Search

occur under a variety of conditions and along a host of roadways. The city’s zoning codes defines an
acceptable parallel parking space as 9’ x 23’, which ts roughly aligned with the requirements in the other
municipalities. DESMAN could not find language defining minimum travel lane widths.

Among the studied communities, most required a minimum ‘no parking’ set back of 20’ from any
crosswalk. While Nashua requires a minimum setback of 25’ from any sign or signal, the other
communities surveyed fixed this distance at between 30’ and 50’. Only half of the communities studied
has a minimum required setback of between 4’ and 5’ to either side of a driveway, in contrast to Nashua’s
requirement of just 2’. Only Ann Arbor and Rochester defined required setback from either side of an
alleyway; Manchester has a blanket prohibition for parking in any alley,

Nashua’s requirement for 25’ from any unregulated intersection was in line, if slightly more conservative
than some of the other municipalities studied and setbacks from fire hydrants were generally in line with
requirements in the other cities. Several communities carried minimum setbacks of 20’ to either side of a
driveway servicing a fire station and a probation of curbside parking for a distance of 75’ along the curb
opposite of the fire station driveway as well as prohibition of curbside parking within 50’ of a rail crossing.
Concord, NH prohibits on-street parking on any roadway where doing so would reduce the width of the
adjacent travel lane to less than 12’; Manchester carries the same requirement in their ordinances.

Minimum widths for parallel parking spaces varied from 8’ to 9’ and minimum lengths for the stalls varied
from 20’ up to 25’. Code for the other communities mandated required travel lane widths of between 10’
and 15’ per lane; in some cases, these requirements depended on whether the roadway was one-way or
two-ways. Concord, NH requires a fixed width of 15’ per lane, which would require 30’ in total width for
a two-way road with no curbside parking; a two-way road way with parallel parking on both sides must
be at least 48’ in width. Manchester requires 12’ of width for a one-way road, but only 20’ of width fora
two-way road, implying that the two-way street encompasses two 10’ travel lanes. Portsmouth requires
at least 14’ in width for single direction roadways or 24’ for two-way roads. In many of these cases, the
width of the one-way roadway is less influenced by the dynamics of vehicles pulling in and out of curbside
spaces than the lateral space required to ensure safe efficient passage of municipal safety and service
vehicles.

Other regulations noted included the following:

* in Albany, NY, the minimum width per travel lane is 11’ unless the roadway must also
accommodate bicycle traffic, at which point the mandated minimum travel lane width is increased
to 13’ per lane.

e in Concord, NC on-street parking is not allowed on any street where doing so would reduce the
clear travel distance between curbs to less than 22’ along a public street or 10’ along an alleyway.

e In Meridian, ID, on-street parking is prohibited for vehicles of 12,000 Ibs. or more GVWR. In
addition, no trailer or mobile home may be parked on a public street for longer than 72
consecutive hours.

* In Portland, ME, unless otherwise posted, no individual may park in front of any business for
longer than one hour between 9:00 AM and 5:00 PM, Monday through Saturday with the
exception of state and federal holidays.

e =n Rochester, MN curbside parking is not allowed on any one-way street of less than 28’ feet in
total width (curb-to-curb) or any two-way street of less than 26’ feet in width. On one-way streets

of less than 34’ and two-way streets of less than 30’, on-street parking is only allowed along one
curb face.

ESTABLISHMENT OF PARKING PERMIT PROGRAMS

Parking permit programs, especially RPP programs, are generally established following one of two
methodologies.

In many cases, City staff study the issue at the direction of community or municipal leaders for a particular
area, zone or neighborhood. The impetus for this program of study may come from the citizenry who are
upset about increasing competition for curbside parking in their area or increasing traffic congestion,
parking enforcement officers reporting heightened issues with the management of existing rules or
regulations, or community organizers concerned about trends in local parking behavior or the possible
impact of an impending development.

