The Malden City Council set its sights on two major quality-of-life initiatives at its Tuesday night Committee of the Whole meeting, unanimously backing a push to develop a citywide residential parking program and advancing a new ordinance that would legalize home-based residential food preparation businesses.
First up, driven by complaints of out-of-town commuters treating residential streets like free lots, the Council adopted an order to collaborate with the Traffic Commission to create a unified, citywide residential parking permit system. The measure hopes to raise some revenue while also reining in residents who put off registering their vehicles in town.
The parking permit situation in Malden can charitably be described as a patchwork. Based on the Parking Permits Information page, the city is divided into eight areas, not aligned with wards, that have varying rules. Many require stickers to park on street Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., while some streets around the city are sticker only, 24/7…