'No parking' rules take effect in San Francisco by Celeste LeCompte - 4.29.07


SAN FRANCISCO In an effort to bring residential development rules in line with its “transit first” policy, San Francisco is telling downtown developers, shoppers, and residents: “No parking.”
In June 2006, San Francisco replaced minimum parking requirements with maximum standards that allow no more than three parking spaces for every four units. Condo developers are also required to un-bundle parking spaces from the price of condos under the new law. Individual spaces are now selling for $40,000 on average.
Because buyers aren’t obligated to buy a space if it is unbundled, proponents say reducing or eliminating parking is an effective way to lower housing prices. Some downtown merchants have voiced concern that reduced residential parking will put additional strain on an already-tight parking situation in the city, driving shoppers to go to malls or stores that have parking lots. Other retailers are cautiously optimistic.
Westfield Group and Forest City, developers of San Francisco’s new downtown shopping mall, didn’t provide any new parking. Instead, the developers paid the city $1.5 million for future parking projects as part of the development deal. A spokesman for the project told The New York Times public transportation is the most convenient way to get to the city center, but added that the city should consider additional parking in the area as development continues in the South of Market neighborhood near downtown.
The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (MTA) is considering raising meter and garage rates, as well as the price of residential parking permits, in order to generate more funds for transit-system and service improvements promised to voters by Proposition E in 2006. As an alternative, the San Francisco County Transportation Authority is currently conducting a $75,000 study on “parking benefit district” programs. Through the programs the city would put in new parking meters and raise meter rates in exchange for local street improvements such as bike lanes, sidewalk cleaning, landscaping and curb ramps.
Similar programs have been successfully implemented in San Diego, Redwood City and Pasadena, Calif. The redevelopment of Treasure Island (between San Francisco and Oakland) also includes a plan for a Parking Benefit District, according to Michael Cohen of the San Francisco Mayor’s Office of Economic and Workforce Development [see “Rescue on Treasure Island,” SIJ, March 2006].
Currently, San Francisco’s parking maximums apply only to downtown development projects. New residential developments outside the downtown district, such as One Rincon Hill, which opened in early 2007, are still required to build in one space per residential unit. Parking rate increases, which could take effect as early as June 2007, would affect the entire city.

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