Whatever the source of concern, it is typically communicated up to the representative for that particular
area, who brings it to the municipality’s legislative body or executive, who will in turn instruct some
member(s) of city staff to assess the issue and return with a report and recommendations. The city staff
may undertake the study themselves or contract with a subject matter specialist. Either way, the results
of the study will commonly define the scope and scale of the issue, recommend geographic boundaries
for a proposed permit program as well as rules and regulations, and describe how the program should be
administered. This information is present in open public session, allowing for potentially impacted citizens
to comment. A final program, incorporating these comments, is prepared and submitted to the legislative
body for the community for ratification. This appears to be the process employed in Albany (NY), Concord
(NH}, Manchester (NH}, and Portland (ME).

The other methodology aliows for citizens to petition for the establishment of a parking permit area. This
is the approach employed in Ann Arbor (Mjj, Portsmouth (NH}, and Rochester (MN) for creating RPP
zones. In each instance, a member of the neighborhood or district organizes a campaign to establish a
parking permit program in their area. The boundaries of the proposed program are defined in
collaboration with city staff, but it is up to members of that neighborhood to circulate and present a
petition indicating the majority of impacted constituents within the proposed zone are in favor of the
program. The percentage defining a majority varies from municipality to municipality; in Ann Arbor it is
60% of more of all impacted residents; in Portsmouth and Rochester (MN), the standard was 75% of all
households within the proposed district. If the organizer can prove majority consent, the issue advances.

Once majority consent is established, a representative of municipal government will be charged with
studying the proposal and preparing a recommended program. This representative may be a City staff
member from Parking, Transportation, Planning, Engineering and/or the Public Works; members of an
official committee, board, or other legislative body addressing issues of parking or transportation within
the municipality; or an outside subject matter expert. This individual or body may work independently or
in collaboration with members of the community petitioning for recognition. The outcome of this work
process is recommended program with defines the following, at minimum:

e The physical boundaries of the proposed permit area;

e Rules, regulations, and criteria regarding who may apply for a permit;

e Rules and regulations for awarding a permit, including how permits are to be distributed among
constituents;

e Rules and regulations for addressing visiter/contractor/commercial parking needs in the area;
* Hours that the program is to be in effect and logic supperting those hours;

e Recommended penalties for violating program rules and regulations;

* Fees (if any) associated with the program;

« The method for addressing the cost of implementation, administration, and enforcement;

e Designation of implementation, administration, and enforcement duties within the City.

These recommendations may be presented to the petitioners in advance for review or submitted to them
in tandem with presentation to the community’s legislative body. Hf the later occurs, there is typically a
period for public review and comment prior to the issue advancing for ratification.

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR NASHUA

DESMAN believes there is significant appetite in some wards and neighborhoods for a change in the
overnight parking policy, but not enough support for a wholesale dismantling of the current policy in
place. As such, we do not recommend simple abolishment of the current prohibition on overnight parking
across the City of Nashua.

Core Rules

Instead, DESMAN recommends the City of Nashua adopt a program which will allow citizens to request
designation of areas impacted within the city as parking permit zones. Within these zones, if established
and ratified following due process, permit holders would be able to park on public streets overnight
without censure provided they:

1. Follow rules and regulations established for the program, including parking only in designated
areas.

2. Renew their permits annually and agree to update their vehicle and contact information at any
time in which either changes within forty-eight (48) hours of the change.

3. Abide by parking rules and regulations governing curbside spaces when in effect. This means if
the parking spaces within a permit zone are subject to metering during standard business hours,
permit holders must pay the meter fee. Similarly, time limits established to ensure turnover in
commercial or mixed districts are valid during hours of enforcement for permit holders without
exception.

4. Remove their vehicle from the street during the dates and times designated for trash collection
on that particular street, without exception. This applies to both sides of the roadway.

5. Remove their vehicle from all roadways for periodic snow emergencies, snow removal and street
maintenance, without exception.

Application for Consideration

Citizens would have the right to submit a request for establishment of a parking permit program area.
This request would include a narrative describing: why those citizens are requesting establishment of the
program; the proposed boundaries of the program area’; the objectives of the program; an inventory of

1 As a general practice, a proposed permit area should not exceed three contiguous blocks in length or width, making for a
maximum potential permit area of not more than nine square blocks. In DESMAN’s experience, this represents the maximum
reasonable walking distance between parking and destination for a community of Nashua’s size and scale,

the addresses of all homes, businesses, and institutions within the boundaries of the proposed program
area; and a petition indicating at least two-thirds (67%) of all households within the proposed program
area support the initiative’. This application should also include the names and contact information for
at least three citizens living within the proposed program area which will constitute representation for
the application in all matters dealing with the City. This group of individuals will be hereafter referenced
as the Citizen’s Council. This request would be submitted to Economic Development for further study.

