Dallas Ditches Parking Minimums in 14-1 Vote

The Dallas City Council voted to reduce minimum parking requirements in many parts of the city, including areas near transit. Writing in the Strong Towns blog, Asia Mieleszko explains how the new rules could help ease the city’s housing crisis and support small businesses.

The new rules completely eliminate parking minimums for residential developments with less than 200 units and bars and restaurants under 2,500 square feet, as well as many other office and retail spaces. “If a structure is officially designated as historic, parking mandates are gone—removing one of the biggest obstacles to restoring or reusing older buildings.”

Dallas follows other cities and states in reforming parking requirements, which impose arbitrary mandates that often drive up the cost of housing or make starting a business impossible. “By removing these outdated mandates, Dallas is giving builders more flexibility to use land and resources for actual homes instead of storage space for cars. This could lower barriers to entry for small developers and help diversify the city’s housing stock—especially in areas where parking requirements previously made infill development infeasible.”