Vancouver’s Transportation 2040 plan allowed for the easing of parking minimums for residential developments in parts of the city, and now city planners are beginning to explore where and how condos can be built without parking.
Sam Cooper reports on an announcement by the city of Vancouver that they are beginning the process of determining how to remove minimum parking requirements for some new condo developments, similar to actions recently taken in the city of Calgary.
According to the article: “Vancouver has minimum parking requirements for residential buildings, but city staff are ‘exploring (no-car condo) opportunities in line with what Calgary is looking at,’ a spokeswoman said Thursday.”
The Transportation 2040 plan, adopted by the city in 2012, “provides guidance to eliminate parking requirements downtown and near rapid transit stations,” reports Cooper. Any new condo developments without parking minimums would be the first under the plan’s guidance.
The city is considering removing parking minimums as a spur for more affordable housing. In Vancouver, Cooper says, “Removing underground parking can slice about $40,000 off the price of a unit…”
Read the full story: No car? No problem: Vancouver preparing to zone for parking-free condo towers
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
California plans to bury El Niño’s downpour
If the state plays its cards right, it may be able to store a billion acre-feet of El Niño’s water in aquifers.
Desperate measures: Advocates weigh draining Lake Powell to fill Colorado River
Draining the reservoir could reduce evaporation losses by a couple hundred thousand acre-feet.
US buildings threatened, destroyed by fires set to triple by 2060
Researchers found a high fire risk for socioeconomically vulnerable neighborhoods in the American West.
LA residents may be allowed to paint their own crosswalks
Councilwoman Katy Yaroslavsky put out a motion instructing the Los Angeles Department of Public Transportation to study the feasibility of allowing volunteers to paint crosswalks.
Dallas moves to overhaul its zoning code
The city's zoning reform will allow more multi-family and mixed-use developments.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
City of Rosemead
Rutgers University, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
One Hundred Miles
Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY)
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
City of Cambridge
Montrose County
The Pocatello Development Authority