Incheon City Council Passes Ordinance to Relax Public Rental Parking Spaces from 1 to 0.5 per Unit

The ordinance to relax the parking space standards for publicly purchased rental housing, which had sparked controversy over parking shortages in the old downtown area, has passed the Incheon City Council plenary session.

On the 13th, the City Council approved the 'Incheon City Parking Lot Installation and Management Ordinance Amendment' at the 3rd plenary session of the 299th regular meeting. The ordinance, proposed by City Councilor Kim Dae-jung as the representative, was approved by 20 out of 30 members present, with 7 opposing and 3 abstaining.

The ordinance mainly stipulates that the number of parking spaces for housing units under 30㎡ of exclusive area, for which purchase agreements have been signed by Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH), Incheon Urban Corporation (iH), and others to supply as public rental housing, will be applied at 0.5 spaces per household instead of 1 space per household.

Panoramic View of Incheon City Council

Councilor Kim proposed the ordinance to reasonably adjust the difference in parking space requirements depending on the approval procedures such as building permits and project plan approvals, and to activate the supply of rental housing for vulnerable groups such as youth, the elderly, and newlyweds by relaxing the parking lot installation standards for small housing units under purchase agreements.

He explained, "There are concerns that relaxing the parking space standards for small housing units under purchase agreements could worsen the parking shortage in the old downtown area, but the majority of residents in small housing units under 30㎡ purchased by public housing operators are single-person households," adding, "Public housing operators select and manage tenants only for vulnerable groups, so the actual number of vehicle owners is not high."

Furthermore, he revealed that an investigation of four publicly purchased rental housing sites in Incheon, constructed and occupied with relaxed parking lot installation standards under the Public Housing Special Act, showed that the installed parking spaces ranged from 0.3 to 0.5 spaces per household, while the actual vehicle ownership rate among tenants was between 0.14 and 0.16 spaces per household.

However, residents of the old downtown area have voiced opposition, arguing that the ordinance will further aggravate the parking shortage. The Michuhol-gu Association of Community Leaders, composed of resident groups, issued a statement in front of Incheon City Hall on the morning of the same day opposing the passage of the ordinance.

In their statement, they pointed out, "The relaxation of parking space standards, which is a discretionary matter under the Public Housing Special Act, is being forcibly revised into a mandatory provision in the ordinance," and warned, "If the ordinance is amended, it will cause serious social conflicts due to the parking issue."

They also argued, "The parking problem is a long-standing social issue as much as securing stable housing for socially vulnerable groups and the younger generation," and insisted, "We need to think beyond the simple logic of housing supply and consider from a broader perspective what kind of housing should be supplied."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.