Alexander Genovese, a resident at 1 Park Street, won reinstatement of his visitor parking pass at an adjudicatory hearing before the Chelsea Traffic and Parking Commission on the authority of MGL Chapter 30A Section 14.

Genovese said his permit had been revoked July 24 by the parking department on an allegation of misuse — that dates on the pass were altered with pencil and then erased — but that the photograph provided as evidence was blurry and did not clearly show tampering. He told the commission he had submitted the original permit to the clerk’s office and requested a review of the revocation.

Why it matters: the ruling restores a resident’s ability to authorize overnight visitor parking and prompts the parking clerk to improve documentation and resident guidance on proper use of temporary visitor passes.

What happened at the hearing
City counsel advised commission members that the matter would be handled as an adjudicatory hearing under MGL ch.30A §14 and summarized procedures: the petitioner presents evidence, the parking clerk answers, and the commission issues a finding. Genovese testified that the enforcement photograph was black and white and blurry; the clerk produced color printouts and said enforcement officers record permit and plate numbers at the time of inspection and mark permits with black ink as instructed.

Shivani Devkin, who also lives at 1 Park Street, explained on the record that residents and visitors had been confused about the pass cycle (day versus night passes), which contributed to repeated citations in previous months. Parking staff acknowledged community confusion over which streets are eligible for day or night passes and over shading instructions on the permit form.

After discussing the evidence and the clerks’ procedures, the commission voted to reinstate Genovese’s visitor pass on the condition that he and other permit-holders follow the clerk’s instructions going forward and consult parking staff for clarification about eligible streets and shading in black ink. The commission directed the clerk to provide petitioners with a clear list of eligible streets and written instructions and to accept Genovese’s original permit into the record.

Quotes
"The photograph that was provided to me as evidence does not, in my opinion, clearly show any tampering or misuse," Genovese said during his testimony.

"The pass does say … fill in the box with black ink on the date of use," the parking clerk explained during cross‑examination.

Ending
The commission recorded the reinstatement and asked the parking clerk to provide clearer instructions and a street list to petitioners; staff was assigned to follow up with Genovese and post clarifying guidance for all visitor pass users.