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Good night. Welcome to the

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joint special meeting of the City

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of Gloucester on September 22, no. 29

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. Joint meeting of

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Gloucester City Council and the

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Planning Board. This afternoon

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we will have a public hearing on

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the Compass Housing Plan. This

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public meeting of the City Council

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is recorded on Zoom with a link that is

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published in the agenda. If you are calling by

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phone, you can press *

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9 to request the word. If you

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are viewing the meeting on a

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computer or device, there is a

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raised hand button you can

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tap or press to request to

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speak. Use any of these

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during oral communications and

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public hearings to ensure your

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voice is acknowledged. If

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technical difficulties arise and the

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Zoom link is interrupted during a

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hybrid in-person

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City Council meeting and there is a quorum, the meeting

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may continue after

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efforts have been made to

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restore the link. The minutes

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must record the

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interruption. The City of Gloucester

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has determined that no person should be

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denied equal treatment or

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opportunity because of ancestry,

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age, color, disability (including

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intellectual developmental disability

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), family status,

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immigration status, gender identity or expression

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, military status,

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marital status, nationality, race, religion,

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sex, or sexual orientation. This afternoon

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we are joined by Ward

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One Councillor Scott Memhard, Councillor-at-Large

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Hannah Kimberley, Councillor-at-Large

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Jason Grow, Ward

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Three Councillor Marjorie Grace,

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Ward Two Councillor Dylan Benson, and

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Ward Four Councillor Francesco Majocha.

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Councilwoman Patty M. Page,

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District Five Councilman Scott M., and

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Council Vice President Shawn Nolan are

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not feeling well this afternoon. They may

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join us via Zoom

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, but that will be determined. We will

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salute the flag. Councilwoman

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Majocha will guide us in that.

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I pledge allegiance to the flag of the

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United States of America and to the

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republic for which it stands, one nation

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under God, indivisible, with liberty and

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justice for all.

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Mayor Lundberg is also present

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. We have the Director of

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Community Development, Alex Kopleman.

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Online, we have our

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administrative director, Kelly Dolan. And I think that's it

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, and I'll hand it over to the Chairman

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of the Planning Board, Rick

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Noonan.

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Good night. I would like to open

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this afternoon's special meeting of the Planning Board, a joint meeting with the City Council.

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I'm Rick Noonan, the president.

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Vice President Jane Ramsden, Ray

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Catamountary to her immediate right,

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Steve Yost, David Rosen and Beverly

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Brookin. And for the record, I'd

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also like to acknowledge our Drew Tarr.

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And I would also like to acknowledge that

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we have the municipal secretary, Grace

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Poirier.

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Well, when I should say, sorry

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Tony, we have two people working

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remotely. We have Doug Cook and I think

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Shawn Henry too. Yes, thanks.

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Thank you.

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I will open the City Council's public hearing

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.

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The special planning board meeting

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of September 29,

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2026.

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This public hearing is number

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2026-023, regarding the consideration of the

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2026 Housing Compass Plan. We

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will now make the presentation. Alex

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Koppelman.

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Thank you and good night. It's a pleasure to

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be with you. Alex Koppelman, I am

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the city's director of community development

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. I will give you a

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relatively

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brief overview of the planning process that went into

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creating the plan you are being

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asked to consider adopting

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tonight. This is the housing compass plan

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. It is a plan that

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proactively analyzes how we meet

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our housing needs as a

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community. It is written according to

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state standards for a

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housing production plan, but it

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is actually a local plan based

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on three principles. The first is to

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protect the Gloucester community

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from rising housing costs,

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the fear of having to leave Gloucester, or

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not knowing if there is a future home for

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you here. Preserve the housing we

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currently have that

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meets the needs of the

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community so that we do not lose it. And

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also to see where we can

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promote new housing options in

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places where it makes sense. This

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process began approximately

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a year ago. During the course of that

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year, we engaged the community

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in a variety of ways while

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working on an assessment of

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the city's housing needs,

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analyzing all the

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latest available data, and noting the

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limitations and opportunities for

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development. Thinking about where it makes

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sense to encourage

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housing growth. We have used all of that

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information to draft the plan

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before you, and you will be asked to

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consider voting to adopt it. If they

