Northampton councilors seek reduced parking minimums; housing partnership asked for recommendation

Councilors Alex Jarrett and Marissa Elkins asked the Northampton Housing Partnership to review a proposed zoning ordinance that would reduce off-street motor-vehicle parking minimums in central districts and revise bicycle-parking requirements.

"Requiring motor vehicle parking that isn't needed is a subsidy of car ownership," Alex Jarrett told the partnership, saying minimums add construction costs and can make housing and businesses more expensive. Jarrett and Elkins emphasized that the ordinance would not impose parking maximums or retroactively change existing uses; it would apply to new construction and additions.

Under the proposal, residential uses in areas where parking is currently required would move to a one-space-per-unit standard rather than two spaces for units over 1,000 square feet. In downtown commercial districts where the city already provides public parking, the ordinance would remove some commercial off-street minimums for theaters, gyms, churches and hotels. Jarrett also described changes to the zoning definition of open space to allow covered bicycle parking to qualify and said residential bicycle parking would increase to one space per unit in many cases.

Partnership members questioned how the changes would affect snow management and bicycle storage; Jarrett and Elkins said the ordinance was written to encourage covered and secure bicycle parking options without creating additional municipal snow-removal responsibilities. Several members supported the ordinance as a way to reduce barriers to infill and to encourage more housing units in central locations.

The presenters asked the partnership for a formal recommendation. The Housing Partnership lacked a quorum at the meeting and could not vote; Jarrett requested a special meeting in the next few weeks so the partnership could consider a recommendation in time for the City Council’s schedule. "We would love to have that," Jarrett said, noting a possible council vote as early as Aug. 21.

Ending: The ordinance remains a council referral. The Housing Partnership signaled general support in discussion but will need to schedule a quorum meeting to provide a formal recommendation to the City Council.