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Requesting that this Board's President designate an Alderman to join Alderman Niedergang in serving on the Transfer Charge Task Force.
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Official Text
To the Honorable Board:
In accordance with recommendations of the Sustainable Neighborhoods Working Group (SNWG,) the Office of Strategic Planning and Community Development (ODPCD) Housing Division is initiating work to prepare draft home rule petition language, for consideration by the Board of Aldermen, to allow creation of a real estate transfer charge that would apply to certain categories of real estate sales in the City of Somerville.
As a step toward development of an actionable home rule petition, OSPCD is convening a task force comprised of stakeholders with a variety of perspectives. The task force will discuss, among other topics:
- The amount of the charge
- The types of real estate transactions that would be subject to the proposed charge
- Potential exemptions to protect long-time Somerville homeowners
- Legislative strategy, including whether to partner with other communities
- The most appropriate uses of any potential revenues, including affordable housing
In recognition of his role as co-chair of SNWG, OSPCD will be asking Alderman Niedergang to join the task force. I am writing to request that the President of the Board of Aldermen name an additional member of the Board to serve on the task force.
I anticipate that the first meeting will be held during the week of December 12, 2016.
Thank you for your consideration. My staff will be available to answer any questions you might have.
Respectfully Submitted,
Joseph A. Curtatone, Mayor