California governor signs 'landmark' law eliminating parking mandates near transit

By Jordan Parker | San Francisco Chronicle

California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into law on Thursday a bill to eliminate minimum parking requirements on new development near public transit, a step housing advocates cheered as a major victory.

AB 2097, by Assembly Member Laura Friedman, D-Glendale, will prohibit cities and counties from imposing minimum parking requirements on certain residential, commercial and other developments located within one-half mile of public transit.

"California has a severe housing shortage, not a parking shortage," said Brian Hanlon, CEO of California YIMBY, a housing advocacy group. "AB 2097 is landmark legislation — it prioritizes affordable housing for people while eliminating costly parking mandates that are a significant cause of climate pollution in our state."

The measure "does not prohibit property owners from building on-site parking," Friedman said. "Rather, it would give them the flexibility to decide on their own how much on-site parking to provide, instead of requiring them to comply with a one-size-fits-all-mandate."

The San Francisco Bay Area Planning and Research Association said the bill would "reduce traffic, greenhouse gas emissions, and air pollution, reduce the cost of housing for renters and homeowners, and improve the prospects of small neighborhood businesses fighting to survive the pandemic," according to a bill analysis.

Assembly Member Matt Haney, D-San Francisco, who won a special election earlier this year after staking out a pro-housing position, said in a tweet that the bill represents "a big step forward." "Let's move away from car oriented development & reduce costs to build housing," he wrote.

The bill is one of many in recent years that seeks to override local requirements that thwart new housing construction, particularly in wealthy, coastal cities that oppose most new development. The city of Newport Beach wrote in opposition to the bill: "We believe cities, not the State are best suited to determine the parking needs of development projects in their jurisdiction."

In a video statement, Newsom said the bill will allow the state to tackle both the issue of climate change and the housing shortage by making it "cheaper and easier" to build new housing near daily destinations like grocery stores and schools.

Jordan Parker (he/him) is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: [email protected]. Twitter: @jparkerwrites.

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