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Report of the Committee on Housing and Community Development
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Official Text
REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENTThe Committee on Housing and Community Development held a meeting on May 3, 2010 with Chairman Rebekah Gewirtz presiding and Committee members Aldermen Walter Pero and Dennis Sullivan also present and voting. Also present were Alderman Maryann Heuston, Assistant City Solicitor Matt Buckley, Executive Director of OSPCD Monica Lamboy, Housing Director Phil Ercolini, Melisa Tintocalis of OSPCD, Tom Bent from the Chamber of Commerce, Joe Grafton from Somerville Local First, Courtney Koslow and Courtney O?Keefe.188946 - Proposed traffic redesign for the Union Sq. area:Chairman Gewirtz suggested that this item be discussed in June when Alderman Taylor returns.188866 - The state of business in Somerville and ways to improve the business climate:Ms. Tintocalis discussed various programs in the city such as New Business Retention and Retraction, the Incubator Idea and Buisness Mentorship, pointing out that some of these programs focus on start ups and small businesses. Efforts will be made to target ?clean and green? businesses that usually are higher paying industries that do not have store fronts or visibility. OSPCD will conduct internet surveys and face to face visits with the business community and will also utilize social media, e.g. a city blog and Facebook, to communicate with businesses. Alderman Sullivan spoke about the parking regulations, including meters, that he believes are hurting businesses, noting that he believes that some of these regulations were put into place by the Administration without approval from the Board of Aldermen. Ms. Tintocalis stated that she would gather information on the negative impacts on the city?s businesses through the survey and face to face meetings and added that her research shows that parking does not always make a business successful. Alderman Sullivan asked Ms. Tintocalis to provide him with the questions that will be asked of the businesses in the survey, prior to the survey being undertaken. Ms. Lamboy told the members that there were 140 attendees at the Chamber of Commerce meeting with the mayor last week.189126 - Review of expiring use affordable housing and their expiration dates:Alderman Sullivan discussed his concerns with increased public housing requests. Mr. Ercolini discussed the state certified inventory of public housing and told the members that the city?s current 40B housing level is at 9.63%. Capen Court will have 95 affordable units which will put the city at the required 10% level for chapter 40B housing. Mr. Ercolini discussed the ways in which 40B impacts development and noted that some affordable units are in perpetuity while others are not. Other topics discussed were:? ? notice requirements of owners who want to opt out of the affordable housing programs,? Somerville Community Corporation?s protection of tenants? rights,? negotiations regarding the Mt. Vernon Street property,? rental restrictions for short term loans and? the Mt. Pleasant Street property that will expire in 2011 but will retain affordable units until 2056.189129 - Opinion regarding the creation of a trust fund requiring big box stores to contribute to a fund to support small and independent businesses:Mr. Buckley presented an opinion on this matter on behalf of the Law Department and explained that placing a fee on big box businesses is not legal unless it is voluntary. Mr. Buckley explained how the proposed fee differs from linkage fees, which are authorized by the state legislature. In order to impose such a fee, a Home Rule petition would be needed or a state law would have to be passed. Mr. Buckley added that there may be other legal challenges that should be explored. Chairman Gerwitz stated that she is annoyed that this legal opinion did not include more information on a Home Rule petition and she feels that it should have been more thorough. Alderman Sullivan stated his concern that this fee could deter other businesses from coming to Somerville. Chairman Gewirtz responded by saying that she is concerned with the quality of public spaces and does not like big boxes such as those found in Harvard Square and Assembly Square and went on to say that she wants the big box stores to leverage their wealth to help smaller businesses. Mr. Buckley told the members that in order to perform further analysis, he would need additional guidance from the committee and asked if this proposal would impact big box stores only, or chain stores as well. Alderman Pero discussed ways in which the definition of ?big box? would be defined, i.e., would it depend on revenue, square footage, etc.?Mr. Grafton spoke about what it means to be a ?local business? and discussed policy resources that define formula businesses. The number of stores, total revenues and reinvestment back into the community are all factors that are taken into account. He stated that big box stores do not contribute as much to the community and he discussed how the city could justify charging fees to big box stores. Mr. Grafton discussed studies performed in Illinois and Texas that show that more money stays in the community with local businesses. He told the members that Concord will pass a rule limiting the number of chain stores in its downtown area. When asked about the amount of the fee, Mr. Grafton stated that he is not prepared to put a number on it at this time. Alderman Pero does not feel that too much effort should be put into this issue if there is a great possibility that it will never be passed. He stated his feeling that the proposal is an anti-business tax and he does not support any efforts to go forward with the matter. Mr. Grafton believes that Alderman Pero is wrong in stating that the concept is anti-business and said that he sees it as pro-local business. Alderman Pero responded by saying that that tax cuts are a pro business move and imposing new taxes is not pro business. Alderman Sullivan inquired what type of power the city would have to regulate the establishment of certain businesses. Chairman Gewirtz would like to have community members decide who will get grant seed money and she would like to have further discussions on this topic after additional research is conducted. Courtney Koslow compared linkage fees in Somerville to those in Boston and discussed options that businesses could have to contribute to the cause instead of paying into the fund. Mr. Bent stated that the Chamber of Commerce is opposed to big box stores, noting their impact on smaller businesses, and told the members that the distribution of the money (collected under this proposal) could be controversial. He discussed Assembly Square and how anchor tenants are needed and how smaller businesses cannot afford large developments. Using Bertucci?s as an example of a local business that has grown to a larger scale, Mr. Bent asked how someone would categorize big box stores. Would certain neighborhoods such as Assembly Square be left out of the plan while the focus is placed on neighborhoods such as Davis Square? Mr. Bent said that he is concerned about Somerville getting an anti-business reputation and pointed out that it is already more expensive to do business in Somerville than in Cambridge. Chairman Gewirtz discussed a recent visit to North Adams and spoke about how Main Street was dead and Walmart was busy. She feels that this idea is pro business and she believes that government?s role is to help community businesses. No items were acted on.