro.

So you can see there's a bit of an awkward situation with a 4-unit property that has 2 car-size spaces and one van-size space.  The plan has been to sell the units as condominiums: two are ~750 sf ground floor units (Type B accessible) and two will be ~1,500 sf 3-bedrooms (sharing 2nd and 3rd floors). 

I'm trying to figure out how I will allocate the spaces to the units, if I will allocate them at all. 

Any pitfalls, creative ideas and related experiences out there to share?