Planning Board Endorses Transit Study Recommendations and Parking Reductions

Unfortunately, last night's meeting went on way too late for me to stick around. But thanks in part to those of you who wrote in your comments, the Planning Board did decide to endorse the Peninsula Transit Study and sent it on to the full Council to incorporate it into the City's comprehensive plan. Hooray!

The Board also endorsed a few zoning amendments that will loosen and reduce the city's parking requirements in mixed-use business zones off the peninsula - mainly along major roads like Forest Avenue and Washington Ave. in North Deering. The previous zoning basically required huge parking lots to go along with any new development, which meant that we mostly got a bunch of new strip malls in those neighborhoods in the past 30 years. With any luck, these changes should open up those areas to more walkable infill development.