ZONING BYLAW AMENDMENT / TRANSPORTATION DEMAND MANAGEMENT PLAN

To see if the Town will vote to amend Section 6.1.5 Parking Reductions in Business, Industrial, and Multi-Family Residential Zones, of the Zoning Bylaw, to adjust the requirements for Transportation Demand Management plans and methods; or take any action related thereto.

Inserted at the request of the Redevelopment Board

VOTE: Favorable Action (5-0) 

DISCUSSION
Currently the Zoning Board of Appeals or the Arlington Redevelopment Board may allow the reduction of the required parking for a project to 25% of the requirement if the proposed parking is deemed adequate and if at least three Transportation Demand Management (TDM) practices as described in Section 6.1.5.C are incorporated into the project, as evidenced by provision of a TDM plan by the project proponent. This reduction in parking is allowable in the R5 to R7, Business, and Industrial zones, as well as the MBMF and NMF (Multi-Family Housing) Overlay Districts. In practice, the Redevelopment Board has found that the requirement that the TDM plan incorporate three TDM methods is impractical for projects at smaller scales, including commercial, residential, and mixed-use projects. Research indicates that smaller projects, those with less than ten residential units and less than 3,000 square feet of commercial space, have the most difficulty in meeting these requirements, as they typically lack adequate space to accommodate physical TDM methods such as providing bike parking in addition to what is required, and may have limited resources to implement programmatic TDM measures such as subsidized transit passes. Article 26 would make it more feasible for projects with fewer than 10 residential units and less than 3,000 square feet of commercial space to qualify for a parking reduction by only requiring them to provide two, rather than three, TDM methods.

 
In addition, this article would add two additional TDM methods: charging stations for electric bicycles and scooters, and location near a subway station or bus stop with frequent bus service.

That the Zoning Bylaw be and hereby is amended as follows:
 
Amend SECTION 6.1.5, as follows:

 
6.1.5 Parking Reduction in Business, Industrial, and Multi-Family Residential Zones 

 
C. Transportation Demand Management (TDM): Any request for parking reduction must include a plan to reduce demand for parking. TDM provides incentives to reduce the use of Single Occupant Occupancy Vehicles and encourages the use of public transit, bicycling, walking, and ridesharing. All projects requesting a parking reduction must employ provide at least three TDM methods described below, except projects with fewer than ten residential units and with less than 3,000 square feet of commercial space, which must provide at least two TDM methods described below:

(1) Charge for parking on-site;
(2) Pay a stipend to workers or residents without cars;
(3) Provide preferential parking for carpooling vehicles;
(4) Provide a guaranteed emergency ride home;
(5) Provide transit pass subsidies;
(6) Provide covered bicycle parking and storage, if otherwise not required;
(7) Provide bicycle or car sharing on site;
(8) Provide showers for business or industrial uses;
(9) Provide charging stations for electric bicycles and scooters;
(10) For projects with residential units, be located within a quarter-mile walk of a subway station or of a bus stop with scheduled bus service at least every 30 minutes, 7 days per week, between the hours of 6 AM and 10 PM.
(11)  (9)  Other means acceptable to the applicable Special Permit Granting Authority.

Redevelopment Board Report

ARB Presentation

Amendment, Vincent Baudoin, Precinct 1