Vancouver scraps minimum parking requirements citywide

Developers will no longer need to meet city-mandated minimum parking requirements anywhere in Vancouver.

City council voted to scrap minimum parking requirements citywide on Wednesday, a move intended to reduce the cost of new builds while speeding up permitting.

The city has estimated the cost to build underground parking can add up to $100,000 per space to a construction project.

The move won’t affect requirements around accessible spaces for people with disabilities, visitor spaces, bike parking or loading spaces.

0:58 Spanish Banks could be losing its free parking

Vancouver already axed parking minimums for the downtown peninsula in 2018 and in the West End and Broadway Plan areas in 2023.

The move exceeds new provincial government requirements to scrap parking minimums in new builds in transit-oriented development areas.

Council also moved to simplify its parking bylaw, cutting it from 33 to 17 pages and eliminating 63 unique parking rates.

The city said it did not anticipate “significant impacts” to on-street parking, however acknowledged tools including time limits, pay or permit parking could be used to manage issues in high-demand areas if needed.