Today, I received an email from Strong Towns, which informed me:
It's 2021. And chances are, your city still has some antiquated, wealth-destroying rules on the book regarding minimum parking standards. But communities across the United States and Canada are putting their foot down, and reducing or eliminating minimum parking requirements for new construction.
"Well, no," I thought. "My little city did away with its minimum parking requirements two years ago." The initiative for the move, according to Gossips' reporting, began with the Planning Board, but Laura Margolis, who was on the Planning then and is on the Planning Board now, has denied that the Planning Board had anything to do with it and is among those suggesting that the Common Council should reimpose some parking requirements for new construction and redevelopment.
The purpose of the email from Strong Towns was to announce the relaunch of its "crowd-sourced map of cities in the U.S. and Canada that have ended or sharply curtailed their parking requirements." The map is reproduced below, but, if you want the interactive version, you need to click here. Yes, one of the three red dots that appears in New York is Hudson. The other two are Buffalo and Rochester.
Costly car parking mandates are required for housing and commercial uses in most North American cities and towns. Over the last century, these costly requirements have contributed to urban sprawl, lack of abundant and affordable housing, car dependency, and climate change. In recent years, however, many places have implemented reforms to these mandates, exempting new buildings from parking. Sometimes these reforms are limited to certain streets or businesses, sometimes to particular land uses, and sometimes based on requirements like proximity to transit or inclusion of affordable housing, but it's clear that parking reform has momentum!
All that may be true, but it seems, given the angst about parking that has accompanied the Planning Board's review of the projects that have come before it recently, that Hudson is having some reformer's remorse.
COPYRIGHT 2021 CAROLE OSTERINK
If Galvan's 7th street mega-development and, 1.5 blocks away, the Pocketbook factory, proceed and are a success (apartments and hotel rooms, etc, filled) you bet your tutti frutti there will be some remorse around the impacted neighborhood. It will get ugly. Wasn't it the mayor's office that changed the parking requirements? Common council? B huston
ReplyDeleteIt was the Common Council several years ago, in response to local restaurants continually having to go before the ZBA to get a waiver on the (admittedly ridiculous) parking requirements.
DeleteWhat happened was a clear over-correction, as the rubber-stamp approval of the horrible Galvan behemoth on N 7th has shown. Problem is, Tom and this Council are more interested in passing more poorly thought-out legislation and stacking the deck so they can sell off more chunks of the City to Galvan on the taxpayer dime than they are in managing the growth of the City in a way that works for its businesses and residents.
Hudson needs leaders with relevant experience and long-range vision, not semi-retired beta male narcissists and 'activists' in the pocket of local developers.
Hudson needs a City Manager.
Hudson lost another 800 souls in the last census. dreams of the Hamlet of Hudson replacing the City of Hudson were coming to pass before a housing initiative was undertaken. Please look "city" up in the dictionary. We are the City of Hudson and the Seat of the Columbia County government. We could also be a port of sorts at a time when internall water-transport is increasingly important. Please grow up or consider moving to Rhinebeck if you want a "managed village" experience. Please stay inHudson and help it to grow rationally if you want a "managed urban experience". Please do not continue to whine about issues you haven't bothered to read up on.
ReplyDeleteIt is unbelievable that Galvan's architect is advising the public to leave or shut up if they oppose the alteration of their own community. Is the desire for inclusive collaboration really immature whining? Maybe there's a new ordinance against whining I missed.
DeletePeople do no live, visit, or move to Hudson for an Urban Experience. They are here because of its charm, small scale and generally quiet and peaceful character. The birds can still be heard chirping in the morning, the air clean and you can walk the streets at night undisturbed. You can also enjoy the benefits of a small rural city, being close to farms and the convenience of nearby corner stores, the library, etc. Many of those pushing this development agenda do not live in Hudson. If they want an Urban experience, they should sell their houses in Chatham, Germantown, Millerton, etc., and move to Albany or the Bronx. No one wants their fantasy, candy coated urban blight. Manage your garden and chickens.
DeleteRhinebeck is actually nice and not falling apart in places like Hudson.
DeleteSome of the demographic bleeding could have been staunched if Galvan wasn't sitting on so many vacant units. Since you have Galloway's ear, Walter, perhaps you could be the voice of reason, instead of attacking your neighbors' very real concern about the direction Hudson is taking under its piss-poor current management.
DeleteManaged by whom? A common council overwhelmed with issues, that rotates every two years, and is run by common folks with little or no municipal managerial experience, also known as amateurs? A common council president acting more and more like a dictator? A so-called mayor asking for more salary and also with no managerial experience ready to do our largest developer and landowner's bidding? A Public Works Superintendent making over $100,000 who, according to his assistants, is "never in his office?". A city that for over 20 years has acknowledged the need to fix our deplorable sidewalks and gotten nowhere? Your words sound nice and all, Walter, but it's all nonsense and I think you are the one who is clueless as to what is going on in Hudson and what lies in store for us. A port city? What on earth are you talking about? B Huston
ReplyDeleteThe parking situation near the pocketbook factory will be an utter disaster. The CC only seemed concerned about whether parts of the grounds will be open to the public and agreed to put that on hold. Yet there's no parking requirement for a massive hotel and entertainment complex opening in the middle of an entirely residential area. This is absurd and will cause great trouble for the residents. Because full approval was given, nothing can be done to force a change. The only solution would be to initiate residential parking requirements so that non residents cannot park on the streets--which will force the PBF to find parking for their guests. I see trouble ahead...
ReplyDeleteYou ain't kidding, trouble indeed. Angry residents, road/parking rage. If indeed resident parking permits are issued, who is going to enforce the rule when non-permitees start parking on 6th, Washington, Prospect, etc? HPD? Kamal Johnson? Violators to be towed or ticketed? How many signs regarding permit parking rules will have to be installed? It's all so ridiculous and sure to be regretted. B Huston
DeleteAll this comes squarely down not on the applicant who met the threshold required under the law but on the City officials who overreached when they removed parking requirements and never bothered to go back to check their work.
DeleteHudson needs a city manager.