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Walnut Creek council introduces zoning changes to cut multifamily parking minimums
Summary
The City Council waived further reading and introduced an ordinance to lower multifamily off‑street parking minimums under a ‘flexible demand’ option, reducing required spaces for studios, one‑bedroom and multi‑bedroom units and setting a second reading for May 6.
The Walnut Creek City Council on April 15 waived the reading and introduced an ordinance to amend the zoning code’s off‑street parking and transportation demand management provisions for multifamily residential development.
Staff presented a rightsizing study and four policy options. The council directed staff at an earlier meeting to proceed with “Option C — Flexible Demand.” Under the proposed ordinance introduced April 15, the new minimums would be 0.5 parking spaces for studio units, 1.0 space for one‑bedroom units, and 1.25 spaces for units with two or more bedrooms for multifamily developments not within half‑mile transit‑proximate exemptions.
Transportation planner Henry Rood told council the rules were built from on‑the‑ground occupancy surveys at multifamily sites around the city, and the flexible‑demand option was designed to align new minimums close to observed parking demand while allowing developers some additional flexibility. Rood said the city’s existing requirements would have required roughly 1,150 spaces to be built at the study sites while observed occupancy was about 765 spaces, indicating significant excess in required parking under current code.
Council members described the change as an opportunity to encourage redevelopment of underused surface parking into housing. The ordinance was introduced by council motion and will return for a second reading and potential adoption on May 6. Staff said units sited within a half mile of major transit (e.g., BART) remain subject to state exemptions that already limit local parking minimum authority.
The council’s action was limited to introducing the ordinance; design and entitlement review for specific development proposals will follow separate public processes.
