Can we avoid paving over paradise?

Remember that old Joni Mitchell song about paving paradise to put up a parking lot? In Connecticut, we’ve all but locked in that result, because zoning laws require us to build parking on nearly every lot in our state.

Here in New Haven, we’ve seen how zoning mandates require parking in the wrong places. In August, for example, our zoning ordinance stopped a property owner from building housing on a corner lot on Chapel Street — and government mandates forced parking to be built instead. New Haven isn’t alone. Most Connecticut municipalities have minimum parking requirements — some as many as three parking spaces for a single studio apartment.

As the leader of one of the state’s largest parking authorities, Park New Haven, I’ve come to learn a lot about parking. Our business model rests on the notion that parking is better when shared and the cost of parking should be borne by people who want to drive. Zoning laws have the opposite result. They impose the cost of parking on nondrivers — and on all of us.

Zoning mandates on parking make the cost of construction — and housing — more expensive. In practice, the cost of parking mandates is passed on to renters. Data from the American Housing Survey shows that on average, the annual cost of garage parking to renter households is $1,700. Excessive parking mandates that drive up the cost of housing contribute to the fact that 26 percent of Connecticut’s renter population are severely cost-burdened, meaning that they spend over 50 percent of their income on housing.

They also hurt the environment: Studies have illustrated that parking mandates can lead to increased driving, in a country where cars are the top contributors to climate pollution.

What’s worse, parking mandates are becoming redundant. One in three New Haven and Hartford residents do not even own cars, instead opting for public transportation or biking. Millennials and younger adults are voluntarily ditching homes, and seniors increasingly want to live in walkable communities. Walkable communities have been shown to improve health, environmental and even financial outcomes to the benefit of residents.

This system, where our state’s residents are burdened by these mandates, is not set in stone. Desegregate CT, a group advocating for statewide zoning reform, has proposed that the state cap parking requirements at reasonable levels. Their proposal would cap requirements for one-bedroom units at one space and two-plus-bedroom units at two spaces. It would — like other communities around the country — eliminate requirements for certain multifamily housing within a half-mile of major transit stations and a quarter-mile of our main streets. As the facility manager for New Haven Union Station, I know the areas around the station are growing fast and new residents are moving into the Hill neighborhood with little or no need for a personal car.

Reducing parking mandates is not uncharted territory. After eliminating parking requirements, monthly rent in the average Minneapolis studio apartment fell from $1,200 to less than $1,000. In Hartford, cutting parking requirements decreased renovation times due to developers not having to worry about providing the same levels of parking. Connecticut towns have also moved to restrict parking mandates. Ridgefield eliminated off-street parking mandates and cut their number of required parking spaces by 60 percent within their central business district. Stonington has allowed commissions to grant reduced or shared parking. And in New Haven’s Whalley Avenue corridor, the city legislated parking maximums for new construction and created density bonuses for proximity to high-frequency CTtransit bus stops.

The rationale for all of these reforms is that private property owners who wish to build more parking can do so, if they wish. But they won’t be legally required to. And where it’s needed, municipalities can regulate parking through on-street permits, parking meters or signage, improvement districts, and shared-use parking lots.

Comprehensive parking requirement reform is needed in the upcoming legislative session to reduce costs for housing and create a more equitable state. We have to manage cars and their effects in a smarter way.

NO. 16 HIGH POINT VS. NO. 1 UCONN Sunday, 8 p.m. (ESPN)