Rethinking
Parking Policy
in San José
How better parking policies can fight climate
change, strengthen our economy, and build
a more equitable city
Michael Brilliot, Deputy Director, PBCE
Wilson Tam, Transportation Planning Manager, DOT
June 14, 2022 – Item 10.3
Why are we doing this?
2 Carbon neutral by 2030 pledge
Outdated parking policies
One of many actions needed to achieve our goals
Timeline
3 Jan 2020
Project kickoff,
ULI Panel, and Planning
Commission Study Session
June 2021
Berryessa BART Urban Village
Plan (Parking & TDM)
June 2022
Planning Commission
and City Council Hearings
May 2021
Diridon Station Area Plan
(Parking & TDM)
Aug 2021
City Council Study Session
Fall 2022
Airport Land Use Commission,
Planning Commission,
and City Council Hearings
4 Community Feedback
2 Study
Sessions
17 Focus
Groups
9 Webinars &
Workshops
3 Developer’s
Roundtables
Renters Homeowners Employers Developers Peer Cities
1,318
San Joséans
Who We’ve Engaged With
5 Parking requirements are designed so that the supply of parking exceeds demand—so there are nearly always empty spaces
Today, any new property development in San José requires a specified minimum amount of off-street parking
The result has been cities built
for cars rather than for people
6 Parking minimums assume cars are the
only way to get from Point A to Point B
So, why is this a problem?
7 1
Climate, choice,
and traffic
2 Business
flexibility
3 Land, space,
and ecology
4 Housing
affordability
1 2 3 4
Problem 1: Climate, choice, and traffic
8 Climate, choice,
and traffic
Business
flexibility
Land, space, and
ecology
Housing
affordability
Studies show free parking encourages people to drive
9 Even where they are open to walking,
riding transit, and biking
In 2019, more than half of GHG emissions in San
José came from transportation—much of that
simply people driving to work
10 51%
1 2 3 4
Problem 2: Business flexibility
11 Climate, choice,
and traffic
Business
flexibility
Land, space, and
ecology
Housing
affordability
Preferences have been
shifting, even before the
pandemic
12 Working
from home
Using
ride-hailing
Shopping
online
Prioritizing
experience
over things
For example,
more and more,
people have
been …
A business can’t move into a building unless the property has an arbitrary amount of parking dictated by the Zoning Code 13 Even if the amount of parking available
meets their needs
14 1 2 3 4
Problem 3: Land, space, and ecology
15 Climate, choice,
and traffic
Business
flexibility
Land, space, and
ecology
Housing
affordability
Parking lots are not appealing places …
16 All this room for parking pushes destinations apart, which makes it less appealing to walk, bike, or take transit
17 Restaurant
dining area Gym Office Apartment
8.3 sq ft
4.1 sq ft
1.3 sq ft .4 sq ft
This is because parking takes up a lot of space
18 How much
parking area
is required
for every
1 sq ft
of …
Problem 4: Housing affordability
19 Climate, choice,
and traffic
Business
flexibility
Land, space, and
ecology
Housing
affordability
1 2 3 4
Parking is expensive to build and maintain
20 $34,000
to
$75,000
per space
initial construction cost
for structured parking
(That’s at least $1.7M
just to build 50 spaces)
Parking is never actually free:
the costs show up everywhere in our lives
21 Higher rents Higher purchase prices More expensive
goods and services
For housing, retail,
and office space
Including higher
construction costs
At the end of the day, regulations tell
us a lot about our values and priorities
22 Today, empty housing for cars takes
precedence over housing for people
23 Removing mandatory minimum parking
requirements does not directly remove parking and
does not mean parking will not be built.
Instead, it allows developers, businesses, and
residents to “right size” their parking to meet
their needs
*Where the City has contractual parking obligations (e.g., the Diridon Area), some minimum requirements would remain for commercial development.
Changes to parking minimums could take three forms:
24 Preferred Eliminate mandatory parking minimums citywide* Alt 1
Alt 2
Eliminate mandatory parking minimums everywhere
except single family zones*
Eliminate mandatory parking minimums in Envision
San José 2040 “Planned Growth Areas”*
Source: https://parkingreform.org/
San José would
join the many
cities to have
removed the
mandatory
parking
minimum
requirements.
Yet parking minimums
are only half the story
26 PARKING STRATEGY
Right-size the parking supply to avoid
building excess parking spaces and
incentivizing driving over other means of
transportation.
TDM STRATEGIES
Manage demand for transportation and
parking by providing high-quality
transportation options such as walking,
carpooling, transit, and biking.
We also need to make it easier to
walk, carpool, take transit, and
bike
How do TDM work today?
