For the past two months the Land Use Committee and City Council as a whole have been discussing updating the zoning ordinance to remove parking minimums for new developments in all parts of the city. These requirements were changed for the roughly 70 percent of the city within half a mile of transit stations back in 2019, in concert with a change to parking regulations that prohibited residents of these developments from obtaining resident parking permits, with some built-in exceptions. So this legislation took that policy and applied it to the rest of the city.

There is a strong consensus among those who have studied parking minimums and their impacts on cities that parking minimums are a bad idea. Developers are guided by their understanding of demand by future residents when deciding how much parking is needed for a project. And the reality is that financiers still are extremely skittish about zero-parking and even parking-lite developments. As a result, most developments are going to build parking even if they aren't required to do so, because they believe it will increase the value of the residences they're constructing. But if a developer determines they can get away with doing less on-site parking for a particular development and has the finances in place for that, why would the City ever tell them they need to build more parking than they believe is necessary?

As with many changes, there was an important education effort needed with this issue. Some in the community mistakenly believed this proposal would be taking away existing parking and needed clarification that it only applied to future developments. Others weren't aware of the Traffic Commission's change to parking regulations in 2019 prohibiting residents of these developments from obtaining resident parking permits. And there were a great many people who weren't aware a previous council already had done away with parking minimums in the vast majority of the city -- the areas around transit most likely to see larger developments.

So when City staff -- at the urging of the City Council -- submitted a request to remove parking minimums city wide, we took up this proposal in the Land Use Committee. At the public hearing on the proposed change on October 17, we heard from the public. Most speakers voiced support for the change, while we did hear from some members of the community who had concerns about the potential impact on seniors and those with disabilities who might want to live in these future developments.  When the committee discussed the proposal on November 21, I indicated I wanted to work with City staff and advocates for persons with disabilities and our seniors to try to address their concerns.

After speaking with City staff, I agreed it would be the best approach to come back and take a holistic look at how our zoning might be made more inclusive, so I agreed to separate my push for accessible parking minimums from this proposal. I'm looking forward to sitting down in the new year with the Commission for Persons with Disabilities and Planning, Preservation and Zoning staff to see how we can do better by those with accessibility needs in our zoning.

Ultimately, the Land Use Committee unanimously recommended approval of the proposal at our December 5 committee meeting. A week later, the full council took up the item at the December 12 regular meeting, with all councilors present voting to approve the zoning change.

I've subsequently met with Somerville-Cambridge Elder Services to talk about a change I'd like to see to address parking for the home healthcare workers many of our seniors depend on to age in place. The Traffic Commission has a process whereby a resident with a disability placard or license plate can petition to have an accessible parking spot designated on the public street in front of their residence. I'd like to see a similar process created for residents who require visits from home healthcare workers. We already have a home healthcare worker parking permit, so I would love to see us create spots that are restricted to home healthcare worker permits during the day on weekdays, then turn back into regular resident permit parking on evenings and weekends. Proximity parking is often so key for home healthcare workers, and these spots would greatly increase the chances that these workers are able to park close to the residents they are helping.

I'll also put in a plug for the December 16 episode of The Codcast, where Somerville City Council President Ben Ewen-Campen made a guest appearance to talk removal of all parking minimums in Somerville. As he does so often, my colleague from Ward 3 explained everything about the issue in a really digestible way. So if you have lingering questions, I'd encourage you to have a listen. And as with anything, I'm always happy to discuss.