1. MINIMUM PARKING
REQUIREMENTS AND THE
FISCAL IMPACT ON
MUNICIPAL BUDGETS
PRESENTED FOR: RMLUI
MARCH 10, 2016
Presented by Anthony Avery

2. 1768 - 1920
• 1768 – The first steam
powered automobile
• 1807 – First combustion
engine (hydrogen)
• 1884 – First electric vehicle
• 1886 – First petrol powered
automobile
• 1908 – Model T started
production
1920 - 1945
• Motor vehicle technology
rapidly evolved
• Reduced prices, the roaring
20’s, and more convenience
brought car ownership to the
masses
• Congestion necessitated
parking meters.
– The first parking meter
installed on July 16, 1935 in
Oklahoma City
HISTORY OF
AUTOMOBILE PARKING

3. 1945 - 2000
• Vehicle ownership boomed
– 1.16 vehicles per household in
1969
– 1.89 vehicles per household in
2001
• Parking Minimums
– Unclear of when first
minimums were established
– Earliest I found for Aurora
was 1969
Peak Driving
HISTORY OF
AUTOMOBILE PARKING

4. Current Standards
• Parking minimums have
often been set to match the
maximum observed
occupancy of free parking
BUSINESS AS USUAL

5. Vehicles Available Housing Availability
BUSINESS AS USUAL
7.0%
37.6%
38.0%
12.8%
4.7%
Number of Vehicles Available by
Household
No vehicle available
1 vehicle available
2 vehicles available
3 vehicles available
4 or more vehicles
available
0.9%
16.1%
60.0%
23.0%
Housing Availability by Parking
Requirement
1 Car Housing
1.5 Car Housing
2 Car Housing
2.5 Car Housing

6. Current Standards
• Parking minimums have
often bet set to match the
maximum observed
occupancy of free parking
• This results in excess
parking
– Minimum required residential
parking spaces in Aurora:
415,229
– Total number of vehicles
owned by Aurorans: 211,1561
But at what cost?
BUSINESS AS USUAL
• Estimated 24-year life cycle
cost of a surface parking
space is $29,2912

7. Required Parking
BUSINESS AS USUAL
$1,181.10
$1,576.25
$172.90
$223.75
$-
$200.00
$400.00
$600.00
$800.00
$1,000.00
$1,200.00
$1,400.00
$1,600.00
$1,800.00
$2,000.00
1 Bedroom 2 Bedrooms
Required Parking as a Part of Rent
Remainder Cost of Parking

8. Current Standards
• Parking minimums have
often bet set to match the
maximum observed
occupancy of free parking
• This results in excess
parking
– Minimum required residential
parking spaces in Aurora:
415,229
– Total number of vehicles
owned by Aurorans: 211,1561
But at what cost?
BUSINESS AS USUAL
• Estimated 24-year life cycle
cost of a surface parking
space is $29,2912
– $6 billion in excess residential
parking costs
• $170 monthly per household

9. Required Parking Provided Parking
BUSINESS AS USUAL
$1,181.10
$1,576.25
$172.90
$223.75
$-
$200.00
$400.00
$600.00
$800.00
$1,000.00
$1,200.00
$1,400.00
$1,600.00
$1,800.00
$2,000.00
1 Bedroom 2 Bedrooms
Required Parking as a Part of Rent
Remainder Cost of Parking
$1,011.03
$1,406.17
$172.90
$223.75
$170.08
$170.08
$-
$200.00
$400.00
$600.00
$800.00
$1,000.00
$1,200.00
$1,400.00
$1,600.00
$1,800.00
$2,000.00
1 Bedroom 2 Bedrooms
Provided Parking as a Part of Rent
Remainder Cost of Parking Cost of Excess Parking

10. Current Standards
• Parking minimums have
often bet set to match the
maximum observed
occupancy of free parking
• This results in excess
parking
– Minimum required residential
parking spaces in Aurora:
415,229
– Total number of vehicles
owned by Aurorans: 211,1561
But at what cost?
BUSINESS AS USUAL
• Estimated 24-year life cycle
cost of a surface parking
space is $29,2912
– $6 billion in excess residential
parking costs
• $170 monthly per household
– 7% of Aurora households do
not own a vehicle
• Still pay $173 in parking for
1 bedroom, $224 for 2 or 3
bedroom in addition to the
$170 for excess spaces

11. Economic Spending
OPPORTUNITY COSTS
• If all the extra money
paying for building and
maintaining excess parking
were eliminated, the city
could see an increase in
economic activity of $20.75
million monthly
– Just from residential!
– Sales tax revenue if all money
were spent in the city of $9.3
million annually

12. Land Consumption
• An average parking space in
Aurora is 574 square feet
– Includes “Hard Surface” square
footage on site plans
– Includes drive through facilities,
drive aisles
• A 20,000 square foot retail user
requiring 4 spaces per 1,000
square feet will require 80 spaces
– 45,920 square feet
– Consumes an average of 59.2%
of the site
ADDITIONAL COSTS

13. An Aurora Evaluation
• The area bordered by 6th Avenue,
I-225, Mississippi Avenue, and
Chambers Road (all figures
approximate)
– 1,238 Acres of land
• 327 acres (26.4%) Parking
• 255 acres (20.6%)
Roads/driveways
• 125 acres (10.1%) developable
• 112 acres (9.1%) parks or
floodplains
• This leaves 418 acres (33.8%)
currently generating tax revenue
ADDITIONAL COSTS

14. Land Consumption
• An average parking space in
Aurora is 574 square feet
– Includes “Hard Surface” square
footage on site plans
– Includes drive through facilities,
drive aisles
• A 20,000 square foot retail user
requiring 4 spaces per 1,000
square feet will require 80 spaces
– 45,920 square feet
– Consumes an average of 59.2%
of the site
What if?
ADDITIONAL COSTS
• What if Denver’s 20 tallest
buildings had to meet
Aurora’s minimum parking
standards?
– What if all this parking were
provided in a surface lot?
– What would it look like?
– How much space would it
consume at 320 square feet
per space?