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adopt it, it will be sent to the state for

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approval. As I mentioned, it is

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written according to

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state standards for the housing production plan

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, which essentially

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gives us greater local control over the

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housing situation here and

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protects access to

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state subsidies. I want to thank the

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advisory committee for the plan. We had a great

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group of people representing

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service providers, the

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business community, the

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arts community, the older members of

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our community, as well as

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young people and many

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different stakeholders. It would not have been possible to

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involve these different people

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from the Gloucester community without this

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advisory committee, and they were a

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very important group of experts when it came to

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evaluating the recommendations. So,

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thank you for that. The components of the

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plan are an assessment of

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housing needs. All the

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latest data available to

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analyze our demographics,

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housing stock and the extent to which that

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housing stock meets the

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needs here in Gloucester.

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We evaluate the tools the

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city has to cover housing.

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Based on all of this, we set

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goals for the plan that also

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guide where we want to encourage

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housing growth, and then there are

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several policy recommendations.

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The assessment of

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housing needs is quite thorough. I'm not going to go into too much detail about it

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this

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afternoon. But I think the important thing to

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keep in mind here is that we analyzed

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the city's demographics. We have

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an aging community, but we

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also have many other people

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trying to do different things.

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Your housing goals and needs

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change as you get older. Therefore, if you

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belong to a larger family, you

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may be looking for a way

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to modify your home to suit

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your needs so you can stay

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there, or you may be looking for a

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downsizing option, something

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more manageable. For example, if you are

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a young person, you may be

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trying to buy your first home or

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perhaps you are looking to rent one,

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but this will vary as you

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get older. And these things are

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related. Therefore, if an

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older family cannot find a

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downsizing option, that means

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there are fewer large homes available

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for a younger family who may be

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looking for a larger home. So

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, what's the housing stock like

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here in the city? 56% of the

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homes here are single-family homes, so

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most are single-family homes.

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We have a good portion of

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smaller multi-family buildings with two to

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four units, and the rest of the

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housing stock is of a larger multi-family type

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with five or more units.

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Of the approximately 13,000 homes

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here, 8% are used seasonally,

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about 1,100 homes. Well, that puts

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a strain on the year-round housing stock

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for people who

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want to live here year-round or

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perhaps work here, but are having

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difficulty finding a home

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here. And that's because housing

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is very expensive. The average selling price

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of a single-family home in

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Gloucester today is $715,000.

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Therefore, considerable resources are needed

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to make a

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down payment, as well as a good income

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. And if 56% of the housing stock is

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single-family homes, that means many

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of them are quite difficult to

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access. There are fewer rental options

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and they are also expensive, and we have seen

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large income disparities

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between landlords and tenants here

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in Gloucester. The other finding I

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will point out here is that there is a

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mismatch between the size of

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available housing and the size of

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households in the city. Therefore,

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half of the housing stock has

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three or more bedrooms, but the

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average household size is about

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two people. Well, there's a slight

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mismatch there, and a greater

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variety of housing types and

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smaller housing options are needed.

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Housing affordability has a

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major impact on the community. 41% of

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households here spend more than a

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third of their income on

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housing costs. Therefore, that also

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affects our economy. You know,

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if you spend so much of your income on your

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housing costs, you can't take care of

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other things you need. You have less

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income to support our

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local economy or perhaps invest in a business.

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Furthermore, if it's a place where there's a

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shortage of supply and affordable options

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, you might not be able to live here

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even if you work here, and that puts more

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pressure on traffic and all that.

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In addition, we have more people who

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can live in our community,

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which means we have a

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stronger market to support our

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businesses here. There is a clear lack of

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affordable housing supply in Foster,

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as in the entire region. For every six

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households that are eligible for

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affordable housing, there is only one unit

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in the city. Well, we took a look

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at all that data, but the numbers

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don't tell us much. We placed a lot of emphasis

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on community participation in

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this plan to truly understand

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people's housing needs and goals.

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We take an approach of meeting

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people where they are by

280
00:11:17,389 --> 00:11:19,412
organizing pop-up events.

