Town board members fear that with free permits, merchant parking is out of control
Supervisor asks merchants themselves to suggest solutions
With 17 comments since publication
June 22, 2012
by Christine Yeres
From June 2005 to June 2011, each year the town charged merchants $150 per merchant parking space in downtown Chappaqua. In 2005, merchants paid for a total of 202 spots, in 2010 for 176. But when the town decided to drop the fee entirely in 2011-12 and allow each merchant to take up to seven free permits, that number ballooned to 368, reported the town’s Receiver of Taxes, Jill Shapiro, who administers the commuter parking program. And with a total of 450 parking spots in the downtown, that’s a problem, she told board members last Tuesday.
The 450 downtown Chappaqua parking spaces, mainly two-hour customer-or-merchant spots, are located 1) in South Greeley’s new lot, 2) on Allen Place behind the Village Market, 3) right behind Citibank, 4) in the lot across from Susan Lawrence, and 5) in on-street parking—the only place merchants are not allowed to use their parking permits.
“So how do we allocate permits to merchants?” Town Supervisor Susan Carpenter asked Shapiro.
“At this point,” said Shapiro, “we’ve been giving seven free permits to each of them. Not all take seven, but I’ve had requests from some for more than seven.” And although merchants have more spaces now than ever, “Every day I have merchants call me to tell me they have no place to park and they’re getting tickets and what am I going to do about it,” said Shapiro.
To board member Robin Stout’s question, “Why did we drop the fee?” Town Administrator Penny Paderewski responded that, at the time, the town was making improvements to the South Greeley lot and bridge construction had taken some parking spaces out of play. Stout added, “And we wanted the easements [from landlords, to create the South Greeley parking lot]?”
Reached later in the week, Erik Nikolaysen, a landlord and merchant in town, said he believed that the town offered the merchant parking permits free as a sort of trade-off at the time the new South Greeley parking district was formed, for which each of the landlords pays additional taxes each year. [Shapiro has not confirmed that such an arrangement took place intentionally.]
Something has to give
“Well,” observed Carpenter, “obviously, we can’t do seven per merchant.”
Board member Jason Chapin: “Certainly there are a number who don’t need or use seven permits.”
Shapiro: “Yes, and not all have taken seven.”
Board member John Buckley: “When it’s free, who wouldn’t want seven?”
Chapin: “Perhaps we should have a tiered system: the first three spaces at one price, the second three at another?”
Town board members discussed strategies that might move merchants out of lots where customers can park, to free those spaces for customers, but the problem is: Where else can merchants park?
Carpenter: “Can we have them park at the train station?”
Shapiro: “We don’t have the space.”
Carpenter: “Can we change the 70 non-resident spaces to merchant parking?”
Increase the number of parking spaces
“It’s like a balloon,” said Chapin. “Move them to a different spot and it bulges in another area. So the question is ‘Where can we add more spaces?’ And it doesn’t make sense to have only customer parking in the South Greeley lot, but a mix of customer and merchant.”
Chapin noted that people who live in Hardscrabble Lake attend Chappaqua schools but are located in the Town of Mt. Pleasant. They would qualify to enter a lottery for the roughly 70 non-resident commuter parking permits Shapiro makes available each year, but would have to pay the non-resident fee of $850 for a commuter parking permit, double what residents of New Castle pay.
Consequently, rather than purchase a pass, Chapin said, some residents of Hardscrabble Lake come to take the train at Chappaqua and hunt for spots that require no permit, adding to the demand on merchant and customer parking.
Realigning and repainting lines to squeeze out more spaces at the train station commuter lot has been done, said Chapin. There’s no more low-hanging fruit.
Buckley: “Can we charge merchants? If the spaces cost something versus being free…”
Stout agreed. “We want to be good to merchants,” he said, “but charging a fee is a way to regulate the parking they take.”
Elise Mottel suggested speaking to RiteAid about leasing some of its parking lot for merchant parking. “And the spaces behind Susan Lawrence?” added Stout. “That’s privately owned,” Paderewski responded.
Shapiro told board members she was seeking some direction from them. She’s been telling merchants who ask for more than seven spaces No.
“Clearly, we’re underpricing the merchant parking spaces,” said Stout. “I’m not opposed to raising the price.” He asked Shapiro, “When you were selling them for $150, did anyone get seven of them?”
