In Akron, equipment storage belongs in the commercial and industrial districts, and the zoning code says so directly. The U4 commercial class lists warehouses for bulk storage of construction material, contractor's equipment and machinery, along with truck terminals and trash hauling businesses, and the U5 and U6 industrial classes carry those uses forward. That gives contractors, haulers and fleet operators a clear path to a large clear-span building on the right parcel.
Residential lots are another story. Akron does not allow a business to operate as an accessory use in its residence districts, and backyard buildings top out at 15 feet tall, so a dump truck or excavator bay is not something that can go behind a house in the city. For owners with heavy equipment, we look at commercially or industrially zoned sites, or acreage in surrounding communities, and design the doors, slab and spans around the biggest machine you run.
What to know before building in Akron
Door and clear height
Size overhead doors to the tallest load: a dump body, a bucket truck, or an excavator on a trailer. On commercial or industrial land, building height falls under Akron's height district rules rather than the 15-foot residential accessory cap, so we confirm the limit for your parcel and then set eave height, door headers and truss heel height to fit.
Heated bays for winter fleets
Trucks that come in wet and salted all winter bring a lot of moisture inside. A heated maintenance or wash bay with an insulated envelope and a vapor retarder keeps the steel from dripping and equipment from freezing up. We plan insulation, ventilation and any floor drains during design, since drains tie into the sewer permitting the city handles.
Fuel on site
If the yard will include fueling, Akron's U4 class allows above-ground storage tanks for flammable liquids of no more than 10,000 gallons each, limited to two tanks for each type of contents. Larger bulk fuel storage moves into the U5 industrial class, which keeps it at least 150 feet from a residence district. Fire prevention review applies either way.
Pads, aprons and grading
Equipment buildings usually come with big gravel or paved aprons for staging and turning. In Akron those can bring city grading and paving permits, and sites of an acre or more need a Summit Soil and Water Conservation District submittal prepared by a design professional. We size the pad with the building so the site plan holds together.
Common equipment storage facilities projects around Akron
- Contractor equipment storage with a heated repair bay on U4 land
- Building for a trash hauling or roll-off truck operation
- Drive-through bays for snow plow and landscaping fleets
- Machinery and materials storage for a manufacturer
- Fleet building with a fenced yard and on-site fueling area
Equipment Storage Facilities FAQs for Akron
Can I store my work trucks in a pole barn at my Akron home?
Running a business from an accessory building is not permitted in Akron's residence districts, and backyard buildings are capped at 15 feet tall and 900 square feet at most. Personal vehicles are fine within those limits, but a contractor's fleet generally needs commercially or industrially zoned property. The city's zoning staff can answer questions about a specific property.
Which Akron districts allow equipment storage buildings?
The U4 commercial class lists warehouses for bulk storage of contractor's equipment, machinery and construction materials, along with truck terminals and trash hauling businesses. The U5 ordinary industry and U6 heavy industry classes allow those uses too, plus heavier industrial activity. We verify a parcel's zoning before you buy or build.
How wide can a clear-span equipment building be?
Wide enough to park and turn equipment without interior posts, but the right number depends on your largest machine, turning room, and the snow load the trusses must carry. We size the span, the door openings and the slab together, then have the trusses engineered for the site rather than picking a stock width and hoping it works.
About our equipment storage facilities
Clear-span storage buildings for trucks, tractors and heavy equipment, with doors and sidewalls sized to the machines you park inside.
Sizes, materials and options