Spokane Could Eliminate Parking Minimums Near Transit

The city of Spokane, Washington could follow its historic zoning reform actions last year with the elimination of parking minimums for housing within a half mile of a transit stop, reports Anthony Gill in The Urbanist.

The proposed interim ordinance would also allow “unbundled” parking that reduces rent for tenant who don’t need parking. “By July of 2024, the Council would adopt new permanent parking regulations to replace this interim rule.”

According to Gill, “If passed, off-street parking would be optional for housing across most of the city, except in areas on the suburban fringe in places like the Latah Valley and North Indian Trail, where there’s little transit and a sprawled out development pattern centered around driving anyway.”

Because a single parking stall can cost anywhere from $20,000 to $100,000, reducing parking in new housing developments can have a dramatic impact on construction costs and, consequently, rents. “And perhaps, appealingly, for the libertarian-minded, optional parking gives property owners a choice. If off-street parking would be necessary to rent or sell a unit, then the market will respond and that off-street parking will still be provided.”