Denver will no longer require developers to include parking spaces as part of their housing and business developments after the City Council eliminated all minimum parking requirements.
Late Monday, its members passed two parking-related ordinances on a 9-3 vote. The change comes one year after the Colorado legislature passed a law outlawing parking minimums near frequent transit corridors.
The Denver ordinances go beyond the new state law, applying across the city.
“We have a housing crisis, not a parking crisis,” said Councilman Chris Hinds, one of the sponsors of the legislation.
Hinds and the bills’ other supporters say the change will allow for denser development throughout the city and more affordable housing. They say it will also improve the walkability of neighborhoods while maintaining their character.
Before the changes, Denver had required most new construction to include a minimum number of parking spots, depending on the area’s zoning code. Most apartments required one parking spot per unit. Restaurants required four spaces per 1,000 feet of indoor space.
Now, the developers will be left to decide how much parking they think is necessary for a project, whether in surface lots or garages. Industry experts have said lenders are still likely to push developers to incorporate some parking into their plans to keep them viable.
Existing parking lots that were built to satisfy minimum parking requirements could now be converted to other uses, like outdoor gathering areas, said Ryan Huff, a spokesman for Denver’s Department of Community Planning and Development.
Council members Stacie Gilmore, Amanda Sawyer and Kevin Flynn voted no on the changes.
“Until transit is clean, safe and reliable, people are not going to use it,” Sawyer said in explaining her vote. “If we want to reduce single-vehicle-occupancy trips, which we do, the best thing we can do is put pressure on (the Regional Transportation District) to get it together.”
Multiple council members who voted in favor of the change said they understood many people relied on their cars for vital transportation and for work, but they believed the new rules could help spur the building of more housing units. Parking, especially when it’s in the form of a parking garage, can add significant costs to a project.
“There are people out there who … their car is their livelihood,” council President Amanda Sandoval said. “I am open to hoping this tool works.”
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