281
00:11:19,412 --> 00:11:21,681
For example, summer concert series

282
00:11:21,681 --> 00:11:23,766
, Halloween parties, and

283
00:11:23,766 --> 00:11:26,075
neighborhood festivals that were held.

284
00:11:26,075 --> 00:11:27,827
All these things, you know, are

285
00:11:27,827 --> 00:11:29,898
events that the community already attends and

286
00:11:29,898 --> 00:11:31,809
that allow you to get a

287
00:11:31,809 --> 00:11:33,455
more realistic representative sample of the

288
00:11:33,455 --> 00:11:35,388
community. So we wanted to try to

289
00:11:35,388 --> 00:11:37,139
interact with people in that environment

290
00:11:37,139 --> 00:11:39,093
. We also organize

291
00:11:39,093 --> 00:11:41,221
focus groups with people from the

292
00:11:41,221 --> 00:11:43,297
arts community, the business community, and

293
00:11:43,297 --> 00:11:45,425
older people to sit down and have

294
00:11:45,425 --> 00:11:47,341
quality conversations with them

295
00:11:47,341 --> 00:11:49,363
about the housing challenges they

296
00:11:49,363 --> 00:11:51,278
face and what the city

297
00:11:51,278 --> 00:11:53,959
could do to address them.

298
00:11:53,959 --> 00:11:55,497
We celebrate two great

299
00:11:55,497 --> 00:11:58,183
traditional forums. One focused on where to

300
00:11:58,183 --> 00:12:00,265
encourage housing growth,

301
00:12:00,265 --> 00:12:02,295
and the other on publishing the draft

302
00:12:02,295 --> 00:12:04,164
plan and debating its

303
00:12:04,164 --> 00:12:06,286
policy recommendations. Both events had a good

304
00:12:06,286 --> 00:12:08,122
turnout, with about 100 people

305
00:12:08,122 --> 00:12:12,083
present. We conducted a survey that

306
00:12:12,083 --> 00:12:13,922
we promoted at our

307
00:12:13,922 --> 00:12:16,039
launch events for about

308
00:12:16,039 --> 00:12:18,212
six months, in which we gathered

309
00:12:18,212 --> 00:12:20,051
extensive public information that

310
00:12:20,051 --> 00:12:21,556
ultimately shaped the

311
00:12:21,556 --> 00:12:24,932
plan's recommendations. We also

312
00:12:24,932 --> 00:12:27,001
partnered with 1623 Studios to create

313
00:12:27,001 --> 00:12:29,125
a video summarizing

314
00:12:29,125 --> 00:12:30,923
the city's housing needs and produce

315
00:12:30,923 --> 00:12:33,047
content from it to direct

316
00:12:33,047 --> 00:12:35,171
people to the plan's website and

317
00:12:35,171 --> 00:12:37,589
survey. After the plan

318
00:12:37,589 --> 00:12:39,460
was released as a draft, we had a

319
00:12:39,460 --> 00:12:41,430
30-day public comment period

320
00:12:41,430 --> 00:12:45,173
and then met with the

321
00:12:45,222 --> 00:12:48,670
Affordable Housing Trust Planning Board and the

322
00:12:48,719 --> 00:12:50,591
City Council Planning Development Subcommittee to gather further

323
00:12:50,591 --> 00:12:52,216
feedback and ensure that the

324
00:12:52,216 --> 00:12:54,038
recommendations reflected what the

325
00:12:54,038 --> 00:12:56,008
community shared with us and that

326
00:12:56,008 --> 00:13:01,168
we could refine them appropriately.

