Subject: Support Council File 25-0642 – End Mandatory Parking Minimums
Dear Councilmembers,
I am writing to urge you to support Council File 25-0642, which would eliminate mandatory off-street parking requirements in new developments and changes of use.
The PLUM Committee’s recent 3-1 vote to advance this motion represents one of Los Angeles’ boldest opportunities yet to tackle both housing affordability and car dependency. For decades, zoning rules have forced every new home to come bundled with parking spaces, adding $30,000 to $75,000 per stall to construction costs, and driving up rents and sales prices even for residents who don’t own cars. These requirements have quietly but powerfully raised barriers to affordability in a city already struggling with housing costs.
This reform is grounded in the research of UCLA’s Donald Shoup, who demonstrated how minimum parking requirements act as an invisible tax on housing, distort urban form, and encourage more driving. His work made clear that parking mandates do not ease curb demand or congestion. They increase it, while shifting costs onto low-income renters least likely to own cars. As Shoup often said, “It’s unfair to have cities where parking is free for cars and housing is expensive for people.”
Other cities including San Francisco, San Diego, and Minneapolis have already ended parking minimums. Their experience shows that developers still provide parking where demand exists, but at levels that better match real needs instead of outdated one-size-fits-all rules. Removing mandates here would not ban parking. It would simply give builders the flexibility to right-size it, while freeing up resources to build more affordable units, supportive housing, and people-centered communities.
The stakes for Los Angeles are clear. Every dollar and every square foot devoted to mandatory parking is one less for housing. I urge you to vote in favor of Council File 25-0642 and take this critical step toward a more affordable, sustainable, and equitable city.
