The builder is relying on demand for lower-cost, transit-oriented housing units for residents who don’t own private cars, opting to provide only seven parking spaces for a 37-unit building.
A development planned for downtown Fresno will include less parking than would normally be expected, following the recent trend to reduce the amount of parking mandated and built into new construction. As Danielle Bergstrom reports for Fresnoland, the project is remarkable even for Fresno, where parking requirements are lax but many developers fear that potential residents will lose interest without parking included with their units.
“Pro-housing activists have long pushed for cities to reduce or eliminate parking requirements on housing projects near transit or in walking distance to major amenities for the added cost it can bring to a project, making some infeasible to finance.” Now, a new state law bars cities from enforcing parking requirements near transit stations, letting developers choose how much parking to build based on their own estimates of market conditions.
“The Fresno Planning Commission approved a 37-unit housing development on Broadway and Stanislaus streets – sandwiched between the Mayflower Lofts and Kepler School’s recess yard – with just seven parking spaces,” Bergstrom writes. The decision was appealed by a neighboring property owner who cited concerns about added pressure on local street parking.
FULL STORY: New downtown Fresno housing development tests parking expectations
California Law Bars Parking Mandates Near Transit
Local governments are prohibited from requiring parking spaces at new developments where transit is readily available.
Oregon’s Under-the-Radar Parking Revolution
Thanks to parking reforms at the state level, Oregon cities are rapidly eliminating parking requirements, paving the way for more affordable housing construction and higher density.
Austin Eliminates Parking Requirements
After eliminating downtown parking requirements ten years ago, the city will now end minimum parking mandates citywide.
Study: Maui’s Plan to Convert Vacation Rentals to Long-Term Housing Could Cause Nearly $1 Billion Economic Loss
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Alabama: Trump Terminates Settlements for Black Communities Harmed By Raw Sewage
Trump deemed the landmark civil rights agreement “illegal DEI and environmental justice policy.”
Why Should We Subsidize Public Transportation?
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Paris Bike Boom Leads to Steep Drop in Air Pollution
The French city’s air quality has improved dramatically in the past 20 years, coinciding with a growth in cycling.
Why Housing Costs More to Build in California Than in Texas
Hard costs like labor and materials combined with ‘soft’ costs such as permitting make building in the San Francisco Bay Area almost three times as costly as in Texas cities.
San Diego County Sees a Rise in Urban Coyotes
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Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
Smith Gee Studio
Alamo Area Metropolitan Planning Organization
City of Santa Clarita
Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS)
City of Grandview
Harvard GSD Executive Education
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions
Salt Lake City
NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service