PARKING THE BLAME: An exploratory analysis of commercial off-street parking standards in Oregon cities with populations under 10,000

Abstract

Development codes in American cities, almost without exception, prescribe minimum off-­‐street parking requirements for each type of urban land use. Research indicates that these standards create a feedback loop that removes barriers for drivers and enforce development patterns that further drive demand for off-­‐street parking. The State of Oregon’s Department of Land Conservation and Development has new rules which took effect in January 1, 2016, intended to simplify the Urban Growth Boundary Amendment Process for cities under 10,000 in population. When a rural city must expand, it forces a constrained municipality to undertake expensive capital projects to extend services to new properties. Despite being conveniently located for redevelopment, under-­‐utilized parking lots often remain off limits for infill development as a result of inflexible minimum parking requirements. Using aerial imagery, ArcGIS, tax lot-­‐level employment data from the Quarterly Census on Employment and Wages, and state-­‐wide zoning data from the DLCD, this study measures the amount of non-­‐residential, off-­‐ street parking in six Oregon cities with populations under 10,000. In doing so, this study seeks to establish data and knowledge surrounding how parking consumes urban land, as well as how it relates to employment, zoning, and development codes. Using the methodology employed in this study, cities could perform their own parking studies, alter parking standards, and potentially alleviate the strain placed on urban land supply by parking requirements. Perhaps parking lots in within existing urban areas could be a more attractive target for development than greenfield land on the urban fringe.