327
00:13:01,168 --> 00:13:03,157
Here is a chart that gives you a

328
00:13:03,157 --> 00:13:05,043
small breakdown of the different

329
00:13:05,043 --> 00:13:06,823
events we held and how many

330
00:13:06,823 --> 00:13:09,501
people attended. I just want

331
00:13:09,501 --> 00:13:11,680
to emphasize again that we speak to

332
00:13:11,680 --> 00:13:13,917
specific areas of the community that

333
00:13:13,917 --> 00:13:16,096
, as you know, may not participate in a

334
00:13:16,096 --> 00:13:18,191
traditional way. We held

335
00:13:18,191 --> 00:13:20,208
focus groups at the senior center

336
00:13:20,208 --> 00:13:21,994
, Gloucester High School,

337
00:13:21,994 --> 00:13:24,068
and Sawyer Public Library

338
00:13:24,068 --> 00:13:26,134
. We had

339
00:13:26,134 --> 00:13:28,041
trusted members of the Brazilian community

340
00:13:28,041 --> 00:13:29,741
hold a focus group with these

341
00:13:29,741 --> 00:13:31,802
people to share their

342
00:13:31,802 --> 00:13:33,669
housing needs. We met with

343
00:13:33,669 --> 00:13:35,636
major employers in Gloucester and they

344
00:13:35,636 --> 00:13:37,456
told us that housing has a

345
00:13:37,456 --> 00:13:38,834
significant impact on

346
00:13:38,834 --> 00:13:40,752
employee recruitment and retention

347
00:13:40,752 --> 00:13:42,769
. Therefore, I believe we did a

348
00:13:42,769 --> 00:13:44,481
good job covering all the

349
00:13:44,481 --> 00:13:46,088
different areas that make

350
00:13:46,088 --> 00:13:48,521
Gloucester a special place. In

351
00:13:48,521 --> 00:13:50,781
summary, we involved more than 600

352
00:13:50,781 --> 00:13:55,412
people. So, based on

353
00:13:55,412 --> 00:13:57,575
all that data and

354
00:13:57,575 --> 00:13:59,413
community participation, we established four

355
00:13:59,413 --> 00:14:01,455
objectives for the plan. The first is to

356
00:14:01,455 --> 00:14:03,298
support housing that meets the

357
00:14:03,298 --> 00:14:04,991
needs of an

358
00:14:04,991 --> 00:14:07,632
aging population. It is clear that Gloucester

359
00:14:07,632 --> 00:14:09,520
has an aging population and that is going

360
00:14:09,520 --> 00:14:12,527
to continue. So we really

361
00:14:12,527 --> 00:14:14,238
took that into account when developing the

362
00:14:14,238 --> 00:14:17,013
strategies. But

363
00:14:17,013 --> 00:14:18,581
a greater variety of

364
00:14:18,581 --> 00:14:20,461
housing options is also needed in general. And the more

365
00:14:20,461 --> 00:14:22,584
variety we have, the

366
00:14:22,584 --> 00:14:24,540
more smaller types of housing we can

367
00:14:24,540 --> 00:14:26,719
create, the more possibilities we will have to

368
00:14:26,719 --> 00:14:28,898
create affordable rental and home ownership options

369
00:14:28,898 --> 00:14:31,888
.

370
00:14:31,888 --> 00:14:34,061
Affordability is an important area of

371
00:14:34,061 --> 00:14:35,528
focus for the plan, but

372
00:14:35,528 --> 00:14:37,593
specifically deep levels of

373
00:14:37,593 --> 00:14:40,844
affordability. Therefore, many of

374
00:14:40,844 --> 00:14:42,794
the affordable homes being created

375
00:14:42,794 --> 00:14:44,796
do not reach the income levels of

376
00:14:44,796 --> 00:14:46,887
Gloucester. Therefore, we are

377
00:14:46,887 --> 00:14:48,877
focusing on strategies to increase

378
00:14:48,877 --> 00:14:50,714
the affordability of

379
00:14:50,714 --> 00:14:53,041
incoming affordable housing units. To

380
00:14:53,041 --> 00:14:54,982
achieve this, we must also focus

381
00:14:54,982 --> 00:14:57,895
on developing our local capacity.

382
00:14:57,895 --> 00:15:00,970
Those are the four objectives of the plan.

383
00:15:00,970 --> 00:15:02,725
This is a chart showing

384
00:15:02,725 --> 00:15:05,939
policy recommendations. You will see

385
00:15:05,939 --> 00:15:08,127
these icons at the top.

386
00:15:08,127 --> 00:15:09,995
This is the first objective related

387
00:15:09,995 --> 00:15:12,121
to the aging community. This is

388
00:15:12,121 --> 00:15:14,117
about various housing options.

