SJ set to remove parking requirements

Council expected to finalize decision removing minimum mandates in building later this year

San Jose is now one step closer to removing a long-standing policy that has resulted in an oversupply of parking throughout the city, sprawl and higher housing costs.

On Tuesday evening, the San Jose City Council voted unanimously to come back later this year to finalize the removal of “mandatory parking minimums” following additional work on the policy by city officials.

For decades, San Jose has required developers to build a minimum amount of on-site parking alongside both new commercial and residential developments.

City officials say the mandate has driven up housing costs since building parking is expensive and has made it more difficult for residents to walk, bike or take public transportation because of increasing suburban sprawl.

The removal of the policy has been cast by city officials as a key strategy in San Jose's quest to meet its climate goals. The council previously set an ambitious goal of being carbon-neutral by 2030.

But with 51% of all emissions in San Jose coming from tailpipes, residents will need to reduce how many miles they travel by car by at least 20% to meet the goal. That means the city is looking to deemphasize driving and increase access to other types of transit.

Removing the parking policy, however, doesn't mean parking won't get built, said Michael Brilliot, the deputy director of the city's planning division.

“We actually anticipate developers will continue to build parking to meet the demand of their tenants and customers,” he said. “Instead, it allows developers, businesses and residents to rightsize their parking needs to meet their needs on that given site.”

Nixing the policy citywide, though, has met some pushback — particularly from residents living in neighborhoods with little access to transit.

Before the council votes on the final ordinance later this year, city officials are expected to conduct further outreach to residents living in crowded neighborhoods where parking isn't in oversupply.

“There's absolutely some neighborhoods, which I have walked through recently, where the opposite is true — where people are literally parking a few blocks from their home and walking every day,” Council member Matt Mahan said.

San Jose is part of a growing number of cities that in recent years have been repealing parking policies. San Francisco and San Diego recently eliminated their parking minimums, and in 2016, Oakland eliminated the mandate near transit hubs.