Housing Development Trends and Parking Minimums
L.A. Proposes No Parking Minimums
California and the entire Southwest are facing a housing crisis due to affordability issues. To combat this, the city of Los Angeles took the first step on Aug. 26 to end parking requirements in new projects citywide after the City Council's Planning and Land Use committee voted 3-1 to advance the proposal.
The motion was introduced by Councilmember Nithya Raman and committee chair Bob Blumenfield. It is believed to not eliminate parking in new projects but to allow options. Other cities like San Jose, Culver City, and Austin, Texas, have removed parking minimums.
Study in Colorado
According to a study by ECOnorthwest and MapCraft, which examined 19 Colorado counties, lower parking ratios increased homebuilding more than granny flats and apartments near transit combined. The study compared Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs), Transit-Oriented Development (TOD), and parking minimums.
A point of approval for many is the influx of homes when parking minimums are gone. Sightline reported that a small apartment building was renovated and made way for 13 homes rather than 9 because of the freed-up space. This research was positive but also showed that in removing parking, other priorities in public-transit, bicycle infrastructure, and proximity to needs must be thoughtful.
APA Response
Then, the American Planning Association (APA) published the results of an experiment where the requirements were removed in the college city of Champaign, Illinois. The authors found that parking requirements in deregulated zones dropped from 108% to 46%. Developers then relied on market demand instead of regulations, but this leaves the question of how they would know?
An increased downtown density, as this study shows a 79% increase in residential unity densities.
Studies
According to a Cal Matters article published in 2022, since removing the requirements in transit priority areas, San Diego saw more housing units built which has increased the density of homes and allowed for greater affordability.
Recent studies have found that parking requirements increase construction costs by around $38,000 per apartment or $200 per month for tenants.
Norada Real Estate Investments released the Los Angeles Housing Market Forecast on Aug. 23, showing that, given slower sales, a dip in prices, and increased inventory, the market is seemingly a buyer's housing market. The forecast didn't specify multi-family or high-density trends.
Then, in Koreatown, tenants of an apartment building are battling property management over the proposal to remove parking spots to add ADUs - showing that planning is an integral part of this issue.
Finally, landscape professionals are offered a unique opportunity in California - as ADUs are legal across the state and parking minimums become dropped in some municipalities - because of the push for sustainable designs, expanded outdoor living spaces to make small spaces feel larger, and flexible or multi-use spaces. Further, in decreasing parking minimums allows for the reduction of parking spots that typically cut into landscape and other opportunities and focuses on sustainable practices.
