Chelsea, MA Parking Rules: Loading Zones (2026)

Section 5-2 bars any vehicle other than a commercial vehicle from parking in a designated commercial loading zone at all, and caps a commercial vehicle's stay at 30 minutes unless it is actually engaged in loading or unloading. Property owners and businesses that want a new commercial loading zone or a 15-minute parking zone apply to the Parking Clerk, who circulates the request to the Traffic and Parking Commission and relevant departments, including public works, fire, police and planning and development, for a site visit assessing feasibility.

Because a new zone can affect neighbors, the city notifies abutting property owners and tenants, and a request for a zone outside the applicant's own frontage needs the affected owner's signature before it moves forward. Every request gets a public hearing at a regular Commission meeting, after which the Commission weighs the zone's size and net parking impact, the width and configuration of the right-of-way, existing regulations nearby, current and planned land use, the volume and timing of deliveries or drop-offs the zone would serve, and the effect on abutting properties, neighborhood character and pedestrian and bicycle access before deciding whether to approve it.

6 lets commercial vehicles use a metered space without depositing a coin for up to 30 minutes if they are loading or unloading, mirroring the loading-zone time limit in a metered setting.