Parking Minimums

The Legislative Declaration of HB24-1304 emphasizes that minimum off-street parking requirements restrict the amount of housing that can be built on many sites, and that many parking spaces in residential developments often go unused. One recent study (Residential Parking in Stations Areas: A Study of Metro Denver) of multifamily housing near RTD stations found that approximately 40% of parking spaces for market rate housing and 50% of parking spaces for income-restricted housing are unused by residents at peak times. 

Minimum parking requirements that exceed what is necessary for the residents and visitors not only increases the cost of housing but also lowers development density, which is associated with higher vehicle ownership, more vehicle miles traveled, more greenhouse gas emissions, and reduced walking and bicycling. Sources:

• What do residential lotteries show us about transportation choices?
• Effects of Parking Provision on Automobile Use in Cities: Inferring Causality
• Households with constrained off-street parking drive fewer miles

Lowering residential development density also increases the costs of building and maintaining infrastructure needed to serve residential projects (Article: Relationships between Density and per Capita Municipal Spending in the United States).
 

The law applies to:

• Parts of municipalities within metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs) that are wholly or partially within Applicable Transit Service Areas
• Parts of counties within metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs) that are wholly or partially within Applicable Transit Service Areas

Please refer to the Applicable Transit Service Areas map to see areas in each community subject to the new law. HB24-1304 directed DOLA to develop this map, and the methodology is published in the Tools & Documents section below. 

The following is a list of subject jurisdictions:

• Arvada
• Aurora
• Boulder
• Broomfield
• Centennial
• Cherry Hills Village
• Colorado Springs
• Columbine Valley
• Commerce City
• Denver
• Edgewater
• Englewood
• Erie
• Evans
• Federal Heights
• Fort Collins
• Fountain
• Foxfield
• Garden City
• Glendale
• Golden
• Greeley
• Greenwood Village
• Lafayette
• Lakeside
• Lakewood
• Littleton
• Lone Tree
• Longmont
• Louisville
• Loveland
• Manitou Springs
• Mountain View
• Northglenn
• Pueblo
• Sheridan
• Superior
• Thornton
• Unincorporated Adams County
• Unincorporated Arapahoe County
• Unincorporated Boulder County
• Unincorporated Douglas County
• Unincorporated El Paso County
• Unincorporated Jefferson County
• Unincorporated Larimer County
• Unincorporated Pueblo County
• Unincorporated Weld County
• Westminster
• Wheat Ridge

Summarized from C.R.S. 29-35-303(1) and (2) and 29-35-306

HB 24-1304 prohibits local governments that are subject to the law from enacting or enforcing Minimum Parking Requirements on multifamily housing developments located in Applicable Transit Service Areas on or after June 30, 2025. DOLA has published an official map for use by subject jurisdictions of the Applicable Transit Service Areas.

The prohibition applies to all new multifamily residential development, regardless of whether it is a freestanding residential building or part of a mixed-use building or development that also contains some non-residential uses. In addition, the prohibition applies to Adaptive Reuse of an existing building for completely residential purposes, and to Adaptive Reuse of an existing building for a mix of uses in which at least 50% of the resulting use is residential.

Importantly, the law does not prohibit residential or mixed-use developers from including off-street parking in the development; it simply prohibits the local government from requiring that parking as part of its zoning or land development regulations or procedures.

Summarized from C.R.S. 29-35-303(3)

The law clarifies that nothing prevents local governments from addressing several parking-related issues in Applicable Transit Service Areas, including:  

• Residential parking voluntarily provided by the developer. If the developer voluntarily includes off-street parking in a residential or mixed use development, the local government may:
  • Require that those parking spaces include the same number of spaces for persons with disabilities that would be required under the Americans with Disabilities Act.
  • Require that those spaces include the number and type of electric vehicle charging spaces required by the Colorado Model Electric Ready and Solar Ready Code developed pursuant to HB22-1362.
  • Impose a Maximum Parking Requirement limiting the amount of off-street parking spaces voluntarily provided.
  • Require that the developer charge for the use of those parking spaces (i.e., not make them available free of charge to residents, businesses, or patrons of the development).
  • Require that the developer contribute to a parking enterprise, parking permitting system, or a shared parking plan.
• Bicycle parking. The local government may adopt or enforce minimum requirements for bicycle parking. 
• Compliance with affordable housing funding conditions. If the local government has obtained funding to support affordable housing development, and that funding requires that a minimum number of parking spaces be included in the development, the local government may accept the funding and may impose and enforce the parking requirements necessary to comply with those funding conditions. If the developer has obtained funding to support affordable housing development, and that funding requires that a minimum number of parking spaces be included in the development, the developer may voluntarily provide those parking spaces.
• Parking agreements entered prior to the Effective Date. If the local government has entered into agreements before July 1, 2025, to encourage the production of affordable housing by reducing otherwise-applicable Minimum Parking Requirements for one or more specific developments, the local government may continue to enforce those agreements after July 1, 2025.
   

