A bill introduced to the Montgomery County Council on Tuesday would loosen parking requirements for new housing developments, provided they are located in close proximity to public transit.
Zoning Text Amendment 23-10 would exempt developers from having to meet the baseline parking ordinances for residential housing in the county’s zoning ordinance if the development is within half a mile of a Metro station or a Purple Line station, within a fourth of a mile of an existing Bus Rapid Transit station or a Bus Rapid Transit station funded for construction. Those baseline ordinances are determined by an equation and chart in the zoning ordinance.
“The underlying regulations we are attempting to change here were originally adopted in the late ’70s and early ’80s. A lot has changed since then,” Council President Evan Glass (D-At-large) said when introducing the legislation during Tuesday’s council meeting. “We have to prioritize people over cars.”
The legislation was developed and co-sponsored by Glass, Vice President Andrew Friedson (D-Dist. 1) and Councilmember Kristin Mink (D-Dist. 5). Councilmember Dawn Luedtke (D-Dist. 7) was an original co-sponsor. At Tuesday’s meeting, the other seven councilmembers requested to be added as co-sponsors.
As the bill was just introduced, no opponents had publicly come out against it as of Tuesday. The public will get the chance to share their thoughts at a public hearing on Jan. 16.
“I want to be very clear–this bill does not take away existing parking,” Mink said. “It simply allows future transit-oriented residential construction to right-size parking to include only the amount of parking the market actually needs rather than reaching a blanket government-imposed minimum.”
The goal of the legislation is to encourage development of affordable housing near transit hubs and limit the number of cars on the road, according to the sponsors.
According to the Montgomery County Planning department, it costs between $70,000 and $100,000 to build a single underground parking space in urban areas of the county.
“Housing is expensive in our region. And one of the reasons it’s expensive is because when new apartment buildings are built, they are required to build parking spaces for residents whether they need them or not,” Glass said at a press conference Tuesday afternoon. “The bottom line is that if we want more housing that is affordable, we need to build more affordable housing, and reducing the cost of those housing units is one way we can achieve that.”
Advocates also spoke regarding the legislation at the press conference.
“Removing mandatory parking minimums in locations with great access to transit is a common-sense fix,” said Carrie Kisicki, Montgomery Advocacy Manager for the Coalition for Smarter Growth. “It complements our county’s investments in more frequent transit, protected bike lanes and bike sharing, and safer walking throughout the county.”
Dan Reed, regional policy director for Greater Greater Washington, said the legislation addresses both the housing crisis and the climate crisis.
“As a former transportation planner, I can tell you one of the biggest indicators in somebody’s travel habits, how they get around, is their proximity to transit,” Reed said. “It’s in these places that are the most desirable places to live in Montgomery County, the places we want housing to go, the places where people are least likely to need cars, where we’re requiring all this extra space for cars.”
A public hearing on the legislation is scheduled for Jan. 16. A vote has not yet been scheduled.