Federal Way Planning Commission: Reform Minimum Parking Requirements

City parking requirements can have significant impacts on the cost of bringing new housing units to the market. Seattle King County REALTORS® is closely monitoring how cities are working to modify their development codes to comply with a 2025 state law that limits how much parking cities can require (SB 5184). One of the first cities to take up the issue is Federal Way, whose Planning Commission has begun work on the issue in anticipation of the City Council adopting changes to the city’s parking requirements by October.

Senate Bill 5184—the Parking Reform and Modernization Act (PRMA)—requires cities with populations over 50,000 to reduce minimum parking requirements by January 27, 2027.  Cities must base parking requirements on market conditions, not one-size-fits-all regulations. The WA legislature said the changes are intended to reduce the cost of development, encourage walking and multimodal transportation, improve health, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by discouraging excessive reliance on automobiles.

Under the new law, the minimum number of parking spaces cities can require varies (between 0.5 and 2.0) for multi-family, single-family and commercial development. Additionally, cities cannot impose parking requirements for a variety of land uses, including affordable housing, childcare centers, and ground level non-residential spaces in mixed-use buildings, among others.

The WA Department of Commerce is developing guidance for cities that will be finalized by June 2026 to assist cities and complying with the new law.