Relaxed zoning rules are allowing developers to put up high-rise apartment and condo projects in urban locales around the country with little or no parking for residents.
A 175-unit condo development with no parking has been green-lighted in Boston, and the 352-unit Centro Lofts in Miami will have no spaces for private cars — only five Car2Go spaces and space for bicycles, Angie Schmitt of dc.streetsblog.org reports.
An estimated 20 to 30 projects have been developed without parking in Seattle since new zoning rules went into effect in 2010, but in Portland, Ore., city officials have pulled back and are now requiring that developers provide some parking with projects larger than 30 units. Last summer, 40 percent of new housing projects under construction had no parking.
While freeing developers from having to provide parking to high-rise tenants makes sense in high-density areas near public transit — it lowers costs, which can give cities leverage to demand developers provide more affordable housing units — existing residents and businesses often worry that street parking will become scarce if the trend gets out of hand. Source: dc.streetsblog.org