HomeMy WebLinkAbout2024-01107 - Chapter 172 Parking Requirements (Amendment) (21)
CityClerk
From:Clark Eckels <clark.eckels@gmail.com>
Sent:Tuesday, May 6, 2025 1:35 PM
To:Rawn, Molly; CityClerk; Stafford, Bob; Jones, D'Andre; Jones, Monique; Bunch, Sarah;
Moore, Sarah; Berna, Scott; Turk, Teresa; Wiederkehr, Mike
Subject:Support Housing Reform - Opposed to Parking Mandates
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Dear City Council & Mayor Rawn,
I am writing to express my strong personal opposition to the parking ordinance, Agenda Item B.2. at
tonight's city council meeting. This is a regressive and reactionary policy proposal that walks back
progress our city made 10 years ago and goes against nationwide best practices. Cities across the US
and North America have eliminated parking minimums entirely. In the United States alone, 86 cities (56
under 100k people) including Rogers have eliminated all parking minimums. Eliminating residential
parking minimums is one of the simplest and most impactful policies that we could make.
This proposed ordinance is bad policy and I ask you to oppose it. If the state goal is to manage parking
from spilling over into neighborhoods, let's create more residential parking districts (like in Wilson Park).
If the goal is to address purpose built student housing, let's do that directly! This ordinance does not
achieve either goal, nor does not align with the long term goals of our city, affordability, walkability,
safety, and climate protection.
On the other hand, there are several actually good proposed housing reforms on the agenda tonight that I
do ask you to support.
Item B.1. - In a state like Arkansas, with few Renter's protections, we should do anything we can to
protect our residents. Requiring transparency from landlords is a no brainer. I manage a small
apartment complex of 10 units and I go out of my way to make sure prospective tenants know
every single cost, even the small ACH fee caused by our property management software when
paying rent.
Item C.5., C.6., C.7. - These are all great common sense reforms that give property owners more
flexibility to build gentle infill housing on their property. We should do everything we can to make it
easier for our residents and local small scale developers to build more housing. I hope that you
support these reforms. In addition to working with the Housing Task Force, the Strong Towns
Housing Ready Toolkit is a great blueprint for making housing easier to build in Fayetteville.
Sincerely,
Clark Eckels
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