Capacity Testing

A representative of Nashua Economic Development would work in tandem with the City Engineer's office
to assess the potential program area. Specificaily, City staff would consider the dimensions of all public
roadways within the proposed program area and estimate parking capacity across the area under the
following restrictions:

1. Parking lanes along curbs must be at least 8’ in width, abutting a travel lane of not less than 12’
in width. One-way streets with parking along on curb must be 20’ or greater width. One-way
Streets with parking along both curbs must be a minimum of 28’ in width. Two-way streets with
parking along one curb must be at least 32’ in width. Two-way streets with parking along both
curbs must be at least 40’ in width.

2. Forthe purposes of estimating capacity, City staff should assume each contiguous, uninterrupted
20’ length of roadway can accommodate a single vehicle.

3. In measuring contiguous, uninterrupted curb space City staff should assume the following
minimum setbacks for various structures:

a. There shali be no parking within 15’ of a fire hydrant.

b. There shall be no parking within 25’ of any crosswalk or stop sign along any curb face.
For crosswalks, the measure shall be taken from the edge of the crosswalk closest to the
middle of the block face. For stop signs, the measure shall be taken from the sign along
the curb where the sign is installed and from the place the sign would be if installed on
the opposite curb as measured fram the nearest curb of the cross street.

c. There shall be no parking within 25’ of any stop line associated with a traffic signal. If no
stop line is marked, curbside parking should be prohibited within 35’ of the curb of the
nearest cross street.

d. There shall be no parking within 35’ of any unregulated intersection of public roadway
as measured from the curb of the nearest cross street.

e. There shall be no parking within 3’ of the curb cut for any private driveway or alleyway.

f. There shall be no parking within 20’ of the curb cut for any fire station or other
emergency services building.

g. There shail be no parking along the curb for a distance of 75’ opposite the driveway to
any fire station or emergency services building. This distance shall be measured from the
center of the driveway to 37.5’ in either direction when possible.

? Note that this standard asks only that 67% or more of all households within the proposed program area ‘support’ the initiative
and does not obligate all those households signing the petition to actively participate in a program, if established. Additionally,
‘support’ in this case may be defined as an absence of any objections to the creation of parking permit zone.

4, Based on the preceding specifications, City staff will estimate the parking capacity within the
proposed program area.

5. Based on the preceding specifications, City staff will prepare a drawing to scale defining
allowable parking areas and no parking areas across the proposed program area.

In a public meeting, City staff will present the results of their study to one or more representatives of
citizens petitioning for establishment of the program.

Quantification Testing

The Citizen’s Council will estimate the number of potential program participants within the proposed
program area through a second petition process which will ask each household supporting the
establishment of a parking permit zone to identify 1) the total number of vehicles in each household, 2)
the number of vehicles which can be parked on their property in legitimate off-street parking spaces,° and
3) the number of vehicles they propose to park on public streets overnight. The latter figure will be
considered an estimate of potential participation and will be submitted to the City in writing along with
the supporting petition.

City staff will compare the estimate of potential participation to the calculated parking capacity within the
proposed permit zone and produce a ratio of requested permits to allowable capacity. If the ratio is less
than one (1) requested permit per available parking space, City staff will calculate the ratio of legitimate
parking spaces per total households* within the program area. City staff will issue a technical
memorandum indicating the surplus in parking capacity for the program area relative to the estimate of
potential participation and establishing the maximum ratio of parking permits per household to the
nearest whole number, rounding down for any fraction less than .85°. This technical memorandum should
be issued back to the Citizen’s Council, who will be responsible for informing their constituents of the
findings. At the City’s discretion, the Board of Alderman may request a second petition be executed by
the Citizen’s Council confirming at least two-thirds majority still support the application in light of these
calculations.

