Project Overview

The Access Management and Parking Strategy (AMPS) project is complete following adoption of the Transportation Demand Management (TDM) ordinance on Sept. 18, 2025. AMPS covered three topics related to parking:

  • Off-street parking standards,
  • Transportation Demand Management (TDM) and
  • On-street parking management strategies.

This project changes the approach to parking regulation in Boulder. The project implements several built environment, economic, housing and transportation policies from the adopted Boulder Valley Comprehensive Plan and is intended to meet the measurable objectives laid out in the Transportation Master Plan.

Updates

In June 2025, City Council voted to adopt Ordinance 8700 updating on-street parking management strategies, which will go into effect on Jan. 1, 2026. Council next voted to adopt Ordinance 8696 in July, which went into effect on Aug. 23, 2025. Ordinance 8713, was adopted by City Council on Sept. 18, 2025 and goes into effect April 1, 2026.

What do the adopted ordinances do?

Off-Street Parking Requirements

  • Eliminates the minimum off-street parking requirements in city code for all land uses in the city.
  • Implements recent state legislation (HB24-1304) states that as of June 30, 2025, jurisdictions may not require off-street parking for multifamily residential uses in transit service areas.
  • Developers and property owners would instead provide the number of parking spaces they determine is necessary for the building users.

Transportation Demand Management (TDM)

  • Mitigates impacts and improving mobility and access.
  • Uses a tiered approach with increasing requirements based on size and impact, with some exemptions.

On-Street Parking Management Strategies

  • Minor updates to the Neighborhood Permit Parking program.
  • New tools in the Residential Access Management Program to facilitate new development.
  • Explore proactive review of on-street parking needs when newer higher intensity development is proposed.

State Legislation

This year, the state legislature passed HB24-1304 which states that cities, like Boulder, may not require a minimum number of parking spaces for multifamily residential development or adaptive reuse of buildings for residential uses in areas near transit service. The bill cites several studies that have shown that local minimum off-street parking requirements like Boulder’s increase greenhouse gas emissions by encouraging more people to drive, and increases housing costs, as one structured parking space can cost $25,000 to build and one space in a surface parking lot can cost $10,000 to build.

Parking Supply and Utilization

Over the last 10 years, the city has studied the off-street parking supply and utilization at over 50 sites and over 16,000 spaces around the city. It is clear from the data that for all land uses, more parking is available than is used at peak times. This suggests that the city’s minimum requirements could be significantly reduced or eliminated.

2024 Average Parking Occupancy

raph of Average Parking Occupancy for several land use types in 2024. Industrial - 55%, Lodging - 49%, Medical Office- 76%, Mixed Use Commercial- 39%, Mixed Use Residential - 38%, Office- 48%, Residential- 70%, Retail- 52%

View a larger version of this graph

Frequently Asked Questions

Updates to the city’s parking regulations and transportation demand management requirements were originally identified as main implementation steps in the Access Management and Parking Strategy adopted by City Council in 2017. The project had to be paused in 2020 due to the pandemic but has been restarted in 2024.

Prior to adoption of Ordinance 8696, which eliminates off-street parking requirements, the City of Boulder required a minimum number of off-street parking spaces for all different types of businesses and housing since the 1950s. Minimum parking requirements are often based on a mathematical formula, like one space per 400 square feet of space or one parking space per unit. These spaces have to be on private property, located off the public street.

Transportation Demand Management (TDM) is the use of strategies to inform and encourage travelers to maximize the efficiency of transportation systems. The purpose of requiring TDM plans for new developments is to mitigate the transportation impacts for the new development by providing programs, amenities and services to the employees or community members who live in the city.

In 1986, the Boulder City Council adopted the Residential Permit Parking (RPP) program to relieve spillover parking in residential areas. The RPP program was designed to give preference in the use of on-street parking spaces to community members who resided in or businesses located within a designated area. It was first implemented in the Mapleton and University Hill neighborhoods in 1993. The RPP program became the Neighborhood Permit Parking (NPP) program in 1997. Today, twelve NPP zones and one seasonal zone exist.

