OLYMPIA – The Parking Reform and Modernization Act passed the Washington state Senate today on a bipartisan 40-8 vote.

Senate Bill 5184 would reform rigid parking mandates set by local governments across Washington, replacing them with flexible rules that allow local businesses and developers to determine the right amount of parking based on their community’s needs.

“This bill is important for expanding our housing supply and ensuring we’re building enough homes for all Washingtonians,” said Sen. Jessica Bateman (D-Olympia), the bill sponsor. “It doesn’t force anybody to build a certain way — all it does is give us flexibility and options, so we can get more affordable buildings on the market for renters, homeowners, and businesses. There are some places where it makes sense to have a lot of parking spots for every building, and some places where all that parking isn’t necessary. Too many cities mandate more parking than needed, and this bill reduces those overly rigid requirements that force builders to pave more parking spots than the people who live, work, and shop there really need.”

Currently, 58% of renter households and 25% of homeowner households in Washington own one or zero cars, but in most cities and counties, it is illegal to construct a home with only one parking spot. Nearly all Washington local governments require two or more off-street parking spaces for every single-family home. This means thousands of Washington homeowners, renters, and landlords are paying for parking spots they don’t need.

Parking is expensive — constructing a parking space can cost anywhere from $5,000 (for a surface lot space) to $60,000 (for a spot in a parking structure). These costs especially impact projects that require many parking spots, like a large apartment building or a commercial business.

The bill would not in any way cap or limit the amount of parking a developer could build – developers who wish to can still build as much parking as they want under the bill. A handful of cities in Washington have passed laws However, the minimum mandatory parking levels would be lowered to allow the flexibility for developers to build lower-cost projects for more affordable housing and commercial spaces.

After amendments on the Senate floor, the bill only applies to cities with a population greater than 20,000. Approximately 60% of the state’s population live in cities larger than 20,000. In those cities, the bill does the following:

  • Prohibits cities and counties from requiring more than 0.5 parking space per residential dwelling unit.
  • Prohibits cities and counties from requiring more than one parking space per 1,000 feet of commercial space.
  • Prohibits cities and counties from requiring any minimum parking requirements for existing buildings undergoing change of use and various other categories of residential and commercial buildings.
  • Prohibits cities from requiring off-street parking as a condition of permitting development of multifamily, middle housing, or ADUs located within 1/2-mile walking distance of transit service.

The bill also includes several other provisions – exempting cities or counties that prove to the state Department of Commerce that applying the legislation would be significantly less safe for their residents, requiring a study of the parking needs of people with disabilities and adjusting mandates as necessary, and allowing a county to require off-street parking if the county’s roads are not developed to the standards for streets and roads adopted by the cities within that county.

The bill now goes to the state House of Representatives for consideration.