Construction on the office tower at 1900 Lawrence St. in February 2023. It incorporates over 600 parking spaces, although the city required none. (BusinessDen file)
Denver Mayor Mike Johnston’s administration has proposed eliminating parking space minimums for all new development, a move already taken by other cities such as Austin and San Francisco.
City staff say the move will save them time, ensure Denver complies with a new state law and give developers flexibility.
But at a Monday afternoon meeting, members of City Council indicated they expect the proposal to get a lot of public feedback — and one member said she’ll vote against it.
“I was elected to represent my residents, and my residents don’t want this,” said Councilwoman Amanda Sawyer, who represents a stretch of central-east Denver including Hilltop and Cherry Creek
Denver’s current parking regulations for new development are complex. No on-site parking spaces are required for single-unit homes or accessory dwelling units. The same is true for new projects downtown and in adjacent neighborhoods, such as the Golden Triangle and Arapahoe Square.
Even when parking is required, the number of required spaces is sometimes reduced for various factors — such as the project involving income-restricted units.
“This regulation is so complicated that many developers — they cannot figure out how to calculate their own parking requirements,” Councilman Chris Hinds said.
In a Monday news release, the Johnston administration said eliminating parking minimums would “incentivize more housing production, reduce city permit review times and let the marketplace determine the necessary number of parking spaces.”
“This is a market-based solution that will help deliver our goal of a Denver that is truly affordable for working families without impacting parking needs for our residents,” Johnston said in a statement.
His administration noted that Denver has to make at least some changes to its parking rules. It must comply with state legislation passed this year, which mandates municipalities stop enforcing parking minimums for residential projects located a certain distance from transit.
The mayor’s proposal, however, goes well beyond that.
City parking requirements are not necessarily the primary factor behind how many spaces are incorporated into a project. Downtown’s newest skyscraper, at 1900 Lawrence St., incorporates 633 parking spaces, according to the city. Zero were required. At 1145 S. Broadway, a 470-unit apartment building features 691 spaces, when the city required only 428.
One driving factor can be lenders, who sometimes require a certain number of spaces in order to see a project as viable.
The mayor’s proposal got some positive feedback from council members at a Monday council committee meeting.
“We have a housing shortage,” Hinds said. “We don’t have a parking shortage.”
But other council members focused on how much their constituents care about parking.
“People are going to have a lot of emotion over this,” said Councilwoman Amanda Sandoval.
“Any zoning discussion I have in District 9, the first question is parking,” said Councilman Darrell Watson.
Sawyer, already a no vote, said the issue presents “a retail politics problem.” And she said implementing parking maximums — a cap on how many spaces a project could include — could better address the city’s goal than eliminating parking minimums.
Councilman Kevin Flynn indicated he believes the state Legislature was shortsighted, and that some developments in the city necessitate on-site parking.
“I’m hopeful that the lenders will enforce what we repeal,” Flynn said.
Construction on the office tower at 1900 Lawrence St. in February 2023. It incorporates over 600 parking spaces, although the city required none. (BusinessDen file)
Denver Mayor Mike Johnston’s administration has proposed eliminating parking space minimums for all new development, a move already taken by other cities such as Austin and San Francisco.
City staff say the move will save them time, ensure Denver complies with a new state law and give developers flexibility.
But at a Monday afternoon meeting, members of City Council indicated they expect the proposal to get a lot of public feedback — and one member said she’ll vote against it.
“I was elected to represent my residents, and my residents don’t want this,” said Councilwoman Amanda Sawyer, who represents a stretch of central-east Denver including Hilltop and Cherry Creek
Denver’s current parking regulations for new development are complex. No on-site parking spaces are required for single-unit homes or accessory dwelling units. The same is true for new projects downtown and in adjacent neighborhoods, such as the Golden Triangle and Arapahoe Square.
Even when parking is required, the number of required spaces is sometimes reduced for various factors — such as the project involving income-restricted units.
“This regulation is so complicated that many developers — they cannot figure out how to calculate their own parking requirements,” Councilman Chris Hinds said.
In a Monday news release, the Johnston administration said eliminating parking minimums would “incentivize more housing production, reduce city permit review times and let the marketplace determine the necessary number of parking spaces.”
“This is a market-based solution that will help deliver our goal of a Denver that is truly affordable for working families without impacting parking needs for our residents,” Johnston said in a statement.
His administration noted that Denver has to make at least some changes to its parking rules. It must comply with state legislation passed this year, which mandates municipalities stop enforcing parking minimums for residential projects located a certain distance from transit.
The mayor’s proposal, however, goes well beyond that.
City parking requirements are not necessarily the primary factor behind how many spaces are incorporated into a project. Downtown’s newest skyscraper, at 1900 Lawrence St., incorporates 633 parking spaces, according to the city. Zero were required. At 1145 S. Broadway, a 470-unit apartment building features 691 spaces, when the city required only 428.
One driving factor can be lenders, who sometimes require a certain number of spaces in order to see a project as viable.
The mayor’s proposal got some positive feedback from council members at a Monday council committee meeting.
“We have a housing shortage,” Hinds said. “We don’t have a parking shortage.”
But other council members focused on how much their constituents care about parking.
“People are going to have a lot of emotion over this,” said Councilwoman Amanda Sandoval.
“Any zoning discussion I have in District 9, the first question is parking,” said Councilman Darrell Watson.
Sawyer, already a no vote, said the issue presents “a retail politics problem.” And she said implementing parking maximums — a cap on how many spaces a project could include — could better address the city’s goal than eliminating parking minimums.
Councilman Kevin Flynn indicated he believes the state Legislature was shortsighted, and that some developments in the city necessitate on-site parking.
“I’m hopeful that the lenders will enforce what we repeal,” Flynn said.
