Background

On May 4, 2023, City Council directed staff to eliminate minimum off-street vehicle parking requirements in the City from City Code Title 25 (Land Development) through Resolution 20230504-022. Per the resolution, “[t]he City Manager is directed to return with recommendations for developments proposing no on-site parking that allow for accessible parking spaces on-street, adjacent to or reasonably nearby the development and located on an accessible route. The recommendations should ensure accessible parking spaces comply with all design, accessibility, and location requirements of the ADA [Americans with Disabilities Act] and FHA [Fair Housing Act], as appropriate.” Council directed the City Manager to return with an ordinance for Council consideration by December 31, 2023.

Staff advanced Case C20-2023-010 Eliminate Minimum Parking Requirements through the public hearing processing. The following recommendations were made by various boards, commissions, and City Council:

• Resolution 20230504-022 passed by City Council on May 4, 2023, 10-1
• September 20th, 2023, recommended by the Codes and Ordinances Joint Committee, 5-2
• October 3rd, 2023, recommended by the Urban Transportation Commission, 8-0
• October 10th, 2023, recommended by the Planning Commission, 9-0-1

During their meeting on October 3, 2023, the Urban Transportation Commission passed a recommendation (Recommendation 20231003-004) that included the following language:

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Urban Transportation Commission recommends that the City Council fully adopt the draft ordinance;

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Urban Transportation Commission recommends City staff make the following changes to the draft ordinance before the November 2nd, 2023 City Council Meeting in regards to required bicycle parking:  

1. Remove references to minimum bicycle parking and the entirety of Part 2 of “APPENDIX A. ‐ TABLES OF OFF‐STREET PARKING AND LOADING REQUIREMENTS”; II.
2. Remove all references to Appendix A in Section 25‐6‐477 ‐ BICYCLE PARKING;
3. Simplify the minimum bike parking requirements to a ratio of planned motor vehicle parking, based on the Austin Strategic Mobility Plan 50/50 Mode Share Goal (which projects 50% of commuters driving alone and 5% of commuters biking), and add the following minimum requirements to Section 25‐6‐477:

A. Commercial Uses: A minimum of 2 spaces or 10% of the planned motor vehicle spaces, whichever is greater;

B. Multi‐Family Residential Uses:  A minimum of 5 spaces or 10% of the planned motor vehicle spaces, whichever is greater;

C. Single‐Family or Two‐Family Residential Uses: None;  

D. All Other Uses: A minimum of one bicycle parking space or 10% of the planned motor vehicle spaces, whichever is greater.

As staff had not yet received direction to amend bicycle parking requirements in City Code, and the posting language for public hearings included only potential changes to motor vehicle requirements, the recommendations made by the Urban Transportation Commission were not incorporated into Ordinance 20231102-028, which eliminated motor vehicle parking space requirements. City Council passed and approved Ordinance 20231102-028 on November 2, 2023 by a vote of 8-2, and the ordinance took effect on November 13, 2023.

During the City Council meeting on November 9, 2023, City Council provided staff with direction to follow through on the Urban Transportation Commission’s recommendations by providing adopting Resolution 20231109-056, which included the following language:

BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF AUSTIN:

The City Manager is directed to initiate amendments to City Code, including Title 25 (Land Development), to modify bicycle parking requirements to be consistent with the Austin Strategic Mobility Plan (ASMP) mode split goals, per the Urban Transportation Commission (UTC) Recommendation 20231003-004; and these proposed amendments should move through the standard Boards & Commissions review and Council approval processes to ensure sufficient public input.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED: Council encourages the City Manager to finish processing updates to the Transportation Criteria Manual (TCM) as quickly as possible to ensure that the newly required minimum bicycle parking meets modern standards for fixture type, placement, etc.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED: The City Manager is directed to explore ideas for incentivizing the installation of bicycle parking at existing developments to bring them up to the same level of service as will be required under the above City Code amendments and the updated TCM.

This set of amendments specifically responds to the first clause providing direction to staff from Resolution 20231109-056, which was approved by a vote of 9-1.

Summary of Proposed Amendment

• Revise Chapter 25-6, Article 7 (Off-Street Parking and Loading) to reflect the proposed changes to required bicycle parking from the Urban Transportation Commission recommendation;
• Revise Chapter 25-2 (Zoning, Subchapter E (Design Standards and Mixed Use), Article 2 (Site Development Standards), 2.3.1.B.2 Additional Measures to Improve Connectivity (Table B) to update references that have been removed or deleted.
• Remove bicycles from Appendix A (Tables of Off-Street Loading Requirements and Former Off-Street Parking Requirements).

Review and Adoption Timeline

• Dec.13, 2023: Recommended for approval by the Codes and Ordinances Joint Committee  
  • Click here to view the staff report and presentation
• Jan. 23, 2024: Approved by the Planning Commission 
  • Click here to view the staff report and presentation
• Feb. 1, 2024: Approved by City Council

Case Manager Contact

Cole Kitten, Transportation and Public Works Department, Cole.Kitten@austintexas.gov