“Yes,” responded Shapiro, “for the Chappaqua Village Market and Family Britches. And now that they’re free we’ve opened the floodgates, so to speak.”
Adding to the pressure on customer-merchant parking are commuters who, several board members reported, slip in to these lots and remain for the day. Such commuters sometimes calculate that they would rather pay a $20 violation ticket than purchase a commuter or meter permit.
Asked by email later in the week whether police actively chalk tires and issue tickets to vehicles of commuters who overstay the two-hour limit in the customer-merchant lots, or the six-hour limit on the spaces in front of the Chappaqua Library, Shapiro responded “Yes.”
Carpenter returned to the fact that merchants hold 368 passes in a downtown that has 450 customer-and-merchant spots—too many for merchants, too few for customers. “Merchants have to understand that If they’re going to abuse the merchant parking system, they’re hurting all the other merchants in town because there’s nowhere for customers to park. To be able to function we have to keep customer parking viable. If we don’t have parking, our shops can’t function.”
“Charge for the merchant spaces,” board member John Buckley suggested.
“Charge and look for more spaces,” said board member and Deputy Supervisor Elise Mottel.
“The merchant parking doesn’t have to be married to the commuter parking system,” Shapiro explained. “We can renew or terminate merchant parking permits at any time, or choose another time [than June-to-June to process them]. She asked board members what they wanted her to do to.
Where to go from here?
Carpenter concluded by suggesting that Shapiro and board members consult the merchants themselves and their newly-formed Chamber of Commerce. “We’ll have to say to merchants, ‘Look, you’ve each been getting as many as seven permits. That adds up to this many permits [368]. There are this many total spaces [450]. You all have customers. What are your suggestions? Do you really want merchant parking to take over the parking lots so you have no room for customers?’ “
Keep it FREE. I know, it’s hard not to take money from the people when you sit in a Government position. How about having a Color coded vehicle sticker system. A simple round Blue sticker with the year of issuance gets placed on Landlord / Merchant Vehicles, a simple round Orange sticker gets placed on employee / staff vehicles, and an overlay map of the Town parking areas gets designed that designates where such cars can park. When a problem with this system arises, a simple Green sticker also gets placed next to the previously issued sticker that allows such vehicle to park in an additional overlay parking area as previously planned for such problematic situations. The last overlay area will show where none of the issued stickers can park so that there is room for consumers to come to Town park and spend money. We really do not need Town Hall thinking up of ways to get more money, we need Town Hall to use the Police Department and to get thinking outside the box.
I don’t see an answer to the supervisor’s question:
Carpenter: “Can we change the 70 non-resident spaces to merchant parking?”
Yes—change them to merchant parking!
And yes—charge for the spaces. HOw about one free spot per merchant, after that $200 each?
We need more and better enforcement. No commuter should be parking all day in merchant or customer spots. Buy a $10 meter permit and spend the $7 (that info’s in another article called “Parking Primer”) a day at a meter!
How many free merchant passes are sold or “rented” by merchants or employees to commuters? Inform merchants this can no longer happen.
SEVEN spots each is CRAZY!!!
Please, TB, regulate the spaces by charging for them.
The merchants pay for the parking district in their taxes, so they should get SOME free spots certainly. But for the merchants’ own good, the town board has to regulate the use of customer spots by merchants.
Carpenter is right to point out that The Big Picture is that each merchant feels that he/she is the only one to take seven spots. But clearly that’s not so. It’s very instructive to see the numbers.
Thank you, Ms. Shapiro for “doing the math”!
to “color code system,” and “keep it free” -
clearly the town’s not in this to make money. they seem to be trying to find a way simply to make more customer parking FOR CUSTOMERS AND FOR THE GOOD OF THE MERCHANTS. I believe (as they seem too also) that charging something for the spots is a proper way to regulate what has become an “underpriced” commodity, as Mr. Stout called it.
Numbers tell the story. Under 200 when it cost something, closer to 400 when it’s free.
My one question is: how did the town decide to offer SEVEN to each?!?!?
Oh, yeah—and please have police step up enforcement. Commuters in merchant or customer parking should be fined much more than the $20 they’re willing to pay as the cost of doing business, parking for the day. THAT’S number that has to change, also, to make this behavior decrease.
I think we shopkeepers have just been operating in our separate compartments. It’s helpful to be reminded of the whole. Honestly, I can’t believe the proportion of spots we’re taking up. Sorry!
