Chelsea’s proposal to drop parking minimums for new housing would also bar residents of new developments from getting residential parking permits, according to a list of questions and answers the city posted on October 7. The city says the change would not remove any existing spaces.
The second of three community meetings on the proposal is Thursday, October 8, from 6 to 8 p.m. at GreenRoots, 90 Everett Avenue, Suite 10, third floor. The last is Tuesday, October 20, from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Chelsea Senior Center, 10 Riley Way. The city says food and live interpretation will be provided. Questions can be sent to [email protected].
What the city says the change would and would not do
Chelsea now requires developers to build 1.5 parking spaces per housing unit, and more for units with more bedrooms, according to the city. The proposal would remove that requirement for new developments. It would not stop developers from building parking, and the city says that where there are no minimums, “builders often still create parking to attract” tenants.
Other answers in the city’s list:
- Existing parking: no currently available spaces would be taken away, and parking for current homeowners and landlords would not change.
- Resident stickers: new developments would not be eligible for residential parking permits. Under existing ordinances, property managers and landlords must tell new tenants when a building’s residents cannot get permits.
- Handicap parking: on-street handicap spaces would not be affected. Those are decided by the Traffic and Parking Commission, which can be reached at [email protected].
- Enforcement and visitors: double parking and other violations would still be ticketed and towed, and there are no proposed changes to visitor parking rules.
- Affordability: the city points to its inclusionary zoning rule, which requires affordable units in developments above a certain size, and says it will use revenue from development for its Affordable Housing Trust Fund and Community Preservation Committee.
- Rents: the city says dropping parking minimums would not raise market rents, and that rents rise “when not enough housing is built and when inflation increases.”
- Transit: the city cites RC Link, its low-cost rideshare service with Revere, the MBTA’s Better Bus Project and the Silver Line extension program.
The proposal comes out of the city’s new master plan, ¡Chelsea Pa’Lante, Onward! The city is also inviting developers to look at Chelsea, and first announced the parking meetings alongside an October 1 developer site tour.
The sticker rule is already showing up project by project. In the 58 Lash Street case, a proposed condition would make the occupants of a new unit ineligible for the on-street sticker program and require the owner to file a lease or sale agreement saying so.
The full list is on the city’s website.