SPOKANE, Wash. – Finding a parking spot in Spokane is going to change over the next few years.
The City Council voted to eliminate parking minimums within city limits. This means new developments won’t have to comply with parking requirements when applying for building permits, leading to the possibility of zero new parking spaces being built for tenants, customers, or congregations.
“We’ve all driven around town and seeing empty lots of just a sea of pavement with nobody using that space,” said city councilmember Zack Zappone.
Zappone led the initiative to remove the parking minimums in the city.
Previously, developers were required to allocate parking spaces in their places. Zappone claimed this cost tens of thousands of dollars and caused rent and services to be more expensive.
This policy isn’t coming out of nowhere. Downtown Spokane already follows this ordinance.
Community members told 4 News Now they are happy and don’t want to see neighborhoods become a giant parking lot.
“They want to be able to walk around their neighborhoods,” councilmember Zappone said. “They want to be able to visit the corner stores and shops. They want rent to go down and more housing.”
But some councilmembers worry about how this action will impact the city.
“We’re doing a lot of really good important, smart things,” councilmember Michael Cathcart said. “But there is a point where you might just go too far too soon.”
In the vote to approve this new policy, Cathcart voted against it. Cathcart said there is already parking issues in many neighborhoods, including ones in his district.
Cathcart claimed until it can come up with solutions, it can be a negative to take this big leap before the city is ready.
Part of Cathcart’s concerns revolved around buildings where there is already not enough parking to meet the needs of its tenants. He worries streets will become overcrowded with cars.
COPYRIGHT 2024 BY KXLY. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. THIS MATERIAL MAY NOT BE PUBLISHED, BROADCAST, REWRITTEN OR REDISTRIBUTED.
