Minutes to midnight on Monday, November 20, 2023, Durham, North Carolina, became the ninth largest city to eliminate parking mandates for new developments citywide. The city joins the likes of Austin, Texas; Willmar, Minnesota; Richmond, Virginia; and neighboring Raleigh in the move.
In Durham’s case, abolishing parking mandates was part of a broader package of zoning reforms, known as Simplifying Codes for Affordable Development, or SCAD. SCAD wasn’t without its opponents and Monday night’s vote was notably heated, but in the end, the package was passed and its champions are looking forward to flexibility in Durham’s future.
“Many with my training learn in school about the innumerable benefits of building healthy, walkable communities, only to join the profession and spend their hours doing uninspired yet code-compliant suburban sprawl,” Brian Vaughn, a landscape designer said after the vote. “The amendments will unlock a renaissance of homegrown urban design.”
Aaron Lubeck, a local designer and builder who helped shape the reforms, described parking mandates as “ruinous to small businesses and small projects.” With a single parking spot averaging around 350 square feet, he noted space that could go toward shared gardens or courtyards is instead by law ceded to asphalt, which worsens stormwater runoff.
He also recalled a 7,000-square-foot building right outside of Durham’s downtown which could support a restaurant, but under the city’s parking mandates would require 70 parking spaces. “I mean, literally, you’d have to knock down six or seven homes around your restaurant just to comply with the code.”
For Lubeck, eliminating the mandates was a no-brainer. “Parking is not going away,” he reassured. What’s going away is the red tape that’s held Durham’s businesses, residents, and incremental developers back.
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This post was previously published on STRONGTOWNS.ORG and is republished under a Creative Commons license.
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