Today, Orlando finds itself in a housing crisis, with a higher average rent and homelessness rate than years prior. Parking reform can be a tool to lower rent and homelessness by allowing for more affordable housing to be built. Parking reform also tackles issues with climate change, traffic, and urban sprawl. We believe parking reform can help create a better Orlando, an Orlando that’s affordable, walkable and sustainable.

We believe that allowing homebuilders and businesses to decide how much parking is need to be built, rather than mandating parking, is the reform we need in throughout the city of Orlando. Already, Orlando have given homebuilders and businesses this flexibility in certain parts of downtown.

Not giving homebuilders and businesses this flexibility increases the cost of affordable housing development. - It costs roughly $5,000 to build one on the ground parking space and roughly $25,000 to build one parking space in a parking garage, this can lead to a 17% increase in rent for renters. 1 - Mandating parking can increase costs for developers and decreases available space for units. Mandating one parking space per unit can increase costs by approximately 12.5%, and two parking spaces can increase costs by up to 25% 2 - These costs are easy for big and luxury developers to pay and build, but difficult for local and affordable developers to pay and build. But we can give parking flexibility, which would allow for more choices in housing options, all while lowering costs and raising property values. We believe that parking reform: - Can help attract more tourists, businesses and job opportunities, especially to areas near the Central Business District, main streets, and near transit stops. - Can encourage walkable, transit-oriented communities in Orlando, and can encourage building more parks and green space in the community.

Successful examples of parking reform in other cities

-After the city of San Diego gave homebuilders to build how much parking they wanted instead of mandating parking, its density bonus program produced 600% more affordable housing units.

-When the city of Minneapolis gave homebuilders the ability to decide how much parking they need, rents for new studio apartments dropped from approximately $1,200 to under $1,000 per month and decreased homelessness by 12%.

-Austin, Texas is the largest city to lift parking mandates for new developments, since then they've seen 4,605 affordable units build in 2024, double the amount in 2023.