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Boston council hearing explores removing parking minimums as tool to cut housing costs
Summary
At a Dec. 9 hearing (docket 0161), Boston City Councilors, planning staff, regional planners and dozens of residents debated whether eliminating off‑street parking minimums would reduce development costs and speed housing production while protecting neighborhood parking. The committee will continue the matter next year.
Boston City Councilors and city planning officials on Dec. 9 opened a broad public discussion about a proposal to remove off‑street parking minimums from the Boston Zoning Code, arguing the change could reduce construction costs and speed housing production while opponents warned of neighborhood parking spillover and urged safeguards.
Chair Sharon Durkin opened the hearing by calling the city’s housing shortage the most pressing problem and framing the docket as a targeted tool to lower costs. "Boston has a housing crisis, not a parking crisis," she said, stressing that eliminating minimums "does not ban or eliminate parking" but removes a regulatory veto point that can make projects infeasible.
Supporters, including developers, regional planners and housing advocates, told the committee minimum parking rules raise costs and are often out of step with actual demand. The Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC) summarized its Perfect Fit Parking study, finding average supply at surveyed multifamily sites…
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