The Hidden Cost of Free Parking: How Mandated Parking Minimums Drive Up Housing Costs

Hi everyone my name is Adam Brantley, and I am the team lead for the Policy Analysis Center. Today I will be discussing parking minimums.

Imagine standing in a Walmart parking lot. Think about its size. Now, consider the number of spots typically occupied. On a typical day, there will be plenty of empty spaces. This raises the question: Why is that parking lot so large if there are many empty spaces? 

This size is due to parking minimums or mandates. In these cases, the local government requires that the building owner provide a certain amount of off-street parking to create “free” parking. This parking can be unnecessarily precise, with faulty math used to justify the required number of spaces. 

For instance, Athens-Clarke County requires fraternity and sorority houses to build the number of parking spaces equal to taking the gross square footage divided by 200. The resulting number is then used to determine the number of people allowed to live in the house and mandate a space per 1.5 people. Another method involves dividing the total square footage by 15 to determine the number of people allowed to gather in that space. The number of parking spots then must equal one space for every three people allowed to gather. The larger of these two methods is the minimum number of parking spots a fraternity or sorority house must build. Are you lost yet? This is just one example of a comprehensive list of parking requirements in Athens-Clarke County, including residential zoning.

So how did we get here? In the early 20th century, the usage of the automobile was beginning to climb. With an influx of cars, cities were faced with a question on how to deal with all these new cars. Parallel parking on curbs, or as it was called then ranking, was not able to handle the amount of cars. The solution that many came up with was to build off-street parking lots. Soon cities began mandating that private businesses accommodate these new vehicles with parking minimums. The first parking minimum was in Columbus, Ohio in 1923. Municipalities would continue adopting these policies which became the norm by the 1950s resulting in the construction of a lot of new parking lots.  

Although parking minimums might seem productive for creating “free” parking, their adverse effects are apparent, especially for affordable housing. First, they do not provide “free” parking but rather subsidize the use of automobiles. While using the parking space is free, the developers that pay for parking pass costs on to tenants who pay in the form of higher rents. 

Not everyone will use a car as their mode of transportation, but they will pay for parking regardless. Subsidizing parking is particularly troublesome for low-income individuals because those with lower incomes are less likely to own a car. 

Second, parking minimums prohibit density in housing because more space must be set aside for parking spaces that could otherwise be used for housing. Density allows for more units to be built, which in turn increases the supply of housing. 

A greater supply of housing can lead to lower rents and home costs. In other words, Athens-Clarke County zoning laws prioritize free parking for cars over more affordable housing for people. In essence, parking minimums make it harder to build affordable housing because they pass automobile costs to everyone regardless of automobile usage and prohibit a greater housing supply. 

While the problem seems straightforward, what can be done as a solution? Repealing parking minimums in the code of ordinances would be a helpful start. This can be done through the Athens-Clarke County Commission. However, this can be difficult as “free” parking can be good politics, so more pressure is needed to realize this change. 

One way to incentivize municipalities to repeal or loosen their parking minimums is to pass legislation like the Community Housing Options Increase Cost Efficiency Act (CHOICE Act), a bi-partisan bill. The CHOICE Act, HB 1266, incentivizes municipalities to adopt municipal codes that allow for more density. 

This includes lowering the parking minimum to one space per unit in areas not served by public transit. Municipalities that adopt enough of these policies to facilitate the construction of denser, more affordable housing will be eligible for funding grants and loans. 

While reducing parking minimums would help make housing more affordable, public policy can go even further. For instance, parking maximums could be enforced instead of having parking minimums. 

Parking maximums set an upper limit on the number of parking spots that can be constructed for a building. These policies prevent the subsidization of parking spots. Decoupling the parking cost from the rent price makes more affordable housing possible. 

Affordable housing is a deeply desired goal in many communities, especially in Athens. Rent in Athens has increased by 2.5% in the past year, higher than the state and national average. 

While there is no silver bullet for the housing crisis, removing parking minimums is a policy that can be implemented at the state and local levels to help address it. The ability of everyone to live in affordable housing depends on action, such as supporting the CHOICE Act or urging local commissioners to repeal parking mandates. Eliminating parking minimums is an essential step toward making Athens a more affordable place for all.