Editorial: A risk worth taking: San Diego eliminates parking mandate

The high cost of housing has become one of California’s worst nightmares. It hammers the poor and middle class alike, and makes living in California something many of the state’s residents seem all too willing to reconsider. It demands creative solutions.

That’s why, after some debate, The San Diego Union-Tribune Editorial Board welcomed the City Council’s 8-1 vote on Monday to adopt Mayor Kevin Faulconer’s proposal to scrap parking mandates for new apartment buildings and condos built near mass transit (specifically, built within a half-mile of a bus rapid transit station, a trolley line or two high-frequency bus routes.) This could lower the cost of housing for homeowners and renters alike. For one thing, the old requirement that a new housing unit have at least one parking spot added up to $90,000 to per-unit development costs. For another, the new measure requires developers who no longer have parking mandates to drop the cost of a parking spot from the monthly rent or condo purchase price, rewarding residents who would rather not drive.

The City Council’s only no vote — Jennifer Campbell — worried about the effects of the rule change on quality of life and sensibly said a major expansion of transit options should come first. But Councilman Scott Sherman made a powerful argument for the new policy: “If a developer thinks they can build something with zero parking spaces and sell it to a certain clientele, then let them take that risk.”

City officials should remain open to specific, well-founded complaints about proposed projects. Not everyone who lives near transit options will want or be able to take advantage of them, and regional leaders readily admit the system’s existing flaws.

But even if it has a risk, the upside here is huge. As more people ride-share — and climate-change goals make greater use of mass transit a priority — let’s call this policy what it is: a constructive change.

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