Portland's City Council has sided with housing advocates against neighborhood groups who wanted new developments to include parking spaces.
Reaffirming an earlier decision of the city's Planning and Sustainability Commission, the Portland (Oregon) City Council has ruled in favor of allowing new developments in Northwest Portland to build without parking. Rachel Monahan of Willamette Week reports that the council's action weighed on the side of the affordable housing and public transit advocates over neighborhood groups that complained about a parking shortage in the area.
Among those testifying against the adding parking minimums was Margot Black, an organizer of Portland Tenants United.
While her group hasn't formally taken a position on development and will continue to focus on renters' rights, she's pushing for more Portlanders to understand that housing supply is part of the answer.
The council's action seemingly reverses previous policy established in 2013 that had required large new developments with 30 units or more to include parking.
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