News Reporter: Climate Coach: Why parking rules raise your rent

Tuesday, 2 May 2023

Climate Coach: Why parking rules raise your rent

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Down-to-earth advice for life on our changing planet.

(Emma Kumer/The Washington Post; iStock)

By Michael J. Coren

I've watched many of my friends move out of urban areas — and one another's lives — because of the astronomical cost of living in American cities. I never realized parking minimums were partly to blame.

But these rules fueling suburban sprawl are being overturned by everyday Americans across the country.

San Jose at one point required miniature golf courses to have 1.25 parking spaces per golf tee. In Seattle, bowling alleys needed five spaces per lane. Dallas, meanwhile, determined a sewage treatment plant must have one parking space for every million gallons of sewage treatment capacity.

Parking minimums like these shape your entire life — from the size of your rent check to the length of your commute to how many friends live nearby. They raise the cost of construction and the amount of land needed, codifying sprawl. Over the long term, this makes it nearly impossible to cut our dependence on cars to conduct daily life.

"Most people have no idea these rules exist," says Catie Gould, a researcher at the Sightline Institute, a sustainability think tank. "It's why the suburbs look the way they do. It's not that everyone loves to drive."

This week I looked at the growing movement to scrap parking minimums. It's not as hard as you might think. Here's what I found out:

A parking spot costs $5,000 to $80,000 to build. And those costs seep into everything.

That includes your rent. One study of 23 Seattle-area multifamily housing developments by the Sightline Institute found landlords' parking costs added up to 15 percent, or $246, to each apartment's monthly rent — even for those who didn't own cars.

Cutting back parking minimums pays off. In Seattle, developers built 40 percent less parking, saving nearly half a billion dollars. Hartford, Conn., and Buffalo saw their downtowns rebound as they attracted more residents and affordable housing.

Can you repeal parking minimums in your city? Yes. In many cases, a few determined citizens and a city council willing to listen are all that's needed. First, search for the name of your city and "parking ratios" or "parking code" to find your local zoning code. Talk to others interested in changing the rules.

Read this week's column to learn more.

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See you on Thursday,

Michael Coren, Climate Coach