Washington State Legislature Passes Parking Reform Bill

A Washington state bill headed to the governor’s desk would reduce parking requirements statewide, limiting how much parking cities can require for new developments. Nate Sanford explains the bill in an article for OPB.

Senate Bill 5184, the Parking Reform and Modernization Act, would bar cities with 30,000 or more residents from requiring more than half a parking space per multifamily unit or one parking space per single-family home. “Cities would be prohibited from requiring any parking for residences under 1,200 square feet, commercial spaces under 3,000 square feet, senior housing, child care facilities or housing classified as affordable.”

The bill also addresses commercial developments. Under the law, cities could only require two parking spaces per 1,000 square feet.

To address concerns from some local officials and legislators, the bill was amended to exempt cities under 30,000 people (the law originally applied to cities over 20,000 residents) and added a phase-in period.