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Committee forwards proposal to eliminate citywide parking minimums to full Board without recommendation
Summary
After extensive testimony, the Transportation Committee voted to send Supervisor Jane Kim's planning-code amendment to remove minimum off-street parking requirements citywide to the full Board without recommendation, allowing more outreach before a final vote; planners said the change formalizes existing policy pathways and is intended to lower housing costs and support climate goals.
The Transportation Committee on Nov. 27 moved a major planning-code amendment to the full Board without recommendation: Supervisor Jane Kim's ordinance would eliminate minimum off-street parking requirements citywide while leaving parking maximums and loading rules intact.
Paul Chazen of the Planning Department summarized outreach (three city-hall workshops, translation services and roughly 49—50 letters of support reported since the workshops) and said the amendment formalizes policy pathways that already let many projects avoid minimum parking through Transportation Demand Management (TDM) measures or by substituting bicycle parking. He said the change keeps existing maximums and does not prevent developers from providing parking; rather, it removes a floor that can increase development cost.
Supporters including transit, housing and climate organizations (350 Bay Area; San Francisco Housing Action Coalition; SPUR; Walk San Francisco; Sierra Club; Bicycle Coalition) and many residents testified in favor, citing development cost savings (testimony referenced up to $75,000 per underground stall), climate benefits and housing affordability. Opponents or cautious speakers raised concerns about rushed outreach, neighborhood impacts in areas reliant on cars, and technical questions about Special Use Districts (Bernal Heights SUD) and how local controls on massing interact with parking rules.
Supervisor Asha Safai urged more outreach and education, saying meeting dates fell during poor air quality and the holidays and some neighborhoods felt under-engaged. Supervisor Kim reiterated planning and sponsor outreach and emphasized this would be largely symbolic and formalize the city's existing practices; she moved the item to the Board without recommendation to allow additional outreach while ensuring an up-or-down vote by the full Board. The committee carried the procedural motion without objection.