Colorado local governments subject to HB24-1304 who are reviewing current zoning laws and regulations for alignment with the law’s requirements should focus on. Example code amendments may be found in the Tools & Documents section below.

Applicability Statements for Minimum Parking Requirements

Many local zoning and development codes that impose Minimum Parking Requirements on new development or Adaptive Reuse projects begin with an applicability statement clarifying where those standards apply. Compliance with the law can be accomplished by modifying that statement to clarify that Minimum Parking Requirements for multifamily residential development and the types of Adaptive Reuse projects covered by the law do not apply to the areas shown on the Applicable Transit Service Area map. To increase transparency and user-friendliness, a map of those areas, or a cross-reference to the DOLA map, can be included in the zoning and development code.

If the local government wants to take advantage of the limited exceptions allowing imposition of a one-space-per-unit Minimum Parking Requirement in certain cases, that exception should be included in the applicability statement. For example, the applicability statement could be modified to state that minimum parking standards shall not apply in the areas shown on the DOLA map except as permitted by C.R.S. Section 29-35-304.

NOTE: A growing number of communities around the country are removing Minimum Parking Requirements altogether. Despite the limited scope of HB24-1304, Colorado communities subject to the law may want to consider removing Minimum Parking Requirements for all uses within their Applicable Transit Service Areas, or for multi-family housing developments in each of the zoning districts that have any overlap with their Applicable Transit Service Areas, or from the entire community, in order to simplify implementation, avoid potential overregulation of parking, and further reduce housing costs.

Parking Standards in Zoning Districts or a Parking Table

Many zoning and development codes include a Minimum Parking Requirement in one or more zoning districts and some codes consolidate that information into a parking table. These sections of the zoning and development code should be revised to eliminate the Minimum Parking Requirement for types of multifamily and Adaptive Reuse mixed use development covered by the law. If the local government wants to take advantage of the limited exceptions allowing imposition of up to one-space-per-unit Minimum Parking Requirement in certain cases, that exception should be noted or cross-referenced in this section.

Criteria or Standards for Approving Multifamily Housing Developments

If the local government wants to take advantage of the limited exceptions discussed previously, it should also revise the criteria used to review and approve Land Use Approvals covered by the law to state that a Minimum Parking Requirement of up to one-space-per-unit may only be imposed if the local government publishes the findings required by the law within 90 days after receiving a completed application for the project. These revisions can be incorporated into use-specific standards, or into the criteria applicable to the required entitlement(s).

Limited Exception

Local governments subject to the law can impose a Minimum Parking Requirement of up to one space per dwelling unit in limited circumstances. Each exception is only available for a specific project (not an entire jurisdiction) and: 

• Contains 20 or more housing units, or 
• Is a Regulated Affordable Housing project. 

The process to obtain an exception is not simple, and use of the exception requires the local government to submit periodic reports to DOLA to ensure that use of the exception does not undermine the purpose of the law.
To impose this Minimum Parking Requirement, the local government must, within 90 days after receipt of a completed application for an eligible project, conduct (or have someone conduct) a project-specific analysis and publish specific findings. The findings must:

• (a) Be supported by substantial evidence that supports a finding of substantial negative impact on safe pedestrian, bicycle, or emergency access to the housing development project, or on existing on- or off-street parking spaces within one-eighth mile of the project; 
• (b) Include parking utilization data collected from the area within one-eighth mile of the project;
• (c) Be reviewed and approved by a professional engineer; and
• (d) Demonstrate that the local government implementation of strategies to manage demand for on-street parking for the area within one eighth-mile of the project would not be effective to mitigate a substantial negative impact found pursuant to this section. Guidance for implementing strategies to manage parking is included in the Best Practices in Parking Management Strategies guide. 

