The City of Hillsboro is one of Oregon’s leading communities for providing affordable housing, with the state’s second-largest existing stock after Portland and several new projects in the planning stages. In 2018, Studio Davis led a comprehensive parking supply and demand analysis focused on affordable housing sites across the city. The study examined whether factors such as proximity to transit and resident income influenced parking demand, and sought to identify opportunities to reduce parking requirements—and, in turn, the cost of housing development.
While the analysis found that transit availability and income levels did help explain parking demand to some extent, the single most predictive factor was the amount of parking provided. In other words, a classic case of “if you build it, they will come.” This finding reinforced the importance of aligning parking requirements with observed demand rather than default assumptions.
Based on the results of this parking planning study, the City of Hillsboro reduced its parking requirement for affordable housing from 1.5 stalls per unit to 1.0 stall per unit, with a further reduction to 0.85 stalls per unit for developments located near high-quality transit. These changes supported more cost-effective affordable housing development while maintaining appropriate access and functionality.
Brian Davis led this work while in a previous position.