California bans mandated parking near transit to fight high housing prices, climate change

Abstract

Citing the need to address California's twin crises of housing affordability and climate change, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill that bars local governments from mandating parking spaces as part of most development near transit stops. Cities can impose parking for hotel developments, and developers can still build parking spaces for any type of project if they choose to. Housing developers say it can cost tens of thousands of dollars for each parking stall, and parking requirements have forced them to kill projects altogether, or build fewer homes than they otherwise could. In the long run, Manville said he expects it to lead to an increase in housing supply and cheaper units for those who don't want a parking space. That's because the state and some local governments have established density bonus programs that allow developers to build less parking and more units if they include some below-market homes in their projects. In a nod to such concerns, the bill was amended to allow cities to impose parking minimums near transit if they found the lack of parking requirements would hurt the city's ability to meet state goals for low-income housing. In 2019, San Diego eliminated parking requirements for multifamily housing near transit, but the number of affordable units built through density bonus programs increased, according to a study by Manville and developer and adjunct USC professor Mott Smith.