![Car parking maximums should form part of an overhauled set of planning rules, consultants told the ACT government. Picture by Elesa Kurtz Car parking maximums should form part of an overhauled set of planning rules, consultants told the ACT government. Picture by Elesa Kurtz](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/35sFyBanpD896MKnAH5FRtj/97585062-51a5-48ac-9730-eb4908be7b8f.jpg/r0_0_5568_3128_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Developers should be allowed to cut car parking spaces by up to 30 per cent to encourage people to stop travelling by car, the ACT was told.
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Parking space maximums should also be introduced, especially for flats, with strict criteria for when developers can apply to exceed the upper limits, which would be set below current minimums.
The report, prepared by consultants in 2017, has informed forthcoming changes to the territory's planning system.
The review of the ACT's parking code also found it was the most complicated of any jurisdiction considered and should be simplified.
The report recommended maximum parking provision rates in the city, town centres, group centres and a long public transport corridors.
"The actual rates to be set depend on the extent to which maximum limits will be accepted by people who seek to live in the City and town centres. ... The adoption of maximum rates will assist achievement of sustainable transport and urban design objectives," the report said.
Developers should also be able to sell flats with "unbundled car parks", giving owners the option of whether to buy a car park or not, which the report noted would reduce the purchase and lease costs of a development and improve buyer choice.
"While there is no requirement for parking to be provided for residents and their visitors in the city and town centre ... zones, there are no incentives for developers to do other than meet market demand, which currently reflects Canberra residents' general attachment to their cars, even where there are high levels of access to public transport," the report said.
Developers could then use adjustment factors to request a reduction to this standard rate when applying for planning approval.
"This is intended to support greater mode shift away from the private car mode and a more flexible approach for balancing parking supply and demand," the review said.
"The review recommends allowing a 30 per cent reduction from standard rates as a reasonable starting point."
The current parking code requires one car space for every one-bedroom apartment in a development, 1.5 spaces for two-bedroom apartments and three-bedroom or larger apartments to have two spaces. One visitor park is required for every four dwellings, if there are more than four dwellings.
The report recommended a standard rate of one car space for every one-bedroom apartment in town and group centres, with 1.25 spaces in suburban areas.
Two-bedroom units would have between 1.3 and 1.75 car spaces, while three-bedroom and larger units would have between 1.8 and 2.25 car spaces, depending on location
Units in the city would not be required to have car spaces, and have reduced maximums, the report recommended.
The report, released under freedom of information laws, was handed to the then Environment and Planning Directorate in February 2017 by AECOM Australia.
The review warned against the use of residential parking permit schemes to provide spaces for people living in developments without parking.
Residents would need to use on-street parking where possible or "consider alternative residence locations where there is adequate parking".
"The pressure for ... [permit] schemes should be strongly resisted and in no circumstances should consideration be given to allowing such permits for residents of units which have been approved without any on-site car parking spaces," the review said.
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An analysis of parking codes by AECOM found residential parking rates vary widely across the ACT, with the upper rate generally higher than other states and territories. But the rates for city and town centre developments were much lower than similar centres elsewhere.
Planning Minister Mick Gentleman in February said he expected flats would be built along well-serviced public transport corridors with fewer car spaces in the future.
"You need to provide the transport so that people take the opportunity," Mr Gentleman said.
Chief Planner Ben Ponton said a reduced demand for car parking would also help developers deliver more affordable housing, avoiding the need to build expensive basements.
A 2021 paper in the Journal of the American Planning Association found almost half of new developments in Buffalo, New York, delivered fewer car parks after minimums were removed, which the authors said suggested the previous requirements were excessive.
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