GREENFIELD — City councilors said they would like to see case studies and data before moving forward with Parking & Traffic Commission member Mike Mullin’s proposal to remove minimum off-street parking requirements from the zoning code.
According to the city zoning code’s table of requirements for off-street parking spots, dwellings must have one spot per unit; retail businesses must provide one spot for every 300 square feet of floor area; and restaurants must have one parking spot for every three seats, as well as one for every employee on shift, among others.
However, Mullin told members of the Economic Development Committee on Tuesday evening that the parking requirements in Chapter 200, Section 32, of the zoning code are too restrictive, and removing the minimum parking requirement could make it easier for applicants to develop properties for housing or business.
“We might be missing opportunities to make our place better,” Mullin said. “If you have a parking requirement, you are saying some of that property has to be allocated to providing a parking space, and if you only have so much land, you run out of room, which sort of prohibits certain forms of development.”
Mullin said if the parking minimums were lifted, he does not believe property owners would begin tearing up parking infrastructure that is already in place, but as more development occurs in the future, hopefully less pavement would be put down and more green spaces would remain in the city.
Members of the Economic Development Committee said they would love to see more trees and green spaces rather than parking lots, but they also wanted to ensure there would still be enough parking for people, as public transportation options are not as extensive in Greenfield as they are in more urban cities.
Mullin added that he does not believe removing the parking requirement would result in construction taking place without any plans for parking. He gave the example that a housing developer would likely struggle to rent apartments without any parking options, but removing the requirement would allow property owners to install parking that they believe actually suits their needs, rather than adding more spots to meet the zoning code.
He added that reducing parking in Greenfield could eventually open the way for the city to become a place where people walk, bike or use public transportation more often.
“It’s auto-dependent. … You actually make it where walking or biking becomes harder, less pleasant and less desirable,” Mullin said of parking requirements.
“It’s easy to get lost in the sauce in this sort of thing, especially when it’s the reality of life,” said John Garrett, the City Council vice president and chair of the Economic Development Committee. “How do you get public transit? You can’t justify it unless people are going to take it and they’re not going to take it unless it gets to the place you need to go, and you can’t get to places that people need to go to if everything is a subdivision and nobody lives in walking distance of anything.”
At-Large Councilor Wahab Minhas said he would be hesitant to get rid of the parking requirements because of how many people rely on personal vehicles rather than public transit, and suggested that instead of lifting them entirely, the city should make it easier for developers to get waivers to reduce the number of parking spaces needed.
According to the Franklin Regional Council of Governments’ 2024 Regional Transportation Plan, “In 2021, 82% of Franklin County residents are estimated to commute to work by car. 4% walked, 1.2% took public transportation and 1% took other means.”
Garrett said he would like to see how removing parking minimums has worked in other communities, noting that Minneapolis eliminated citywide parking requirements in 2021, and it would be interesting to see what effects it has had. He also would like to see if there are any examples of cities with populations similar to Greenfield.
Mullin agreed to do more research and return to the Economic Development Committee at a future meeting with data on how lifting parking requirements has played out in other communities across the country.
