Plymouth parking fund fees raised nothing

And in the process, just about everyone now agrees, the charges have stifled commercial growth in the center of town. As one downtown businessman put it, a plan for a $100,000 project that requires a $70,000 payment into the local parking fund just doesn’t make financial sense.

Hoping to trigger investment in the downtown, selectmen recently decided to dramatically reduce the town’s in-lieu-of-parking fees charged to those who cannot provide the number of onsite spaces required for planned renovations or construction.

Parking woes in this tourist town are nothing new. Master planners cited lack of parking as a major challenge as far back as 1949.

And solving the parking shortage with a garage is not a new concept, although such a structure, talked about for more than 30 years, has yet to be built.

A set of nominal fees was instituted in 1991 for businesses that cannot provide enough onsite parking. The money went into a parking fund whose purpose was to create additional parking, through outdoor lots or garages.

Two years ago, the account stood at a meager $150,000, so selectmen increased parking fund charges.

Downtown and waterfront property owners were to be charged $6,000 per space for parking places they couldn’t provide onsite for renovations, and $8,000 per space if the plan was for new construction. The high fees, however, rendered improvements too costly - as much as $70,000 for a $100,000 project in the case of one business owner - and no one undertook a project.

“What has happened is developers have looked at the cost and decided not to pursue their plans,’’ said Planning Board chairman Marc Garrett. “So we haven’t seen the kind of infill we would hope for in the downtown area to help make it viable.’’

A tentative plan to build a parking garage at the south end of Main Street was abandoned, with a new proposal yet to emerge.

Christine Pratt, owner of a downtown shop called The Painted Lady, said she had been in touch several times over the past two years with real estate brokers representing commercial operations looking to locate in the downtown.

“When they heard about the parking fund fees, nothing ever materialized,’’ she said.

Town officials were moved to revisit parking fund fees in May when Lisa Conroy, owner of The Vine wine bar in downtown, decided to relocate her business - limited to a few dozen seats - to a former yoga studio a few blocks north of where she had been operating.

The move was going to cost Conroy $45,000 in parking fund fees. Conroy said the charge would have put her out of business. After working with local officials, she was allowed to apply the parking payment for her previous location to her new spot.

Under the newly reduced rates, business owners who renovate a property for a more intensive use - such as converting a store to a restaurant - will pay $800 for every required new parking space that can’t be put onsite. For new construction, the charge is $1,000 per space. Larger businesses with greater parking needs are charged a slightly higher rate, but it’s far lower than under the past fee schedule.

“Small businesses are just trying to hold their own,’’ said Pratt, who is also treasurer of the Plymouth Growth and Development Corp. That agency, along with the town’s Planning Board, had suggested the fee reduction.

“I think at this stage of the game, this is what we need,’’ Pratt said. “We should promote economic development, not discourage it.’’

Selectman Bill Hallisey, who owns the downtown M & M building and has opposed the steep parking fund fees since their inception, said he believes town officials can do even better for the downtown business community. “I know how the businesses are struggling,’’ he said. “I think the parking fund fees for business should be waived.’’

Hallisey is not alone. Denis Hanks, the town’s economic development director and the executive director of the Plymouth Area Chamber of Commerce, is drafting a proposal aimed at attracting investment in the downtown and waterfront. The plan will include waiving or reducing water and sewer connection fees as well as parking fund fees.

Selectmen also made adjustments to fees charged for residential development in the downtown area.

Payments for additional parking, required as a result of renovation for residential or age-restricted housing, were reduced from $6,000 per space to $1,500. New residential construction, however, would require a payment of $8,000 per space.

According to Garrett, the Planning Board’s recommendation to keep the charge for new residential construction high was based on the desire to see vacancies in the downtown renovated and used, rather than encouraging “knockdowns and replacements.’’

Christine Legere can be reached at christinelegere@yahoo.com.