The Boulder City Council on June 26 voted unanimously to eliminate minimum parking requirements for new developments, a major shift from a decades-old policy that has contributed to an overabundance of parking in a city where land is particularly expensive.
The ordinance still requires a third and final vote but is expected to pass and take effect at the end of August.
The change is intended to reduce the cost of building housing and opening businesses, while helping the city transition away from an urban landscape designed with cars in mind. It’s also part of a broader push to promote alternatives to driving.
City officials have been working on the parking reforms for more than a decade. Mayor Aaron Brockett said he was serving on the city’s Planning Board when the effort first began.
“Eleven years later, I’m very excited to be wrapping up the project and eliminating parking minimums,” Brockett said during Thursday’s council meeting.
Under current city code, most new residential developments must include at least one off-street parking space per unit. Commercial projects must provide parking based on square footage. These rules have led to nearly twice as many parking spaces as are needed in some areas of the city, according to a recent study.
Transportation reform advocates have also said the requirements increase development costs, contribute to urban heat through sprawling asphalt lots and encourage car dependency.
The ordinance goes beyond a new state law that prohibits Colorado cities from enacting or enforcing parking minimums near bus and train stops starting this month. Boulder is eliminating the requirements citywide.
A separate ordinance approved on Thursday also revises Boulder’s neighborhood parking permit program. It will soon apply to areas outside of low-density neighborhoods and reduce the number of permits available per household to one permit per licensed driver. In the Goss Grove neighborhood, which is located between downtown and CU Boulder, the city will launch a pilot program requiring drivers without parking permits to pay for on-street parking. Revenue will go toward free bus passes for residents. The pilot takes effect next year.
The city is also updating its bike parking requirements. New rules will mandate larger spaces for cargo bikes and outlets for charging e-bikes. Vertical bike parking will be limited and may require a lifting mechanism. To evaluate the impact of the changes and bike parking needs, the city is planning a bike parking utilization study.
Later this year, the Boulder City Council will consider a transportation demand management policy aimed at encouraging people to walk, bike or take transit instead of driving. A central component would require developers to pay into a fund that subsidizes alternative transportation options, such as free bus passes or Lime e-scooter accounts, for residents and employees. The requirements would vary based on the size of the development and would be enforced through regular reporting and monitoring.
City officials have acknowledged the new rules may increase costs for developers, but contend removing parking minimums could offset those expenses. Officials estimate the cost of building a single underground parking space at up to $100,000. They said they are considering exemptions for affordable housing projects.
The ordinance eliminating parking minimums will not apply to existing developments. However, some councilmembers said they were interested in making it easier to repurpose unused parking spaces with a future policy change.
“How do we provide a simplified, streamlined way for existing developments to reclaim their unneeded parking without having to go through site review in a large discretionary process?” Councilmember Matt Benjamin said. “I think we can reverse engineer this.”
It’s about time! Bring on the infill
This is a long-overdue and forward-thinking step for Boulder. Removing parking mandates doesn’t ban parking. It simply stops requiring it in ways that inflate housing costs, limit design flexibility, and encourage car dependence. Coupling this with stronger bike parking standards, a reformed neighborhood permit program, and a coming TDM policy shows that Boulder is finally aligning its land use and transportation policies with its climate and equity goals. A big win for affordability, sustainability, and smarter growth.
thank goodness! should have been done ages ago!
This is another gift to developers disguised as as affordable housing. Correct me if I’m wrong but the savings will not be passed along to buyers or affordable housing subsidies. I read the cost of a space is over $100k., which apparently is pure profit to developers.