Land Use Committee — Minutes, Mar 21, 2024

City of Somerville, Massachusetts City Council Land Use Committee Meeting Minutes 6:30 PM Thursday, March 21, 2024 This meeting was held via Zoom and was called to order by Chair McLaughlin at 6:30 pm and adjourned at 6:47 pm with a roll call vote of 5 in favor (Councilor Wilson, Councilor Pineda Neufeld, Councilor Ewen-Campen, Councilor Davis and Chair McLaughlin), none absent, and none opposed. Others present: Dan Bartman – PPZ, Stephanie Widzowski – Clerk of Committees. Roll Call Ward One City Councilor Matthew McLaughlin, Ward Six City Councilor Lance L. Davis, Ward Three City Councilor Ben Ewen-Campen, Ward Seven City Councilor Judy Pineda Neufeld and City Councilor At Large Jake Wilson Present: 1. Approval of the Minutes of the Land Use Committee Meeting of February 15, 2024. Committee Minutes (ID # 24-0186) ACCEPTED RESULT: Ward One City Councilor McLaughlin, Ward Six City Councilor Davis, Ward Three City Councilor Ewen-Campen, Ward Seven City Councilor Pineda Neufeld and City Councilor At Large Wilson AYE: 2. Five residents submitting comments re: proposed Zoning Ordinance Climate & Equity Innovation Sub-Area Overlay District. Public Communication (ID # 24-0112) RECOMMENDED TO BE MARKED WORK COMPLETED RESULT: 3. Gregg Donovan requesting a Zoning Map Amendment to change the zoning district of 321 Washington Street from Fabrication (FAB) to Commercial Industry (CI). Public Communication (ID # 24-0059) Councilor Ewen-Campen recused himself from this item. Dir. Bartman announced that due to negative feedback received from the public, the Planning Board has formally given no recommendation. He added that the Administration does not support removal of the FAB district in general and does not recommend any change related to this item. Councilor Davis moved that the committee recommend the item be not approved. RECOMMENDED TO BE NOT APPROVED RESULT: Page 1 of 2

Land Use Committee Meeting Minutes March 21, 2024 Ward One City Councilor McLaughlin, Ward Six City Councilor Davis, Ward Three City Councilor Ewen-Campen, Ward Seven City Councilor Pineda Neufeld and City Councilor At Large Wilson AYE: 4. Requesting ordainment of an amendment to the Zoning Ordinances to amend Article 9: Use Provisions, and the Permitted Uses tables of all zoning districts, to establish a Recreational Camp for Children use within the Recreational Services use category. Mayor's Request (ID # 24-0037) Councilor Ewen-Campen cited noise concerns among others from residents and asked how the Recreational Camp use would relate to school zoning. He then asked about other options for locating camps, which led to a discussion on the impact of camps on neighborhoods. Dir. Bartman reiterated that there would still be means for addressing operations if there are any issues. RECOMMENDED TO BE APPROVED RESULT: Ward One City Councilor McLaughlin, Ward Six City Councilor Davis, Ward Three City Councilor Ewen-Campen, Ward Seven City Councilor Pineda Neufeld and City Councilor At Large Wilson AYE: The following item (23-1306) has been WITHDRAWN by the applicant. 5. Mai Lau, 635 Somerville Avenue LLC, requesting the adoption of an amendment to the Zoning Ordinance Map to change the zoning district of 627 Somerville Avenue from Neighborhood Residence (NR) to Mid-Rise 3 (MR3). Public Communication (ID # 23-1306) RECOMMENDED TO BE WITHDRAWN RESULT: Page 2 of 2