Concord Planning Board Pushes Parking Sharing Reform at Spring Town Meeting

CARLISLE — April 3, 2026 — Concord Planning Board member argues for joint parking reform ahead of Town Meeting vote on Article 36. NOTE TO EDITOR: This item concerns Concord, Massachusetts, not Carlisle, and originates from a Minuteman Media Network podcast, not a Carlisle municipal meeting. Andrew Boardman, a five-year board member stepping down after this Town Meeting cycle, told the Civic Concord podcast that the town's existing joint-parking rules — which allow only specific listed use types to share lots — are so narrow they gave the board no analytical tools when the Chipotle-anchored redevelopment of the old Paparazzi site came before it. The reform introduces an hour-by-hour demand analysis, drawn from industry standards and informed by a transportation and parking engineer the town hired to audit its parking code. Boardman said the primary goal is environmental: "When you make an ocean of parking that you're not going to use, it has an impact." The amendment does not change base parking minimums for any individual use.