This relatively straightforward credit is meant to reduce the number of cars on the road and limit the sprawl of parking facilities. It also helps encourage carpooling and reduce transportation-related environmental impacts like emissions, stormwater runoff, and the urban heat island effect.

If you build it, they might come

Before choosing to limit the availability of onsite parking, it’s wise to consider just how likely your building occupants are to take advantage of either nearby public transportation or of the carpooling resources that you may be providing. Choose your approach based on the strategy you believe will have the greatest impact.

Some projects will need to think ahead

If you choose to provide no onsite parking for tenants, this credit requires no preplanning—just document your compliance and submit that documentation. Other projects will want to address this credit early in the lease negotiation process—you’ll need to make sure that the lease documents don’t give you more parking spaces than what is required by code.

Special calculations for Commercial Interiors projects

Your approach to this credit will depend on how much of the building space your project occupies. If your project uses more than 75% of the building area, then you must apply the credit requirements to all building occupants, not just occupants of your tenant area.