Committee Report - Leg Matters - 3-16-17 — File 203006

Legislative Matters Committee Page 1 of 4 Printed 3/21/2017 March 16, 2017 REPORT OF THE LEGISLATIVE MATTERS COMMITTEE Attendee Name Title Status Arrived Mary Jo Rossetti Chair Present Mark Niedergang Vice Chair Present Katjana Ballantyne Ward Seven Alderman Present John M. Connolly Alderman At Large Present William A. White Jr. Alderman At Large Present Others present: Alderman Lance Davis, Alderman Maryann Heuston, Michael Glavin - OSPCD , Brad Rawson - OSPCD, Tom Galligani - OSPCD, Goran Smiljic - ISC, Ade Solarin - ISD, Nick Salerno - Elections, Frank Wright - Law, Jason Grossfield - Law, Angela Allen - Purchasing, Michael Mastrobuoni - SomerStat, Annie Connor - Legislative Liaison, Tim Snyder - Mayor’s Office, Rositha Durham - Clerk of Committees. The meeting took place in the Committee Room and was called to order at 6:30 PM by Alderman Rossetti and adjourned at 8:30 PM. Approval of the February 16, 2017 Minutes RESULT: ACCEPTED 202626: Proposing an Ordinance to safeguard vulnerable road users. The committee discussed the use of standard side guards on vehicles as a means to help save lives. Ms. Allen shared information learned from other communities and Ms. Connor reported that approximately 25 city vehicles, (from prior to 2014), do not have guards installed. These vehicles can be retrofitted, but it would be more cost effective to include the guards in RFP's for new vehicles, resulting in an additional cost of approximately $5,000 to a bid. Members also discussed ways to inspect contractors’ vehicles per the ordinance, noting that the City of Boston requires a report and that Boston has not been enforcing the 3rd party compliance in the past years. The City of Somerville is still collecting information on how this would work and how to enforce it. At this time, their recommendation is to phase in this ordinance. The committee discussed various fines for those not having safe guards on their vehicles. Alderman Davis, (invited to the table to speak) said that he would like a decision to be made quickly, given all of the construction that will begin in Somerville.

Legislative Matters Committee Page 2 of 4 Printed 3/21/2017 Alderman Niedergang asked for a total cost for retrofitting the vehicles and/or bidding with the requirement of having the safe guard on vehicles. It was stated that approximately 1000 trucks will be involved in the Beacon Street project. This number of vehicles would include trash trucks, school buses and delivery vehicles. More questions were raised about how the price will effect each of those vehicles. Ms. Allen is trying to speak with the City of Boston’s Procurement Department about the change in cost and pointed out that there are limited suppliers for safe guard vehicles. Mr. Snyder will reach out to the City of Boston to find out whether they are losing competition for bids due to this request. Solicitor Wright informed the committee no more than $300 may be fined. Alderman Niedergang motion to amend the draft ordinance fines to $100, $200 and $300 was approved. Chairman Rossetti would like to have a proposal completed in time for the April 6th committee meeting. RESULT: KEPT IN COMMITTEE 202023: That the Director of SPCD report to this Board on the Administration’s plans for the Somerville Municipal Job Creation and Retention Trust Fund and jobs linkage fee for new commercial development. Mr. Glavin, Mr. Galligani and Mr. Snyder spoke on this item and referenced a meeting on March 30th as a kick off for working with the consultant. Alderman Ballantyne will represent the BOA on this committee. The time frame to complete the jobs linkage portion and to formalize a recommendation is June/July. Alderman Niedergang raised concerns about the timing of getting this started due to the budget hearings in June and the BOA’s summer break. Alderman Connolly asked for a time line for the next steps, to give the committee a sense of where this is going over the next 3 -6 months. Alderman White spoke about the timeliness of making a decision, since construction projects could be completed without the city obtaining any fees and he suggested the team come up with a figure soon. A request was made by the legal team to present the terms of the actual Trust. Mr. Glavin will examine any potential risks. A question was raised about passing this via zoning, which would require a 2/3 vote of the BOA vs. Legislative Matters, which would require a majority vote. Resident Laurie Goldman spoke about urgency of this issue and the need to establish the trust fund A.S.A.P. Mary Joe Connolly, representing Jobs for Somerville, believes the Administration’s promise to reconvene the committee was not made to everyone and said that FRIT was unhappy with the ordinance at the last meeting. Rene Mardones, of SCC, shared a draft ordinance for linkage fees with the members. Tom Bent was also in attendance and said that he is looking forward to the proposed March 30th meeting and suggested that maybe the Somerville High School Career and Tech Ed Department may be the best place to receive the funds. Alderman Niedergang asked about FRIT and the future 250k square foot building and permitting process. A request was made of Mr. Glavin to ask FRIT for a voluntary linkage payment, for now. RESULT: KEPT IN COMMITTEE 202360: That the City Solicitor prepare a draft ordinance for jobs linkage fees. Mr. Wright said that his office has been waiting for the results of the Nexus study.

