Studio Davis is pleased to be supporting the Washington State Department of Commerce with implementation of the Parking Reform and Modernization Act by helping develop guidance for cities on parking management.
To that end, I was glad to be in beautiful Chelan back in April to present at Planning Association of Washington annual conference on this work. My presentation, “From Minimums to Management,” focused on a key shift now facing Washington communities: for a long time, the primary tools for managing parking were minimum requirements. As those requirements change, cities will need a more practical, context-sensitive management toolkit.
I’m especially proud of the residential permitting work in the guidance. We took a deep dive into permit programs across Washington, looking for patterns, lessons learned, and practical implementation paths for communities navigating spillover concerns, neighborhood access, and evolving state requirements. And one idea I’ll keep coming back to: Enforcement matters, but enforcement is not the strategy. It is the thing that helps the strategy function.
It was a privilege to present with three amazing planners, Hannah Johnston from Commerce, Nick Schmeck from the City of Bothell, and Anya Gedrath, AICP from the City of Bellingham, and thanks to Lilith Vespier, AICP from Commerce for the great photos!