389
00:15:14,117 --> 00:15:16,216
This is about affordability. And this is

390
00:15:16,216 --> 00:15:17,678
the goal of

391
00:15:17,678 --> 00:15:19,433
capacity building. If you see a

392
00:15:19,433 --> 00:15:21,325
check mark next to any of

393
00:15:21,325 --> 00:15:23,164
these goals, it means that the

394
00:15:23,164 --> 00:15:24,951
strategy is making progress on that

395
00:15:24,951 --> 00:15:27,923
goal or on several goals. If you see

396
00:15:27,923 --> 00:15:29,773
a star next to a strategy, it

397
00:15:29,773 --> 00:15:31,574
means it's a

398
00:15:31,574 --> 00:15:33,324
priority recommendation, and

399
00:15:33,324 --> 00:15:35,224
priority recommendations are those we believe would have

400
00:15:35,224 --> 00:15:37,075
the greatest impact and that

401
00:15:37,075 --> 00:15:38,825
we'd like to implement as soon as

402
00:15:38,825 --> 00:15:42,257
possible. I have thoroughly discussed

403
00:15:42,257 --> 00:15:44,201
these strategies with both the

404
00:15:44,201 --> 00:15:46,048
planning board and the

405
00:15:46,048 --> 00:15:47,603
city council, so now I'm going to

406
00:15:47,603 --> 00:15:49,462
take it to a higher level. If

407
00:15:49,462 --> 00:15:51,156
there is anything you would like to analyze in

408
00:15:51,156 --> 00:15:52,901
depth or have

409
00:15:52,901 --> 00:15:54,955
questions about, please let me know and we will

410
00:15:54,955 --> 00:15:57,467
do it. But the first strategy,

411
00:15:57,467 --> 00:15:59,538
which is to analyze all of this

412
00:15:59,538 --> 00:16:01,728
anyway, is to find ways to protect the

413
00:16:01,728 --> 00:16:03,746
community. The best way to do this

414
00:16:03,746 --> 00:16:05,466
is to put down roots in the community and

415
00:16:05,466 --> 00:16:07,136
expand

416
00:16:07,136 --> 00:16:08,709
first-time home buying and other

417
00:16:08,709 --> 00:16:10,488
home ownership options. The first

418
00:16:10,488 --> 00:16:12,610
recommendation is to increase the amount

419
00:16:12,610 --> 00:16:14,569
of federal assistance the

420
00:16:14,569 --> 00:16:16,583
city offers to

421
00:16:16,583 --> 00:16:18,651
first-time homebuyers and to look for other ways

422
00:16:18,651 --> 00:16:22,444
to support community ownership. The

423
00:16:22,444 --> 00:16:24,454
second set of recommendations are

424
00:16:24,454 --> 00:16:26,263
ways to protect

425
00:16:26,263 --> 00:16:28,948
vulnerable tenants. We have many people

426
00:16:28,948 --> 00:16:31,041
who shared their concerns

427
00:16:31,041 --> 00:16:33,308
about the cost of housing, you know

428
00:16:33,308 --> 00:16:35,775
, about whether they will be able to stay here.

429
00:16:35,775 --> 00:16:37,271
So, we have some

430
00:16:37,271 --> 00:16:39,285
policy recommendations to

431
00:16:39,285 --> 00:16:41,599
protect them. And then, the third

432
00:16:41,599 --> 00:16:43,795
set of recommendations are ways

433
00:16:43,795 --> 00:16:45,992
to create better cohesion among the

434
00:16:45,992 --> 00:16:48,019
cultural activities that make

435
00:16:48,019 --> 00:16:50,272
Gloucester a rich cultural center and a great

436
00:16:50,272 --> 00:16:56,661
place to live. The second set

437
00:16:56,661 --> 00:16:58,667
of recommendations revolves around the

438
00:16:58,667 --> 00:17:00,785
principle of preservation, that is,

439
00:17:00,785 --> 00:17:02,958
making sure we preserve the housing we

440
00:17:02,958 --> 00:17:05,131
have now that meets the

441
00:17:05,131 --> 00:17:07,943
needs of the community. The first

442
00:17:07,943 --> 00:17:10,039
set of recommendations are ways

443
00:17:10,039 --> 00:17:11,813
to avoid large

444
00:17:11,813 --> 00:17:13,856
rent increases for people living in

445
00:17:13,856 --> 00:17:15,899
affordable housing, to prevent them from having to

446
00:17:15,899 --> 00:17:20,522
leave their homes. The

447
00:17:20,522 --> 00:17:22,376
second set of recommendations

448
00:17:22,376 --> 00:17:24,333
involves monitoring our

449
00:17:24,333 --> 00:17:27,600
short-term rental data. We have

450
00:17:27,600 --> 00:17:29,183
new data from a record we

451
00:17:29,183 --> 00:17:31,714
recently published online.

