An analysis found that the city’s real parking demand is around 0.85 spots per housing unit, far less than the 1.5 spaces required under the old zoning code.
Salem, Massachusetts eliminated parking minimums for most new multifamily developments an effort to bring down housing costs and make building multifamily housing more affordable.
According to an article by Andrew Brinker in the Boston Globe, “Officials there hope the move will allow builders to construct new apartment buildings at a lower cost and make more efficient use of the city’s land.”
Under old regulations, builders had to include 1.5 off-street parking spaces for every new unit of housing, leading to an overbuild of parking in Salem. According to a survey by the Metropolitan Area Planning Council, “some 38 percent of parking spaces built at a sampling of multifamily housing developments in the city were vacant overnight, when most residents are home.” A similar study showed that 30 percent of parking spots in the Boston area were empty during peak parking hours. MAPC found that the actual demand for parking in Salem is likely around 0.85 parking spaces per unit.
Read the full story: Salem eliminates parking minimums for new development, in bid to make housing cheaper
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