On Thursday, Olympia's Land Use and Environment Committee approved the Planning Commission's zero minimum parking proposal on new residential developments with instructions to the staff to explore the feasibility of requiring at least one accessible space in multifamily units to align with the existing code.
The recommendation will be forwarded to the city council as soon as May 16.
For up to four residential units - single family, duplex, townhouse - the Planning Commission recommended on April 17 to move to zero required parking spaces per unit. For five units or more, multifamily/apartments the recommendation will be zero to 1.25 units per residence.
During the discussion, committee member and Councilmember Clark Gilman expressed concern about the proposed changes, particularly the sudden move to zero parking requirements. He said this could be an equity issue for residents of multifamily properties who hold multiple jobs and rely on cars to get to their jobs.
He pointed out that Intercity Transit has not promised to maintain particular routes or frequencies of services.
"I don't believe it is rudimentary or not yet developed service [transit system]. [In my mind] it is a service appropriate for the people, place, density or population we have today," said Gilman, who was reacting to comments about the transportation system in the city.
"I just want a reality check that we are a midsize city with a big suburban fringe. I don't think any policies that we create now will quickly transform that into something else."
Recognizing that Olympia residents lead car-dependent lifestyles, committee member Jim Cooper believed that to promote transit services, they should reduce car usage and advocate for alternative modes of transportation.
Looking at meeting carbon goals, Cooper said half of it is dependent on reducing vehicle travel and improving building energy efficiency. He claimed that tire debris in stormwater posed a serious threat to the health of Puget Sound. "With those two factors, I wish I could greatly reduce single-occupancy vehicles for our children and the community in the future."
Committee chair Dani Madrone supports the recommendation but wanted to retain a requirement for at least one accessible space for ADA, which could be a safeguard if developers opted not to do parking.
Under the zoning code, Community Planning and Development deputy director Tim Smith said multifamily buildings are required 10 or more parking spaces, which triggered the ADA space requirement.
According to Cooper, the recommendation "needs more staff work," saying that it is an important conversation, particularly about accessibility.
"I would say give it a little more time and have staff look or scan other places and bring us a proposal that matches our conversation," Cooper suggested.
But CP&D senior planner Joyce Phillips said they are working under a grant with a delivery associated with it.
“Most of the grants we get are based on us submitting the final draft. This particular grant, they call it an implementation grant, needed the adopted version," Phillips said of the Housing Action Plan Implementation Grant.
Madrone said they do not have time to bring the proposal back to the Planning Commission to edit and consider the committee's recommendation.
"When we worked on tenant protections, we created a package from this committee and sent it to the council. The staff tied up the loose ends in that process. In terms of process and precedents, I think we have shaped policy this way before," Madrone recounted as she asked the committee members to take a vote on the motion.
Olympia City Manager Jay Burney suggested that the staff continue reviewing the accessibility component so that the council would have a chance to consider the review and make changes before finalizing the recommendation.
Madrone and Cooper voted to accept the Planning Commission's recommendation. Gilman voted against it.
6 comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here
longtimeresident
So all the young males that want to cruise every Friday night for hours on end, can go out to College St. in Lacey and do their thing? That is hardly a carbon-reducing activity....
Saturday, April 29, 2023 Report this
olyhiker
Crazy. Looks like Gilman is the only one thinking ahead.
Saturday, April 29, 2023 Report this
TonyW33
Was Jim Cooper elected to socially engineer Olympia for the next 30 years? Really? Maybe it is time for him to consider the impact of the homeless in downtown on the business environment there. That environment matters too. Maybe, instead of trying to influence the Jim Coopers and Dani Madrones of Olympia it is time for reasonable people to leave Olympia, and in a dead run.
Saturday, April 29, 2023 Report this
Yeti1981
This is a step in the right direction for more affordable housing. Clearly, developers are going to build parking. All this proposal does is allow for the need to dictate the supply. There are tons of cities doing this across the country, and in those cities the housing supply is increasing drastically. We need more housing.
https://planning.org/planning/2018/oct/peopleoverparking/
Monday, May 1, 2023 Report this
Yeti1981
Building Parking Raises Rent
Parking costs a lot to build, and that cost usually ends up raising tenant rents.
$5,000: Cost per surface space
$25,000: Cost per above-ground garage space
$35,000: Cost per below-ground garage space
$142: The typical cost renters pay per month for parking
+17%: Additional cost of a unit's rent attributed to parking
Source: Housing Policy Debate, 2016
Tuesday, May 2, 2023 Report this
tesboyd
I am new to the area and this is going to be interesting to see this policy implemented. I am not sure I trust developers to do their due dilegence to have enough parking. As pointed out Olympia, Lacey, Tumwater are car based communities. Changing any one to alternative transportation is a tough - but has to start somewhere. I do believe that even though Transit has not promised anything - they will step up and meet the need as it grows. I have seen that in other Cities. As more "High-Density" areas develop we will probably see more corner grocery stores - an expansion of the farmers market - and other businesses and entertainment that people can walk to. We will probably see fewer people coming into town from outlining areas. I think this is the first step to no available street parking, development of multi-story parking garages, a walking district in downtown Olympia, and a growth in mass transit linking Olympia to Seattle to the north and Portland to the south. The next 20 years will be very interesting.
Sunday, May 7, 2023 Report this