Committee Report - Leg Matters - 1-15-15 — File 198397

Legislative Matters Committee Page 1 of 3 Printed 1/22/2015 January 15, 2015 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 Matthew McLaughlin Ward One Alderman Present William A. White Jr. Alderman At Large Present Others present: Alderman Maryann Heuston, Asst. Solicitor David Shapiro, Michael Glavin - OSPCD, Ellen Collins - ISD, Stan Koty - DPW, Omar Boukili - Mayor's Office, Barbara Rubel - Tufts, Mary Jeka - Tufts, Robert Joseph - Tufts Approval of the October 27, 2014 Minutes RESULT: ACCEPTED Approval of the November 10, 2014 Minutes RESULT: ACCEPTED Approval of the December 3, 2014 Minutes RESULT: ACCEPTED 197473: Proposing an amendment to the City's Ordinances to regulate University Accountability. Harvard University did not send a representative to this meeting, but did submit a letter to the city indicating that Harvard has a very limited institutional presence in the City of Somerville. Mr. Shapiro spoke with counsel from the City of Boston to discuss their ordinance on University Accountability and enforcing the ordinance. Alderman White suggested amendments to the draft ordinance proposing that all schools shall be responsible for publicizing to their students the limitations of the City of Somerville's ordinance regarding occupancy with unrelated individuals.

Legislative Matters Committee Page 2 of 3 Printed 1/22/2015 Two residents attended the meeting and were comfortable with the suggested changes to the ordinance. RESULT: APPROVED 198318: That this Board discuss an amendment to the Snow Ordinance as it relates to the time frame for clearing sidewalks following a storm. Chairman Rossetti contacted the Mass Municipal Association to inquire how other communities are handling their snow ordinances Responses were received from Fitchburg, Arlington and communities outside of Massachusetts. Some Somerville residents felt that the city’s ordinance was very narrow concerning the snow removal tmeframe. Mr. Shapiro distributed a document with various snow removal ordinances, gathered some time ago, as well as a copy of the city’s current snow removal ordinance. Ms. Collins discussed ISD's plan to enforce the ordinance and said that 6 health and 3 building inspectors would assist with enforcement. Mr. Boukili stated that ISD inspectors are equipped with iPads and software to enable offender to be tracked for repeat offenses. Alderman Heuston suggested doing away with the time on the ordinance and making the deadline a certain amount of hours after the snow has stopped. Mr. Koty stated that the city would still provide barrels with sand for residents. Chairman Rossetti received an email from a resident asking if the city could provide a webpage listing snow shovelers who would be available to the elderly or any community resident needing help. There will be a public hearing on the city’s Snow Removal Ordinance on February 3rd at 7:00 PM. The Legislative Matters Committee will meet, as a Committee of the Whole, on January 26th to discuss items 198318 and 198319, in preparation for the February 3rd public hearing. RESULT: KEPT IN COMMITTEE 198319: That this Board conduct a public hearing on the new snow removal regulations to solicit feedback and suggestions from the public. There will be a public hearing on the city’s Snow Removal Ordinance on February 3rd at 7:00 PM. RESULT: KEPT IN COMMITTEE 197706: That the Director of SPCD (ISD) report to the Flood Forum Special Committee on the enforcement of Ordinances 11-33 and 11-145 regarding increasing pervious surfaces. Alderman Heuston asked for reconsideration of ordinances 2012-03, 2012-04, 11-33 and 11-145. This item was placed on file and a new item will be submitted for referral to the Legislative Matters Committee. Mr. Shapiro was asked to prepare some recommendations for amending the ordinances. Aldermen Niedergang and Heuston suggested involving the Capital Projects Department in reviewing the ordinances and coming up with potential solutions to help tackle

Legislative Matters Committee Page 3 of 3 Printed 1/22/2015 flooding issues in the city. Mr. Boukili was asked to ascertain if there are any ordinances banning asphalt in other communities. The committee requested that George Proakis and the Law Department coordinate a recommendation to amend the ordinance for the next meeting. Alderman White moved that the Committee on Legislative Matters review ordinances 2012-03, 2012-04, 11-33 and 11-145. RESULT: PLACED ON FILE