The Lawrence City Intergovernmental Relations Committee on Tuesday, Sept. 23, 2025, voted to send a series of resident, handicap and childcare parking requests to city departments and to the full council for public hearings, untabled a Community Day Charter Public Schools car‑line relocation after an engineering recommendation, and tabled a proposed no‑parking regulation on Irving Avenue pending further information.

The committee approved motions to refer requests for resident‑only parking, handicap parking and childcare parking to the Lawrence Police Department, the Department of Public Works (DPW), or the full City Council as appropriate. Committee members approved sending Community Day Charter Public Schools’ proposal (item 2 73 25) to the full council with a favorable recommendation and to order a public hearing after the city engineering office recommended the change. A separate no‑parking proposal for Irving Avenue (item 38025) — proposed from Irving Avenue to New Hampshire Street and Bennington Street for 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. — was discussed at length and tabled so staff can obtain additional DPW and neighborhood information.

Why it matters: the votes move multiple localized parking requests toward formal hearings or departmental review, which can change traffic patterns and curb use in residential blocks; the school car‑line relocation could alter arrival and dismissal traffic near Hampshire Street; the Irving Avenue item concerns a community cleanup project and alleged overnight dumping and thus ties parking rules to public‑safety and neighborhood cleanliness efforts.

Votes at a glance

- 38925 — Resident parking: West Kent (West Kenneth) Street between West Kent and Inman Street (both sides). Motion to send to Lawrence Police Department for review; motion made by Counselor Gregory Del Rosario, seconded by Vice Chair Selena Reye; outcome: approved (ayes). The sponsor asked the police to evaluate the block for a resident‑parking restriction after neighbors reported spillover parking.

- 2 73 25 — Community Day Charter Public Schools car‑line relocation (Havel Street to Hampshire Street). Committee untabled the item, then voted to send the proposal to the full council with a favorable recommendation to order a public hearing; motion made and seconded; outcome: approved. The city engineer, Theodore Rosario (Acting City Engineer), sent a written recommendation supporting the relocation as reducing congestion and improving arrival/dismissal order and safety.

- 38025 — No parking on Irving Avenue (New Hampshire to Bennington), proposed 7 p.m.–7 a.m. Discussion revealed community and business concerns about overnight parking, alleged illegal dumping and requests from the Clean River Project. Committee requested more detailed DPW and neighborhood documentation and tabled the item pending that information.

Selected parking items the committee moved forward (motions approved to send for review or to order hearings unless noted): 1 Linden Street (handicap; doc number not specified in packet), 343/344 (no parking on one side, Champlain Ave and Millville Ave — sent to DPW), 345 (childcare parking, 336 Howard St — favorable recommendation to order public hearing), 347 (handicap, Fairmont St — favorable rec to public hearing), 34825 (handicap, 6 State St — favorable rec to public hearing), 34925 (handicap, 62 Washington St — favorable rec to public hearing), 36525 (handicap, 93 Greenwood St — favorable rec to public hearing), 37025 (handicap, 288 High St — favorable rec to public hearing), 37125 (handicap, 40 Albion St — favorable rec to public hearing), 37325 (childcare, 880 Coolidge St — favorable rec to public hearing), 38325 (handicap, 69 Berkeley St — sent to police for review), 38325/383-like items (46 Cross St, 122 Marble St, 8 Osgood St, 23 Trinity St) — all sent to police for review. Item 35025 (handicap, 7 Endicott St) received an unfavorable recommendation from the police department (insufficient curb space to meet the 20‑foot requirement in front of the property) and the committee approved a motion to withdraw that request.

Discussion highlights and clarifications

- Resident parking request on West Kent/West Kenneth: Council vice president Infante said the request came via former Council President Joseph Quaterone, who asked for two resident‑parking stickers (or clocks) and that the area near West Kenneth and Inman had increasing spillover from adjacent streets. Infante told the committee, “I am looking to obtain 2 resident parking stickers,” and asked that the police evaluate the block for a typical block‑based resident parking solution rather than a single‑address permit.

- Irving Avenue no‑parking proposal: the presenter reported that neighborhood businesses and volunteers with the Clean River Project want overnight parking restricted to reduce alleged illegal dumping and other overnight activity at a river cleanup site. The presenter said he observed roughly 50 cars parked during a daytime drive‑by and relayed neighborhood claims of overnight illegal dumping and other alleged illegal activity. The committee asked staff to obtain written documentation from DPW and the neighborhood before returning the item to the table.

- Endicott Street handicap request: the Lawrence Police Department reported an unfavorable recommendation because the property’s driveway and frontage do not allow the required 20‑foot clear curb zone for an accessible space. The committee approved a motion to withdraw that request.

- Durant Street handicap space removal (5 Durant Street): the sponsor asked the committee to verify whether an existing handicap space is recorded; the committee approved sending the request to the city clerk for records review and to the police department for field verification before any further action.

- Community Day Charter Public Schools car‑line relocation: the committee read a Sept. 11 written recommendation from Theodore Rosario, Acting City Engineer, saying the engineering office, with support from police officers Staniszewski and Abel Cano, found that moving the car‑line to Hampshire Street would reduce congestion on Havel Street and make arrival/dismissal safer and more orderly. The committee voted to advance the proposal to a full‑council hearing.

Process and next steps

Items referred to the Lawrence Police Department and DPW will return with departmental recommendations (favorable, unfavorable, or with suggested boundaries) or be placed on a full‑council agenda for public hearing where required. The Irving Avenue request (38025) was tabled pending further written documentation from DPW and neighborhood stakeholders; the city engineer’s memo for the Community Day Charter item will accompany that item when it reaches the full council.

Ending

The committee finished its agenda after approving the motions above and several procedural withdrawals of older items; members then moved to adjourn. No new ordinance or permanent regulation was adopted at this meeting — the actions were advances to departmental review or to the council for hearing.