Denver is a step closer to eliminating minimum parking requirements for all types of land use, including projects like the city’s forthcoming new soccer stadium.

Members of the city’s Land Use, Transportation and Infrastructure committee voted unanimously on Tuesday to advance the proposal to the full City Council for consideration.

“So, zoning currently requires a set number of parking spaces for most land uses, and these are called minimum parking requirements,” said senior city planner Justin Montgomery. “For example, market-rate apartments could require one parking space per dwelling unit, where restaurants could require four parking spaces per 1,000 square feet of indoor space.”

City officials and planners said modernizing the city parking space requirements could save hundreds of hours of staff time, remove barriers to the creation of more affordable housing and encourage the use of sustainable transportation options.

“City Planning and Development staff spend 650 hours every year administering this bizarre, tangled spaghetti bowl of parking numbers,” Councilmember Sarah Parady said. “It really is like algebra, and it has no flexibility.”

It would also ensure the city complies with Colorado House Bill 24-1304, which requires municipalities to no longer enact or enforce such requirements for multifamily and adaptive reuse projects with 50% residential use within applicable transit areas after June 30, 2025.

Specifically, the proposed amendment to the city code would:

• Remove vehicle parking exceptions, which include exemptions, alternative ratios, reductions and shared parking standards

• Simplify the existing “Use and Minimum Parking Tables” into simplified Use Tables

• Consolidate existing bicycle parking requirements into one article of the code

• Maintain existing maximum parking requirements for surface parking near transit and parking in some downtown zone districts

“Making Denver more affordable for all Denverites means breaking down barriers and making it easier to build housing in our city,” said Denver Mayor Mike Johnston in a news release. “This is a market-based solution that will help deliver our goal of a Denver that is truly affordable for working families without impacting parking needs for our residents.”

A tentative public hearing date on the subject is set for July 7.

Denver Gazette reporter Bernadette Berdychowski contributed to this story.