Eliminating parking mandates: Spokane, WA
Published on: July 21, 2025
- Issue Areas
- Housing and community development
- Outcomes
- Supportive neighborhoods
MORE ABOUT THE STRATEGY USED IN THIS CASE STUDY Increasing overall housing supply, Public transportation access and quality
At-a-Glance
Summary
In recent years, Spokane’s population has grown rapidly, a trend that only accelerated during the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, housing costs have risen dramatically. Between 2010 and 2020, home price sales in Spokane increased by 47 percent. In the same period, rents for a two-bedroom apartment rose by 11 percent. In response to the growing housing crisis, local leaders sought solutions to spur housing construction and put downward pressure on housing costs.
In 2024, Spokane enacted Ordinance C36556, eliminating parking mandates city-wide. The ordinance allows property developers the flexibility to determine how much off-street parking they provide, rather than requiring them to meet specified minimums. These changes apply to all types of property, including residential, commercial, institutional, and industrial. Building off of momentum generated by previous, smaller-scale parking reform efforts, Ordinance C36556 aimed to increase the supply and diversity of housing in the city.
Keys to Spokane’s success eliminating parking mandates included strong political leadership in response to the city’s housing crisis, its ability to build off of previous successful parking reform efforts, framing parking reforms as part of the solution to housing affordability, leveraging national momentum toward parking reform, among others.
Obstacles to Spokane’s success included addressing concerns over parking scarcity and other potential negative impacts of parking reforms, as well as building buy-in among developers and financial institutions that housing projects with less parking could be successful in the city.
Results and Accomplishments
2,953
Spokane needs approximately 2,953 additional housing units per year to accommodate its projected population growth through 2044.
11+
If Spokane had continued to mandate parking for each of the new units it needs, it would have required the construction of over 11 acres of parking per year.
1,433
In 2024, Spokane issued permits for 1,433 new residential units. Permitting numbers have increased every year since 2021.
Removing parking mandates city-wide: In 2024, Spokane became the first major city in Washington to eliminate parking mandates for all land uses city-wide. This landmark legislation offered developers the flexibility to pursue projects with reduced or no parking. These reforms aligned with Spokane's broader efforts to spur increased housing development to address rising housing costs.
Enabling increased housing production: Assessing the impact of Spokane’s parking reforms on housing affordability is challenging. Many factors – both inside and outside of the city’s control – affect housing production. However, in the wake of Spokane’s parking reforms, the city has seen a record number of construction permits issued for new residential units. Importantly, a minority of these permits have been for mid-size multi-family housing, which was effectively illegal to build in most of Spokane under its old parking standards.
Providing flexibility for innovative projects: By eliminating parking mandates, Spokane simplified and reduced the administrative costs associated with pursuing innovative development projects. Projects that would have previously required zoning variances – like building housing on part of a movie theater’s surface parking – have moved forward without additional administrative costs.
Serving as a model for state-wide legislation: In 2025, the State of Washington enacted Senate Bill 5184, the Parking Reform and Modernization Act. The legislation aimed to reduce barriers to housing construction across the state by placing limits on the authority of cities and counties to mandate the construction of parking in new developments. The experience of Spokane – and the small number of other Washington cities that had enacted similar policies – served as proof of concept for this legislation.
Overview
What was the challenge?
Population growth outstrips increases in the supply of housing: Historically, Spokane has been an affordable place to live compared to other Western cities. However, in the last 15 years, Spokane’s population has surged – the city added over 20,000 residents between 2010 and 2020 alone. The trend only accelerated during the COVID-19 pandemic. As in many communities, average household size also declined, resulting in a greater number of households searching for housing. While Spokane continued to build housing during this period, demand increasingly outstripped supply.
Affordability suffers and homelessness rises: These trends resulted in rising housing costs. Between 2010 and 2020, home price sales in Spokane increased by 47 percent. In the same period, rents for a two-bedroom apartment rose by 11 percent. While residents saw income growth during this period, it did not keep up with rising housing costs. Unfortunately, as housing affordability declined, homelessness rose. In 2024, Spokane County’s Point-in-Time Count for its homeless population stood at 2,021 – a decrease year-over-year, but still double the typical figure in the 2010s.
Parking contributes to rising housing costs: Spokane, like cities across the United States, adopted parking mandates in the middle of the 20th century. These rules set – often arbitrarily – a floor for the number of parking spaces new developments needed to build. Unfortunately, parking mandates increase the cost of housing in two ways. First, by increasing construction costs, which are in turn passed on through higher rents and home prices. These costs can be significant. Building a single surface parking spot – by far the cheapest type of parking – costs between $5,000-20,000. Second, by constraining housing supply. At the most basic level, parking takes up space that could otherwise be additional housing. However, parking mandates can also effectively outlaw the type of dense multi-family housing many cities need to meaningfully increase their housing supply and put downward pressure on housing costs.
Increasing recognition of the broader impacts of parking mandates: Confronted with a housing crisis, leaders in Spokane increasingly saw parking mandates as a barrier to housing affordability. Over time, local leaders also began recognizing the link between parking mandates and their broader policy goals. The City of Spokane sets aggressive goals to improve economic, environmental, health and safety, and other outcomes for residents. Recognition that progress toward these goals was being stymied by the city’s parking mandates further strengthened calls for parking reform.
