Steven Venincasa, James Venincasa, along with their project engineer James Tetreault, have submitted a request for a parking requirement waiver for the proposed Chapter 40B Rice Pond Village project, seeking approval for 209 less parking spaces than mandated by the Millbury’s Subdivision Rules and Regulations. They instead request a parking ratio of 1.66 parking spaces per unit, but provide no supporting data with their request for a waiver. The rationale behind this becomes evident upon reviewing the submitted site plans, which reveal the physical constraints preventing the accommodation of the mandated parking spaces in their “cram and jam” approach to maximize their profits. Class-A developers, which these developers are not, use a higher parking ratio in their project proposals in nearby communities. Less parking spaces means less pavement, which reduces construction costs, and increases overall profits. Nonetheless, this development lacks responsible planning and has the potential to pose significant problems for both tenants and our neighborhood due to inadequate parking provisions. A shortage of two hundred and nine parking spaces is certainly not insignificant. This represents a 42% decrease in parking compared to the stipulated requirements in Millbury’s Subdivision Rules and Regulations.

Nevertheless, another challenge arises from the inclusion of "compact" parking spaces, specifically with an 8-foot width. Millbury mandates parking spaces with a width of 9 feet. It is essential to highlight that vehicle manufacturers are incrementally increasing the widths of vehicles every two years, and consumer trends indicate a preference for larger vehicles, as outlined below:

Note: The last two columns display the total available space (in inches), excluding mirrors, for individuals entering and exiting the vehicle. This assumes that the vehicles are perfectly centered within the parking space.

What this means in terms of space between vehicles is in a standard 9-foot parking space, if all vehicles are perfectly centered in parking spaces, which rarely happens, then there is 31.09-inches between vehicles to get in and out of the vehicles. However, with a “compact” parking space as requested by these developers, then there is 19.05-inches between vehicles. These represent the median inches between vehicles for the top 10 best selling vehicles in the United States and the top 5 in Massachusetts.

Millbury’s Parking Requirements

Section 33.2 of Millbury’s Subdivision Rules and Regulations requirements are as follows: “Dwellings: One (1) space per two (2) dwelling units if serving subsidized elderly housing, two (2) spaces per dwelling unit and three spaces (3) per two-bedroom, multi-family dwelling unit. One (1) additional space per bedroom shall be added for each multi-family dwelling unit containing an excess of two bedrooms.” For the proposed Chapter 40B Rice Pond Village project, our local regulations require 498 parking spaces that are 9-feet wide by 18-feet in depth.

Based upon the top vehicles as outlined above the distance between vehicles ranges between 25.9” to 36.6” with 9-foot wide parking spaces.

Developers’ Proposed Parking Plans

As is typical for this developer, they seem to think that rules don’t apply to them. These developers propose reducing parking by 209 parking spaces, rather than the 498 parking space required in the Millbury’s Subdivision Rules and Regulations, according to their site plan, they proposed providing 289 parking spaces. They also propose building three garage structures with 10 garages per building, however, these should not be counted as complying with parking requirements, as these are rented garages and are unavailable unless tenants elect to pay an additional fee to utilize them. Given the disclosed rental prices, tenants might opt against incurring an additional expense beyond the monthly rent.

Based upon the top 10 vehicle sales in the United States as outlined above the distance between vehicles ranges between 13.9-inches to 23.6-inches with 8-foot wide parking spaces. You have to ask yourself, could you reasonably get into or out of your vehicle in this limited amount of space without hitting the other vehicle? As a Tesla owner, you might consider employing the Summons or Smart Summons feature to autonomously park and retrieve your Tesla while you remain outside the vehicle.

Millbury's parking regulations do not permit “compact” parking spaces. These “compact” spaces are one foot narrower, diminishing the practicality of parking, given that the majority of individuals do not own "compact" vehicles. Moreover, the prevailing trend involves larger and wider vehicles. While these parking spaces might be suitable for larger cities, they do not align with the prevailing norms in Millbury. Therefore, it follows logically that individuals will park in a manner that occupies more than one parking space, aiming to be as close to the building as possible, thus reducing the number of available parking spaces.

The primary challenge for multi-family developments is parking, with trash disposal ranking as the second most significant issue.

Millbury, being a smaller town, lacks an extensively available public transit system. The town only features two WTRA bus stops, one in the downtown area and the other at the mall. It's a reality in small towns like Millbury that people heavily rely on vehicles for transportation. More household today have more vehicles per household than in the past. Lack of parking in a residential setting can cause significant conflicts especially where density is more concentrated. To reach the MBCR commuter rail system, commuters would have to drive to either Worcester or North Grafton or utilize some type of ride share service. The proposed project location is over half a mile away from Millbury's downtown area.

Their site plan seems to overlook provisions for package delivery parking, potentially forcing delivery vehicles to stand or park in travel lanes, obstructing access to parking spaces. This situation could pose public safety risks, particularly in terms of fire department access, such as impeding fire lanes. Similar issues would arise for moving trucks, which usually require extended parking durations for loading or unloading impeding access to parking spaces and potentially blocking in residents and guests.

The Millbury Board of Appeals should promptly reject the developer's unsubstantiated plea for a waiver of our parking requirements, as it is not in the public interest of the neighborhood or the community, and benefits no one other than the developers. Instead, they should insist that the developers revise their building program to a more reasonable development plan that aligns with the surrounding intensity and development patterns, as included in the Chapter 40B design guidelines.

Many individuals can likely empathize with the challenge of navigating narrow parking space widths when attempting to park at places like the mall or other parking lots. Practical judgment and past experiences should guide the assessment of the developer's request for an exemption from Millbury's parking requirements. It's important to remember that Millbury has a winter parking ban on the streets, and Rice Road, Thomas Hill Road, Aldrich Avenue, and Captain Peter Simpson Road are insufficient to accommodate on-street parking year-round.

The next public hearing for the proposed Chapter 40B Rice Pond Village project will be hosted by the Millbury Board of Appeals. It is scheduled for Wednesday, January 31, 2024, starting at 7:00 PM. The venue for this event will be at the Millbury Senior Center, situated at One River Street in Millbury, Massachusetts. Attending in person is encouraged for maximum impact. However, if you're unable to attend physically, you can join via Zoom using Meeting ID 835 1855 4333 or watch it on either Verizon FIOS channel 26 or (Charter) Spectrum channel 191, or afterwards on Millbury Video-On-Demand.