For decades, we haven’t built enough homes for people across the US, causing sky-high housing prices. One reason is the mandated construction of too many parking spaces. Minimum parking requirements dictate that homes and apartments must be built with a certain number of parking spots. These rules frequently require much more parking than is needed. At a minimum, for every one of the more than 260 million automobiles registered in the US, there are at least 3-5 parking spaces.
Parking spaces are expensive to build, often as much as 20% of construction costs. In many cities, a parking stall structure costs $40K - $60K per stall. This cost gets passed on to you through higher rents or listing prices, even if you don’t drive. Generally, $10,000 in construction costs adds $100/mo in rent, so parking minimums can increase the rent or mortgage of an apartment or house by $400-$600 per month.
That’s why YIMBY Action is advocating for the end of mandatory parking minimums. In Seattle, where parking reform has been in effect since 2012, developers have built 40% less parking (over 18,000 spaces) than would’ve previously been required, resulting in a savings of over $537 million in parking construction costs. Seattle’s public transit and walkability helped facilitate this decreased need for parking. Instead, they were able to focus more on actual housing, building 60,361 homes over 5 years.
This is what’s possible when we end parking minimums, and it’s a fight that YIMBY Action is fighting on the federal level, and our Chapters are fighting at the local level. We need housing for people, not cars. Will you donate or volunteer to help make this a reality?
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