What’s With the Disappearing Parking Minimums?
This shift presents a transformative opportunity for cities and developers. It also changes the way multifamily manages parking.
For those of you plugged into the world of parking (huge show of hands!), you may have noticed a significant shift in the attitude toward parking in cities across the country. For the rest of us, you may just be feeling the effects of the changes.
Hundreds of municipalities and two states have begun moving away from their current (and, quite frankly, often rigid and inconsistent) off-street parking regulations. The positive? It’s doing a great job at solving some problems. But like anything, there is a tradeoff. And these regulations also present new challenges for multifamily.
So let’s get into those challenges!
The Backstory: Parking Regulations Impact Land Use
The U.S. has had to deal with long-standing issues related to land use, sprawl and the significant financial impact on multifamily residents and developers. Regulations for parking minimums were void of consistency, forcing developers to deal with multiple differing regulations for similar buildings within the same state. This mess eventually began to take its toll and many began realizing the need to prioritize people over parking and reverse course on parking regulations.
