Q&A
Proposal for maintaining parking waivers with adjustments
5:35:16
·
3 min
Council Member Lee proposes maintaining the existing parking waiver process with adjustments, as an alternative to completely removing parking mandates. She seeks to balance development needs with community concerns.
- Lee asks why the current waiver process can't be kept but adjusted to address issues.
- She suggests that keeping some form of waiver process could provide a level of control over developer actions.
- The council member expresses concern that lifting mandates completely would leave no controls over what developers will and won't do.
- Lee emphasizes the need to consider the specific needs of transit-poor areas in parking policies.
Linda Lee
5:35:16
So I I just wanted to know have you, in terms of the parking aspect of it, have you looked into because I I know you mentioned before you have waivers, correct, a waiver process.
5:35:27
So why not just keep that process, but if that's a sticking point that is making it difficult for building, then why not have that waiver in place still, but adjust the process?
5:35:39
And and if that's if that's the issue.
5:35:40
And the reason why I'm saying that is because my again, if we lift the mandate completely my fear is that we're not gonna have any sort of controls over what developers will and will not do.
Daniel Garodnick
5:35:51
Thank you.
5:35:52
I appreciate the question.
5:35:53
And I will I'll confirm with my team as to where the waiver is applicable and where it is not, but I probably will need to follow-up with you on that.
Kristy Marmorato
5:35:59
Okay.
Daniel Garodnick
5:36:00
But the short answer is yes, we do regularly see applications in places where this is not the situation that you're describing here, where you're very close to transit, where the partner requirement is impeding with the housing production and where we can see substantively agree, it's better to have the housing.
5:36:18
In the example that you are raising about an accountability factor here, we are proposing a change here, and I recognize that it is a big change for New York City.
5:36:31
But the prescription of the minimums were born out of a time in which we wanted to make sure that we wrote all of this stuff into our zoning.
5:36:42
The idea that we wanna remove the number from zoning does not mean that we either believe that we won't get parking where it is needed or that it will not be delivered to us in these circumstances.
5:36:54
But I understand your point.
5:36:56
We have to embrace the possibility here.
5:36:59
That, you know, we are taking out a minimum number and opening the door to the question of what is actually needed there.
5:37:08
But what we are seeing in other places is the result of that flexibility is you're getting the parking the circumstance that you're describing.
Linda Lee
5:37:16
So I have a question then.
5:37:18
If if this let's just say, if this were to become law, right, hypothetically speaking, and I'm a constituent that has had a 2 family house or 3 family house next to a unit you know, that gets knocked down and develops.
5:37:33
Right?
5:37:33
Even if it's in character, let's say three stories but across multiple lots.
5:37:37
Right?
5:37:38
So if that were to happen and the parking gets taken away in some areas, then as a constituent, where do I go?
5:37:45
Right?
5:37:45
How do I how do I get that back?
5:37:47
You know, what is my reprieve?
5:37:48
There isn't no reprieve.
5:37:49
So that's why I'm saying, I think I think if there were to be some sort of sliding scale fee even, not not fee.
5:37:55
Sorry.
5:37:55
Sliding scale, I'm thinking about a social worker.
5:37:58
In terms of mental health services.
5:37:59
Sorry.
5:38:00
But in terms of flat, like, some sort of some sort of measure to have different things in place that are a minimum standards for different sized buildings.
5:38:08
I mean, I just I just I can't you know, like all the fact that the the parking mandates have will be completely lifted because I think that will cause a lot of issues in areas like mine.