452
00:17:31,714 --> 00:17:33,503
We want to monitor them in order to try to

453
00:17:33,503 --> 00:17:35,389
mitigate the pressure on the

454
00:17:35,389 --> 00:17:39,160
permanent housing stock. Another way to

455
00:17:39,160 --> 00:17:41,066
do this could be to incentivize

456
00:17:41,066 --> 00:17:42,765
landlords to rent to

457
00:17:42,765 --> 00:17:44,825
permanent residents or people who

458
00:17:44,825 --> 00:17:46,473
work in a local business in

459
00:17:46,473 --> 00:17:51,019
Gloucester. And then we have some

460
00:17:51,019 --> 00:17:53,035
recommendations on increasing

461
00:17:53,035 --> 00:17:54,895
capacity and ensuring that

462
00:17:54,895 --> 00:17:58,827
new housing is affordable and

463
00:17:58,827 --> 00:18:00,266
accessible for

464
00:18:00,266 --> 00:18:06,393
Gloucester households. The latest set of

465
00:18:06,393 --> 00:18:08,123
recommendations deals with how to

466
00:18:08,123 --> 00:18:09,802
produce new housing in

467
00:18:09,802 --> 00:18:12,676
locations that make sense. I believe the

468
00:18:12,676 --> 00:18:14,246
key recommendation here is to

469
00:18:14,246 --> 00:18:16,235
consider the Railroad Ave area and

470
00:18:16,235 --> 00:18:17,857
utilize a smart

471
00:18:17,857 --> 00:18:19,375
growth zoning overlay

472
00:18:19,375 --> 00:18:21,364
established through

473
00:18:21,364 --> 00:18:23,405
Chapter 40R to generate

474
00:18:23,405 --> 00:18:25,028
housing options in a location that has

475
00:18:25,028 --> 00:18:27,017
infrastructure, access to

476
00:18:27,017 --> 00:18:29,058
public transportation, access to services, and resources

477
00:18:29,058 --> 00:18:31,975
. We also know that, given that

478
00:18:31,975 --> 00:18:34,204
Shaw's grocery store has been

479
00:18:34,204 --> 00:18:36,205
empty for the past year, it doesn't

480
00:18:36,205 --> 00:18:38,319
appear that the market can accommodate a large

481
00:18:38,319 --> 00:18:40,800
supermarket there. But perhaps, by

482
00:18:40,800 --> 00:18:43,023
facilitating some housing in the area

483
00:18:43,023 --> 00:18:45,191
with people living on-site, a

484
00:18:45,191 --> 00:18:47,415
smaller grocery store with

485
00:18:47,415 --> 00:18:49,305
living quarters above could be more

486
00:18:49,305 --> 00:18:53,491
financially viable. The other

487
00:18:53,491 --> 00:18:55,806
zoning recommendations here

488
00:18:55,806 --> 00:18:57,942
essentially attempt to facilitate the

489
00:18:57,942 --> 00:19:00,198
implementation of small

490
00:19:00,198 --> 00:19:02,453
housing options such as accessory dwelling units

491
00:19:02,453 --> 00:19:04,589
, three-family homes, and

492
00:19:04,589 --> 00:19:06,489
clustered cottages in

493
00:19:06,489 --> 00:19:09,356
Gloucester neighborhoods. And none of these

494
00:19:09,356 --> 00:19:10,946
recommendations are

495
00:19:10,946 --> 00:19:13,110
general zoning changes. They are all

496
00:19:13,110 --> 00:19:14,678
targeted because Gloucester has

497
00:19:14,678 --> 00:19:16,153
very particular development restrictions

498
00:19:16,153 --> 00:19:17,921
. So, whenever we

499
00:19:17,921 --> 00:19:19,499
want to adopt a

500
00:19:19,499 --> 00:19:21,078
zoning policy, I think we really

501
00:19:21,078 --> 00:19:22,936
need to consider the area we're

502
00:19:22,936 --> 00:19:24,813
considering. Well, none of these

503
00:19:24,813 --> 00:19:26,769
things are going to unlock

504
00:19:26,769 --> 00:19:28,628
overall housing development, but there needs to be

