Topology’s Post

The Washington Department of Commerce recently released model ordinances for middle housing, but parking minimums remain an obstacle. Mandated parking spaces, especially in small lots, hinder middle housing projects, limiting housing diversity. Removing parking mandates is crucial for unlocking the full potential of small-scale homes and creating vibrant, sustainable communities. https://lnkd.in/gMR2Nm2k #MiddleHousing #ParkingMandates #HousingDiversity #UrbanDevelopment #SustainableCommunities

Great articulation of parking regulations in NYC. Parking regulation reform is one of the policy changes we need if we want to charge ahead in building significantly more #housing in NYC.

As debates about required parking in Dallas have simmered over the past five years, one issue has been brought up repeatedly by reform advocates: ditching parking minimums will mean more affordable housing can be built. Minimum parking requirements create a ratio that determines how much off-street parking developers are required to build based on the size of a development. For a duplex, for example, two spaces are required regardless of how many vehicles the occupants have. By Amber Gaudet #transportation #transit #housing

"Legalizing more kinds of housing to increase density will contribute to more housing abundance, but it will be even more effective if newly legalized housing typologies don’t require a bunch of new parking spots." Minneapolis has been one of the very few big cities in the country to increase its housing supply enough to start to catch up with demand. This means stagnating and decreasing housing costs. Part of that is thanks to removing parking minimums, which add to construction costs which are then passed down to renters and owners. #housing #urbanplanning

When are we going to end car culture in this city? Or at least update these insane zoning rules that make no sense when we do have public transit in so much (but not all, I admit) parts of the city and we have a massive affordable housing shortage? I am ready for the 15-minute city! #UrbanPlanning #Zoning #CarCulture https://lnkd.in/eEkFRyXH

Great article on the ridiculous parking requirement for new construction in NYC. The issue is abundantly obvious in the past 15yrs of development in Brooklyn, which have half vacant garages (ie the most over parked borough). Unfortunately I am not so sure we can expect change when the Mayor's figurative house is on fire. The mandates began in the 1950s and ’60s as mass car ownership expanded beyond the capacity of on-street parking. Minimums in New York were introduced in 1950 for new residential buildings. The city’s 1961 zoning code (the one still in place today) raised the requirements and added them for offices, retail and other building types. https://lnkd.in/gdgCFzbs

Excellent takeaways from this recent NYT article on the often-overlooked challenge of parking in real estate development. As a fan of insightful infographics, it’s great to see the complexity and cost of parking illustrated so clearly and accessibly. Sam Charney makes the great (and agonizing) point about the risks of investing in expensive below-grade parking—especially when, in some markets, the ideal number of spaces might actually be zero. The City of Yes’ proposed parking policy changes are a key step towards freeing up budget and space for more housing in our city. https://lnkd.in/gKdNp7tn

🔹 "New provincial legislation requires cities to remove minimum parking requirements for SSMUH and within TOAs, but the City is going beyond what's required." 🔹 "On Wednesday, Vancouver City Council voted in favour of removing minimum parking requirements across the city, joining the growing list of North American cities that are changing their beliefs and mandates around parking." 🔹 "As part of the two pieces of legislation, local governments are required to remove minimum parking requirements for projects that are SSMUH or located within TOAs by June 30, 2024. Instead of removing the requirements for these two categories of projects, the City of Vancouver opted to remove the requirements across the city and for all land uses." 🔹 "The City calls this "Phase Three" of their work on parking minimums, following previous Council decisions that removed minimum parking requirements for Downtown and non-residential uses in the West End in 2018; then for multiplexes, residential uses in the West End, and the Broadway Plan Area in Fall 2023." 🔹 "Eliminating minimum parking requirements does not equate to a ban on building new parking, and developers are still expected to provide parking when and where they see a need — such as with strata residential projects, which have historically had a higher demand for vehicle parking than rental projects. Removing parking minimums can also potentially reduce the cost of housing, as not all residential units include a parking space." #vancouver #development #vancouverrealestate | Storeys

Here is an interesting article published in Route 66 Magazine: "Want to Reform Housing? Take a Look at Parking." (https://lnkd.in/gKAhTF2K ), by Molly Bolen. This is yet another article that describes how parking mandates increase housing costs, imposing an unfair burden on many lower-income households, and successful experiences experiences reforming these requirements in many cities. Eliminating parking minimums does not eliminate parking, it simply allows property owners to decide how much parking to provide based on market demands?

The second #Austin "Downtown," is on its' way -- near the North Burnet/Gateway area (North Austin/just west of Domain). "That's because City Council on Jan. 18 gave final approval to a zoning change for the 121-acre tract, which is just south and west of The Domain in the North Burnet/Gateway area and is bounded by MoPac Expressway to the east, U.S. Highway 183 to the west and Capital of Texas Highway to the north. The tract had been zoned for mixed-use commercial, but the change will allow for high-density housing, high-rise offices, entertainment complexes, destination retail outlets and large-scale civic uses. ...Developers now are allowed to build with a floor-to-area ratio, or FAR, of up to 10:1, and a maximum building height of up to 350 feet — or about 35 stories — if they dedicate some space to affordable housing under the city's developer bonus program, or if they pay a fee in lieu of offering residential housing at below-market rates. For rental units, developers seeking to participate in the bonus program would need to offer some of the dwellings at 60% of Austin’s median family income, or MFI, for a period of at least 40 years. If building housing units for sale to occupants, developers would need to offer some of them at 60% MFI for a period of 99 years. ...The decision also follows a set of other rezonings to encourage denser development for the area, which is anchored by Q2 Stadium and The Domain." #CRE #AEC #urbanplanning #urbandevelopment #texasjobs