If the ratio is more than one (1) requested permit per available parking space within the proposed program
area, City staff will calculate two ratios:

a. The ratio of the number of available parking spaces within the proposed program area to the
number of households expressing interest in acquiring a permit. This ratio should be rounded to
the nearest whole number, rounding downward for any ratio less than .85 spaces per household.

5 This first two figures will enable the City and Board of Alderman to quickly discern if the requested application is a convenience
ora necessity when evaluating the application.

* This ratio is critical because it establishes the maximum number of permits which can be purchased per household within a
program area should interest in participating in the program grow in the future after the zone is formally established. As a general
rule, each single-family home should be considered one househoid, while multi-family residential buildings should be considered
one household per unit.

5 While parking capacity will be measured according to an assumed 20’ per length of contiguous, uninterrupted curb space, the
recommendation is to establish areas of allowable parking on city streets according to zones, rather than individual spaces. in
practice, DESMAN has found that motivated citizens may be able to park vehicles with greater efficiency in an undefined space
according to the vehicle’s dimensions, to a degree. Rounding up ta the next whole number on fractions of .86 or higher when
calculating allowable permits per household recognizes and allows for this practice.

This ratio will establish the maximum number of permits which can be issued per household in
the ingugural year of the program’.

b. The ratio of the number of available parking spaces within the proposed program area to the
number of total households within the proposed program area. This ratio should be rounded to
the nearest whole number, rounding downward for any ratio less than .85 spaces per household.
This ratio will establish the absolute maximum number of permits per household which can be
issued in any year.

City staff will issue a technical memorandum documenting these calculations to the Citizen’s Council, who
will be responsible for informing their constituents of the findings. At the City’s discretion, the Board of
Alderman may request a second petition be executed by the Citizen’s Council confirming at least two-
thirds majority still support the application in light of these calculations.

Rate Setting for Parking Permits

Should the petitioning citizens still wish to proceed, City staff will prepare a technical report detailing their
findings, including the estimated capacity within the proposed program area, any other parking
regulations impacting on-street parking within the area currently in effect, the estimated demand for the
program, and calculated allocation of permits per household. In addition, City staff will prepare an
estimate of cost for marking allowable parking lanes’ within the proposed parking area, posting signs® on
each block face indicating the establishment of a parking permit area and the hours of effect, and
administering the program as estimated by the City’s Parking Manager. This last cost item program
administration, may include:

e Costs associated in automating portions of the program where appropriate. As a best practice,
many municipalities automate certain tasks, such as preparing an application for a permit and
uploading qualifying documents. In some instances, this may require acquisition of software to
support this. Automating these processes allows the municipal staff to process, approve, or deny
applications as their work schedule allows, rather than requiring the staffing of a customer service
center during prescribed hours solely for these tasks. Communication between constituents and
municipal staff can be affected through email, which creates a record of communications between
parties, assuring for transparency.

e Costs associated with increasing staffing to handle the processing of applications and renewals.
Even with the automation of certain processes, the addition time and effort required to manage
these programs can overwhelm an already small and highly utilized staff. The addition of clerks,

® In permit zones where potential demand for overnight parking exceeds capacity, but not all households in the zone wish to
acquire a permit, the Board of Alderman may require the Citizen’s Council to perfarm annual petitions to determine the number
of households wishing to participate in the program for the coming fiscal year. In these instances, the Citizen’s Council will need
to submit completed petitions to Nashua Economic Development no fater than sixty (60) days before the end of the current fiscal
year to allow the City to determine the appropriate number of permits per participating household which may be sold at the start
of the next fiscal year.

? Where possible, DESMAN recommends marking out lanes of allowable parking area along each block face, rather than individual
stalls. In practice, this allows permit holders to maximize available allowable curbside space according to the dimensions of their
vehicle, rather than the prescribed dimensions of the 85"* percentile design vehicle. Of course, this can only be done if the area
is not already subject to stall markings to support metering or other programs, in which case the existing pavement markings
take precedent.

8 All signs and pavement markings must be compliant with MUCTD and/or local regulations.

as necessary, to support the program and assist with related tasks should be considered and
factored into any cost estimate.

