Parking Update

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Update of the Shoreline Parking Code:

On August 11, 2025, Council passed Ordinance 1043 which eliminated parking minimums for most uses throughout the City.

Shoreline now joins a growing number of cities that have eliminated minimum parking ratios which have been shown time and again to be at odds with other priorities such as affordable housing and environmental sustainability.

In summary, the Development Code amendments in Ordinance 1043 will:

Eliminate vehicle parking minimums for all uses citywide.
Keep design requirements for vehicle parking like location, screening, and parking lot landscaping.
Increase bike parking requirements for new development, including short- and long-term bike parking requirements for middle housing, multifamily housing, schools, commercial uses, parks, and restaurants.
Includes new and revised graphics for parking design, bike racks, bike spacing, and bike locations.
Add new bike parking design requirements related to location, mounting racks, and spacing requirements.
Allow administrative departures to vehicle and bike parking standards.

Ordinance 1043 became effective Monday, August 18, 2025.

Why update the parking code?

As part of the 2024 Comprehensive Plan update, the City Council adopted policy LU 3.2, which states:

Within the first six months of 2025, update Development Code regulations to eliminate minimum parking ratios and encourage flexible parking configurations, such as shared parking, to reduce the amount of land dedicated to automobile parking.

Staff has begun to discuss current parking requirements with the Planning Commission to implement recently adopted goals and policies contained in the Comprehensive Plan.

Why do cities regulate parking minimums?

Cities in the United States (US) first began to require off-street parking (parking minimums) with the rise of car ownership in the 1920s, out of concern there would not be enough on-street parking for customers and tenants. Parking minimums were solidified as standard practice in the postwar period with expansion of the interstate highways and suburbanization.

Parking minimums are in place to ensure there is enough parking for each development based on the building size, building use, number of dwellings, etc. In many instances, parking requirements are ‘one-size-fits-all’ and can be arbitrary. Cities hope that by having minimum parking in place, the demand for on-street parking and spill-over into surrounding streets will be mitigated.

Why are cities choosing to eliminate parking minimums?

With more than half a century of parking minimums being the norm, there is a growing body of evidence that points to several unintended consequences that stem from decades of cities mandating more parking than needed, thus creating an oversupply of parking today. It is estimated the US has approximately 2 billion parking spaces, but only 250 million cars. Unintended consequences of parking minimums have contributed to:

Housing and Development Impacts

Parking mandates forbid the creation of countless homes and jobs without also spending significant resources.

Environmental Impacts

Overabundant parking leads to more impermeable parking surfaces which increase runoff, strain stormwater systems, and increase infrastructure maintenance costs.

Built Environment Impacts

The typical parking space is 200 sq. ft. in size, not including driving aisles and access needed to get to the parking space. In some cases, the area devoted to parking is bigger than the use that it is serving. All this space dedicated to parking results in inefficient use of land.