Denver Is Tired of Subsidizing Parking
Parking in Denver. (Paul Sableman on Flickr.)
In 2024, Colorado mandated that its cities stop enforcing parking mandates for multifamily developments within a quarter mile of transit. Denver, the state’s capital, wants to take it further and repeal the costly mandates citywide. "Making Denver more affordable for all Denverites means breaking down barriers and making it easier to build housing in our city," Mayor Mike Johnston said. Councilmember Chris Hinds put it another way: “We have a housing crisis, not a parking crisis.”
Between 2010 and 2020, Denver's population surged by nearly 20%, with current estimates indicating an annual growth rate of 1.5%. This trajectory suggests the city of 717,000 residents could reach 1 million in the coming decades. However, the city's housing supply has struggled to keep pace with this burgeoning demand, leading city officials to reevaluate policies that hinder residential development, such as parking mandates.
Instituted in the mid-20th century, Denver's parking requirements have historically mandated a specific number of parking spaces for various land uses. For instance, market-rate apartments require one parking space per dwelling unit, while restaurants must provide nearly four parking spaces per 1,000 square feet of indoor space. One developer took to Reddit to vent about a 415-unit project that required 1.5 spaces per unit — totaling 623 parking spots. With each space taking up an average of 300 square feet, that adds up to nearly 200,000 square feet of pavement dedicated solely to car storage, regardless of how many residents actually own cars.
These numbers may seem precise, but there’s little logic behind them. Parking minimums are largely based on flawed assumptions and outdated traffic models, often resembling pseudoscience more than sound policy. For builders and city planners alike, they create unnecessary hurdles, inflating costs and stalling projects that could otherwise bring much-needed housing and economic activity to Denver’s neighborhoods.
Furthermore, the financial burden of parking mandates is significant. According to Denver’s planning department, each parking space in a structured garage can add up to $50,000 to a project's cost — an expense that often gets passed on to tenants and buyers. While surface parking is cheaper to build, it comes at a different cost: It consumes valuable land, pushes buildings farther apart, and undermines walkability. Even adaptive reuse projects, which repurpose existing buildings for housing, face elevated costs and delays due to parking requirements.
Denver's contemplation of eliminating parking mandates aligns with a broader national trend. Cities like San Jose, California; Portland, Oregon; and Minneapolis, Minnesota, have abolished such requirements, citing benefits like lower housing costs, better use of space and greater flexibility in development. In Denver, officials argue that reforming these outdated regulations will make the permitting process faster and more predictable for developers.
A map of cities that have abolished all parking mandates. (Source: Parking Reform Network.)
“This is another example of how we continue to reduce permit review times and streamline our regulations to better serve Denver residents and businesses,” said Manish Kumar, executive director of Community Planning and Development. “This fix would allow our staff and residents to focus on project priorities instead of spending hundreds of hours reviewing complicated parking regulations. This gives residents more flexibility while still providing the parking Denverites need.”
Despite the perception that eliminating mandates would lead to a parking shortage, many projects already provide parking well above the minimum requirements. For instance, 1901 Lawrence Street, an office building, included 633 parking spaces when none were required. Similarly, 600 Park Avenue, a 230-unit residential complex, provided 217 spaces when none were mandated, and 1145 South Broadway, a 470-unit development, built 691 spaces — far exceeding the required 428. These examples suggest that developers, responding to market demand rather than rigid zoning codes, will likely continue to provide parking where needed, even without mandates.
By reforming its parking requirements, Denver can lower development costs, make better use of available space, and give builders more flexibility. If the city moves forward with these changes, it could pave the way for a more affordable and adaptable urban landscape.
Click here to learn more about code reforms that city officials can implement today to bring more housing to their communities.
Asia (pronounced “ah-sha”) Mieleszko serves as a Staff Writer for Strong Towns. A dilettante urbanist since adolescence, she's excited to convert a lifetime of ad-hoc volunteerism into a career. Her unconventional background includes directing a Ukrainian folk choir, pioneering synaesthetic performances, photographing festivals, designing websites, teaching, and ghostwriting. She can be found wherever Wi-Fi is reliable, typically along Amtrak's Northeast Corridor.