Olympia revises proposal on downtown exempt parking area for new construction

Olympia’s Community Planning & Development Department discussed the revisions for the proposed Downtown exempt parking area on Monday, July 18, during the meeting of the city Planning Commission.

The Land Use and Environment Committee (LUEC) directed the Planning Commission last February to consider making all of the areas within the boundary-free from automobile parking requirements for new residential development.

Principal Planner Joyce Phillips clarified the amendments, “If approved by Council, the outer boundary of the Downtown Parking Exempt area would remain the same – but the whole area within the boundary would now be exempt from automobile parking requirements for new residential development. Additional changes are proposed to clarify [that] bicycle parking will be required. The proposal does not include any revisions to the standards for commercial development.”

The amended proposal reduces the required number of parking spaces per residential unit being constructed in the specific area, impacting the developers of residential units more than regular vehicle owners who need to park.

“The proposal could result in increased demand for metered parking, since less parking would be required on private property at the time of development for the residential portion of new projects,” Phillips told The JOLT.

Phillips presented that the parking staff last surveyed the area in August and October 2021, and the data shows relatively low parking demand in the area due to COVID-19’s impact on commercial activity.

Phillips also noted specific changes in the draft aimed at supporting the minorities in the community, “I wanted to remind the commission and the public of some recent changes that we made in order to address changes in state law. These parking standards are based on certain housing types, whether it is market-rate housing, affordable housing for the very low and extremely low-income members of our community, or housing for seniors and people with disabilities.”

Phillips emphasized that they have looked at it from certain different perspectives and they have talked with their Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion staff about it.

The committee approved the staff amendments as presented after the deliberations. LUEC backed the initial draft of the proposal in March 2022; however, the committee requested additional data from the planning commission, hence the meeting.