Lower parking requirements for reduced-driving neighborhoods

Urge SF Supervisors to approve new planning rules

San Francisco may soon reduce its parking requirements for new residential buildings in certain neighborhoods. The changes will be a valuable step towards reducing driving and pollution.

The changes, passed by the Planning Commission and coming to the Board of Supervisors for approval, would apply to residential buildings in the Downtown, Rincon Hill, Mid-Market, and Transbay neighborhoods. They would:

• eliminate the minimum-parking requirement;
• set a maximum of one parking space for every four units (with some exceptions, and developers could apply for up to three spaces per four units as a conditional use);
• require that parking places be rented or sold separately ("unbundled") from the housing units, so that residents don't have to purchase parking if they don't need it;
• require projects to include provision for car-sharing and bicycle parking.

We expect that the Planning Commission will also act to encourage nearby shopping streets.

The proposed ordinance will also ban new commercial parking garages in the Downtown area. This is essential so that the reduced residential parking is not counterbalanced by garages. These changes recognize that residents of denser areas (for example, North Beach), with more convenient access to businesses and services, own fewer cars than people in less dense areas, where the parking minimum (generally one parking space per unit) will remain in force. Older neighborhoods around Downtown typically have about one car for two households. The neighborhoods where the changes are being made are dense ones - good candidates for this degree of reduced driving and car ownership.

In fact, the new rules should be strengthened to allow a maximum of two spaces per four units, even as a conditional use.

San Francisco State students recently completed a study near Downtown, comparing apartment houses constructed with one parking space for each unit to others with less parking. Not surprisingly, residents of the latter own fewer cars and drive less.

Some developers are opposing the new rules. Even though some developers in San Francisco have been able to finance, construct, and rent or sell apartments with less parking, other developers claim that more parking is required to obtain financing.

WhatYouCanDo

Contact the Board of Supervisors and ask it to adopt the Planning Commission's proposed zoning changes to eliminate the minimum parking requirement and set a parking maximum of one space for four units in selected areas. Ask also for a ban on new commercial garages in the area.

One of the claims of those who advocate for more parking is that it is impossible to bring up a child in San Francisco without a car. We need to counter this archaic argument with positive examples of car-free parenting in the city. Our Bay Chapter chair, John Rizzo, is a good one. If you are bringing up a child in San Francisco without owning a car, please contact Howard Strassner at (415)661-8786 or email ruthow-at-dslextreme.com

to help us prepare a short testimonial of who you are and how you deal with bringing up your child without a car. To convince the parking advocates, it is especially helpful to have accounts from folks who own their own home or condo.

Howard Strassner