A proposal to eliminate off-street parking requirements for all new developments in Cambridge gets its first look tonight.

Newly-elected City Councilor Burhan Azeem says the change would cut development costs while reflecting the demographics of the ciity.

“One third of the people in Cambridge don’t own a car,” said Azeem, treasurer of the Abundant Housing Massachusetts group. “It adds 10 to 20 percent of the cost of new construction and it really makes development impractical.” 

The proposal is designed to spur production of the “missing middle” segment of the housing development market: projects which don’t qualify for low-income tax credit subsidies or fetch the high rents of luxury projects. Parking requirements typically add $10,000 to $50,000 per space to development costs, making projects more difficult to finance, Azeem said.

The proposals also would apply to all commercial projects, but not prevent developers from including parking voluntarily.

Cambridge eliminated off-street parking requirements for projects containing 100 percent affordable units in 2020 as part of a new citywide zoning overlay, which also allows such projects to be built in single-family zones.

Boston officials adopted an even more aggressive strategy in 2021, dropping off-street parking requirements for housing projects containing at least 60 percent income-restricted units.

Cambridge city councilors will take up the policy order tonight, which would send the proposal to the city Planning Board and the City Council’s Ordinance Committee.

A 2019 MIT graduate who won his first term on the council in November, Azeem said the proposal appears to have widespread support among members.