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Home My WebLink About2006-11-07 Minutes of the Meeting of the Auto Limitations Study Committee of November 7, 2006. The meeting took place in the conference room of the Town and County Building, 16 Broad Street, Nantucket, MA 02554. Members of the committee present: Whitey Willauer, Matt Fee, Nat Lowell, Christine Silverstein, Mike Burns, Alan Brown and John Wagley. Paula Leary was absent. Call to Order. The meeting was called to order at 2:05 p.m. with a quorum present. Approval of Minutes from the October 31.2006 MeetinQ. Christine Silverstein moved approval of the minutes of the October 31, 2006 minutes; seconded by Mr. Willauer. So voted. Discussion of Mission Statement. The group discussed the mission state~nt. All felt the mission was rather broad and our recommendations will follow tke charge of the BOS sufficiently. Ms. Silverstein motioned we amend the_.~c statement to read "motor vehicle" rather than "auto", seconded by Mr. Lowcm. So, , , voted. Mr. Fee will notify the BOS office of the change in the mission statement. ;'0 n ~,~;~ "' , Review Previous PermittinQ System. Ms. Silverstein led a discussion of thEf~ previous permitting system. A copy of the plan is attached. Mr. Fee, Mr. LOWell and Ms. Silverstein, all previous members of the TCPWG, answered questions regarding the lottery system. Mr. Willauer felt any program that allocated permits by property needed to recognize trusts as "owners". There was an extended discussion of the fairness to various socio-economic groups. Once the draft plan was understood each member commented. Mr. Lowell felt the plan left too many questions unanswered and suggested a simplified condensed version and is philosophically opposed to a cap and noted the necessity of limits and should we attempt to utilize market forces. Mr. Lowell wants the group to discuss as many other ideas and options as possible before making final recommendations. Mr. Lowell also suggested town take private roads off Tom Nevers Road so the NRTA can service this neighborhood. Mr. Brown called the plan "nice" but too difficult to explain and implement and wants to do what is possible. Mr. Brown supports paid parking and tighter enforcement for trucks and bikes when they transgress and that a cap system should be plan B. Mr. Willauer supports a cap, otherwise no way to utilize market forces, for value of limited permit. He feels a cap is necessary to keep Nantucket a better place to live and that the BOS should deal with details of a cap, including numbers of vehicles, costs of permits, and how to present the issue to the State. Mr. Burns stated he is not a big fan of cap and he concurs there are too many questions. He supports the other recommendations such as paid parking. Ms. Silverstein reminded the group that we registered 643 cars per year from 2001 through 2005, which means we'd double the number of vehicles on Island in the next 25 years and wants the group to take these figures into consideration. Mr. Burns wants town counsel's opinion on cap's magnitude on discrimination. Ms. Silverstein wants a cap, but suggests a soft cap triggered by something quantifiable and agreed upon by the group, understood by all as "If/then", with the understanding the group would return and discuss how to do so at the next meeting. Mr. Wagley felt lots of thought and work was contained in the document and supports a cap, but has concerns about flexibility. He suggests a hard cap for transferable permits and flexibility for the remaining allocation of permits. Mr. Fee explained a cap is a long term solution while the actions the town traditionally embraces are short term and inconsistent. He had intended to create a market with the transferable permits and suggests funds be raised in any system to fund NRTA (Free Buses) and other alternatives. Mr. Fee supports a cap, but concurs it needs to be simple, and possibly triggered as Christine suggests. Mr. Fee stated requiring parking permits to park on any town land, including Land Bank property, is a good first step. Other Business. At the November 14, 2006 meeting a new scenario of permitting plans will be discussed. All members are expected to return with as many ideas as possible. Attached is an e-mail from Peter Hoey to the committee via Rick Atherton suggesting a per mile, per dwelling fee over a set number of miles. Adiournment. Mr. Wagley moved adjournment at 3:30 p.m.; seconded by Mr. Burns. So voted. Approved: November 14,2006. ,......, o ~ 1-Tj ~ I...