Truck Access, Yard Space and Outdoor Storage

Truck access is a geometry problem specific to your freight. A site that suits box trucks and courier vans can be unworkable for long semi-trailers, and a site designed for high-volume trailers may be more yard than a small contractor needs. Before you compare buildings, list what comes to your dock now and what is likely to come over the lease term.

• Your longest vehicle, including carrier trailers you do not control.
• Busiest hour and day of arrivals, and how many trucks can be on site at once.
• Whether drivers drop trailers and leave, or wait while you load and unload.
• Fleet vehicles, service vans, forklifts and equipment that also use the yard.
• Night, weekend and seasonal movements.

Ask your carriers too. They know which sites their drivers avoid, and a carrier's refusal to serve a tight site is a business problem whichever way the lease reads.

When a tractor-trailer turns, the trailer does not simply follow the cab. Highway designers call this off-tracking, and the Texas Department of Transportation's design manual notes that off-tracking on the longest vehicles calls for wide pavement areas. A turn that looks wide enough from the driver's seat may not be wide enough for the whole vehicle.

So engineers do not rely on one turning-radius number from a brochure. They model a design vehicle through the actual path, using swept path software or templates. Sacramento County, California, for example, requires a swept path analysis for projects serving large trucks, with a WB-67 interstate semi-trailer as the default design vehicle unless another is approved, and it says trucks must complete turning movements without crossing into oncoming or adjacent lanes. That is one local rule for projects under its review, not a standard for your lease, but it shows what a serious check looks like.

For a tenant, the method is straightforward: if access looks at all tight, ask a civil or traffic engineer to run your longest vehicle through the driveway, truck court and dock positions. Ask the landlord if a site plan or truck-turning study already exists. Watch a real truck make the move during a tour if you can.

Follow the route a driver would take, starting from the highway. Look at the whole path, since the tightest point may be off the property.

• ✓Are there low bridges, weight-limited streets or truck restrictions on the approach, and which routes will your carriers use?
• ✓Can a truck enter and leave without blocking the street or crossing opposing traffic?
• ✓Is there room to line up with each dock door and back in straight, even with neighboring trailers in place?
• ✓Is the truck court shared with another tenant, and who gets priority?
• ✓Where do trucks wait when every door is busy, and does that spill into a public street?
• ✓Do cars and pedestrians cross the truck path to reach the employee entrance?
• ✓Is the pavement in good shape, and does it look able to carry your loads and trailer landing gear?
• ✓Does snow storage, drainage or a fence take away usable space in winter or wet weather?
• ✓Will fire lanes limit where trailers can sit? Ask the fire department, not only the landlord.

Inside the fence line, keep equipment in mind too. OSHA's materials handling rule says sufficient safe clearances must be allowed for mechanical handling equipment at loading docks, through doorways and wherever turns are made, so yard and dock layouts need to work for forklifts as well as trucks.

Trailer parking is often a separate question from dock doors. Count how many trailers need to sit on site, how long they stay and whether they stay overnight. Then ask whether those positions are in the premises, in a shared area or only available by permission.

A site plan or broker flyer showing trailer stalls does not by itself give you a right to them. If the lease describes the yard as common area, the landlord may keep the right to change it, restripe it or allow others to use it. If the positions matter to your operation, ask for them to be identified on a lease exhibit. Also ask about overnight parking, tractors left without trailers, reefer units running at night, minor vehicle maintenance and refueling. Any of these may be restricted by the lease, the zoning or both.

Do not assume that leasing a building includes keeping things outside it. Outdoor storage has to clear three separate hurdles: zoning, the lease and any recorded or park rules.

Zoning can be decisive. In Chicago's ordinance, for example, the M1 district's stated purpose centers on activities within enclosed buildings, while the M2 purpose includes storage and work-related activities outside enclosed buildings. Confirm the rules for your address with the municipality.

A law firm's review of industrial outdoor storage leases points to these provisions, and they apply equally to a yard that comes with a building.

• Permitted use: which equipment and materials may be stored, whether maintenance or repair is allowed, and any limits on vehicle parking or container stacking.
• Compliance: who handles zoning, environmental, stormwater and other requirements, and who responds to government notices.
• Environmental: spill prevention and response, handling of regulated materials, reporting, and investigation and cleanup costs.
• End of term: which tenant improvements such as fencing, lighting, security systems, utility connections and pavement must come out, and which may stay.
• Insurance: coverage that fits the actual operation.
• Relocation: if the landlord can move you to another part of the property, under what conditions and at whose cost.

EPA's stormwater program also covers discharges from industrial activities. EPA says it has authorized many states to run the permit program, and that most industrial facilities get coverage through their state. If your yard will hold materials or equipment exposed to rain, ask your environmental consultant or attorney whether a permit applies and who holds it.

Attach a site plan as a lease exhibit and mark it up. Show the truck court, trailer positions, storage zones, fencing and any shared drive aisles. Then state whether each area is exclusive, shared or subject to change, and require the landlord's approval only where it truly needs to be required. Ask that the landlord may not alter access, or add uses that obstruct your truck path, without your consent. Have your attorney confirm the final language.

If losing a yard right would stop your operation, treat it like rent: define it precisely, attach a plan and negotiate it before you sign.

TAG represents occupiers, and we treat truck movement and yard rights as part of the building comparison and the lease negotiation, so an operating requirement does not get lost between the tour and the signed document.