Minneapolis took a large leap forward last week by approving a plan that would reduce parking requirements for transit-adjacent developments in a huge swath of the city—not just downtown.
"Buildings with few or no parking spaces can now be built outside downtown Minneapolis as part of a proposal that passed the City Council Friday [July 10, 2015]," reports Eric Roper.
"The measure tackles the city's typical one-spot per-unit parking requirement for new developments by allowing significant reductions near high-frequency transit. The final version was scaled back to allow only a 50 percent reduction for larger buildings, rather than freeing them from the requirement altogether.
"But the final language allows buildings with 50 or fewer units to be built without parking outside of downtown -- where there are already no parking minimums -- if they are a quarter-mile away from transit with 15-minute frequencies."
The article goes on to detail case supporting the reduction of parking requirements. Conspicuously absent are soundbites from politicians or local advocates dissenting from the new ordinance. The article does, however, further detail the compromises that produced the final version of the law. The article also notes that despite new regulatory flexibility, many banks require parking to finance development projects.
FULL STORY: Mpls. relaxes parking requirements to reduce housing costs
Pennsylvania Mall Conversion Bill Passes House
If passed, the bill would promote the adaptive reuse of defunct commercial buildings.
Planning for Accessibility: Proximity is More Important than Mobility
Accessibility-based planning minimizes the distance that people must travel to reach desired services and activities. Measured this way, increased density can provide more total benefits than increased speeds.
Fair Housing Cannot Take a Back Seat to ‘Build, Baby, Build’
If we overlook fair housing principles in the plan to build US housing back better, we risk ending up right back where we started.
LA Metro Board Approves New 710 Freeway Plan
The newest plan for the 710 corridor claims it will not displace any residents.
Austin’s Proposed EV Charging Rules Regulate Station Locations, Size
City planners say the new rules would ensure an efficient distribution of charging infrastructure across the city and prevent an overconcentration in residential areas.
Making California State Parks More Climate-Resilient
A recently released report offers recommendations for keeping state parks healthy and robust, including acquiring additional land for conservation and recreation.
City of Costa Mesa
Licking County
Barrett Planning Group LLC
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Mpact Transit + Community
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Tufts University, Department of Urban and Environmental Policy & Planning
City of Universal City TX
ULI Northwest Arkansas
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.