Valets are driving debate in Boston

They drove in from Amherst and Holliston, from Newton and the surrounding suburbs for a party kicking off the West End House Boys & Girls Club's 100th year. The affair was held atop Beacon Hill, where houses are lavish but parking is scarce on narrow, gas-lit streets.

But these visitors didn't have to worry. As soon as they arrived at James Gordon's Mount Vernon Street town house Wednesday evening, a valet swooped in and whisked their cars away.

It's the latest trend for well-heeled party-givers in affluent, parking-starved areas of Boston. Rather than making guests find parking themselves, residents inviting people over are hiring valet companies to take cars at the door. But with parking in such short supply in the neighborhoods where valets are being used the most -- Beacon Hill, Back Bay, and the South End -- officials are looking to stamp out the practice.

''We're concerned about the folks who aren't invited to the party," said Boston Transportation Commissioner Thomas Tinlin. ''These folks every day are fighting to find precious on-street parking spots. It's more than a little unfair that they now have to compete with the valets because someone in the neighborhood is having a private party."

What was once a rare occurrence, he said, has become ''a pretty big business," with the number of permits issued for private parties going from 29 in 2004 to 48 last year.

''It appears that the valet industry is trying to create an opportunity for itself in the private party business," Tinlin said.

Valets cause traffic jams as guests all arrive at a party, Tinlin said, and in Boston's famously congested neighborhoods, the loss of even one or two resident spaces, required by valets to pick up cars, is too much.

''When you have an area like Beacon Hill with the narrow streets and the folks start to double park while waiting for service, traffic is going to be impacted," he said. ''It's going to be harder for the folks who live in these areas to get around. I would argue we've done OK getting people to and from parties in the past without this service. I don't see any reason to continue it."

Among those who have hired valets at their homes include former GE chairman Jack Welch, who lives in a historic town house overlooking Boston Common; contractor Jay Cashman, whose Dartmouth Street mansion has been the site of charity events; and Northeastern University president Richard Freeland, who hosts frequent faculty and student dinners at his Beacon Street residence, owned by the school.

Tinlin said the city will no longer approve the special one-day permits that had been routinely granted to the valet companies for private parties. Party planners and valet company officials were taken aback by the policy shift.

''We hire the [valet] company so that people won't take up resident spots," said Mark Walsh, owner and marketing director of Rafanelli Events. ''If you didn't have the valet, where would those people park? They'll park in the neighborhood."

John Svendblad, managing partner of Exclusive Valet, said most private parties that hire valets are fund-raisers for charities that could end up losing out if donors can't attend. ''This matters not only to us," he said. ''It matters to the organizations we help out. Many of the people who have these events at homes on Beacon Hill, for example, are bringing in 200 guests who are going to donate $1,000 or $1,500 to a good cause. If they can't find parking, they might not come, which would be a huge loss."

His was a view echoed by some attending the West End House affair this week on Beacon Hill.

''I would have wavered, if not for the valet parking," said Steve Curley of Holliston, a member of the West End House board of directors.

Without the service, said Gordon, the host, some probably would have stayed home. ''It's important to be able to have people come into the city," he said. ''You don't want people to get discouraged by their fear of not being able to find a parking space or by having to walk up a hill."

But some city residents who fight the daily battle for on-street spaces hailed the city's decision.

''Good, they shouldn't allow it," said Jerry Kronfeld, who lives on Beacon Street, across from Freeland's residence. ''There's too much valet parking throughout the Back Bay anyway. The building I live in has five owner occupants and only two parking spots. That leaves all of the other occupants of the building who want to have a car having to park on the street or find something else. It's pretty difficult."

Said another resident of the same building, who asked not to be named: ''It ties up traffic\ -- that is my biggest concern -- and it's taking away parking for residents."

Andrea Estes can be reached at estes@globe.com.