If the required findings are published within 90 days and the local government imposes a minimum off-street parking requirement, then the local government will be required to submit information regarding the use of the exception to DOLA no later than December 31, 2026, and annually thereafter.

This exception process differs from a housing developer voluntarily providing parking spaces. It applies when the local government enforces the Minimum Parking Requirement on a development, as opposed to when the developer chooses to provide the spaces voluntarily.

Reporting Requirement

Summarized from C.R.S. 29-35-304 C.R.S. 29-35-304(3)

If a local government uses the limited exception detailed in C.R.S. 29-35-304 and imposes a Minimum Parking Requirement, the local government must file information regarding the use of that exception no later than December 31, 2026, and annually thereafter. Preliminary reporting instructions will be published in the Tools & Documents section below. 

The only mandatory reporting requirement pertains to the use of the exception. However, DOLA is in the process of developing a voluntary reporting system for this law. While reporting on compliance with the law is not compulsory, it is encouraged.

The law required DOLA to work with the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) and the Colorado Energy Office (CEO) to engage with stakeholders to develop and publish best practices and technical assistance materials to support local governments in optimizing parking supply and managing parking demand by December 31, 2024. This guide has been published and is available below.

Best Practices in Parking Management Strategies for Colorado Communities

Summarized from C.R.S. 29-35-302

This section lists several key terms defined in the law. Please note that the law contains numerous additional definitions that may be important in specific contexts.

“Adaptive Reuse” means the conversion of an existing structure from the use for which it was constructed to a new use by maintaining elements of the structure and adapting such elements to a new use.

“Applicable Transit Plan” means a plan of a transit agency whose service territory is within a metropolitan planning organization, including a system optimization plan or a transit master plan that: 

1. Has been approved by the governing body of a transit agency on or after January 1, 2019, and on or before January 1, 2024; 
2. Identifies the planned frequency and span of service for transit service or specific transit routes; and 
3. Identifies specific transit routes for short-term implementation according to that plan, or implementation before January 1, 2027.

“Applicable Transit Service Area” means an area designated by the map created in Section 29-35-306. (see below for more detail on this process and criteria)

"Commuter Bus Rapid Transit Service" means a bus rapid transit service that operates for a majority of its route on a freeway with access that is limited to grade-separated interchanges.

“Land Use Approval” means any final action of a local government that has the effect of authorizing the use or development of a particular parcel of real property.

NOTE: The law applies to land use approvals for new developments, as well as those that require modification of an existing land use approval for multi-family residential developments and applicable adaptive reuse projects.

“Loading Space” means an off-street space or berth that: 

1. Is on the same site with a building or contiguous to a group of buildings; 
2. Is designated for the temporary parking of either: 
   1. A commercial vehicle while materials are loaded in or unloaded from the vehicle; or 
   2. A vehicle while passengers board or disembark from the vehicle; and 
3. Abuts upon a street, alley, or other means of access.

“Maximum Parking Requirement” means a requirement established in local law that limits the number of parking spaces that may be made available in connection with a real property.

"Minimum Parking Requirement" means a requirement established in local law that a number of parking spaces be made available in connection with a real property.

“Parking Space” means an off-street space designated for motor vehicle parking. A parking space does not include a loading space.

“Regulated Affordable Housing” means affordable housing that: 

1. Has received loans, grants, equity, bonds, or tax credits from any source to support the creation, preservation, or rehabilitation of affordable housing that, as a condition of funding, encumbers the property with a restricted use covenant or similar recorded agreement to ensure affordability, or has been income-restricted under a local inclusionary zoning ordinance or other regulation or program; 
2. Restricts or limits maximum rental or sale price for households of a given size at a given area median income, as established annually by the united states department of housing and urban development; and 
3. Ensures occupancy by low- to moderate-income households for a specified period detailed in a restrictive use covenant or similar recorded agreement.

NOTE: This statute does not define multifamily housing, so local jurisdictions may use their own definitions, such as their existing multifamily residential definition or other common multifamily definitions. C.R.S. 38-45-101 offers a reasonable definition of multifamily, which reads “‘Multi-family dwelling’ means any improved real property used or intended to be used as a residence and that contains more than one dwelling unit. Multi-family dwelling includes a condominium or cooperative.” Another common definition of multifamily housing is any building with three or more residential units, which is how building codes typically delineate residential building types.