That was one question pondered by members of Murray's City Council on Tuesday as they worked out the details of the city's new TOD ordinance.

"By reducing the amount of parking, we're assuming a paradigm shift," said Councilman Jeff Dredge. "It will cause more problems down the road and I don't feel good about it."

The aim of transit-oriented development is to encourage walkable, high-density, mixed-use centers where residents can get what they need without climbing into their cars.

Murray's current parking regulations specify two stalls per two-bedroom residential unit. The new TOD ordinance reduces that number within the TOD zone, to 1.5 stalls for surface parking or 1.125 for structure parking.

Murray's TOD zone - established Tuesday - centers around the Fireclay TRAX light rail station and is bounded by Big Cottonwood Creek on the north, 4500 South on the south, the Union Pacific railroad tracks on the west and Main Street plus a 15-foot buffer on the east.

"I agree with Jeff, that cars still show up in areas where there's reduced parking," said Councilman Jim Brass. "But if we bump up the number of stalls, we end up with a lot of parking lots. With the TOD, we're trying to reduce acres of parking and limit structure size."

The ordinance restricts the footprint for retail buildings west of Main Street to 50,000 square feet.

The ordinance stipulates that buildings taller than 45 feet must have 75 percent of their parking within their exterior walls or in a nearby parking structure.

A wide range of establishments will be allowed in the TOD zone, including schools, churches, hotels, housing, department and food stores, funeral homes and offices.

"Cities shouldn't mandate how churches look," said Alexander Dushku, an attorney representing the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. "Park City is famous for this kind of thing, that everything have a lodge-look to it."

The council increased the height requirement of buildings, as related to parking, from 25 to 45 feet, not including steeples and spires. The ordinance passed with a 5-0 vote.