The New Haven City Services and Environmental Policy Committee voted May 1 to advance an order creating a residential parking zone on a block of First Street, following testimony from neighbors who said airport-related long‑term parking has made driveways and sidewalks unsafe and left street garbage.

Residents described repeated incidents of long-term parked cars at the edge of driveways, people knocking at doors to ask permission to leave vehicles, and trash left behind from vehicles waiting for flights. The committee substituted revised language into the order, approved the amendment and moved the item to the full Board of Alders for final action.

The measure would designate a block on First Street as a residential parking zone and, if ultimately approved by the full Board of Alders, require residents who park on the street to register cars at City Hall to receive parking permits. Committee members said the ordinance follows the city’s established residential‑parking process, which includes neighborhood signature collection, review by City Plan and committee action before a full board vote.

Deshayla Miller, a First Street resident who gave her address as 250 First Street, described the impact on her household, saying, “They park directly at the end of our driveway,” and urging officials to act because she no longer felt safe when she lived alone. Another resident who lives across from the airport at 268 Third Street described work‑from‑home disruptions and visitors unable to find spaces during holidays.

Committee members clarified the operational steps residents will need to take if the zone is approved: bring vehicle registration and proof of address to City Hall, receive resident and guest permits, and display permits on windshields. Alder Seitz noted that permits do not arrive automatically and must be picked up at the city office; failure to display a permit could result in a ticket. The committee also described the signature‑collection step that City Plan validates before an item reaches the committee.

Alder Kevin Singh and other members expressed support after hearing resident testimony. The committee approved a substitution amendment to the order and then voted to move the item out of committee; the committee’s vote was recorded as “ayes have it.” The specific tallies were not read into the record during the committee session.

If the full Board of Alders approves the measure at its final vote, city staff will notify residents about permit distribution and the placement of signage marking the residential parking zone. Committee members said related parking petitions from nearby blocks may be handled in subsequent petitions and hearings.

Speakers quoted in this article spoke during the committee’s agenda item on the First Street residential parking proposal or in public testimony at the same meeting.