What was the solution?
Passing parking reform for all uses: Spokane enacted Ordinance C36556 in 2024, eliminating parking mandates city-wide. The ordinance allows property developers the flexibility to determine how much off-street parking they provide, rather than requiring them to meet specified minimums. These changes apply to all types of property, including residential, commercial, institutional, and industrial.
Building on past reforms: The 2024 legislation built off of more limited parking reforms that Spokane had adopted in previous years. This includes an interim measure adopted in 2022 that removed off-street parking requirements for residential units within a half-mile of a public transportation stop – a change that was later made permanent in 2023.
Complementing other policy changes: Parking reform was a key part of Spokane’s broader strategy to improve housing affordability. The City took additional steps, all of which work together, to increase the overall supply and diversity of housing in the city. For example, in addition to parking reform, Spokane adopted other changes to its zoning code, like reduced lot size minimums, increased allowable building heights, reduced setbacks, and more.
Who were the key stakeholders?
Spokane City Council: The City Council was instrumental in advocating for, introducing, and ultimately passing the legislation. Councilmembers Zack Zappone and Jonathan Bingle worked to educate other Councilmembers and key stakeholders about the costs of parking mandates.
Mayor of Spokane: Mayor Lisa Brown and her predecessors have made housing affordability a policy priority, creating a favorable context for parking reform. For example, former-Mayor Nadine Woodward’s declaration of a housing emergency in 2021 laid the groundwork for expedited approval of interim zoning changes, including the repeal of parking mandates near transit stops.
Department of Planning and Economic Development: The City of Spokane’s Department of Planning and Economic Development advised City Council on potential zoning and parking reform legislation. After the adoption of Ordinance C36556, departmental staff led the implementation of its reforms.
Spokane Plan Commission: The Plan Commission held hearings and ultimately approved the final city-wide parking reform.
Advocacy and other community groups: Multiple community-based organizations supported Spokane’s parking reforms, demonstrating public support for the changes. These organizations included those focused on housing, environmental, real estate development, and other issues.
What factors drove success?
Housing crisis creates pressure for change: Spokane experienced rapid growth in housing costs during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. The sudden rise in rents and sale prices created a sense of urgency among residents and local leaders, opening the door for parking reforms and other policy changes aimed at increasing housing affordability.
Incremental approach allays fears: Ordinance C36556, which removed parking mandates city-wide and for all land uses, was the culmination of years of incremental parking reforms. These efforts gradually expanded in scope, from removing parking mandates in a commercial district, to along transit corridors, and then city-wide. This approach allowed the City to demonstrate that parking reform would not cause intense parking scarcity, building support for policy change over time.
Supportive political leadership: Spokane’s City Council included members, like Councilpersons Zack Zappone and Jonathan Bingle, who were strong advocates for parking reform. These members led efforts to educate internal stakeholders and community members about the benefits of eliminating parking mandates. In addition, with Spokane’s housing crisis ongoing, many of the city’s elected officials had been elected on platforms that emphasized housing affordability, creating a window of opportunity to push for parking reforms.
Framing parking reforms around their benefits: In many communities, discussion about parking reform centers on lost parking spaces and the fear of parking scarcity. Spokane largely sidestepped this dynamic by framing parking reforms as part of a broader push to address housing affordability. Local leaders also emphasized the benefits that parking reforms could have for small businesses and other stakeholders.
Leveraging national momentum for reform: Spokane did not act in isolation. In recent years, researchers and practitioners have paid increased attention to the costs that parking mandates impose on communities. As a result, a growing list of jurisdictions around the country have reduced or eliminated parking mandates. The broader research literature and the real-world examples of reforms in other communities gave local leaders in Spokane confidence to pursue their own parking reform legislation.
What were the major obstacles?
Addressing concerns about parking scarcity: As Spokane advanced parking reform legislation, some stakeholders expressed concerns that it could lead to intense parking scarcity and adversely affect businesses, older adults, or residents with disabilities. Local leaders addressed these concerns by emphasizing that Ordinance C36556 would not prohibit developers from building off-street parking, but provide them with the flexibility to choose how much of it to build. Additionally, local leaders highlighted potential steps that the City could take, like instituting a residential parking permit system, were the legislation to have untended consequences.
Navigating cultural attitudes toward parking: In Spokane, there is a prevailing perception that residents have ownership over on-street parking in front of their homes. As parking reforms could increase demand for on-street parking, some residents were skeptical about eliminating parking mandates.
Building awareness and buy-in among developers and financial institutions: The majority of Spokanites drive to most of their destinations. As a result, property developers and financial institutions continue to be wary of building and financing housing projects with limited or no off-street parking. Since Spokane enacted Ordinance C36556, developers have not automatically switched to building projects with significantly less parking. The City has since recognized the need to build awareness of parking reforms among developers and to encourage projects that will demonstrate demand for housing units with less parking.
Timeline
The City of Spokane eliminates parking mandates in Brown’s Addition, one of the city’s commercial districts. This one-year pilot represents Spokane’s first move toward reducing parking mandates.