In recent years, at least 78 other cities in the United States have entirely eliminated the minimum parking requirements in their zoning regulations, including nearby Longmont. Learn more from Parking Reform Network.

No. As of Aug. 23, 2025, the City no longer requires a minimum number of off-street parking spaces for vehicles to serve any property in the city. This is pursuant to Ordinance 8696, adopted by City Council on July 24, 2025. This action was partly informed by a Colorado state bill, HB24-1304, which prohibits municipalities from requiring off-street parking requirements for multi-unit residential projects on transit corridors. Ordinance 8696 removes minimum parking requirements for all properties and land uses. Now, developers and property owners will determine how many parking spaces should be provided based on context and market demand and this may be zero.

Yes. Despite the removal of minimum off-street parking requirements, the city’s Land Use Code continues to have minimum dimensional and design requirements for parking spaces and parking lots. If parking is provided on a property, parking spaces, drive lanes, landscape islands, etc. would still have to meet requirements in the Boulder Revised Code for functionality, safety, and aesthetics (e.g., screening).

Off-street parking that was previously required per a PUD, Site Review, Form-Based Code Review, Use Review or Administrative Review Parking Reduction is no longer required (see Section 9-9-6(c)(5), B.R.C. 1981). Changes to site plans are still subject to the applicable modification processes specified in either Section 9-2-14, “Site Review,” B.R.C. 1981; Section 9-2-15,“Use Review,” B.R.C. 1981; or Section 9-2-16, “Form-Based Code,” B.R.C. 1981. Approvals of any transportation demand management (TDM) plans associated with these approvals, which aim to offset automobile use and the need for parking with multi-modal alternatives, would continue to apply to projects.

Yes. Off-street bicycle parking is required for all properties and land uses. Updates have been made to the design requirements for short-term and long-term bicycle parking and types of bicycle parking facilities. Please see Section 9-9-6(e), “Bicycle Parking,” B.R.C. 1981.

Yes, if off-street parking spaces are provided on a property, accessible parking spaces must meet the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act per Section 9-9-6(c)(1), “General Parking Standards,” B.R.C. 1981.

Yes, if off-street parking spaces are provided on a property, electric vehicle charging spaces shall be provided, meeting the requirements of the City of Boulder Energy Conservation Code. See Section 9-9-6(c)(2), “General Parking Requirements,” B.R.C. 1981.

Not for vehicular parking, because there are no longer minimum off-street parking requirements. Reductions in bicycle parking may be requested per Section 9-9-6(e)(6), B.R.C. 1981.

A maximum number of parking spaces on lots and parcels applies in the following zoning districts: RH-3, RH-6, RH-7, and MU-4, per Section 9-9-6(b), “Maximum Off-Street Parking Requirements,” B.R.C. 1981. Maximum parking requirements do not apply elsewhere; however, if a project is subject to a Site Review, there may be limitations applied to the amount of pavement on sites to meet criteria.

No. If off-street parking was the only reason a property was non-conforming, it would no longer be considered a non-conforming use. If existing parking on the property does not meet current design standards (e.g., parking space sizes or aisle widths), it would be considered non-standard parking. Updates made to parking lots would have to conform to the design and dimensional requirements of the parking standards.

If a property has an approved Non-Conforming Use Review that was previously required only due to insufficient parking, a “Rescission of Development Approval” per Section 9-9-12(e) is required (a staff level review) to remove any restrictions of the use review approval (per Section 9-2-15(e) and (f), B.R.C. 1981). Following approval of the Rescission, changes to the property may now only require a building permit.

Per Section 9-9-5(c)(8), B.R.C. 1981, “any driveway or access for a property with a residential use must lead to an off-street parking space” outside of the front yard landscape setback (e.g., typically 20 or 25 feet in many residentially zoned lots). If an off-street parking space meeting the requirements of the Code (e.g., 9’ by 19’) is outside the landscape setback, then the garage may be converted to conditioned space. If no parking space outside the landscape setback exists or does not meet the dimensional requirements, the driveway must be removed.