505
00:19:28,628 --> 00:19:30,486
a process for analyzing where it makes

506
00:19:30,486 --> 00:19:32,198
sense to try to implement these

507
00:19:32,198 --> 00:19:33,714
small, affordable housing options

508
00:19:33,714 --> 00:19:36,823
. The

509
00:19:36,823 --> 00:19:38,615
remaining recommendations in the products section

510
00:19:38,615 --> 00:19:40,359
are about financing

511
00:19:40,359 --> 00:19:43,628
affordable housing. Well, ways to finance

512
00:19:43,628 --> 00:19:45,754
more affordable housing, and

513
00:19:45,754 --> 00:19:47,544
we also get a lot of feedback from

514
00:19:47,544 --> 00:19:49,503
people about how they would like to

515
00:19:49,503 --> 00:19:51,685
create an accessory dwelling unit

516
00:19:51,685 --> 00:19:53,867
or improve their own existing property

517
00:19:53,867 --> 00:19:55,908
. The zoning is quite good in

518
00:19:55,908 --> 00:19:57,745
that respect. I mean, we allow

519
00:19:57,745 --> 00:19:59,400
accessory dwelling units by

520
00:19:59,400 --> 00:20:00,641
right in all

521
00:20:00,641 --> 00:20:02,519
residential zones. Well, the main

522
00:20:02,519 --> 00:20:04,546
barrier is financial. It is difficult

523
00:20:04,546 --> 00:20:06,139
to finance an accessory dwelling unit

524
00:20:06,139 --> 00:20:08,265
. Well, we have proposed

525
00:20:08,265 --> 00:20:10,435
establishing a loan product that would be

526
00:20:10,435 --> 00:20:12,443
obtained from the Affordable Housing

527
00:20:12,443 --> 00:20:14,613
Trust for eligible landlords who

528
00:20:14,613 --> 00:20:16,512
are interested in

529
00:20:16,512 --> 00:20:19,725
creating accessory housing units.

530
00:20:19,725 --> 00:20:21,799
The final policy points here

531
00:20:21,799 --> 00:20:23,713
are basically advocacy against the

532
00:20:23,713 --> 00:20:25,734
state to try to expand our

533
00:20:25,734 --> 00:20:27,755
options in terms of

534
00:20:27,755 --> 00:20:33,349
available grants. When we think about where

535
00:20:33,349 --> 00:20:34,909
Gloucester is, it's quite

536
00:20:34,909 --> 00:20:37,794
complicated. As I mentioned before, there are

537
00:20:37,794 --> 00:20:39,936
many development limitations,

538
00:20:39,936 --> 00:20:42,077
from protected open spaces

539
00:20:42,077 --> 00:20:44,341
to wetlands and flood-prone areas

540
00:20:44,341 --> 00:20:46,544
, places that do not have

541
00:20:46,544 --> 00:20:49,938
municipal sewerage. Therefore, it

542
00:20:49,938 --> 00:20:51,998
is difficult to find places that encourage

543
00:20:51,998 --> 00:20:54,983
housing growth. We have

544
00:20:54,983 --> 00:20:56,870
consolidated all

545
00:20:56,870 --> 00:20:58,855
development limitations in the dark blue areas of

546
00:20:58,855 --> 00:21:00,753
this map. White areas are

547
00:21:00,753 --> 00:21:02,306
places where there may be some

548
00:21:02,306 --> 00:21:04,142
opportunity to encourage

549
00:21:04,142 --> 00:21:09,232
housing growth.

550
00:21:09,232 --> 00:21:11,142
We generally consider the recommendations that

551
00:21:11,142 --> 00:21:12,793
demarcate between the

552
00:21:12,793 --> 00:21:16,916
outlying neighborhoods and the center of Gloucester.

