Boulder planning board backs broad parking reform, presses for stronger bike‑parking and TDM follow-up

The City of Boulder Planning Board on May 20 recommended that City Council adopt two ordinances that together eliminate minimum off‑street parking requirements for new development and update on‑street residential parking management — and added a suite of advisory recommendations to strengthen bicycle parking and transportation demand management (TDM).

The board voted to recommend ordinance 86‑96, which would remove citywide mandatory off‑street parking minimums and update bicycle parking design standards, and ordinance 8,700, which would expand neighborhood permit parking rules and introduce new permit types and pilot paid parking in a high‑demand neighborhood. The board also recorded a set of advisory motions — including urging staff and council to exempt bicycle parking from floor‑area‑ratio calculations, to require more charging and cargo‑bike‑capable long‑term bike spaces, and to study retroactive application of bike‑parking rules — and it continued a separate, still‑draft TDM ordinance for another meeting on May 27.

Why it matters: The ordinances reflect a substantial shift in Boulder zoning practice. Removing minimum off‑street parking requirements is intended to reduce the city’s reliance on auto‑oriented development patterns and to free up land for other uses. Board members and staff said those changes must be coupled with stronger bike infrastructure, clearer on‑street parking rules and a funded approach to TDM so walking, biking and transit alternatives are available as parking supply is rethought.

What the ordinances do and staff rationale Lisa Hood, principal planner in Planning and Development Services, described the package as the finish line for an AMPS (parking) project that began in 2014. “This is a big step,” Hood…