SPOKANE, Wash. — Introduced in Spokane's Public Infrastructure, Environment, and Sustainability Committee Monday afternoon, a proposed change to city law would eliminate minimum parking requirements for new construction.
The proposed interim ordinance was unveiled hours before the meeting during a press conference by co-sponsoring city council members Jonathan Bingle and Zack Zappone. Backed by supporters from Spokane's real estate, development, and affordable housing sectors, Bingle and Zappone outlined the latest initiative to combat Spokane's housing crisis.
“Everybody here realizes the challenge ahead of us," Bingle said, addressing a question about how the proposal drew such wide-ranging support.
The proposed interim ordinance, if approved by city council later this summer, would launch a test program offering another incentive to housing developers.
“A one-year pilot program to waive the required parking minimums for residential housing for development within a half mile of transit," Bingle said.
In other words, instead of requiring builders to add a set amount of parking per units, the interim ordinance would allow "property owners to choose how much residential off-street parking to provide for their needs."
It's welcome news for those in real estate, like Jennifer Thomas, public affair director with the Spokane Home Builders Association.
“City council is hearing what we’ve been saying for 18 months and that is that we are in a housing crisis," she said.
Cutting out the burden of building more parking spots for residents, Zappone said, will cut added costs to developers.
"A study has shown the cost of development can increase by up to 15% that is then passed on to owners and renters," Zappone said. "That can be about $20,000-$45,000 per unit or per house."
Zappone says those costs are often passed on to renters who live in urban areas and don't have cars; sometimes the hidden costs can push rent up by 17% or more.
Zappone says the interim ordinance would also 'decouple' the cost of providing tenant parking from rent. He addressed concerns about a lack of tenant parking by pointing out The Warren apartments on Riverside and Browne, which provides parking for 70% of its tenants.
It's not likely you'll see a lot of changes in the first year of the pilot program.
Darin Watkins with the Spokane Association of Realtors says state laws have already re-adapted to change parking requirements -- a city ordinance would just be added incentive.
"The truth is it’ll be the difference between projects going forward or not going forward," Watkins said.
Thomas says for developers who may be on the fence about building housing in Spokane, the cost incentive may tip the scales in the city's favor.
“Anything that helps to bring solutions forward and alleviate the pressure of the supply and demand scenario we have ourselves in is a win in our opinion," she said.
Zappone says other major cities like Raleigh and Seattle have eliminated parking requirements for new developments and saw hundreds of new units added.
The city will use the pilot program to evaluate whether developers are taking advantage, assessing whether new developments in that time frame would've been built without the incentive.
City council could hear a final reading and vote on adopting the program by mid-July.
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