*Human Written Content

Eliminating parking minimums doesn\’t eliminate parking decisions. It changes who makes them.

Charlotte, N.C. (WALKER CONSULTANTS) – For decades, parking requirements were made before the developer ever entered the conversation. Those requirements shaped everything from project costs and design to the amount of space available for housing, businesses, and other uses.

However, that changes on January 1, 2027, as North Carolina\’s new legislation eliminates mandatory parking minimums for most new developments, giving developers more flexibility in determining how much parking their projects require. The state joins 13 others that have passed laws eliminating, reducing, or prohibiting local parking mandates.

Eliminating parking minimums doesn\’t eliminate parking decisions. It changes who makes them.

Responsibility shifted, and what that means

So, with the implementation of House Bill 369, what changes? Project costs and design are certainly impacted. The biggest shift, though, is that project teams are now responsible for determining how much parking a development really needs.

Developers already evaluate parking needs based on actual demand rather than simply following the minimum. In some cases, the required minimum exceeds what a project truly needs, particularly when shared parking is considered. While developers can submit a proposal for fewer parking spaces, the approval process can be lengthy, and acceptance is not guaranteed.

The bill gives project teams greater flexibility to develop a parking plan that reflects the needs of the project rather than the prescribed minimum.

Parking planning involves more than counting cars or estimating how many spaces fit on a site. Considering the multitude of planning implications, developers and owners must also answer several questions before making a concrete decision.

Some of those questions should include:

• Who is using the site?
• When are they using it?
• Can parking be shared?
• What transportation options exist?
• How will this site evolve?
• How much parking flexibility will this project need five or ten years from now?

These questions don\’t produce a single formula; they produce context. Two mixed-use developments of similar size can require very different parking needs depending on their tenants, location, operating hours, land uses, and transportation options. That\’s why project-specific planning has become more valuable than ever.

Determining the right parking approach requires input from more than one perspective, bringing together owners, operators, consultants, and planners to understand how a development will function over time.

Why this Matters for North Carolina

North Carolina continues to be one of the fastest-growing regions in the country and was recently ranked the nation\’s No. 1 economy among top places to do business. As communities expand and transportation preferences evolve, the way we plan for, provide, and use parking is changing as well.

Continued population growth is fueling demand for new residential, commercial, healthcare, and higher education development across the state, and many local jurisdictions are updating their Unified Development Ordinances to encourage greater density, reduce reliance on single-occupancy vehicles, and support alternative modes of transportation.

In response, developers are asking a more strategic question: How much parking do we really need? For North Carolina\’s Piedmont region, these revised development reforms will further shape how parking is evaluated and planned for future development. Good planning will recognize that today\’s projects must support multiple ways to move through a site while still acknowledging the practical reality that many users will continue to arrive by car.

The cost of getting it wrong

While most developers understand the need to provide the right number of parking spaces, determining the right amount is no simple task. Build too little, and operations can suffer. Build too much, and valuable land and capital may be tied up for decades. Understanding the long-term implications of both scenarios is essential to making informed parking decisions.

 

Underbuilding

When a project is built with too little parking, the effects extend far beyond a full parking lot. As parking demand exceeds the available supply, daily operations become more difficult. Visitors, employees, and customers compete for available spaces, slowing circulation and potentially creating spillover parking on neighboring properties. This affects not only tenant satisfaction and customer experience but also the property\’s overall performance.

Most people have experienced the effects of underbuilding firsthand. For one, we have all circled a parking facility only to realize every space is occupied. As frustrating as it is for drivers, it can be a sign that the parking plan no longer reflects how the development is being used.

Addressing these issues after construction often requires expensive operational changes, site modifications, or parking expansions that could have been avoided through thoughtful planning during the design phase.

Overbuilding

Overbuilding presents a different set of challenges. A structured parking stall costs tens of thousands of dollars, and that\’s only the original construction. Those costs don\’t end when construction is complete. Maintenance, repairs, lighting, cleaning, and long-term upkeep continue throughout the lifecycle of the facility, and depending on the structure type, condition, and utilities, annual maintenance and repair costs can range from $300 – $450 per space.

Similarly, one of the biggest consequences is opportunity cost. Unnecessary parking is land that can\’t be used for additional housing, retail, office, green space, amenities, or future expansion.

To prevent overbuilding, Walker has assisted owners by conducting parking studies that document actual parking demand at proposed project sites. In several cases, those studies demonstrated that peak parking demand fell below the minimum parking requirements, allowing developers to present data-supported recommendations to zoning officials and reduce the number of spaces required. Parking minimums may be changing, but the need for thoughtful parking planning has not.

Parking minimums once answered the same question for every project, whether that answer fit or not. Developers now have both the opportunity and responsibility to answer it themselves. The goal is not less parking or more parking. It is the right amount of parking.

 

*This article was written by a human and reviewed by a Walker Consultants expert