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2023-2-7 Parking and Traffic Commission minutes CITY OF BEVERLY PUBLIC MEETING MINUTES BOARD: Parking and Traffic Commission SUBCOMMITTEE: None LOCATION: Beverly City Hall Council Chambers DATE: February 7, 2023 BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT: Chair Richard Benevento (Chair), Darlene Wynne (Vice Chair), Captain Michael Collins, George Binns, Jonathan Salt, Sergeant Michael Henebury, Captain Jake Kreyling BOARD MEMBERS ABSENT: John Lozada OTHERS PRESENT: Dayna Morton (not yet a member) RECORDER: Naomi Moca Benevento chairs and opens the meeting at 8:30 a.m. Pursuant to Chapter 107 of the Acts of 2022, Section 3, this meeting of the Beverly Parking& Traffic Commission was conducted in person. Introduction and welcome for Morton as the newest member of the Commission. 1. Recommendation of the City Council: Order 923-024—Request for Short-Term On-Street Parking at 480 Rantoul Street—Glovsky Counselors-at-Law Conor Walsh, Esq., of Glovsky and Glovsky and Chris Koeplin of Gateway Beverly Crossing are present to request alteration to the on-street parking at 480 Rantoul Street from two-hour parking to 15-minute parking. Walsh states that there is precedent for the City being open to 15- minute parking designation in front of certain businesses; Walsh gives examples such as 412 Rantoul Street, site of a vacuum repair shop and hair salon, among other addresses along Cabot Street and Rantoul Street. The request is prompted by the new commercial tenant, The Bagel Dudes, approaching Beverly Crossing to make this change. The Commission discusses the duration per day of the 15-minute parking such as 7 a.m. —3 p.m., the number of residential units in the building,whether the applicant met the parking requirements for the original site plan, whether the applicant takes credit for the retail unit parking, the trend of building residents parking in front of the property's retail unit,whether the residents' lot is fully utilized, and where the residents will be able to park in the case this change is implemented. Koeplin clarifies that there are only 108 residential spaces in the lot for 90 units as the project was initially granted relief for the required additional 10 spaces, and that the 108 does not include the eight on-street spaces that are under discussion. Henebury states that he observed eight parked cars in front of the property at about 7:30 this morning, seven of which are registered to residents of 480 Rantoul Street. He observes that City of Beverly Parking and Traffic Commission February 7,2023 Meeting Minutes Page 2 of 4 residents of 480 Rantoul Street regularly park overnight in the on-street spaces as well as on nearby Lenox Street and Myrtle Street and thus he has reservations about changing the duration of the spaces to 15 minutes, thereby shifting the building residents' cars further out to additional streets for parking. Benevento remarks that while parking on Lenox Street and Myrtle Street may be legal, it nonetheless impacts the neighborhood's residents, who do not necessarily benefit from the business's success. Collins states that 15-minute parking is not realistically enforceable and that DiBacco's Service Center would likely utilize open spaces on the street. Henebury observes that local businesses, such as the hair salon across from 480 Rantoul Street, have two-hour on-street parking and regularly make complaints about residents of 480 Rantoul Street parking in those spaces. Henebury states that two-hour parking is enforced across Beverly. The Commission discusses the importance of enforcing and ticketing in the morning,when violators are mostly likely to be lingering cars parked overnight, and making just a few of the eight spaces into 15-minute spaces. Koeplin states that the residents are asked to report the number of cars they own to Beverly Crossing, thus he only knows about the cars that are actually reported by residents. Henebury observes that there is not enough parking provided onsite for residents. The Commission discusses the relief that was originally granted to the applicant for parking for 10 parking spaces, the ripple effect in the neighborhood that the proposed change would create,the difficulties with enforcing the change, and the overall parking deficit in downtown Beverly. Henebury states that 15-minute parking is enforced on Rantoul Street and across Beverly. The Commission discusses the potential for the fire lane to become a de facto pick up lane, the use of signage to clarify the rules, the idea of placing a kiosk in front of the building in accordance with the downtown parking program, whether it is appropriate or fair for all eight spaces to be changed to 15-minute spaces, and the potential for other similar businesses to make the same request if this request is approved. Henebury advises that the applicant communicate the parking rules and hours to the residents, and states that of the 13 cars parked this morning on both sides of Rantoul Street, 11 of them were registered to residents of 480 Rantoul