Culver City leaders abolished all minimum parking requirements at their meeting on Monday, Oct 24. This appears to be the first time a city in LA County has scrapped minimum parking requirements citywide.
“I cannot think of a single good reason to require all of society to pay for parking,” wrote Culver City Councilmember Alex Fisch, as quoted by Streetsblog LA. “There is robust evidence that mandatory parking prevents affordable housing from being built, causes people to drive, and increases the cost of literally everything.”
But a couple of council members did object. The vote was 3-2. Mayor Daniel Lee, Councilmember Yasmine-Imani McMorrin, Councilmember and Fisch voted in favor. Vice Mayor Albert Vera and Councilmember Göran Eriksson were opposed.
Culver City joins hundreds of other municipalities across the U.S. that have abolished minimum parking mandates, including Buffalo, New York; Hartford, Connecticut; Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota; Cambridge, Massachusetts; and the California cities of Sacramento, Berkeley, Emeryville, and Alameda.
Going forward, many more cities will have to relax their parking inclusion rules. This month, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed AB 2097, which prohibits public agencies from imposing or enforcing minimum parking requirements on development projects located within a 1/2 mile of a major transit stop. The bill takes effect January 1, 2023.
Read more about AB 2097 and its provisions from Burke, Williams & Sorensen, LLP.