27 TDM requirements have unclear metrics, are
complicated, are expensive, and requires the
professional expertise of a traffic engineer.
Development review is a lengthy process with
unpredictable outcomes and oftentimes
negotiation with City staff.
.
TDM is not effectively provided
to the tenants. In absence of
viable transportation options,
traffic and parking demands
go up in the community,
making it worse for people
who walk, bike, rely on public
transit, and those with
disability.
TDM requirements are
triggered by parking reduction
below the mandatory
minimums and separately
triggered by CEQA reviews
1 2
3 City staff
Residents and workers
Developers
28 City staff
How would the proposed TDM work?
De-couple TDM requirements from parking reductions. Require TDM for all larger projects and consolidate requirements with CEQA (Council Policy 5-1).
Create a clear approach to standardizing TDM plans. Developers can comply without needing professional expertise.
Streamline the process with a standard menu of TDM options and pre-set TDM point target that create predictable outcomes.
Transportation Demand Management (TDM) measures
encourage people to walk, carpool, take transit, and bike to destinations.
29 Land use Streets Parking Programs
Mixed-use
More affordable
housing
Density
Others…
Ped/ Bike Crossings
Bus stops
Pedestrian lighting
Wayfinding
Landscape
Passenger loading
Others…
More bike parking
Shared parking
Low parking supply
Others…
Subsidized transit passes
VTA service upgrade
Flexible work times
Education and marketing
Unbundled parking
Bike share station/ subsidy
Car share station/ subsidy
Others…
There are 30 options in 4 categories
How would the proposed TDM work?
30 A developer is required to
implement a TDM plan that
meets a total point target.
They choose options from
the menu to accumulate the
points for the development.
The selected options are
provided to the tenants and
subject to ongoing monitoring.
Tenants feel more empowered
to walk, carpool, take transit,
and bike when convenient.
The City provides a menu of 30
options—for new
development—designed to
make it easier for tenants to
walk, bike, carpool, and take
transit. Each option has
different “points”.
1 2
3 Developers
City staff
Residents and workers
If a developer chooses to build less parking,
they would have more space to build other things … and
receive more TDM points, resulting in fewer remaining point requirement.
31 Protected
bike parking
If a developer chooses to build more parking, they would meet the TDM target via other options in the menu to
compensate for the increase in traffic generated by the parking
32 Pedestrian
improvements
Protected
bike parking
Subsidized
transit passes
Responses to most common questions and concerns
33 Would these changes affect
housing affordability?
If so, how?
• Projects that elect to build less parking would see a significant cost benefit.
• Lower costs would be passed down to renters and
homebuyers.
Responses to most common questions and concerns
34 Would these changes affect
small businesses?
If so, how?
• Open up more options for a business to move into an
existing building.
• Provide greater flexibility for developing on a smaller lot.
• Small projects would be exempt from TDM
requirements.
Responses to most common questions and concerns
35 Would these changes affect
existing neighborhoods?
If so, how?
• The market demands that developers build enough
parking to meet project needs.
• Crowding is an existing issue that needs alternate
solutions.
• Provide new transit options and enhancements.
• TDM measures incentivize usage of existing
transportation infrastructure.
Responses to most common questions and concerns
36 Has equity been considered
as part of this process?
• Partnered with Veggielution to engage with
underserved neighborhoods, hold focus groups, and
provide recommendations.
• Partnered with Latinos United for a New America
(LUNA) to meet with communities to identify TDM
measures that will have the most community
benefits
• TDM policy will be designed to incentivize adoption of these TDM measures.
Responses to most common questions and concerns
37 What are the implications of
new TDM requirements on
the cost to develop?
• TDM measures are 10% the cost of building parking.
• Working with the cost of development survey to
“right size” the TDM requirements in relation to
project feasibility.
Some expressed strong
support for citywide adoption
Some recommended an
incremental approach
Concern about undermining
General Plan policies that
preserve single family
neighborhoods
Concerns about impacts to
those who have no choice but
to drive
Improvements needed to
transit, bike, and pedestrian
safety
Recommended additional
outreach to lower income
communities
The Planning Commission is generally in favor of the concept 38 Comments from individual commissioners:
Staff recommendations
39 PARKING
Eliminate mandatory parking minimums
citywide.
TDM
Update TDM requirements citywide.
Develop a TDM program for ongoing
monitoring and compliance.
The City has made strong commitments to
combat climate change.
40 We cannot continue the status quo in the
City's transportation sector.
Eliminating mandatory minimum parking
requirements and requiring TDM measures
is the bold step we need.
Thank you!
Michael Brilliot, Deputy Director, PBCE
Wilson Tam, Transportation Planning Manager, DOT