The developer of a proposed senior affordable housing complex would pay $150,000 to offset a parking deficiency of 17 spaces under an agreement introduced by City Council.

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The Payment In Lieu of Parking (PILOP) was introduced via an ordinance (O-26-24) at the governing body’s meeting on Monday night. The ordinance would come up for a public hearing and final adoption of during the governing body’s Aug. 12 meeting.

The payment would be made into the city’s Parking Utility Fund prior to issuing any temporary or permanent Certificate of Occupancy (CO), according to the ordinance.

UPDATE, July 26: In a brief interview after Tuesday’s meeting where the project gained Planning Board approval, Bruce Morgan of The Michaels Organization said the PILOP will be “torn up tomorrow,” as developers will pursue an agreement with Zion Lutheran Church to use parking spaces in an adjacent lot that would be connected via sidewalk.

The city’s Parking Utility last year generated revenues of $2.441 million, according to the municipal budget. About $1.1 million of that total came from parking fees, $541,000 from a ground lease, $500,000 in operating surplus, and $300,000 from a “reserve for rate stabilization.”

Esterbook Senior Housing, LLC is scheduled to appear before the Planning Board  on July 23 seeking approval for preliminary and final major site plan with minor subdivision. It’s unclear how different that application is from the most recent concept presented to the Redevelopment Agency.

In May, The Michaels Organization proposed a revised concept that increased the number of units from a previously-proposed 42 to 60. The four-story building would have a lot with 22 parking spaces and 7 on-street spaces for a total of 29 — short of the 33 on-site parking spaces required by city code. The previous 42-unit concept proposed 35 spaces in a surface parking lot behind the building.

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