Growing Seattle neighborhood blasts city’s parking study

A community council is calling the city out for failing to defend much-needed parking.

The Seattle City Council has reduced or repealed on-site parking requirements for some residential and office buildings that are near bus routes with frequent service, according to the Eastlake Community Council. That is causing a “land rush” by developers to build without parking in Eastlake.

“It’s just a horrendous situation right now,” Eastlake Community Council President Chris Leman said.

In 2014, the City Council reformed land use codes that address microhousing. It failed to address on-site parking issues, however, instead asking for a study to be done, according to the community council. A study was done, but the report is “worse than nothing,” information from the community council reads.

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“It fails as a balanced look at the issue, doesn’t even try to look at the neighborhood impacts, and speciously and misleadingly endorses the current discredited policies,” the report from the community council reads.

The report, however, states that continuing the city’s current parking management is the “most responsible and equitable choice,” and increasing parking requirements would be “costly and counterproductive.”

Requiring on-site parking would make housing less affordable, according to the report.

According to the community council, the city is using buses as an excuse; lowering parking requirements for developers that build near bus service. The flaw in that rationale, according to the community council, is assuming there is plenty of space on buses and people are willing to give up their vehicles.

The result of all this, according to the community council, is that none of the new townhouses, apartments or condos in the area have enough, or any, on-site parking for their residents. The council cites a microhousing project at 2371 Franklin Ave. E and another at 2820 Eastlake Ave. as examples. Combined, those projects add more than 200 new residents, without any on-site parking.