LA takes first step toward getting rid of parking requirements in new housing

Los Angeles is now one step closer to letting developers choose how many parking spots to include in their new housing projects, including the option to provide no parking at all.

On Tuesday, the City Council’s Planning and Land Use committee voted 3-1 to advance a proposal that — if passed by the full council — would explore a policy to end parking requirements in new projects citywide.

The vote represents a major shift in car-centric L.A., where policy-makers have long treated guaranteed parking as sacrosanct.

Committee chair Bob Blumenfield, who introduced the motion with Councilmember Nithya Raman, said the goal was not to entirely eliminate parking in new projects.

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“It's about providing options,” said Blumenfield, who represents western parts of the San Fernando Valley.

Blumenfield said his district is “relatively car-dependent,” and he “would expect developers of market-rate housing and commercial projects to provide plenty of parking because that’s what they have to do in order to be financially successful.”

Councilmember John Lee voted against the proposal, saying he believes developers would jump at the opportunity to build zero-parking projects in his northwest San Fernando Valley district.

“I don’t know of a time when [developers] have done more than minimum,” Lee said.

The committee’s fifth member, Councilmember Adrin Nazarian, was absent for the vote.

LA wouldn’t be first city to ditch parking requirements

Other cities — including San Jose, Culver City and Austin, Texas — already have nixed parking minimums in new housing projects. Advocates for the change say forcing developers to bundle parking with every new apartment drives up development costs and increases rents, even for tenants who don’t drive.

Recent studies have found that parking requirements increase housing construction costs by about $38,000 per apartment and cost L.A. tenants about $200 per month.

Currently, L.A. generally requires at least one parking spot for every one-bedroom apartment and more spots for larger apartments. But under a 2022 state law, new apartment buildings located within a half-mile of major transit stops across California already can eschew parking.

Apartment projects with zero parking already are in the works in some parts of L.A. The new city council proposal seeks to study an expansion of that policy citywide.

Fight over parking goes from streets to City Hall

Scott Epstein, policy director with Abundant Housing L.A., said giving developers more flexibility would help the city boost housing production.

“What we want to prevent is projects from not happening at all because they're not feasible,” Epstein said. “What we don't want is a project in the Valley that maybe by code requires 26 parking spots but where we can only build 24 parking spots on two decks, or there's going to be no project at all. That doesn't help anybody.”

In a city where parking is a perennial frustration for many residents, some community groups already have started to voice strong opposition.

Earlier this month, the Harbor Gateway North Neighborhood Council sent a community impact statement to the council saying that competition for parking among residents already is so fierce that “people keep their trash bins in front of their homes all week to secure a parking spot.”

The statement goes on to say the city’s public transportation system is insufficient, and “the lack of parking creates a lot of tension between neighbors and those from the apartments who need a place to park.”

The council’s proposal also seeks to study eliminating parking requirements for other kinds of developments, such as new stores and restaurants.

A slim majority of the City Council recently voted to oppose a state bill that would allow taller, denser apartment buildings near train lines and rapid bus routes.

What’s next

The proposal still faces a long road to becoming law. It now needs to pass a vote in the full 15-member council. If it does, the city’s Planning Department would be tasked with reporting back to the council about the costs, benefits, and feasibility of eliminating off-street parking requirements in new projects citywide.

After that, an ordinance would need to be drafted and passed in another council vote.