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The Washington State Senate made a big move on Thursday that could change how cities handle parking, but not everyone is thrilled about it.

They passed ESSB 5184, a bill aimed at easing parking requirements for new housing and commercial developments. Supporters argue that this will make building homes cheaper and easier, while critics fear it will lead to crowded streets and frustrated drivers.

At the heart of the debate is a question with no easy answer: How much parking is too much, and who gets to decide?

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Parking vs. Housing

Senator Emily Bateman (D-Olympia), who sponsored the bill, laid out a stark reality: The U.S. has about ten parking spaces for every car, yet Washington is short roughly 250,000 homes. She argues that strict parking requirements drive up housing costs and make it harder to build in areas where parking isn鈥檛 as necessary.

鈥淲e鈥檙e forcing developers to build parking that sometimes just sits empty,鈥� Bateman said. 鈥淭hat adds costs, and those costs get passed down to renters and homebuyers.鈥�

The bill would give developers more flexibility in deciding how much parking to include, instead of being bound by one-size-fits-all city mandates. It also aims to make neighborhoods more walkable and reduce unnecessary land use for massive parking lots.

Bateman pointed to shopping centers as a key example. 鈥淩ight now, a lot of retail spaces in Washington are legally required to dedicate more land to parking than the actual building itself. That doesn鈥檛 make sense everywhere.鈥�

The Pushback: Not Every City is the Same

Critics of the bill argue that Washington鈥檚 communities are too different to be covered by a single policy. Senator Phil Fortunato (R-Auburn) believes the bill ties the hands of developers who may actually want more parking for businesses in car-dependent areas.

鈥淚f a developer wants more parking for a shopping center, why should we stand in the way?鈥� Fortunato said. 鈥淣ot every part of the state has great public transportation or walkability.鈥� His amendment to exempt commercial spaces over 1,000 square feet was also rejected.

Senator Leonard Christian (R-Spokane Valley) pushed for an amendment to limit the bill鈥檚 application to cities with populations over 225,000, arguing, 鈥淭his is a great plan to reduce parking, and I think it helps solve some of the housing issues around major cities, but that鈥檚 exactly where it should be鈥� this doesn鈥檛 necessarily fill the rest of our state鈥檚 needs.鈥� The amendment failed.

Another major concern came from rural lawmakers, who argue that the bill doesn鈥檛 reflect the realities of life outside urban centers. Senator Keith Wagoner (R-Sedro Woolley), a former mayor, shared his perspective on parking needs in smaller communities.

鈥淚n rural communities, it鈥檚 not just one person driving a Prius鈥� You鈥檝e got a pickup and a truck to haul your horse trailer and the trailer itself. It鈥檚 a different culture than it is in urban areas,鈥� Wagoner said. 鈥淚f we don鈥檛 plan for that, we鈥檙e just going to create new problems.鈥�

To address these concerns, lawmakers added exemptions to the bill. Small towns with fewer than 20,000 residents won鈥檛 have to follow the new rules, and cities can opt out if they can prove safety concerns to the Department of Commerce.

The Vote and What鈥檚 Next

Despite the pushback, the bill passed 40-8 with one member excused, with a mix of Democrats and Republicans voting against it. Even some skeptics admitted that change is needed, though they weren鈥檛 sure this was the right approach.

The bill now moves to the House, where it鈥檚 expected to face more heated debate. A House companion version of the bill has gone nowhere and remains stuck in committee.