Committee hears bill capping parking minimums to lower development costs; wide support and local objections follow

Elizabeth Allison, committee staff, briefed the Local Government Committee on engrossed substitute Senate Bill 5,184, which would cap or eliminate minimum parking requirements in many situations and set statewide limits on how much local ordinances may require.

Under the bill as briefed, cities and counties may not require minimum parking for a range of uses, including existing buildings undergoing a change of use, residences under 1,200 square feet, commercial spaces under 5,000 square feet, affordable housing, senior housing, housing for people with disabilities, childcare facilities, and many mixed‑use projects. The bill also would limit residential parking requirements to no more than 0.5 spaces per dwelling unit and limit commercial requirements to no more than one parking space per 1,000 square feet of commercial space. The limitations would not apply to accessible parking required under the Americans with Disabilities Act; cities with populations of 20,000 or less would be exempt from some limits. The bill creates a pathway for a local government to submit an empirical safety study for certification by the Department of Commerce if it believes the limits would be significantly less safe, and it directs the State Building Code Council to research and, if necessary, adopt updated accessible parking requirements in the state building code.

"This is really a housing bill," Senator Bateman, 20th Legislative District, told…