Parking panel votes to raise non-resident commuter fees 10 percent

Other Committee · Meeting of July 8, 2026

New Canaan Parking Commission raises non-resident commuter fees 10 percent, to $521.40 a year. Parking administrator Kevin O'Conor said the increase, roughly $50 annually with tax, follows a Board of Selectmen member's observation that resident and non-resident rates were identical and a New Canaan High School intern presentation showing the town's non-resident fees were the region's lowest. The lot has 54 non-resident and 297 resident permits against 346 spaces.

Commissioners also voted 3-1, over member John Clark's objection, to void tickets for two out-of-town appellants who said they saw no parking signage, while unanimously voiding a third citation for Katherine Galvin. "It's a slippery slope when ignorance of the law is the defense," Clark said. Two other appellants did not appear; one deferred to August, one forfeited automatically.

In the full story:

• Who Was There
• Organizations And Documents Referenced
• The complete report — 2,523 words

Source: the Other Committee meeting of July 8, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.

The Full Article

Call to Order and Approval of Minutes

The July meeting of the New Canaan Parking Commission opened at 7:03 p.m. after several minutes of Zoom troubleshooting audible on the recording, including a commissioner asking a participant named Chris to switch the video layout to gallery view so members could see appellants as they joined. The commission's first order of business was approving minutes from its June 10 meeting. A member moved to amend the minutes before approval, and after some cross-talk about wording, the commission agreed to add a note that the June meeting itself had not been recorded due to what one member described as "a glitch in the uh Zoom recording last month." With that amendment, the commission approved the minutes on a roll call in which member John Clark voted "aye"; no dissent was recorded. The item consumed roughly ten minutes, mostly technical setup, and produced no substantive news beyond documenting the prior meeting's recording failure for the town's records.

Public Comment

The commission has added a standing public-comment slot to its agenda. No members of the public were present to speak, and the commission moved on without discussion.

Parking Ticket Appeals: Three Heard, Two Absent

Background and stakes: New Canaan converted a number of downtown parking spaces from free to paid parking within roughly the past year, according to commissioners' remarks during the meeting. Commissioners said that shift has generated a steady stream of appeals from drivers, particularly those from outside New Canaan, who say they did not realize paid parking was in effect. The commission maintains a standing practice, communicated to appellants by email according to parking administrator Kevin O'Conor, that an appellant who does not appear for a scheduled hearing without notice forfeits the appeal automatically.

The question before the body: Whether to void or uphold citations for drivers who said they were unaware paid parking applied to the spaces where they parked.

Five appeals were on the docket for the evening; three appellants appeared, and two did not. Mr. Glenn, who O'Conor said had emailed the commission earlier that day indicating he intended to participate, ultimately deferred his case to the commission's August meeting. A second appellant, identified only as Mr. Prowler, did not respond to outreach and did not appear; under the commission's standing rule, his appeal was treated as automatically forfeited, with the citation to stand. No motion was required for that outcome; a commissioner asked whether a formal vote was needed for non-appearing appellants, and O'Conor and other members agreed the existing policy, which they said should be reflected as a standing line in future minutes, covers it without a separate vote.

The first appellant to appear, Valerie Store, joined by Zoom while caring for a young child in her car. She said she lives in North Stamford and had parked near what commissioners referred to as the "playhouse" lot, believing it was free like a nearby lot she said she regularly used. "I thought I thought they were both not pay," she told commissioners, saying she did not realize one lot required payment and the adjacent one did not. O'Conor confirmed she had no prior citations on file. Commissioners had no further questions for her.

The second appellant, a Norwalk resident whose name appeared in the meeting audio variously as Vienna Bandor, Deanna Bandber and Miss Vandor, said she had parked for under an hour on Elm Street near the restaurant Lombardi's while meeting a friend to discuss a job opportunity. "I didn't see meters or markings in the street or signage immediately in front of my spot or adjacent to it," she said, adding that she noticed other signage further down the block only after finding a ticket on her windshield. She told commissioners she had no prior history of citations in town.

The third appellant, Katherine Galvin, said she grew up nearby and used to visit New Canaan regularly to shop but had not parked downtown in close to a year. She said she parked in front of a store on Elm Street and saw no meters or signage near her space. In an exchange with commissioners about the town's sign placement, a member explained that parking signs are mounted on light poles at a height meant to be visible to drivers as they enter a space, facing the direction of oncoming traffic rather than posted on every individual spot or on both sides of the street. Galvin's underlying citation dated to March 30, an earlier period than the other two appeals; O'Conor noted the fee under discussion in her case included an added late charge.

