Yuma wants new small buildings downtown to bring their own parking

Update, Oct. 29, 2026: The Council didn't move this forward on Oct. 21. Members had questions, and they voted to continue the discussion to a later date, the Yuma Sun reported. Councilmember Chris Morris said he understood how the rule would work on vacant lots, but not how it would apply to existing buildings. Deputy Mayor Leslie McClendon asked whether turning an existing building into something busier, like a restaurant, would trigger new parking. Jennifer Albers, identified by the Yuma Sun as the City's assistant director of planning, said no: the amendment covers expansions, not interior renovations. If a building's footprint or square footage doesn't grow, no new parking is required. Councilmember Carol Smith supported the change, saying empty buildings that larger businesses may move into should come with some parking. Albers told the Council the item isn't urgent. No new meeting date appears on the ordinance's Legistar page, checked Oct. 29. We'll update this when it's back on an agenda.

Since 1995, there's been a small but generous rule in Yuma's Old Town zoning district. If you put up a new building under 5,000 square feet, you didn't have to provide parking on your own lot.

That's a real break if you're trying to build something modest downtown. Parking eats land, and land in an older downtown is already scarce. It's one reason a small shop, café or a few apartments can pencil out in Old Town when they might not elsewhere.

The City now wants to end that break for new buildings. On Wednesday, a proposed ordinance goes to the Yuma City Council for introduction.

What would change

The proposal amends Title 15, Chapter 154 of the City Code. Here's what it does, and what it doesn't.

What changes:

• New buildings in Old Town that are smaller than 5,000 square feet would no longer be exempt from on-site parking requirements.
• The multifamily open-space rules the council adopted citywide in April 2024 would now apply in Old Town too.
• Developers could get the common open-space requirement waived if the project is within 1,500 feet of a park and has a paved walking or biking path, or will build one.

What doesn't:

• Buildings constructed before Nov. 1, 1995, keep their parking exemption.
• The Mall Maintenance District stays exempt from on-site parking.

So the change is aimed at new construction outside the mall district, including sites that get torn down and rebuilt.

The City's reasoning

Planning staff say the 1995 exemption fit downtown at the time. Thirty years of growth have changed things, they argue, and on-site parking for new development is now "essential," especially when someone redevelops a whole site with a use that needs a lot more parking than what was there before. The report specifically mentions parking pressure in the Historic North End.

That's a real concern. People who live on streets near busy downtown spots know what it's like when every curb space is taken.

The tradeoff nobody spoke up about

There's another side to this, and it didn't come up at the planning commission. Parking requirements are one of the biggest costs in small-scale development. Requiring spaces can turn a workable small project into one that doesn't pencil out, or push a builder to tear down more of a lot to make room for cars. That runs a little against other recent City efforts. Over the weekend, Yuma Informed wrote about a zoning fix meant to make it easier to put housing on commercial land.

None of that means the change is wrong. It means there's a real tradeoff, between keeping neighborhood streets from filling up with cars and keeping downtown cheap enough to build in.

So far, almost nobody has weighed in. The Planning and Zoning Commission voted 4-0 on Sept. 14 to recommend approval (one member absent, two seats vacant). The minutes record no public comment.

What happens Wednesday

This is an introduction, not a final vote. Under the City's usual process, the council would vote on adoption at a later meeting. Downtown property owners, merchants and neighbors who want to weigh in still have time.

Sources

• City of Yuma, O2026-030: Text Amendment, Old Town

Update sources

• Yuma City Council needs more clarification on new construction ordinance
• City of Yuma Mayor and Council
• City of Yuma O2026-030: Text Amendment, Old Town