A bill before the Montana state senate would bar cities from requiring more than one parking spot per new housing unit.

A proposed Montana state bill would limit how much parking cities can require for new residential developments, reports Eric Dietrich in the Montana Free Press, only allowing cities to mandate one parking space per housing unit. “It would also ban parking requirements entirely for existing buildings undergoing renovations, licensed child care facilities and projects with housing units smaller than 1,200 square feet.”
The measure, which passed the state House and is headed to the Senate, is designed to reduce the cost of housing construction and housing costs. “Limiting urban parking requirements was named last year as a possible housing affordability strategy by Gov. Greg Gianforte’s housing task force, which wrote at the time that surface parking stalls typically add $5,000 apiece to development costs.”
Critics of the bill say Montana cities don’t have the public transit networks that make parking reform possible in other places. “Emma Bode, a Bozeman city commissioner, also argued the bill would undermine an existing Bozeman program that relaxes the city parking requirements for developers who commit to offering below-market-rate rents.”
FULL STORY: Bill would restrict city parking requirements in effort to reduce cost of new housing

Maui's Vacation Rental Debate Turns Ugly
Verbal attacks, misinformation campaigns and fistfights plague a high-stakes debate to convert thousands of vacation rentals into long-term housing.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

In Urban Planning, AI Prompting Could be the New Design Thinking
Creativity has long been key to great urban design. What if we see AI as our new creative partner?

Milwaukee Launches Vision Zero Plan
Seven years after the city signed its Complete Streets Policy, the city is doubling down on its efforts to eliminate traffic deaths.

Portland Raises Parking Fees to Pay for Street Maintenance
The city is struggling to bridge a massive budget gap at the Bureau of Transportation, which largely depleted its reserves during the Civd-19 pandemic.

Spokane Mayor Introduces Housing Reforms Package
Mayor Lisa Brown’s proposals include deferring or waiving some development fees to encourage more affordable housing development.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
Gallatin County Department of Planning & Community Development
Heyer Gruel & Associates PA
JM Goldson LLC
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
Jefferson Parish Government
Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Claremont