In response to Mayor Lisa Brown declaring a housing emergency in Spokane, City Council passes an interim ordinance removing marking mandates within one-half mile of public transportation stops.
After the State of Washington adopted enabling legislation, the City of Spokane passes its Pavement to People legislation to encourage the development of affordable housing on existing surface parking lots.
The City of Spokane adopts Ordinance C36556, eliminating parking mandates city-wide and for all land uses.
The State of Washington passes Senate Bill 5184, which aims to reduce barriers to housing construction across the state by placing limits on the authority of cities and counties to mandate the construction of parking in new developments.
Implementation process
What were the key components of the policy’s design?
Universal and for all uses: In the past decade, U.S. cities have increasingly adopted parking reforms, often limited to their downtown or commercial districts. When Spokane passed Ordinance C36556, it became one of fewer than one hundred U.S. cities that have removed parking mandates city-wide and for all land uses – including residential, commercial, institutional, and industrial. The city-wide approach reduces complexity for developers, and supports the City’s goal of increasing housing production and improving walkability and transit use in all of its neighborhoods.
Including density bonuses to advance community priorities: Spokane’s parking reform legislation also included density bonuses, which allow developers to add additional height to their developments beyond the height standards prescribed in the zoning code, if they meet set conditions. These conditions include placing any off-street parking underground or behind buildings, setting aside at least 20 percent of residential units for low-income households, or incorporating significant public art investments into the project.
Pairing parking reforms with broader policy changes: Ordinance C36556 includes other reforms alongside the removal of marking mandates to enable greater housing diversity and density across the city, with a particular focus on transit corridors. This comprehensive approach recognizes that parking reforms are part of a broader, interlocking set of zoning reforms necessary to drive greater housing development.
How were key stakeholders engaged?
Leveraging input from past planning efforts: The parking reforms enacted in Spokane reflected the priorities established during several city-wide planning processes. These include Spokane’s Comprehensive Plan, Housing Action Plan, Transit-Oriented Development Framework Study, among others. As part of developing these plans, the City conducted robust public engagement, including of residents, businesses, community-based organizations, and other key stakeholders.
Engaging community as part of the legislative process: As Spokane advanced parking reform legislation, advocates on City Council worked with Planning Department staff to educate internal and external stakeholders about the benefits and potential impacts of the proposed policy. These stakeholders were also invited to make public comment as the policy advanced through the legislative process.
How does the initiative create greater opportunity for community members?
Tamping down on rising housing costs: In recent years, Spokane has faced explosive growth in housing costs. Eliminating parking mandates is a key part of Spokane’s efforts to enable increased housing construction, with the ultimate aim of slowing the growth in housing costs. While these benefits would accrue to everyone in the city, they will disproportionately benefit low- and middle-income residents, who have felt the effects of housing price increases most acutely.
Incentivizing housing for low-income residents: Ordinance C36556 includes density bonuses, which allow developers who include dedicated affordable housing in their projects to exceed established height limits. In addition, the Spokane’s Pavement to Parking legislation, passed in 2023, waives the sales tax on construction items for housing built on parking lots, with a requirement for 50 percent of the resulting units to be affordable. Both of these provisions represent steps toward addressing the unmet need for affordable housing in the city.
What were the key activities leading up to launch?
Piloting early parking reforms: In 2012, Spokane conducted a pilot, removing parking minimums along a commercial corridor in the city’s Browne’s Addition neighborhood. The pilot was motivated by concerns about how the existing parking mandates negatively impacted small businesses by requiring them to pay for and construct parking they did not need. After a year, business in the corridor remained strong. The pilot built momentum by demonstrating that parking reforms could occur without causing significant parking shortages.
Taking an iterative approach: In subsequent years, Spokane gradually removed parking mandates in new locations and for more land uses. The gradual approach was intentional. By moving slowly, Spokane encountered less opposition to parking reforms, as the community was able to see the impact of smaller scale reforms before adopting city-wide legislation for all land uses.
How was this approach funded?
- Leveraging existing planning and legislative capacity: Spokane achieved its parking reforms through revisions to its municipal zoning code. The changes were developed in partnership between its City Council and Department of Planning and Economic Development. As regulatory reforms, they did not introduce new costs when adopted.
How has the approach been measured and refined?
Challenges measuring impact: Isolating the effect of parking reforms on Spokane’s housing supply and affordability is difficult, as multiple factors impact these outcomes. Local leaders are interested in estimating the number of units that are now being built that would have otherwise not have been built under past parking mandates. However, the City does not administratively track the number of parking spaces built with each approved development, as there is limited capacity to dedicate to analyzing these data.
Continuing to monitor for unintended impacts: There continues to be concerns about the potential for parking scarcity, particularly in neighborhoods that already have a greater density of commercial and residential properties. In response, the City continues to monitor these areas in case demand for parking exceeds supply. If issues arise, the City may implement additional policies, like paid street parking in commercial districts or residential parking passes for primarily residential streets. Both of these solutions would price parking, encouraging the turnover necessary to ensure that parking spaces remain available.