The 1958 Zoning Code implemented off-street parking requirements for the first time. Most of the City was built prior to this requirement. Over the years, zoning code was amended to reduce or remove entirely off-street parking minimums in some geographical parts of the city. Many cities in recent years including Buffalo, Minneapolis, Austin, Raleigh, and others have completely removed minimum off-street parking requirements. The removal of minimum parking requirements has led to the development of more walkable, mixed-use development, lower housing costs, and adaptive reuse of existing buildings. DCP staff analyzed best practices of other cities and examined development trends in Pittsburgh regarding the amount of off-street parking provided. This work was undertaken originally at the request of Councilmember Strassburger and her staff.
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Why are we making these changes?
- To simplify the zoning code by removing the requirement to provide off-street parking for every kind of use regardless of the location in the City.
- To meet travel demand wholistically and not simply through one mode of transportation; providing significant amounts of parking leads to more driving and more congestion.
- To provide flexibility for new uses and development and to make it easier to adaptively reuse existing buildings.
- To improve the environment by reducing auto emissions and congestion and providing opportunities for better use of urban space.
- To improve affordability.
What is being proposed?
- Removal of minimum off-street parking requirements for all uses in all districts.
- Revisions to the parking maximums to cover more areas and align closer to what the market is providing.
- Requirement for transportation demand management (TDM) for larger developments.
- What is TDM?
- TDM refers to the tools and strategies used to increase the efficiency of the transportation network by meeting the demand for travel through transportation options that do not contribute to peak hour vehicle congestion.
- The purpose of the TDM requirement is to ensure that new larger development projects enhance mobility options and provide greater choices to new residents and workers of these developments.
- The goal of TDM is to reduce single occupancy-vehicle (SOV) trips by making it easier and more attractive for travelers to utilize transit, biking, walking, and other efficient travel options.
- The City already requires a TDM plan for very large scale development projects. This change formalizes the requirement in the zoning code and makes the TDM requirements directly proportional to the size of the proposed project.
- Reduce the amount of surface parking that can be provided in the City’s densest areas.
What does this ordinance do?
- Simplifies the code by removing minimum parking requirements and the various permitted reductions in parking requirements.
- Provides greater ease for reuse of existing buildings built prior to minimum parking requirements.
- Shifts focus of addressing transportation demand to all transportation options, not just the car.
- Allows for more optimal use of urban space.
What does this ordinance NOT do?
- Remove any legally existing parking spaces.
- Enact much greater restrictions on car parking than already exists.
- Prohibit the building of new parking spaces and structures.
- Produce a large discrepancy between what the market provides and what the requirements limit.
- Create a parking free-for-all.
- New developments where no or reduced parking requirements exist still provide off-street parking spaces.
- Banks and lenders financing new projects often still require developers to provide some parking.
