Title
ZCA26-001; Consideration of a Resolution Recommending the City Council Amend the Zoning Code to Modify Parking Regulations and Establish Transportation Demand Management (TDM) Regulations.
Staffreport
SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATIONS
In San Leandro’s adopted 2023-2031 Housing Element, the City committed to addressing parking-related constraints to housing production by hiring a transportation consultant to analyze the Zoning Code and recommend modifications to parking regulations. The City subsequently contracted with two transportation consulting firms, W-Trans and Nelson Nygaard, to prepare a Parking and Transportation Demand Management (TDM) Study (Attachment 3) in response to that commitment. Proposed Zoning Code Amendments have been prepared based on the recommendations in the Parking and TDM Study that would refine the City’s parking regulations and establish TDM requirements.
Staff recommends that the Planning Commission adopt a Resolution recommending the City Council 1) repeal and replace Zoning Code Chapter 4.08 Off-Street Parking and Loading Regulations (Attachment 1, Exhibit A); and 2) adopt Zoning Code Chapter 4.10 Transportation Demand Management (Attachment 1, Exhibit B).
BACKGROUND
In the adopted 2023-2031 Housing Element, the City identified the current vehicle parking ratios in the Zoning Code as a “constraint to housing production in San Leandro” (Housing Element, page 3-25). The Housing Element noted that several housing development projects had requested and received parking exceptions or planned developments to build less parking, in order to make housing projects financially feasible. These processes “add time and uncertainty, which can impede housing development”.
In Housing Element Program 14, Action 14.1, the City committed to removing these constraints to make housing production more financially feasible by retaining the services of a third-party consultant to identify the appropriate Zoning Code modifications. Action 14.1 also calls for consideration of a TDM Ordinance to encourage reduction in vehicle trips and reliance on automobile parking.
In 2025, the City contracted with two transportation consulting firms, W-Trans and Nelson Nygaard, to conduct the analysis and prepare a Parking and TDM Study (Attachment 3) and recommend Zoning Code amendments responsive to Housing Element Action 14.1.
As part of the analysis, the consultants surveyed existing City, regional, and state codes and plans related to parking and TDM; analyzed parking data for 25 recently entitled residential and nonresidential development projects; conducted virtual stakeholder focus groups and a public workshop; and reviewed best practices for parking reform and TDM regulations.
ANALYSIS
Existing Parking and TDM Conditions in San Leandro
Key findings from the Parking and TDM Study are summarized below.
• Vehicle parking ratios in the Zoning Code are presented in a complex table with multiple ratios for the same land use, which vary by zoning district and floor area. Bicycle parking requirements are similarly complex, varying by land use type and zoning district. The complexity creates uncertainty during development review and can make it difficult for applicants to determine applicable requirements.
• Recently adopted state laws related to parking have not been incorporated into the Zoning Code.
• Analysis of 25 recently entitled residential and nonresidential projects (2019-2025) revealed that seven residential projects averaged 1.24 vehicle parking spaces per unit-substantially below current Zoning Code minimums of up to 2.5 spaces per unit. The analysis also found that affordability level affects the amount of parking provided, with fully affordable projects averaging approximately 1.0 space per unit. Eighteen nonresidential projects averaged 1.26 spaces per thousand square feet for industrial uses, 2.11 for commercial, and 2.39 for office-each well below current Zoning Code minimums for those use types.
• Several Specific Plans and Area Plans dating back to the early 1990s call for TDM regulations, but the City has no formal TDM requirements for new development. The City currently lacks dedicated funding and staff resources to support a complex TDM program, which informed the consultant’s recommendation for a streamlined, low-burden framework calibrated to current staff capacity.
• There are several regional agencies that provide resources for implementing TDM measures and employers with 50 or more employees are required to meet the Metropolitan Transportation Commission’s (MTC) Commuter Benefits Program, which includes TDM requirements.
Public Engagement
W-Trans and Nelson Nygaard conducted six focus groups and one general public workshop in August and September 2025. Focus group participants represented a broad range of stakeholders, including large local employers, the San Leandro Chamber of Commerce, affordable housing developers, the City Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee, the San Leandro Transportation Management Organization, the City Senior Commission, relevant City staff, and members of the public who had previously commented on the 2023-2031 Housing Element. Input from the focus groups and the general public helped to inform the recommendations discussed below.
