[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 80 (Thursday, May 11, 2023)]
[House]
[Pages H2299-H2300]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   ELIMINATE PARKING MINIMUM MANDATES

  (Mr. ROBERT GARCIA of California asked and was given permission to 
address the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. ROBERT GARCIA of California. Mr. Speaker, our Nation faces an 
affordable housing and climate crisis. That is why I have introduced 
the People Over Parking Act to eliminate parking minimum requirements 
near high-quality public transit.
  Parking minimum mandates create a certain number of spaces, 
regardless of the needs of people who live there. This could add tens 
of thousands of dollars per space to construction costs.
  Additionally, many spaces go unused, even as financial costs are 
passed on to renters regardless of whether or not

[[Page H2300]]

they own a car. In one study, parking mandates increase rent costs by 
20 percent.
  Our legislation doesn't prevent property owners from providing 
parking spots. It simply lets owners respond to local demand rather 
than mandates.
  Eliminating parking minimums would also help reduce harmful emissions 
and reduce the heat island effect in cities.
  By encouraging more people to live close to high-quality transit, we 
can afford more housing, increase transit ridership, protect our 
climate, and reduce transit congestion.
  Mr. Speaker, it is both good housing and climate policy.

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