Great Reset: Austin Eliminates Parking Spot Requirement For Developers ‘To Fight Climate Change’

The progressive liberal Austin, Texas, city council voted last week to eliminate parking requirements for new developments, citing the need to transition out of car dependency and reduce carbon emissions.

From the Texas Tribune:

Austin on Thursday became the largest city in the country to stop requiring new developments to have a set amount of parking — a move aimed at both fighting climate change and spurring more housing construction amid the city’s affordability crisis.

The Austin City Council voted 8-2 Thursday to wipe out minimum parking requirements for virtually every kind of property citywide. That includes single-family homes, apartment buildings, offices and shopping malls.

Housing advocates, developers and climate activists across the country have increasingly targeted such rules. They say parking requirements — often referred to as “parking minimums” — drive up housing costs while enabling dependency on cars, a major source of carbon emissions.

City council member Zohaib “Zo” Qadri, who authored the proposal, claimed parking rules hinder the development of affordable housing and is too costly, adding, “If we truly want to achieve our progressive goals of making Austin a less car-dependent city, we cannot be forcing developers to provide car storage in every single new project that goes up in our city limits.”

However, critics of the council’s plan argue the move will destroy property values by cramming roads with traffic, while reducing parking for homeowners as the city’s population continues to grow.

“Although I think that our existing parking requirements do need reform and there are many scenarios where I would relax or eliminate parking requirements, this universal elimination of requirements is a step beyond what I consider to be prudent,” noted Alison Alter, one of the only council members who voted against the proposal.

“I’m concerned that there will be unintended consequences in scenarios that create real problems for navigating areas where residential uses abut commercial uses, particularly in areas that have older, narrow streets.”

Austinites sounded off on the proposal, with some calling it a reckless and irresponsible attempt at social engineering, while supporters claimed it showed city leaders were putting humans over cars.

They are out of touch with their constituents, and are attempting social engineering.

— HipOldGuy (@hipoldguy) November 2, 2023

“Austin leaders bow to lunatic activists (which is also what the city council is now comprised of) in a way to please the developers that are their true masters”

— Corporal Punishment (@CplPunishment_) November 3, 2023

Does the city council wake up every morning and wonder “how can we further fuck up Austin?”

— Corporal Punishment (@CplPunishment_) November 2, 2023

Cause I mean doesn’t everyone love to visit a business that only has street parking that you have to ride around to find parking 🙄

— SAVEAUSTINTX (@saveaustintx) November 2, 2023

Let me get this straight, they believe that by eliminating parking, and increasing housing density, people won’t drive, saving the environment and making it affordable.

Evidenced by NYC and SF, this puts more cars on the road and makes it unaffordable. But hey, good job!

— Paul O’Brien (@seobrien) November 3, 2023

Austin city council would authorize chopping off our legs so we don’t need as much living space too.

— Flybot6 (@flybot6) November 2, 2023

Austin is becoming a hell hole. And will become a sterile city. The young people are being used to campaign for 500 sq ft rental apartments, bicycles, and a useless transit system with useless operational hours. You have to want more for other’s people children, if not for you.

— Real Estate ɹǝʇsdıɥ (@EstateHipster) November 2, 2023

And this is another example of how Austin City Council has looked the other way at the practical struggles with the likes of parking and congestion in high density neighborhoods. It’s not Smart Growth! It’s stupid and irresponsible!

— ATXdad (@ATXdad_) November 2, 2023

When this fails, who can we hold financially responsible?

— Flybot6 (@flybot6) November 2, 2023

Finally! Time to build the city for human, not cars.

— Chase Kuo, PLA (@CHEWEIKUO1) November 3, 2023

The move to eliminate parkings and discourage vehicle usage evidently follows lockstep with the World Economic Forum’s agenda to reduce the ownership of private vehicles.

In one essay published on the group’s website last year explaining how the world should start preparing for a “clean energy revolution” which will require massive supplies of critical metals and minerals, one WEF author proposed shifting from car ownership to car sharing.

“More sharing can reduce ownership of idle equipment and thus material usage,” the WEF stated. “Car sharing platforms such as Getaround and BlueSG have already seized that opportunity to offer vehicles where you pay per hour used.”

The WEF author continued:

To enable a broader transition from ownership to usership, the way we design things and systems need to change too. For example, car sharing is made possible by new keyless unlocking features. Similarly, user profiles that create a distinction for work and personal use on the same device is needed to reduce the number of devices per person. A design process that focuses on fulfilling the underlying need instead of designing for product purchasing is fundamental to this transition. This is the mindset needed to redesign cities to reduce private vehicles and other usages.

The elimination of home parking rules comes as Austin recently passed other housing initiatives, including reducing the minimum lot size requirement for single-family homes and allowing three units per single-family lot, changes which the council argues are aimed at making middle-income households more attainable.

Austin continues to be the testing ground for new progressive initiatives as it is beholden to the whims of the liberal-majority city council that’s ruining the Texas capital at record pace.

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