Recommended Parking Code Reforms (Zoning Code Chapter 4.08)
• Vehicle Parking Minimums. The existing parking requirements table contained more than 30 use categories with district-specific columns that produced inconsistent requirements for similar uses. The proposed amendments would consolidate requirements into fewer categories and reduce ratios to better reflect actual and observed demand in recently entitled projects. Lower ratios are established for deed-restricted affordable housing, reflecting lower vehicle ownership rates in those households. Single-family and two-family use requirements are unchanged. Calibrating minimums to observed demand reduces the circumstances in which projects must seek a parking reduction, making the approval process more predictable and reducing the time and cost burden on housing development.
• No Minimum Parking Near Major Transit Stops. The proposed amendments would codify AB 2097’s prohibition on parking minimums within one-half mile of a major transit stop. A significant portion of the northwest half of the City is within ½ mile of a major transit stop (the San Leandro BART Station, the Bay Fair BART Station and the East 14th Street corridor) and is therefore not subject to minimum parking requirements. Most of the City’s future growth is anticipated to occur in these areas.
• Shared Parking. The maximum off-site parking distance would be increased from 200-400 feet to 2,000 feet, consistent with the requirements of AB 894, more efficiently utilizing existing parking supply.
• Bicycle Parking. Existing bicycle parking standards do not fully reflect the range of bicycle types in use today or their associated space and design needs. Requirements would be updated with use-specific ratios independent of vehicle parking, new standards for cargo and adaptive bicycles, e-bike charging outlets, and shower and locker requirements for employment-generating uses.
• Unbundled Parking. “Unbundling” parking is the practice of keeping the price of parking separate from the price of purchasing or leasing property or units to limit excess new parking. The proposal would generally require that parking be leased or sold separately from dwelling units for residential projects of three or more units and from leasable space for non-residential projects over 10,000 square feet.
• Lighting Standards. Parking area lighting standards would be updated to raise the fixture height limit from 12 feet to 25 feet (15 feet adjacent to residential uses) and establish a full cut-off fixture requirement to limit light spill over onto adjacent properties.
Recommended Transportation Demand Management Framework (Zoning Code Chapter 4.10)
TDM requirements are proposed to apply to new non-residential development of 50,000 square feet or more and new residential developments of 25 units or more; 100 percent deed-restricted affordable housing would be exempt. Under the proposal, each qualifying project would be required to:
• Submit a TDM checklist at time of application.
• Implement mandatory TDM measures (biennial commute survey, commute education and information, and TDM-supportive parking management).
• Select at least one optional measure from a menu of TDM strategies.
• Submit an annual self-certification letter.
Staff would maintain Administrative TDM Program Guidelines, including implementation guidance and a TDM Strategy Toolkit describing each available TDM measure. Staff would update the TDM Program Guidelines periodically.
GENERAL PLAN CONFORMANCE
The proposed project is consistent with numerous goals and policies of the General Plan, as discussed in Attachment 4 - General Plan Goals and Policies.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
This project is statutorily and categorically exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) per, each on a separate and independent basis:
• California Public Resources Code Section 21080.25(b)(11), as this project is a planning decision carried out by a local agency to reduce minimum parking requirements and implement TDM requirements; and
• CEQA Guidelines Section 15183, as the project is consistent with the Housing Element of the General Plan.
PUBLIC OUTREACH
A notice of public hearing was published for this project in the East Bay Times Daily Review newspaper and members of the public who participated in the focus groups and workshop were notified of the public hearing as well. A project webpage (www.sanleandro.org/parkingstudy <http://www.sanleandro.org/parkingstudy>) provided the public with relevant information throughout the process.
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends that the Planning Commission adopt a Resolution recommending the City Council 1) repeal and replace Zoning Code Chapter 4.08 Off-Street Parking and Loading Regulations (Attachment 1, Exhibit A); and 2) adopt Zoning Code Chapter 4.10 Transportation Demand Management (Attachment 1, Exhibit B).
ATTACHMENTS
Attachment 1: PC Resolution No. 2026-XX
Exhibit A: Amendments to Chapter 4.08 Off-Street Parking and Loading (Clean Version)
Exhibit B: New Chapter 4.10 Transportation Demand Management
Attachment 2: Amendments to Chapter 4.08 (Redline Strikethrough Version)
Attachment 3: Parking and TDM Study
Attachment 4: General Plan Goals and Policies
PREPARED BY:
Lourdes Juarez, Associate Planner
Community Development Department