Government Affairs REMOVING THE BURDEN OF MINIMUM PARKING REQUIREMENTS IN OLYMPIA

ation had a debate on this very topic back in 2016 and the takeaways were eye opening:

Building Parking Raises Rent

The city has tried everything from incentivizing development through tax breaks to offering subsidies for projects that include so-called “affordable” units. Still, the problem persists, and costs continue to rise. So, the City of Olympia is taking one step in the right direction and removing minimum parking requirements for many projects around town. Especially, close to transit.

Instead of the typical one for one, staff from the City of Olympia presented a proposal to the March 20th meeting of the Planning Commission that slashes required parking to as little as zero on some projects. While no parking sounds like a drastic step, and many can predict potential issues that may arise, the devil is in the details.

Reasons cited for removing parking requirements range from close proximity to transit to environmental concerns around the typical American city being a concrete jungle. However, there is much to like about this proposal from a building standpoint as well including the burden of cost that impacts affordability in the end. In fact, the American Planning Associ-

Parking costs a lot to build, and that cost usually ends up raising tenant rents.

• $5,000: Cost per surface space

• $25,000: Cost per above-ground garage space

• $35,000: Cost per below-ground garage space

• $142: The typical cost renters pay per month for parking

• +17%: Additional cost of a unit's rent attributed to parking

• Source: Housing Policy Debate, 2016

As you can see the impact of required parking is negatively affecting our mission of providing affordable housing to every economic segment of society. Most of all, this barrier to building translates to a severe burden on those who can least afford it. If the staff at the City of Olympia can convince the powers that be to remove this one obstacle, we are just one step closer to being able to provide a home for hundreds more of our neighbors. And that is the question we must ultimately ask ourselves when it comes to minimum parking requirements. Aren’t people greater than parking?