Legislative Matters Committee Page 3 of 4 Printed 3/21/2017 RESULT: KEPT IN COMMITTEE 202201: That the City Solicitor draft a Home Rule Petition to provide relief from water and sewer charges and rates to property owners who occupy their homes, by providing an exemption similar to the residential property tax exemption. Discussion of this matter continued with Mr. Mastrobuoni, Mr. Grossfield and Mr. Snyder. Alderman White suggested the language duplicate that of the original real estate tax exemption ordinance for owner occupied properties. The committee discussed how the proposal would work, whether it would be based on a staight discount or a percentage of water/sewer use and potentially adjusting the rate so as to not promote excess consumption. Mr. Grossfield was requested to draft a Home Rule Petition. The committee additionally awaits a MUNIS report. RESULT: KEPT IN COMMITTEE 202238: That this Board review the attached policy from Cambridge regarding Globe Direct advertising and consider adopting it for Somerville. The Committee reviewed the proposed resolution, amending the 7th paragraph, as follows: ….. Residents also complain that the plastic bags are often found on the sidewalks, in yards and in some cases, in the middle of the street; and ….. RESULT: WORK COMPLETED 199934: That the Supervisor of Inspectional Services create a Rental Registration Program to require owners of 6 or more rental units that are not owner-occupied to annually register those units, pay a registration fee, and provide information to facilitate inspections, notices of violations, and resolution of complaints. See discussion of item 202122. RESULT: KEPT IN COMMITTEE 202122: That the Administration present its recommendations and a draft ordinance for the proposed Rental Registration Program (#199934) to the Committee on Legislative Matters at its meeting on October 20, 2016. Mr. Smiljic and Mr. Solarin discussed the draft ordinance, detailing the information that would need to be posted and the visibility of the posting. Possible locations to post the information would be alongside mailboxes, stairways, hallways, elevators and/or common access points. The proposed ordinance is intended for owners of non-owner occupied buildings containing 6 or more rental units. The committee discussed adding language to the ordinance regarding sanitary, health and building code violations and also discussed making the information available in other languages besides English. (Alderman Heuston was invited to the table for this discussion.) Alderman Heuston recommended, at the very least, we get this ordinance up and running as a good first step in establishing a rental registry in the city. Attorney Shapiro will be forwarded recommended changes to the ordinance as discussed this evening so that he may revise the draft for presentation at a future committee meeting.

Legislative Matters Committee Page 4 of 4 Printed 3/21/2017 RESULT: KEPT IN COMMITTEE 202887: Requesting that this Board approve a 2017 local election calendar. Mr. Salerno presented proposed schedules for this year's election. After reviewing the options, the committee recommended an amended election calendar with nomination papers to be available on May 8th and returned no later than June 28th, a preliminary election date of September 19th and final election to be held on November 7th. RESULT: APPROVED AS AMENDED Handouts: • Jobs Linkage (with 202023) • Proposed Resolution (with 202238) • Proposed Election Calendars (with 202887)