I’d be willing to have some sort of system imposed. How about one or two free, after than, more than $150—$200 even?
Thanks
The Town has no problem in charging residents for Burglar Alarm permits; which, in the past, was a one time fee, and now is a $50 fee every two years even though false alarms result in fines. The Town also charges to register dogs. Both of these have zero benefits to the residents. So why should the merchants not be charged? I support the idea of one free spot and charge for a second. If I can’t find parking in Town I just drive to Mt. Kisco to shop. There are no businesses in Town that are of such an exclusive nature that I must shop here.
Another consideration is the number of permits to renters who live downtown. i’d like to see a special area for them to park, not necessarily right next to their buildings. Also, many of them seem to have visitors taking up primo spots. I think it would be very instructive for Jill and crew to walk around downtown at 9 am to see just how many spots are filled before many of the businesses open. I think MBWA (management by walking around) would help both the board and the town staff.
As Mrs. Shapiro stated we have been purchasing the most. In actuality EVERY YEAR between 12 and 14 permits a year at $150 each. Many moons ago it cost $4.00 each, then $8.00, then $50.00, $100.00, then boom $150.00 each. The town has the records to show that we have been purchasing and spending each year about $2,000+ in parking permits.
I always have and had my employees park towards the back of the lot so our customers would have easier access to all of our stores.I really do not know for sure since we opened in 1975 how much money we spent in that amount of time. My estimate would be $35,000+ just to park.
I would suggest the town go back and see who has been buying permits and compare that to how many new free ones are now being asked for. Don’t penalize me and any of the other merchants who have been paying all along.
I certainly do not want to add up what we paid in school and town taxes over the last 37 years. WOW that’s going to be a big number! I wonder, as a merchant, what we received in return from the town for our 37 year investment?
I see every morning people park and walk over and get on the train. Possibly increase cost of tickets to $50 or $100 if they are parked all day? Thank you Mrs. Shapiro, for she surely knows who is taking advantage of this situation.
Most of these stores don’t have seven people working at one time. I don’t think it’s fair for someone who makes ten dollars an hour to spend money on parking. if I worked at Dunkin or Starbucks or any of the boutique stores, I wouldn’t want to spend an hour’s labor to pay for my parking for the day. How about placards that employees can put in their cars that can be given to the employee on the day that they work so a store wouldn’t need more than a couple of placards.
Will the Federal Government give New Castle FREE GRANT MONEY earmarked at creating more parking? Look at the problem we have now, and people threatening to shop in Mt. Kisco. A tough situation to handle, but please, stay away from charging money.
Don’t ask for permit fee’s. Issue some type of sticker, and when violated, have NCPD issue a very expensive parking ticket. How about $200 per violation, and let the Town Judge use his discretion to enforce it, or reduce it down to $10.
The Chamber of Commerce is working on this issue, and will be sending an email to members soon. After hearing the concerns from our members, we will meet with the Town Board, a work to find a solution.
I don’t understand why it is so hard to pinpoint the commuters that are parking in the Allen Place lot. As Dawn said above, someone needs to just visit this parking lot before 9 when the stores are not open to see how many cars are there. I see these people park there ALL the time, as well as have heard the conversations between people how “it is so much cheaper to just get a ticket.”
I’m shocked that there are so many businesses that would need 7 permits…...although, that doesn’t mean that all 7 employees are parking at the same time?? It would be easy enough to have someone from town hall walk around and ask how many employees each merchant has.
Whether we are charging or not, in order to have a vibrant downtown, Chappaqua needs more parking. Thank you for publishing the other article today on a project being discussed that will add 250 additional parking spaces to our downtown. Please let us know what can we do to make that happen!
Get the right mindset in Town Hall! Do we have the right mindset? Town Hall has the power to waive and relax laws so that projects like this can get off the ground quickly.
It’s true, once this project goes from this point to the next level when money has to be spent, if we do not allow this project to get its approvals in a very quick time frame, it ultimately will hurt the project. Through high rents, and perhaps, exposure to becoming a failed project.
As a Community we need this project to SAIL RIGHT THROUGH TOWN HALL. Who at Town Hall understands this very important point? Who at Town Hall puts their money on the line waiting for someone else to approve or reject a project? Who at Town Hall understands these concepts? I hope we don’t blow such a great idea!
