Halloween parking pitch proving divisive

Jul. 25—SALEM — Who knew a Halloween parking discussion would get complicated?

The City Council's ordinance committee, meeting Thursday night, discussed for nearly two hours a proposal that would legalize downtown private property owners selling parking spaces this October.

Even though it's illegal by city rules, it's a practice that has gone unchecked in Salem since it started in the 1990s, officials indicated at the meeting. One improvement the proposal would make is it would require those doing the practice to get a permit, and violators could then be held accountable.

"It isn't new, and up until a few years ago, we didn't really get a lot of complaints about it," said Tom St. Pierre, Salem's building inspector and zoning enforcement official. "We really felt it was either 'legitimize this' or 'we do away with it altogether,' and I don't know if doing away with it altogether is going to accomplish anything."

Emails have poured in to councilors on the issue, committee Chairperson Megan Riccardi said. The meeting opened with questions for officials on the origins of the proposed ordinance and a focus on what's in place in other communities that have parking situations like Salem's.

The examples of Boston, Foxborough and Topsfield came up frequently, with Foxborough comparable given the way New England Patriots games create parking needs approaching the stadium and Topsfield having properties along Route 1 that offer parking each fair season.

Since the plan was proposed, some have suggested doing more to include properties away from downtown, such as along Salem's entrance corridors and major roads leading to downtown. The meeting opened with an explanation that this isn't possible without restarting the hearing process, due to needing to notify property owners in the affected areas.

Regulation, or the lack

From there, criticism piled on to city administrators for their handling of the issue.

"Why were we unable to enforce these to begin with, if we all know where they're happening and when this is happening?" asked Ty Hapworth, a councilor at-large who lives downtown. "What makes us think we can enforce these new regulations?"

City attorney Beth Rennard then explained that Salem has "one zoning officer for the whole city. During October, a lot of zoning issues come up."

"The thinking around this was to regulate it so you'd have more staff — parking and traffic staff — and you'd have more feet on the ground, more hands on deck," Rennard said. "The zoning officer actually brought this forward so we could have some regulation, have some other departments involved."

Hapworth replied: "What problem is it addressing, and what problem is it fixing? We all agree the biggest problem in Salem is you can't move in October, and that's going to be a bigger issue this year going forward, based on the data we're seeing."

The ordinance, he said, "isn't fixing the problem. The problem is we need cars off the streets in Salem, at least visitors' cars."

"There's a 2021 study from the University of California that people make their decision on whether or not to take a car based on available parking," Hapworth said. "I see more parking in downtown Salem, more cars in downtown Salem, and sort of a creeping issue we're not solving."

Ward 5 Councilor Jeff Cohen spoke in support of the proposal, saying it isn't "perfect, but these regulations provide some kind of vehicle for us to not only monitor, but enforce much better."

Added spaces

Cohen also outlined one example of Halloween parking benefitting an organization. He explained a conversation he had with a leader at Tabernacle Church, which sits between Federal and Lynde streets along Washington Street.

"It's the biggest fundraiser they have all year," Cohen said. "That $16,000 pays for some of the youth programs at the church and their mission. Some of the money goes to Salem Pantry, affordable housing initiatives."

O'Donnell funeral home, at 84 Washington Sq. along Salem Common, is one of the most notable examples of having a private lot pop up downtown in a residential area.

"People are coming, no matter what, and the funeral home lot we have is unique," Anthony O'Donnell, principal director at O'Donnell, said. "It has 85 parking spaces, and we're able to take 85 cars off the streets on a regular basis."

But there's an important factor to consider there, he explained. Not everyone who parks in Salem stays for the whole day. The city talked about there being 3,000 spaces created by the measure — 1,000 around downtown, and another 2,000 at Shetland Park, according to Dominick Pangallo, the mayor's chief of staff.

"It's 9,000 private spaces," O'Donnell said. "Every guest that comes in a car comes for about three hours for Salem, and they leave. So that space turns over three times."

Potential consequences

A handful of those at the meeting attacked the proposal for its use of zoning to enforce parking. That message came most loudly from Christine Madore, a former downtown ward councilor.

"It's a really reactive way to address something that has only been recently highlighted as problematic," Madore said. "Knowing this has been in practice for several years and the threat of taking it all away is actually going to do more harm than good. Also, adopting it is going to do more harm than good, because you're allowing thousands — I heard numbers between 1,000 and 3,000 spaces being created by this.

"And to do this through a zoning ordinance, you're essentially saying parking is a legitimate business on private lots," Madore continued. "You're saying parking should be a business downtown. Just think about that."

Piling on, Hapworth said, "the legitimization of commercial parking lots for one month out of the year is a profitable use and could guide development going forward. This may have unintended consequences five, 10, 15 years down the road in terms of what a property owner decides to do with their property."

Ward 2 Councilor Caroline Watson-Felt said the proposal "lacks major strategy."

"It lacks community engagement, conversation, research, and a foundation in what the community believes is best for Salem," she said. "So whether you send it back to us as a Committee of the Whole or decide to leave it in committee or not, I don't see what's in front of us ... (as) helping. I see it potentially harming."

Ultimately, the vote was 3-2 to keep the issue in committee. The next regular City Council meeting will be in September, giving the committee five more weeks to hash it out before taking any votes to put the ordinance in place for October.

Contact Dustin Luca at 978-338-2523 or DLuca@salemnews.com. Follow him at facebook.com/dustinluca or on Twitter @DustinLucaSN.

Contact Dustin Luca at 978-338-2523 or DLuca@salemnews.com. Follow him at facebook.com/dustinluca or on Twitter @DustinLucaSN.