SPOKANE, Wash. – Businesses attempting to get permits in Spokane will no longer have to build parking to accompany their buildings. The move makes Spokane the first major city in Washington to permanently remove mandatory parking minimums, a move councilmembers hope will spur new development.
“A lot of (parking lots are) not being used,” Councilmember and Co-Sponsor Zack Zappone said. “We all travel around town and see giant parking lots that are half-empty, and even on the busiest day of the year they’re still not full.”
With two council members absent, the vote passed 4-to-1, with Councilmember Michael Cathcart dissenting.
“It’s not a bad policy to allow businesses and developers to kinda understand their customer base, and realize what sort of parking they need to provide,” Cathcart said. “The problem is if they undershoot, don’t get it right, we are not really set up right now to have the parking enforcement that we need.”
Cathcart said he’s heard complaints from residents living in the Logan neighborhood about the lack of parking enforcement.
“A gentleman I visited with a few months ago had shown significant concerns with me regarding the fact that on a consistent basis his college neighbors are blocking his driveway,” he said. “He’s very worried, especially being an older gentleman, that he might need to leave in an emergency and literally be prohibited from doing so.”
With the move, Zappone says Spokane became the first major city in Washington to permanently remove parking minimums.
