City staff told Vancouver City Council on June 2 that they will propose eliminating off-street parking minimums for housing projects that set at least half their units at 100% of area median income (AMI) or below for at least 10 years.

Staff said the change — paired with other proposals such as development-fee timing adjustments and review-process improvements — is aimed at accelerating stalled affordable housing developments by reducing the cost and land area consumed by required parking stalls. A staff slide cited a Portland study estimating a circa-$30,000 cost per structured parking stall and noted Colorado research showing parking reform can materially increase housing production.

“Removing the costs of overbuilt parking can be one of the most effective things a local jurisdiction can do to improve housing feasibility,” a staff presenter said. The change would not force any property to build fewer stalls; rather, it would allow developers to “right-size” parking based on market demand, lender requirements and project design. Projects that do build parking must still meet ADA and electric-vehicle requirements.

Several councilors said the policy is significant and asked for more time and analysis. Councilor Paulson said the council had not had a workshop and that the proposed timeline — first reading next week and public hearing June 16 — compressed deliberation on a wide-ranging change. “Changing an entire code in 13 days is not our typical routine,” she said, urging inclusion on the next workshop agenda.

Councilor Fox, who noted recent state legislative changes on parking, also called for more information on how the proposal intersects with new state rules. Councilor Harless highlighted the staff point that the planning commission recommended the change and asked staff to include more detail when the item returns.

Staff told council the ordinance was recommended by the Planning Commission and that delay could affect affordable projects currently on a development timeline. “There are projects that are actually gonna be stalled if they have to meet parking minimums,” a staff member said, asking the council to weigh speed in the context of a housing slowdown.

Councilors directed staff to bring the parking-minimums item into the housing-action workshop scheduled for next week to allow fuller council discussion. Staff said it could shift the code-reading timeline by a few weeks (to early July) if council preferred more deliberation.

The proposal remains at the staff/first-reading stage. Staff said the change was part of a larger package of actions to address reduced housing starts, including development-fee timing changes, process improvements, and exploration of additional funding for affordable housing.