Daggett Lot’s “Permanence” Probed

Yale’s plans to build a parking lot in place of the former rubber factory at 69-75 Daggett St. hit a bump in the road Wednesday evening when a procedural resolution kicked off a debate over the nature of “permanence” in the world of development.

Upon a spur-of-the-moment request from Hill Alder Angel Hubbard, the Board of Alders Community Development Committee decided not to take action — at least not yet — on a resolution related to the parking lot proposal.

The resolution on the table would simply certify that the proposed 89-space surface lot would not necessitate an amendment to the university’s Medical Area Overall Parking Plan.

According to Yale’s Associate Vice President for New Haven Affairs and University Properties Alexandra Daum, the proposed lot would provide parking exclusively for temporary construction workers or contractors, meaning that it wouldn’t necessitate an overall parking plan amendment per the city’s zoning ordinance.

While the resolution was in some ways a formality, it centered around a proposal that has generated controversy among Hill residents and architectural preservation advocates.