-.J ~ ~ ~ ER ~(J o (1 ~8 Q~ o ~ p ~. ~ 8 ~ ~ ~ 25,000 Vehicle , " , Permitting Plan · Grand-fathered (OF) - permits being issued to this category estimated to be 13,000- 15,000 - remaining permits will be issu~d by lottery · 20,000 · Future Lotteries - permits held out for distribution in future years · 5,000 · Total Permits , ., · 25,000 Grand-Fathered Permits (GFP) Permits go to: · One permit per vehicle garaged (i.e. registered on Nantucket) on or before December 31, 1998 · One permit per seasonal homeowner wlo an ACK registration (requires Nantucket registration for issuance (?) ) Rules: · Permit availability announced 90 days in advance · Fee - TBD · Transferable Permits (T) Saleable/Marketable Higher Fee · Non- Transferable (NT) N aminal f~e GF Permit Categories · T - Transferable (marketable) · NT -Non-transferable ~ Commercial vehicles (registered on ACK) ~ Town vehicles -.- Rental vehicles -.- Public transit vehicles ~ Marked state and federal vehicles -.- Courtesy vans -.- Seasonal residents (?) --- private vehicles (registered on ACK) Permit Lottery (point system for discussion purposes) · Categories · # of Points (chances) · Registered Voter , Homeowner wi less than two OF permits , Owner of vacant lot of record , Resident Exemption · Seasonal Resident + 5 + 10 + 2 + 3 + 2 Lottery Rules · Fee to enter (TBD) · Example of Point System: ~ Ack residept homeowner who only qualified for one GF permit wants to enter lottery. This person qualifies for the following . pOlnts: · Resident Exemption · Homeowner wi less than 1 GFP · Registered voter. Total 3 10 5 18 points Permit Administration r . , , · Permit application by Internet, by mail, in pefson · Office & Staffing (possibly contfacted to pfivate enterpfise) · Permits afe fegistered (like pfoperty is at Registry of Deeds) in a fegistry data bank · Affixed to vehicle (Permanently, like RMV inspection stickef) · PefIllits show Yeaf and Category (e.g. 2001~NT/R::::; Non.Transferable Rental vehicle) · Renewable annually ( administfation fee TBD) · Transf~rs (all) go through permit fegistry · Fee to Transfef (at potnt of sale) TBD · % of sale price Of flat fee - TBD (whichever is highef) goes back into fegistry administfation Enforcement , . , · By Nantucket Police Dept. · Fines Levied - Fines will be cumulative for multiple stops - $ goes to Administration of Permit Registry - Vehicles wi fine stickers impounded if not remedied within (TBD) days 5,000 Permits Held Out for Future Annual Distribution , · Categories of entries (for discussion purposes) ~ New dwelling units that year - New teen resident drivers - Resident commercial expansion of vehicle fleet - Expansion of public transit, courtesy van, marked local, state and federal fleets Yearly PertUit Aqministration · Permits issued per year (TBD) · Application Fees (TBD) · All permits are Non~ Transferable (NT) · Administered by permit registry office · Permits returned to registry if holder moves Short-Term Permits (this issue is a question) · Possible Categories - Commercial deliveries - Construction earth-moving equipment - Catastrophic emergency vehicles · Administration - SSA - wi % of fees going back to SSA (there are several issues to discuss re: SSA, unintended consequences, etc) - . Revenues for Administration · $100 fee x T Permits (example 12,000) · $15 fee x NT permits (example 7,000) · $ Fines per violation · $ Fee for lottery entry · $1,200,000 · $105,000 · $ x (TBD) · $ x (TBD) Matt, and Nat, Peter Hoey sent me some thoughts on the "traffic/car" issues and I pass it on to the both of you as the gurus on the subject. Rick Atherton 2. I saw a discussion re island traffic between Matt Fee and someone else on Plum TV. They were debating limiting cars. I have a better idea, which I don't think has been proposed as of yet. Everyone can have as many cars as they like. However, every Oct 1 owners must submit - for every car they own and keep on island - a form showing the odometer reading. For every mile driven in the previous twelve months over, for example, 8,000 miles collectively on all their cars they must pay a dollar. Or some such formula. The problem is not how many cars, it's how many cars on the road. We should introduce a warrent article which creates a "Road Preservation Fund" into which these "taxes" are paid by car owners. There would be exemptions for businesses and for hardship cases (can't imagine what they would be though). Also, we should add to this same warrent article a tax on cars coming to the island related to rentals. Believe me, even though the realtors and renting homeowners would scream, this is definitely a price elastic commodity. Let's start with $100 and see what happens. Let me know what you think and also if anyone has proposed this idea before. Thanks. Peter PS: We would also do random checking of cars in early October. If you are found cheating, ie. submitting an odometer reading that is too low you pay a $1,000 fine for the first offense and the fine plus jail time the second. Peter E. Hoey 508-257-4367 PO Box 787 Siasconset, MA 02564