Calls Mount For Decreased Parking Requirements

“It’s first useful to remember that controversies about zoning are as old as zoning itself,” says C.J. Gabbe.

LOS ANGELES—With the inevitable adoption of driverless cars and new technology like ride sharing services and companies like Envoy, developers have been calling for cities to reduce parking requirements on new developments. Now, research from UCLA Ziman Center for Real Estate shows that low-income renters are also negatively impacted by the parking requirements. Many apartment parking garage fees are bundled into rental rates, and carless drivers pay more than $400 million annually in parking fees. Many carless renters are also low-income, making the financial burden significant. To find our more, we sat down with C.J. Gabbe, Assistant Professor in Santa Clara University’s Department of Environmental Studies and Sciences, to discuss the research.

GlobeSt.com: What was the impetus to look at parking impacts on low-income renters specifically?