CHICAGO – State Senator Javier Loera Cervantes is leading a transformative piece of housing legislation that will rein in excessive parking requirements imposed by municipalities and remove a key barrier to building more homes for working families.

“Every unnecessary parking space we mandate is a home we aren’t able to build,” said Cervantes (D-Chicago). “This measure is about putting families first and making sure communities have the tools they need to grow, welcome new residents and build housing that people can actually afford.”

As part of Governor JB Pritzker’s Building Up Illinois Developments – or BUILD – proposal, Cervantes is leading Senate Bill 4064.

The measure would ban municipalities from requiring more than one parking space per two multifamily homes or one single-family home. It would also prohibit municipalities from establishing parking minimums for residential units that are less than 1,500 square feet, affordable housing projects, assisted living facilities, ground-level nonresidential areas and buildings changing from nonresidential to residential.

Last July, Chicago’s City Council passed an ordinance that would remove parking requirements for construction within 0.75 miles of CTA or Metra lines, which covers most of the city.

“If we build more housing, then more families can move into the area,” said Cervantes. “When we add more families to a neighborhood, the whole community thrives in return.”

Senate Bill 4064 was discussed in a Senate Executive Committee subject matter hearing on Thursday and awaits further consideration.