Non-Compliant Private Parking Space Policy
December 20, 2022
Hello Chautauquan,
Travel by foot or bicycle is the preferred method of travel within the Chautauqua grounds, particularly during the Summer Assembly, and persons with disabilities are permitted to use mobility devices. The Institution’s roads and pathways were designed more than 100 years ago for these modes of transportation. We are a community that is non-reliant on motor vehicles for a variety of safety, aesthetic, and environmental reasons, unless necessary for operations or accessibility concerns.
One primary method to help achieve this goal is by limiting the number of vehicles allowed to be parked on private property, and by requiring vehicles on private property to be parked so that it conceals the vehicles from the streetscape as much as possible. These requirements are documented in the Architectural & Land Use (ALU) Regulations and in the Rules & Regulations of Chautauqua Institution. All newly issued parking spaces for vehicles on private property must comply with the current ALU Regulations and Rules & Regulations prior to issuance of a parking permit. However, parking permits for existing non-compliant parking spaces that were granted prior to August 28, 2010 may be grandfathered and allowed to remain as long as the property ownership has not changed and as long as the grandfathered parking permit is continuously purchased each successive year. If a grandfathered parking permit for a non-compliant parking space is not continuously purchased (year-after-year), or if the property changes hands including through non-spousal inheritance, that non-compliant parking space will not be authorized at any time in the future. In the event of spousal inheritance of a property, existing non-compliant parking spaces shall be allowed to continue as long as they are continuously purchased (year-after-year) until the property is transferred or inherited by non-spousal heirs. The Institution reserves the right to discontinue issuance of parking permits and other regulations under circumstances where the best interests of the Institution are of concern as determined by the Chautauqua Institution Administration.
Example:
A property is owned by the same owner since before the August 2010 Regulations were approved by the Board of Trustees. It has five parking permits that have been continuously purchased year-after-year. The owner fails to purchase one of the parking permits in a year, only purchasing four.
In future years, they will only be allowed to re-purchase those four parking permits and the fifth parking space is no longer authorized. If that particular property is transferred, the new owner will only be allowed to purchase the number of parking spaces allowed for that particular property as designated in the current ALU Regulations and Rules & Regulations of Chautauqua Institution, IF the spaces meet all of the design requirements for a parking space, such as must be 8’6” x 20’ entirely located behind the front plane of the house. In many cases, properties on the campus do not qualify for ANY parking permits at a particular property. Instead, the property owner can purchase general parking passes in one of the Institution parking lots.
In all cases, Chautauqua Institution reserves the right to change the regulations as needed.
John Shedd
Vice President of Campus Planning and Operations
jshedd@chq.org | 716.357.6245