*® Costs associated with increasing staffing to handle expanded enforcement duties. Any change in
regulation will impact the effectiveness of existing enforcement personnel. Even though they may
be traversing the same physical distance prior to a change in policy, the change may result in
addition time and labor to inspect parked vehicles more closely in an area previously subject to
less regulation. This may mandate an increase in the number of enforcement personnel to assure
compliance with the new policies.

This will be added to application, which will then be presented to the Board of Alderman for consideration
and ratification. The cost to implement the program, divided by the number of program participants which
can be accommodated within the allowable capacity of the zone, will be the annual cost of each parking
permit. Revenues from permit sales will cover the cost of implementing the program in the first year of
establishment and subsidizing on-going maintenance of curbside spaces in the zone (i.e., roadway repairs
or improvements, snow removal, street sweeping, parking enforcement, etc.) thereafter.

Application for Recognition

To summarize, the final application to be submitted to the Board of Alderman for ratification and
implementation will include the following:

A narrative describing why those citizens are requesting establishment of the program.

A map showing the proposed boundaries of the program area.

The objectives of the program.

a oor

An inventory of the addresses of all homes, businesses, and institutions within the boundaries of
the proposed program area.

e. A petition indicating at least two-thirds (67%) of all constituents within the proposed program
area support the initiative,

f. Anestimate of parking capacity within the proposed program area with a map indicating where
curbside parking is allowable given roadway dimensions and required setbacks as determined by
City staff.

g. A description of any existing parking policies in effect for on-street parking within the proposed
program zone.

h. The calculated number of permits for sale and permits per household for the program area, along
with any supporting documentation demonstrating public acceptance of these limits.

i. Anestimate of costs to establish the program and pro-rated cost per permit.

j. Based on the preceding and estimates provided by the Parking Department to administer the
program, a recommend cost per permit.

Ratification and Implementation

The Board of Alderman will review the application and include a public hearing on the matter as part of
their next available meeting agenda. Representatives of the constituents petitioning for the permit
program will be present to answer questions during this hearing, as will City staff who are reviewing the
application and calculated capacity and costs. The Board of Alderman will allow a reasonable period during
the hearing for public comment. If the application is complete and largely supported, the Board of
Alderman will ratify the application as presented by a simple majority vote.

Recourse for Denied Applications

If the application is incomplete or there is significant opposition from constituents living and/or doing
business within the program area, the Board of Alderman may, at its discretion request the petitioner to
revise the application and resubmit it for consideration. Revised applications may only be submitted once
and must be submitted within sixty (60) calendar days to be considered for ratification.

Alternately, the Board of Alderman may, at its discretion, deny the application if it is found grossly
incomplete and/or subject to opposition which, in the sole judgement of the Board of Alderman, exceeds
support within the community contained within the proposed program area. Votes to deny the application
will be carried by a simple majority. if the application is denied, citizens residing within the proposed
program area may not reapply for a period of not less than twenty-four (24) months from the date of the
denial.

Action for Existing Parking Permit Areas

The current permit program for overnight parking in effect in Nashua will remain as it exists until such
time as 1) an application is approved which encompasses one or more streets and/or addresses named
under the current ordinance or 2} a maximum of thirty-six months from the date the Board of Alderman
votes to change or amend the current ordinances pertaining to permitted overnight park to accommodate
adoption of some or all of the recommendations included within this report.

Should an area currently covered under the existing regulations be absorbed into a newly ratified parking
permit zone, those streets and/or addresses will be stricken from the existing ordinance and incorporated
into the newly approved program. If an application should fail, the existing program will remain in effect.

