Better Parking for Boston · Abundant Housing MA

We, the undersigned residents and supporters, urge the Boston City Council to pass the zoning amendment to remove outdated parking mandates from the city's zoning code for new residential development.

Boston faces a serious housing shortage. Median rent now exceeds $3,200 a month, and more than half of renters are cost-burdened. Outdated parking rules are making the crisis worse — forcing local homebuilders to construct parking spaces that often sit empty, adding an estimated $200 a month to every tenant's rent, whether or not they own a car.

This amendment does not ban parking. It removes a mandate — giving homebuilders the flexibility to build parking based on what the market actually wants, not a decades-old rule written for a different city. Parking flexibility also means more room for trees and green space, and safer sidewalks with fewer curb cuts.

Boston has already taken this step for affordable housing projects and in Squares + Streets zoning areas, without problems. It's time to extend that same common sense citywide.

We call on the Council to advance this amendment and give Boston's neighborhoods the housing flexibility they need.