Committee Report - Land Use - 5-9-17 — File 203402

Land Use Committee Page 1 of 2 Printed 5/10/2017 May 9, 2017 REPORT OF THE LAND USE COMMITTEE Attendee Name Title Status Arrived Lance L. Davis Chair Present Mark Niedergang Vice Chair Present William A. White Jr. Alderman At Large Present Matthew McLaughlin Ward One Alderman Present Maryann M. Heuston Ward Two Alderman Present Robert J. McWatters Ward Three Alderman Present Tony Lafuente Ward Four Alderman Absent Katjana Ballantyne Ward Seven Alderman Present Mary Jo Rossetti Alderman at Large Present John M. Connolly Alderman At Large Present Dennis M. Sullivan Alderman At Large Present Others present: Michael Glavin - OSPCD, George Proakis - OSPCD, Annie Connor - Legislative Liaison, Tim Snyder - Mayor’s Office, Charles Sillari - Clerk of Committees. The meeting took place in the Committee Room and was called to order at 6:24 PM by Alderman Davis and adjourned at 8:33 PM. 202853: Requesting an updated amendment to the Zoning Ordinance to create new CCD- 55 and CCD-45 Commercial subdistricts, a new Coordinated Development Special Permit, a new Union Square Overlay District, and related changes to Article 5 and the Zoning Map. President White informed those present that he will call for a special meeting of the Board of Aldermen on the last Tuesday of the month, (May 30th) to take up this matter. Alderman Rossetti will move the scheduled Legislative Matters meeting on May 30th to a date in July so as to not conflict with the special meeting of the BOA, nor the Ward 2 ResiStat meeting on the same night. Alderman Heuston suggested starting the ResiStat meeting at 6:00 PM instead of 6:30 PM and having the special meeting at a later hour. Mr. Proakis informed the members that there is a mistake in section 6A-1(a). He explained the design and site plan review process, special permits and how the process works as well as the Somerville site plan review process, noting that it is public.

Land Use Committee Page 2 of 2 Printed 5/10/2017 Among the items discussed were a neighborhood plan, having a neutral observer at meetings, a pre-submittal meeting, discretionary review, the requirements of developers with large lots, by right uses, the public hearing process, civic space, design review and the Design Review Committee and maximum street lot lines. Alderman White asked if there is public notice required of a deminimus change, as he is concerned about the Planning Department thinking something is deminimus while a neighbor may not. Alderman Rossetti expressed concern over how neighbors are notified of a neighborhood meeting. Alderman Heuston said that the significant impact on the abutters should require more stringent forms of notification and that the master developer could be required to give additional notification since the neighborhood meetings will be very important. Alderman Ballantyne would like notice of meetings to go to renters and owners, adding that Somerville is a city of renters. Mr. Proakis suggested mailed notices to owners and dropped notices at doorsteps for renters. He is concerned about requiring renters to be notified because the information on renters is much less than accurate. Alderman Niedergang stated that people all over the city will be interested in this and he would like to see people be engaged and involved in the process, therefore he suggested that the notice period be changed to 120 days. Alderman White asked about dealing with parking spaces without the design of the building and what may make more sense. Mr. Proakis spoke about different ways to grant parking special permits. The city wants to give applicants flexibility regarding parking. No more than 300 spaces may be allotted one business and Alderman Rossetti asked if the developers requested the 300 maximum parking spaces for one tenant. Mr. Proakis explained that the city wanted to set a number and 300 is a reasonable cap. Alderman Niedergang asked why 1,500 is the maximum number of parking spaces and said that he wants to make sure there is a public process if the developer wants more parking. Mr. Proakis said there is a fee to address the impact of traffic and there will be a special permit process. Alderman Niedergang requested that the meeting be adjourned to allow time to look the material. Chairman Davis asked for information on building heights, timing, phasing and specifics of the covenant to be passed out to members of the BOA. RESULT: KEPT IN COMMITTEE Handouts: • Draft Ordinance (with 202853) • Memo from Ald. Niedergang (with 202853)