Parking Flexibility

18 W Palm Ln. in Phoenix shows minimal set-backs and parking flexibility.  Image: Google

Parking flexibility is when the property owner can decide the amount of parking spaces to install on their private property. For example, a zoning code might require an apartment building to provide a minimum of 1.5 parking spaces per dwelling unit but reduce that to .5 spaces per dwelling unit when the apartment building is within a half mile of a bus stop, or not require any parking if the building is within a quarter mile of a light rail stop, demonstrating progressively more flexibility. 

Parking requirements on private property were designed to solve the problem of car users needing space to store their vehicles when they arrived at their destination. However, since the costs associated with building parking are typically built into the prices of goods and services, parking minimums are effectively a car use subsidy.

A good example might be a local big box retailer. If the store is 130,000 square feet and the municipality requires a parking space for every 250 square feet of retail space, the developer would be a required to buy land and install over 500 parking spaces, which take up approximately 4 acres of land. Since the big box retailer doesn't charge customers to park, even customers who walk, bike, or take transit are paying for the costs, including land, installation, and maintenance, of that parking requirement. These requirements thereby increase the costs of goods and services, especially in areas where land is more valuable, and disadvantage those who walk, bike, or arrive by transit.

Have you ever noticed large parking lots for shopping centers that are rarely or never full? These arbitrary requirements are an example of wasteful land use that makes our cities less walkable and worsens the urban heat island effect. 

Parking flexibility, on the other hand, allows the property owner to choose how much parking to install. Parking flexibility helps business owners, especially during their start-up phase, to maximize productivity of their land. Parking flexibility also results in more housing being built per project and per acre and makes low-cost and low-emissions transportation more feasible.

Parking Reform Models in Other Cities:

• Buffalo, NY - In 2017, Buffalo became the first major U.S. city to abolish all citywide minimum parking requirements.
  
  

• Minneapolis, MN - The city eliminated mandatory parking minimums in its zoning code in 2021 as part of its 2040 general plan.
  
  

• Denver, CO - In August 2025, Denver City Council approved a measure to abolish parking minimums across the city.
  
  

• San Francisco, CA - San Francisco repealed parking minimum requirements citywide in 2019.
  
  

• Salem, MA - Salem recently eliminated parking minimums for new multifamily residential properties with 3 or more units. 

Phoenix Downtown Farmer's Market/Phoestivus 2024 makes creative use of a parking lot. Image by Danny Upshaw

Outdoor Dining in Phoenix, December, 2020, with space formerly for parking. Getty Images: Michael Loccisano