5 Cities That Repealed Parking Minimums in 2022

(Source: Anita Denunzio/Unsplash.)

In recent years, Strong Towns has observed—or more accurately, exposed—the excessiveness of Black Friday parking. The number of parking spots in commercial complexes often far exceeds even the peak demand. Strong Towns President Chuck Marohn even expressed that in the early years of his engineering practice, it was not uncommon to hear, “You’ll regret not having built enough parking spots when Black Friday comes around!” The reality is that even on arguably the biggest shopping day of the year, much of the pavement that surrounds these storefronts remains vacant.

This is what one block of charming Old Town Pocatello, ID, would look like if it had to observe modern parking minimums.

This is only one example of a broader phenomenon. In almost every American city, for virtually every type of land use from residential to restaurant to retail, the minimum number of parking stalls built is mandated by state and municipal ordinances. These mandates actually inhibit choice, according to Tony Jordan, president of the Parking Reform Network. Jordan observes that ceding “so much space to cars reinforces car dependency.” Furthermore, according to Jordan, local transportation authorities often build car-centric infrastructure and ample on-street parking, which effectively competes with off-street parking and precludes its owners from even charging a market price to recoup the costs of building and maintaining it.  He remarks that, on the one hand, “you’re required to build parking” but on the other, “[DOTs are] undermining your ability to actually recoup your investment on it.”

Ending the mandates and subsidies that require property owners to waste productive land on automobile storage is a priority for Strong Towns. We recognize that vacant lots are financially unproductive and costly to maintain. 

In recent years, a rapidly growing number of cities across North America have begun repealing these mandatory minimums. Here are a few highlights from 2022.

(Source: Wikimedia Commons/Jengod.)

1. Culver City, California

Population: 39,970

Scope of Reform: Citywide

Culver City formerly observed a one-size-fits-all approach to parking. Businesses and homes located downtown and by light rail stations observed the same minimums as those nested in the decidedly more car-dependent suburbs. As of late October 2022, that’s no longer the case. As with most repeals, the ordinance states, “the amendment eliminates minimum required parking but will not preclude the provision of parking.” Now Culver City can tailor parking to a specific project, rather than follow a blanket policy. 

Downtown Olympia, WA. (Source: Wikimedia Commons/Roman Eugeniusz.)

2. Olympia, Washington

Population: 52,882

Scope of Reform: Downtown/City Center

In the latter half of November, Olympia lifted minimums for all existing residential and commercial buildings, as well as new commercial construction or expansion totaling under 3,000 square feet within the Downtown Exempt Parking Area. The move was motivated in part by a push to accommodate more housing, as Olympia’s population projections exceed its current housing stock. In a September Olympia Planning meeting, contract planner Gary Cooper noted that parking constraints not only add to construction costs, but “parking can consume more space than the development it serves." With the elimination of minimums, developers and constituents in Olympia will have a choice in how they adapt to their growing needs and how much asphalt should be a part of that process.

(Source: Wikimedia Commons/Mark Turner.)

3. Raleigh, North Carolina

Population: 467,665

Scope of Reform: Citywide

In 2022, Raleigh joined a growing list of cities that flipped parking minimums to maximums, but its novel approach deserves a spotlight. The Parking Reform Network noted, “Rather than set hard caps on the amount of parking new projects can contain, which might discourage or prevent developments, the city allows developers to exceed maximums, provided they take steps to mitigate the impacts of additional car parking.” Rather than enforce top-down restrictions that define the future of Raleigh, this flexibility allows for adjustments along the way.

(Source: Wikimedia Commons.)

4. Nashville, Tennessee

Population: 692,587

Scope of Reform: Downtown/City Center

In a bill passed 24-5, Nashville joined a growing list of cities eliminating parking minimums from their urban core. Under the new ordinance, parking minimums have flipped to “become the new maximum number of spaces allowed for developments on urban-zoned land,” according to an article in The Tennessean reporting on the change. City planners and other proponents celebrated that the land formerly mandated for parking could be freed up for alternative uses, such as housing across all price ranges. Additionally, supporters hope the move will decrease congestion and emissions, especially as the area affected—Nashville’s “Urban Zone Overlay”—is served by a bus network. 

Downtown Anchorage. (Source: Wikimedia Commons/Jon Konrath.)

5. Anchorage, Alaska

Population: 288,000

Scope of Reform: Downtown/City Center

Just days after Nashville, on November 22, 2022, the Anchorage Assembly voted unanimously to remove parking requirements and add bike parking requirements to the zoning code, instead. Formerly, Anchorage’s mandatory parking minimums inhibited businesses from renovating, rehabilitating, or repurposing commercial buildings without incurring the costs of the parking they wouldn’t necessarily need. Now, Assembly Member Kevin Cross foresees not only the potential for smaller businesses and developers to flourish, but also, “this would give other commercial contractors who have an absurdly large parking lot that isn’t being utilized the ability to turn that into green space, turn it into a nice park ... and provide additional business opportunities within a community.”

A parking lot in downtown Portland. (Source: Creative Commons/Wayne Hsieh.)

Bonus: the State of Oregon!

Beginning January 1, 2023, minimum parking mandates will no longer apply for jurisdictions within Oregon’s eight largest metro areas. This includes 48 cities and the urban cores of five counties, ultimately accounting for two-thirds of Oregon’s population, according to Sightline Institute Senior Researcher, Michael Anderson. In a piece celebrating the reforms, he noted that jurisdictions located farther from city centers and transit options will “have more flexibility in how to gradually make driving less necessary.” For the first time since approximately the 1950s, developers and property owners will possess the agency to shape parking and no longer incur punitive fines for refusing to accommodate preset amounts.

Good morning, 2023. In urban & suburban Oregon, it's no longer illegal to create a home or a job; to reactivate an old vacant building; or to just depave part of your property

without having to provide more auto parking than you actually need.https://t.co/NG8hOvOwHT

— Michael Andersen (@andersem) January 1, 2023

According to the Sightline Institute, repealing minimums not only fertilizes ground for more productive spaces, it awards agency and flexibility to locals. By lifting constraints, neighborhoods and businesses will gain the ability to incrementally shape parking to fit their needs and their vision. That may mean businesses cooperating to share parking, constituents advocating for loading zones, disability priority spaces, time limits, and a host of other relevant curbside features. It can also result in community members converting underutilized pavement into green space. As Jordan noted, “most of these changes won’t be felt immediately,” but “eliminating parking mandates creates so much potential; it’s like a force multiplier for other policies. [Doing so] will allow your housing and upzoning to work better, make starting small businesses easier, and increase the likelihood of meeting your climate action plans and transportation policy goals.”

Curious about parking reform and want to learn more? Check out:

• “Why Parking Minimums Almost Destroyed My Hometown.”

• “A New Guide Could Help Your Community Fix Its Parking Policies.”

• “A New Way To Look At Minimum Parking Requirements.”

• “Parking reform, aging, and disability roundtable,” by the Parking Reform Network.

• And of course, the Parking Mandates Map!

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