Street. Koeplin states that The Bagel Dudes shop has been open for two weeks as of now, and the owners asked for this alteration before signing the lease. The Commission observes that the residents' parking habits is a solvable part of the neighborhood issue, contingent upon proactive communication from the applicant. The Commission discusses whether the current parking in front of the shop is causing any actual problem for the retail business. The Commissioners suggest that the applicant come back before the Parking and Traffic Commission at a future date to re-visit whether the two-hour parking has impacted the business in a demonstrable, measurable way. City of Beverly Parking and Traffic Commission February 7,2023 Meeting Minutes Page 3 of 4 Motion: Kreyling moves for no changes to the current parking ordinance. Seconded by Binns. Motion passes 7-0. Incoming member Morton is not yet eligible to vote. 1. Recommendation to Planning Board: Site Plan Review 4161-23 — 103 Cabot Street— Cabot Park LLC Conor Walsh, Esq., of Glovsky and Glovsky on behalf of Cabot Park, LLC, Jesse Jalbert of Cabot Park LLC, and Bob Griffin of Griffin Engineering are present. Griffin presents the site plan with the proposed renovation to the existing structure, including building an addition to the rear of the building and reconfiguring it to 11 residential units and one professional office space. The site plan includes 13 on-site parking spaces for the residential units, and office parking will be located at the public parking lot between Washington Street and Franklin Street. Griffin submitted a traffic study to the Commission as part of the application prior to this meeting. Griffin elaborates on the site plan, which consists of 11,000 square feet total, with a 12-foot wide sidewalk, 10-foot wide driveway, parking, and space for a turnaround. There are four existing residential units and one office unit. Griffin states that the proposed 13 residential parking spaces on site complies with the number required, and that the three spaces required for the business parking fall within the 500-foot requirement. There is a tree on the site that somewhat impedes sight lines and Griffin proposes replacing it with a more columnar shaped tree. The Commission discusses the number of required spaces for the nine one-bedroom units, the two two-bedroom units, and the one 640-square foot professional office space. The Commission discusses the retaining wall on site versus the property line, that there is no parking on the project's side of the street, the plan to widen the driveway entrance, the plan to discuss moving the bus stop six feet with the MBTA, the fact that piggyback parking has to be designated for one unit, that the units will be designated for each space, and the design of the drainage under the parking lot. Kreyling expresses satisfaction with the plans for snow removal, sprinklers, and fire access. Griffin states that the fire hydrants will be 10 feet away from the proposed location of the bus stop. Motion: Kreyling moves that the Commission make a recommendation to the Planning Board to approve the#161-23 — 103 Cabot Street as presented with the condition that the applicant obtain approval and verification from the MBTA to relocate the bus stop, that the parking spaces be designated for each unit, that the two-bedroom unit's parking space will accommodate piggyback parking, that the owner is responsible for snow removal from the sidewalk in front of property, and that the new tree does not impede pedestrian access or parking. Seconded by Binns. Motion passes 7-0. Incoming member Morton is not yet eligible to vote. 2. Approval of Minutes: January 10,2023 Motion: Binns moves to approve the January 10, 2023 minutes. Seconded by Collins. Motion passes 7-0. Incoming member Morton is not yet eligible to vote. City of Beverly Parking and Traffic Commission February 7,2023 Meeting Minutes Page 4 of 4 3. General or New Business a. Resources of potential interest to the Commission: i. Boston MPO Memorandum on Parking Policy & Trip Generation ii. MAPC's Perfect Fit Parking Study (Outer Core) Wynne attended the recent Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) Board meeting and states that while study was of interest to the Commission,the recommendations do not necessarily apply to a community like Beverly. Wynne highlights interesting points of the MPO meeting and the Metropolitan Area Planning Council's (MAPC)Perfect Fit Parking Study. The Commission discusses its decisions potentially setting future parking precedents for business owners, the potential effect on the credibility of the Commission, the need for caution against making arbitrary decisions, the many benefits of eliminating 15-minute parking spaces in downtown Beverly, similar issues in other communities such as Lynn,the overlapping goals of the Commission and Beverly business owners, and the constantly changing trends in transportation. Adjournment Meeting ends at 9:40 a.m. The next regular meeting of the Parking and Traffic Commission is scheduled for March 7, 2023.