Parking Maximums

• Author: Brandon Hanson
• Pages: 157-160

157Part 3: Fill Regulatory Gaps

PARK ING MAX IMU MS

Brandon Hanson (author)

Jonathan Rosenbloom & Christopher Duerksen (editors)

INTRODUCTION

O-street parking ma ximum standards in zoning ordinances limit the con-

struction of parking lots that a re larger than necessa ry. Local governments

across the U.S. have routinely set parking minimums in t heir land develop-

ment regulations for various types of uses.1 e purpose of parking mini-

mums is to insure that there are sucient o-street parking spaces for each

development based, typically, on the building use and size.2 Increasingly,

local governments recognize t he need to limit parking for a variet y of reasons

and therefore establish parking maximums in their regulations, establishi ng

an upper bound for the number of spaces allowed for a specic use, thus

controlling the amount of land and impervious surface associated with park-

ing.3 Some jurisdictions permit developments to exceed maxi mums upon the

performance of certain criteria, such as increasing permeable surface s.

EFFECTS

While o-street parking is an aspect of most developments, impervious

parking lots can have a number of detrimenta l eects. First, they prevent

groundwater inltration and increase storm water run-o.4 Such run-o can

increase downstream erosion and ooding as well as polluting rivers and

lakes. Additionally, impervious park ing lots may impose signicant costs and

burdens on municipal stormwater systems. ey may also increase green-

house gas (GHG) emissions where stormwater must be treated by a local util-

ities to remove pollutants to meet federal and state standards.5 Second, large

parking lots can reduce densities a nd spread out development over a larger

area, thereby hindering the use of less GHG-intensive modes of transport a-

tion, such as walking , biking, or public transit.6 ird, cheap and convenient

o-street parking promotes increased use of vehicles7 that ca n lead to trac