15. DENVER PARKING

16. Land Consumption What if?
DENVER PARKING
• What if Denver’s 20 tallest
buildings had to meet
Aurora’s minimum parking
standards?
– What if all this parking were
provided in a surface lot?
– What would it look like?
– How much space would it
consume?
• 17,885,992 square feet
• 411 Acres

17. Economic Spending
Increased Property
Taxes
OPPORTUNITY COSTS
• If all excess residential
parking were converted to
single family housing at 5
du/acre, an additional 4,567
single family detached
houses would be available
– Approximately $617 million
in property value
– Increasing Aurora’s property
tax revenue by $5.3 million
annually
• If all the extra money
paying for building and
maintaining excess parking
were eliminated, the city
could see an increase in
economic activity of $20.75
million monthly
– Just from residential!
– Sales tax revenue if all money
were spent in the city of $9.3
million annually

18. Case Studies Westminster’s Change
OPPORTUNITY KNOCKS
• Found the demand to be the
same in suburban locations
and around rail station
• Flat parking requirements
– 1 space per residential unit
– 1 space per 300 square feet
– That’s it! No categories, no
specific uses
• Allow developers to “buy-
in” to parking district
• Westminster hired Fox,
Tuttle, Hernandez to
perform a parking
evaluation
– Found residential 43% over-
parked
– Retail 65% over-parked
• 54% over-parked when
adjusted for seasonal
variation
– Office 45% over-parked

19. Staff
Recommendations Consultant Report
OPPORTUNITY KNOCKS
• Significant reduction in
minimums for Subarea A;
negligible reduction in
Subareas B and C
• Credits for proximity to
transit, bike parking, shared
parking, and public parking
• Maximum lot frontage of
40% in subarea A, 60% in B
and C
• Drastically reduce minimum
requirements
• Expand shared parking
opportunities
• Provide significant parking
reduction opportunities
• Limit surface parking; not
maximum parking

20. Staff
Recommendations Consultant Report
OPPORTUNITY KNOCKS
• Significant reduction in
minimums for Subarea A;
negligible reduction in
Subareas B and C
• Credits for proximity to
transit, bike parking, shared
parking, and public parking
• Maximum lot frontage of
40% in subarea A, 60% in B
and C
• Drastically reduce minimum
requirements
• Expand shared parking
opportunities
• Provide significant parking
reduction opportunities
• Limit surface parking; not
maximum parking

21. Initial Evaluation of
Consultant Code
OPPORTUNITY KNOCKS
• Add opportunities for reductions
– Bike share, car share, eco pass,
shuttle to transit, other ideas?
• Increase the shared parking
factors
• Expand the shared parking factors
to consider abutting land uses
• Install a maximum parking
footprint
• Critical review
• Eliminate difference in
minimums among subareas
• Lower minimums
– Default to 2.5 per 1,000
square feet except if a use has
demonstrated lower
requirements
• Warehousing, wholesale,
self-storage, etc.

22. Maximum Parking
Footprint
Recommended
Addition to Code
OPPORTUNITY KNOCKS
• No maximum parking
requirement
• Above 30% hardscape
requires bonus features
• Increment at 40%
• Hard max of 50% of site
area
– May provide structured
parking if they wish to
provide more
• A review of 5 retail sites in
Aurora
– Average of 59.2% of site
hardscaped
– Average FAR of 0.19
– Average ratio of 5.3 spaces
per 1,000 square feet
• Reducing minimum reqs to
3 spaces per 1,000 sf
– Average of 27% hardscaped at
574 sf per space

23. Intent Guidelines
GOALS
• Parking management will
minimize negative
externalities
• Flexible
• Enhanced design standards
• Minimize environmental
impacts
• Promote economic
development
• Minimize the effects of
motor vehicle parking
• Balance between meeting
market demand, developer
expectations, and natural
negative impacts
• Increase the availability of
productive land use

24. SOURCES
• h
• 1U.S. Census Data American Fact Finder 2009-2013 ACS 5-year tables
B08201 and DP04. Retrieved 29 July 2015
• 2Transportation Cost and Benefit Analysis II, Todd Alexander Litman and
Eric Doherty, Victoria Transport Policy Institute (http://vpti.org/tca/),
published 28 August 2013, retrieved 29 July 2015
• 3Rainmaker Insights. "Find Apartments in Your Area." Average Rent In
Aurora, Aurora Rent Trends and Rental Comps. Rainmaker Insights, 01
Oct. 2015. Web. 11 Jan. 2016.
• Increase the availability of productive land use

25. Site Plan Amendment meets approval criteria with one
condition:
1. Resolution of outstanding technical issues prior to
recordation of site plan and issuance of any building
permit.
STAFF
FINDING