After thirty-six months, any areas covered under the existing regulations as approved overnight parking
permit zones should be subject to amendment of the existing regulations which recognizes the following:

A. Core Rules as presented earlier in this report;

The Capacity Testing process as presented earlier in this report and the legal capacity of currently
established areas in the city under those standards;

C. The Quantification Testing’ process as presented earlier in this report and the allowable number
of permits per household for currently established areas in the city under those standards;

D. The Rate Setting process as presented earlier in this report and the assessed cost per issued
permit for currently established areas in the city under those standards.

it should be noted that this process may reduce or eliminate some existing on-street parking areas where
overnight parking is currently allowed, may reduce the number of permits issued under existing
regulations, and will introduce a cost per permit to existing program participants. These impacts, while
inconvenient for the individuals who have enjoyed the existing program previously, will be necessary to

* The tasks normally managed by a Citizen’s Council will need to be conducted by Nashua Economic Development staff {i.e.,
determining the number of permits requested and/or households wishing to purchase a permit, informing existing program
participants of the allowable number of permits per household which may be issued for the coming fiscal year, communicating
cost per permit for the coming fiscal year, etc.)

maintain equity and fairness between newly created program areas established through the proposed
process and pre-existing areas established under current regulations.

Recertification

Every zone established under the proposed program will be subject to a recertification requirement every
five (5) years once established, which will require creation and/or resurrection of a Citizen’s Council to
conduct a petition affirming that at least two-thirds of every household within the defined zone support
the continuation of the program. Citizen's living in zones which fail recertification may submit an
application to create a smaller or redefined program following the procedures described in this document.

Revocation

The Board of Alderman may, at their discretion, temporarily suspend ratification of an implemented
parking permit zone with at least thirty (30) days prior notice to program participants to address
infrastructure issues or safety conditions.

The Board of Alderman may permanently revoke their ratification of an implemented parking permit zone
at any time when continued maintenance of the program demonstrates:

1} Aclear and present danger” to the citizens living within the zone, first responders travelling into
or through the zone, or City staff performing necessary work within the zone;

2) Roadway dimensions within the zone are modified in such a manner that the legal parking
capacity within the zone fall below 80% of the initial calculated capacity;

3) Apetition™ indicating that 50% or more of the households within the zone have come to actively
oppose the program.

If the Board of Alderman vote to revoke their ratification, another program in the same zone may not be
applied for a period of three (3) calendar years from the date of revocation. However, citizens may
organize and file an application for a smaller zone or zone with revised boundaries following the
procedure described herein at any time following the revocation. Permit holders in a revoked zone may
have their fees refunded on a pro-rated basis for the balance of the remaining fiscal year.

5i\20-21100.00-3 nashua overnight parking study \deliverabies\final report_15june2021.docx

10 A ‘clear and present danger’ may include a record of consistent violations of on-street parking regulations within the zone,
even if these violations represent just a breach of policy rather than a life-safety issue.

41 A petition to revoke an established zone may not be submitted within the first twenty-four (24) months after the zone is
officially ratified.

R-2 1-152

RESOLUTION

PROPOSING AN AMENDMENT TO THE CITY CHARTER RELATIVE TO ADDING
TWO ADDITIONAL MEMBERS TO THE BOARD OF HEALTH

CITY OF NASHUA

In the Year Two Thousand and Twenty-One

RESOLVED by the Board of Aldermen of the City of Nashua that pursuant to RSA 49-
B:5, the following amendment to the Nashua City Charter is deemed necessary and shall be
submitted to the voters by placing it on the ballot at the next regular municipal election on
November 2, 2021, in the manner required by NH RSA 49-B with the following question and
summary:

Shall the municipality approve the charter amendment summarized below?
SUMMARY

This amendment would provide for two additional Board of Health members, so that the Board
of Health would have five members instead of three. One of the two new members would be
either a physician or an individual who has completed a doctorate level medical degree, and the
other would be an individual with advanced professional credentials in the field of public health.

The Nashua City Charter shall be amended by adding the new underlined language to Charter
Section 78 as follows:

“8 78. Board of Health, how chosen

The board of aldermen on the first secular day of January, 1915, shall elect a board of
health, to be composed of three members, whose terms of office shall be for one year, and on
the first secular day of January in 1916 and thereafter biennially on said first secular day of
January following the regular municipal election through the end of 2021, they shall elect
said board of health for the term of two years, to be composed of three members, two of who
shall be physicians._On the first secular day of January in 2022 following the regular municipal
election, and thereafter biennially, the board of aldermen shall elect said board of health for the
term of two years, to be composed of five members, two of who shall be physicians, one who
shall be either a physician or an individual who has completed an accredited doctorate level
medical degree, and one who shall be an individual with advanced professional credentials in
the field of public health.”