The deliberation: Commissioners were largely sympathetic to appellants who said they were unfamiliar with New Canaan's parking changes because they visit infrequently. One member, describing the rationale, said the commission should extend a degree of goodwill toward occasional or first-time visitors specifically to encourage them to return. "I think that a single, you know, get-out-of-parking-free car, if you will, is a reasonable gesture," the presiding commissioner said, drawing a distinction between visitors and New Canaan residents, who the member said have had ample opportunity to learn about the parking changes.

Member John Clark took the opposite position on both of the first two votes, repeating an objection he said he had also raised the previous month. "I just feel, as I said last month, that it's a slippery slope when ignorance of the law is the defense," Clark said, arguing the parking changes are now more than six months old and have been well publicized. He said he expected to be in the minority again but would vote against voiding the tickets. Another commissioner responded that the distinction being drawn was specifically about out-of-town visitors rather than residents, saying local residents "who live in this town" should be expected to know the rules by now, while occasional out-of-town shoppers deserve more leeway. That same commissioner cited a personal anecdote about overhearing visitors in Wilton complain about parking difficulties there as informing the view that New Canaan should present a "welcoming face" to visitors from surrounding towns.

Procedural steps and outcome: On Store's appeal, a commissioner moved to void the citation; the motion carried with Clark recorded in dissent. On the second appellant's citation, a member again moved to void; the motion again carried over Clark's stated objection. On Galvin's appeal, a member moved to void the citation and the motion passed with three members voting in favor and no dissent recorded on the audio. Exact numerical tallies were difficult to discern precisely from the recording in all three votes; the commission's minutes, once posted, should be treated as authoritative on the exact counts.

Implications and what is next: The commission indicated informally that recurring appeals citing inadequate signage have prompted interest in placing signage improvements on a future agenda, though no such item was formally scheduled during this meeting. Glenn's appeal will be taken up in August.

Non-Resident Commuter Lot Fee Increase

Background and stakes: O'Conor told the commission that when he presented the coming permit year's fee schedule to the Board of Selectmen, a selectman raised the fact that resident and non-resident fees at the town's commuter parking lot were set at the same amount. That observation, combined with a presentation New Canaan High School interns gave to the commission the previous month showing the town's non-resident commuter fees were the lowest among comparable area towns, prompted O'Conor to bring a fee-increase proposal to the commission.

The question before the body: Whether to raise non-resident permit fees at the commuter lot for the 2026-27 permit year, which O'Conor said was the only fee category under review; all other lot fees were to remain unchanged for the year.

Substantive content: O'Conor proposed a 10 percent increase to the non-resident base rate, from $474 to $521.40, which he said translates to roughly a $50 annual increase once tax is included. He told commissioners the lot currently has 297 resident permits and 54 non-resident permits, for 351 total permits issued against 346 physical spaces, meaning the lot is slightly oversubscribed on paper but still has no waiting list, unlike the Richmond Hill lot, which has 27 people waiting, or the "lumber yard" lot, which has a waiting list of 73. O'Conor said non-resident permit holders come primarily from Stamford, South Salem, Darien and one from Norwalk, with the largest out-of-town contingent from Stamford.

The deliberation: A commissioner asked whether the town would consider raising regular meter rates in the future as well; O'Conor said the agreement reached was that all other permit categories would remain unchanged for the 2026-27 permit year, and that a broader review, including of a lot he referred to as the "lumber yard" lot, would come later. Another member asked whether the 30-day notice requirements for a fee change would affect the timeline; O'Conor said he would need to confirm the exact notice period with town counsel, identified in the discussion as Tucker, but that the commission needed to act that evening if the change was to take effect for the coming permit year, so he could bring a memorandum to the Board of Selectmen's next meeting, which he said was likely the following Tuesday. Member John Clark, asked for his view, said simply, "It seems sensible to me."

Procedural steps and outcome: A commissioner moved to approve the fee increase for non-resident commuter permits; the motion was seconded and approved on a unanimous voice vote. O'Conor said he would draft a memorandum for submission to the Board of Selectmen for final approval, after which formal notice of the fee change would be published.

