Indy Councilor Moves to Eliminate Parking Requirements

INDIANAPOLIS — Does downtown Indianapolis have too much parking? A city-county councilor says that may be the case and is now looking to remove parking requirements throughout Marion County.

Councilor Jesse Brown says elimination of excess parking could help spur development. The current requirement applies to all residential, commercial and industrial businesses.

“We are one of the few that is right on the Monon, so you get all that nature, exercise,” said Jordan Gerke, property manager at The Row Indy. “Close to the city but not so close that you’re congested as much.”

Finishing touches are going up at the complex at 22nd Street and the Monon. It opens on Aug. 1.

It will feature 111 one, two and three-bedroom apartments. It’s the newest addition as the near north side of Indy continues to develop.

“If you go back 20 years ago to where the area is now, it’s been a huge expansion of new developments and more people coming to the area,” said Gerke.

But those new developments came with a parking requirement from the city. Every business — whether residential, commercial or industrial — must offer a minimum number of parking spots.

“Nobody is in favor of bureaucracy for bureaucracy’s sake,” Brown said. “There’s plenty of red tape in place already. This is not one that is serving anyone anymore.”

Brown introduced a proposal to the council that would instead allow businesses to decide how much parking they will need.

“In Chicago, there’s no such thing as parking outside the business you go to,” Brown said. “In New York City, there’s no such thing as that. If we want to be a serious city that’s not just urban sprawl and potholes everywhere, we have to act like it.”

Many of the new developments in downtown Indy have already had their parking requirements eliminated. However, this proposal would eliminate the requirement countywide.

The nonprofit Parking Reform Network says 27% of the land in downtown Indy is covered by surface lots.

Brown says most of those spots sit empty because of the parking minimum requirement. His proposal would not impact handicap parking spots. And he said he expects businesses would still provide parking even without the mandate

“This doesn’t mean no more parking ever again, we should hopefully see more development, faster development,” Brown said. “This isn’t the government stopping you from building parking if you’re a business. It’s just the government no longer telling you you have to have parking.”

The proposal was introduced on Monday, but likely won’t be debated until the fall.