Title
Minimum Parking Requirements Code Amendments Briefing
Recommended Action
Information only. No action requested.
Report
Issue:
The City is required to review and update Olympia Municipal Code Chapter 18.38 – Parking and Loading standards to meet new state law requirements. The City is also proposing some amendments to eliminate nearly all minimum vehicle parking requirements.
Staff Contact:
Casey Schaufler, Associate Planner, Community Development, 360.753.8254
Presenter(s):
Casey Schaufler, Associate Planner
Background and Analysis:
In May 2025, Washington State passed SB 5184 to limit the on-site parking spaces for commercial and residential uses. Cities must implement the requirements of SB 5184 by January 27, 2027.
How this relates to the BPAC’s work
For many decades, cities have required private development to build vehicle parking. The number of required spaces has not been based on market demand, which has generally resulted in an oversupply of vehicle parking. This has incentivized driving in two major ways:
An oversupply of parking for nearly every land use has greatly increased the footprint of cities, spreading out the distances people have to cover to get places, making it harder to walk or bike
Easy and convenient parking makes driving the easiest choice to get places rather than transit, biking, or walking
In addition to this, the Washington State Legislature also found that parking requirements increase housing costs. The Legislature determined that the number of parking spaces that a project provides should be based on actual market conditions.
The proposed code changes
Olympia’s existing code requires a minimum number of parking spaces based on the:
Land use
Number of units, or
Square footage of the space
In the land use category there is a wide range of minimums and in some cases maximums. What type of land use is allowed in a given location depends on the zoning district.
The proposed code changes address the new state requirem...
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