The city of Spokane, Washington, may move to eliminate minimum parking limits for residential buildings within a half-mile of a transit stop following its historic zoning reform last year, Anthony Gill reports in The Urbanist.

The proposed interim ordinance would also allow for “unbundled” parking, which reduces rent for tenants who do not require a parking space. “By July 2024, the council would enact new permanent parking regulations to replace this interim arrangement.”

Gill says, “If the bill passes, off-street parking would be optional for residential properties in most parts of the city, except in the outskirts of the suburbs like Latah Valley and North Indian Trail, where there is little traffic and the development is car-oriented anyway.”

Since a single parking space can cost between $20,000 and $100,000, reducing parking in new housing developments can have a dramatic impact on construction costs and, in turn, rents. “And perhaps it’s appealing to libertarian-minded people that optional parking gives property owners a choice. If off-street parking is necessary to rent or sell a home, the market will respond and those off-street spaces will continue to be provided.”