Olympia Planning Commissioner Carole Richmond has proposed a one-year delay in implementing the parking code amendment under consideration to allow the necessary time to address any issues and concerns raised by community members.
"I think it is important to acknowledge the public's concern, which we have not addressed specifically," Richmond said at Monday's Olympia Planning Commission meeting. She is proposing that the parking ordinance takes effect in July 2024.
On April 17, the commission approved the recommendation of parking amendments, including removing the minimum parking requirements for new house developments. The final step in changing the parking code will be up to the city council later this month.
Before voting on the amendments, the commission had three briefings, conducted a public hearing on March 20, 2023, and provided an extended public comment period.
According to Richmond, community members raised their concerns about the inadequacy of transportation, which she said was a recurring theme. "There are things we could be doing… to help address the transit routes and exploring that issue some more."
Other public concerns, Richmond added, are parking management and road congestion, clamoring for more cycling roads, and safety concerns.
"It would be great to be working on that to make sure that there are alternatives for people. That is what they are concerned about – not having adequate alternatives," the commissioner added.
"I would like to recommend that the parking reform ordinance goes into effect July 2024 instead of immediately, as long as we complete the work to the satisfaction of the Department of Commerce," Richmond said. The city council has yet to receive the Planning Commission's parking recommendations.
However, senior planner and staff liaison Joyce Phillips pointed out that she cannot include Richmond's recommendation in the comment letter "because it was not discussed before the motion was made and voted on."
She explained that in almost all city ordinances, it takes effect five or 30 days from the date it is passed and published. "Sometimes they will do an extended implementation date. But it would have to be at the council's discretion at this point."
At Monday's meeting, the commissioners put together the minority report/comment letter to be submitted along with the Planning recommendation to the city council.
The minority report contains the dissenting opinions of two commissioners – Tracey Carlos and Tammy Adams – who did not support the zero-parking requirement in residential developments.
Also stated in the minority report is a recommendation that the city council reassesses the parking situation in two to three years to ensure it works or consider additional revisions, including reinstating minimum parking requirements for residential uses if warranted.
The minority report enumerated the issues raised by Adams and Carlos, explaining why they opposed the zero-parking requirements:
Other issues discussed included that the transit services are not always adequate -- which are not always available in the evenings - to meet transportation needs -- and that many residences are occupied by people with multiple cars.
7 comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here
BobJacobs
I don't understand why the full commission needs to approve a minority report.
just seems odd. And if the commission doesn't approve it??
Bob Jacobs
Wednesday, May 3, 2023 Report this
Citizen
Zero Parking for new development will not eliminate cars. Instead, the existing parking will be overwhelmed with the parked cars of the new residents. A survey of similar ordinances in other Cities would establish the burdens of overwhelmed existing parking. Anyone who has lived in urban neighborhoods in our state with similar ordinances can tell you the burdens created with the ordinances.
Overwhelmed exiting parking is a predictable and proven result. Think again before approving a developer plan to reduce the costs of development, increase profits at the detriment of neighborhoods and neighbors.
Wednesday, May 3, 2023 Report this
Yeti1981
Delaying it a year will delay projects that could provide housing for folks a year. If you care about housing, the delay doesn't make sense. Also, by the time they get to projects that this might affect, they will be more expensive due to them being delayed. I don't know how you make housing more affordable while also trying to make it more expensive.
Wednesday, May 3, 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
Wednesday, May 3, 2023 Report this
olyhiker
I have a suggestion. Let the members of the committee park their cars several blocks from their residences and see how it works for them.
Wednesday, May 3, 2023 Report this
JohnGear
Unlocked WA Post article on the hidden costs of parking
Why free street parking could be costing you hundreds more in rent
https://wapo.st/3pag8o4
Start of the article:
If there’s a building in America, a local government has decided the number of parking spaces it needs.
San Jose at one point required miniature golf courses to have 1.25 parking spaces per golf tee. In Seattle, bowling alleys needed five spaces per lane. Dallas, meanwhile, determined a sewage treatment plant must have one parking space for every million gallons of sewage treatment capacity.
Climate Coach
The Climate Coach column and newsletter host an honest discussion about the environmental choices we face in our daily lives. We'll approach these questions with curiosity, optimism — and vigilant skepticism. Read more.
The first parking minimum was implemented for an apartment building in Columbus, Ohio, in 1923. By the 1950s, with the expansion of the suburbs and personal automobile ownership, they were a nearly universal feature of new urban development.
But these rules not only overestimated the amount of parking that was needed, they created a society that virtually demanded a car to conduct daily life, says Catie Gould, a senior climate and transportation researcher at the Sightline Institute, a sustainability think tank in the Pacific Northwest.
“Most people have no idea these rules exist,” says Gould. “It’s why the suburbs look the way they do. It’s not that everyone loves to drive.”
Want to know how your actions can help make a difference for our planet? Sign up for the Climate Coach newsletter, in your inbox every Tuesday and Thursday.
Parking minimums shape your entire life even if you don’t realize it, from the size of your rent check to the length of your commute to how many friends live nearby. Requiring businesses to include copious parking spots raises the cost of construction and the amount of land needed, codifying sprawl. . . .
Read the rest of
Why free street parking could be costing you hundreds more in rent
https://wapo.st/3pag8o4
Wednesday, May 3, 2023 Report this
Yeti1981
The thing that makes urban life desirable is proximity. Proximity to services, to community spaces, and to everything we enjoy in our daily lives. It is ironic that the largest barrier to that desire for proximity is car-centric thinking. Cars were presented as a symbol of freedom, but they are the very thing that is eroding our everyday freedom of movement.
Wednesday, May 3, 2023 Report this