NORTH ATTLEBORO - The municipal parking lot on Church Street is again open to overnight parking, after selectmen responded to concerns of apartment tenants in the neighborhood who have nowhere else to park.

Selectmen voted in August, at the recommendation of the town's traffic study committee, to ban parking in the downtown municipal lot between midnight and 5 a.m. The reason was twofold: to ensure the lot is clear for plowing after snowstorms and to keep unregistered cars and trailers from being abandoned there.

The change upset tenants who live in apartment buildings on Church Street because most of those homes, which predate zoning regulations, do not have sufficient off-street parking.

Those tenants can park on the street most of the year, but overnight parking is banned during the winter.

Raymond Hill, who owns apartment buildings on Church Street, questioned the need for the parking ban in the municipal lot. "Since 1952, people have been parking there. Why should we change?" he said. "All my tenants are upset and don't know what's going on. I'm afraid some of them are going to look for another place to live."

Hill said his mother sold the property for the municipal lot to the town in 1952 with the understanding that her tenants would be allowed to park there. However, the agreement was made verbally so there is no written documentation.

"Back in those days, people shook hands and said you've got a deal. They took each other's word for it. My mother never would have sold that parking lot if she knew her tenants couldn't park there," he said.

The Church Street lot includes about 60 spaces. Hill said his tenants have four or five cars, though Town Administrator Mark Fisher pointed out there are other apartment buildings in the area that are in a similar circumstance.

After hearing from Hill, selectmen voted to reopen the parking lot for overnight parking. The board has asked the department of public works to designate a particular side of the lot for overnight parking, which should accommodate snow removal in the winter months.

Signs will be erected in the lot indicating the overnight parking area and that cars parked on the wrong side of the lot will be towed at the owner's expense.

AMY DeMELIA can be reached at 508-236-0334 or at ademelia@thesunchronicle.com.