Implications and what is next: The increase requires Board of Selectmen approval before taking effect; O'Conor indicated that process would likely begin at the selectmen's next scheduled meeting. If approved, the 54 non-resident permit holders at the commuter lot would see their annual cost rise by about $50 for the 2026-27 permit year, with resident fees and all other lot fees unchanged.

Parking Operations Report

O'Conor gave a verbal report, saying he had no written metrics packet this month. He said the town's annual business-permit renewal cycle, which runs July 1 through June 30, was nearly complete. As of the meeting, the Locust Street lot had 229 free business permits issued, down from 417 a month earlier, which O'Conor attributed to seasonal turnover among permit holders; he said the town sends renewal notices to permit holders' places of employment rather than personal addresses to help manage that turnover. The Center Street lot had 132 free business permits issued; O'Conor said that lot has 172 total spaces, of which 76 are reserved for the library, leaving 94 spaces available for business permit holders, and that the lot does not become oversubscribed. The Morse Court lot has 20 paid, grandfathered permits that are not being increased. The Park Street lot has 43 premium, grandfathered permits, which O'Conor said the commission has been gradually reducing from a prior high of 49 toward an eventual target of 20, plus 17 separate non-commuter permits along a stone wall in the lot, sometimes referred to in the discussion as the "AA" category. O'Conor said there is no waiting list for Park Street premium business permits currently, though he recalled a waiting list of two people at one point.

O'Conor also reported the Richmond Hill lot's waiting list, for commuter permits, currently has 27 people, and the town has begun releasing permits from that list in batches of five; the first five were contacted the day of the meeting and given until that Friday to decide, with a prorated fee of $77 to cover the period through August 31. A separate lot, referred to repeatedly as the "lumber yard" lot, has a waiting list of 73 people; O'Conor said the commuter permit renewal process for that lot and others would begin within the next week, with letters and emails going out to give permit holders time to renew before the August 31 deadline.

Asked whether the commission needed to reapprove a $50 late fee, O'Conor confirmed the commission had already approved it at a prior meeting: any citation issued after August 31 to a permit holder who has not renewed cannot be appealed, and a permit holder who has not renewed by the end of September loses the permit outright and would need to rejoin the waiting list.

No motions were made on the operations report; commissioners characterized it as informational.

Adjournment

With no further business, a member moved to adjourn at 7:47 p.m.; the motion was seconded and approved unanimously. One commissioner apologized for background noise audible during the final portion of the meeting, explaining she had inadvertently left her microphone unmuted while at a train station.

John Clark, Member — participated throughout, cast the lone dissenting vote on two of three ticket appeals. An unnamed presiding commissioner who called the meeting to order and guided the agenda; role not stated on the record. A commissioner referred to only as Nancy, apparently a member; surname not given. A commissioner referred to only as Katie, apparently a member; surname not given. Kevin O'Conor — town staff member who administers parking permits, enforcement and appeals; exact title not stated in the transcript. Chris — assisted with the Zoom meeting's video display settings; role and affiliation unclear from the recording. Valerie Store — appellant, said she resides in North Stamford; appealed a citation from the lot near New Canaan's playhouse. An appellant whose name appeared in the recording as Vienna Bandor, Deanna Bandber and Miss Vandor at different points — said she is a Norwalk resident; appealed an Elm Street citation. Katherine Galvin — appellant, said she grew up in the area and formerly shopped downtown regularly; appealed an Elm Street citation dated March 30. Mr. Glenn — appellant who deferred his case to the August meeting; first name not given. Mr. Prowler — appellant who did not appear or respond; first name not given; appeal treated as forfeited.

Board of Selectmen — the body O'Conor presented the fee proposal to and the body that must formally approve the non-resident fee increase before it takes effect. New Canaan High School — students ("interns") from the school presented findings to the commission the prior month showing New Canaan's non-resident commuter fees were the lowest in the surrounding area, cited by O'Conor as a basis for the proposed increase. Town counsel, referred to as Tucker — cited by O'Conor as the person he would need to confirm public-notice timing requirements with before the fee change could be published. June 10, 2026 commission minutes — approved as amended at this meeting to note that the June meeting had not been recorded due to a Zoom failure. Prior commission vote on the $50 late-fee and September citation-forfeiture policy — referenced by commissioners as already adopted at an earlier meeting and applied to the Galvin appeal and the general permit-renewal deadline discussion.