553
00:21:16,916 --> 00:21:18,760
Many of Gloucester's neighborhoods

554
00:21:18,760 --> 00:21:20,718
do not have sewer systems. That means

555
00:21:20,718 --> 00:21:22,730
development there must be based on

556
00:21:22,730 --> 00:21:24,559
septic tanks. There are also many

557
00:21:24,559 --> 00:21:26,314
other environmental considerations that

558
00:21:26,314 --> 00:21:28,495
must be taken into account. In reality, they

559
00:21:28,495 --> 00:21:30,584
are not capable of supporting

560
00:21:30,584 --> 00:21:33,301
larger multi-family buildings. But they

561
00:21:33,301 --> 00:21:35,305
can play a key role in

562
00:21:35,305 --> 00:21:37,260
expanding housing options

563
00:21:37,260 --> 00:21:39,264
in a way that makes sense with the

564
00:21:39,264 --> 00:21:41,298
terrain conditions. Therefore,

565
00:21:41,298 --> 00:21:42,963
we are focusing on expanding the

566
00:21:42,963 --> 00:21:44,721
supply of affordable housing in

567
00:21:44,721 --> 00:21:46,292
Gloucester's neighborhoods.

568
00:21:46,292 --> 00:21:48,306
Smaller housing types, such as

569
00:21:48,306 --> 00:21:50,068
accessory dwelling units, cabins, and

570
00:21:50,068 --> 00:21:53,411
three-family buildings. These are

571
00:21:53,411 --> 00:21:55,212
types of housing that are not

572
00:21:55,212 --> 00:21:57,285
subject to deed restrictions,

573
00:21:57,285 --> 00:21:59,358
but are more easily accessible because they

574
00:21:59,358 --> 00:22:01,486
can create a rental option or

575
00:22:01,486 --> 00:22:03,669
can create an opportunity to buy

576
00:22:03,669 --> 00:22:05,742
a condominium instead of buying a

577
00:22:05,742 --> 00:22:09,436
large single-family home. That will be

578
00:22:09,436 --> 00:22:12,340
easier to do. One of the ways this

579
00:22:12,340 --> 00:22:14,427
could be implemented is through

580
00:22:14,427 --> 00:22:16,411
a 40Y Initial Housing District

581
00:22:16,411 --> 00:22:18,252
. It is a model state zoning

582
00:22:18,252 --> 00:22:20,314
that would be adopted at the local level

583
00:22:20,314 --> 00:22:22,216
to basically encourage smaller types of

584
00:22:22,216 --> 00:22:24,225
housing that could

585
00:22:24,225 --> 00:22:26,450
be starter homes. And the state would

586
00:22:26,450 --> 00:22:28,420
reward the city for adopting

587
00:22:28,420 --> 00:22:29,986
that zoning with

588
00:22:29,986 --> 00:22:33,300
incentive payments to our general fund. The

589
00:22:33,300 --> 00:22:35,201
other way we are considering

590
00:22:35,201 --> 00:22:36,713
expanding the supply of

591
00:22:36,713 --> 00:22:38,663
affordable housing in Gloucester's neighborhoods

592
00:22:38,663 --> 00:22:40,369
is, again, to try to ease that

593
00:22:40,369 --> 00:22:42,311
financial barrier. I mentioned that the

594
00:22:42,311 --> 00:22:44,463
affordable housing trust is

595
00:22:44,463 --> 00:22:46,509
basically considering a

596
00:22:46,509 --> 00:22:48,662
financial product to help people

597
00:22:48,662 --> 00:22:50,653
create ADUs and other types of

598
00:22:50,653 --> 00:22:54,360
small housing. The state also

599
00:22:54,360 --> 00:22:56,389
recently created an incentive program

600
00:22:56,389 --> 00:22:58,316
for ADUs that we would like to advertise

601
00:22:58,316 --> 00:23:01,659
on the city's website.

602
00:23:01,659 --> 00:23:03,473
Basically, this provides

603
00:23:03,473 --> 00:23:05,521
free technical assistance to

604
00:23:05,521 --> 00:23:07,803
homeowners who are interested in

605
00:23:07,803 --> 00:23:10,027
creating an ADU, but who want to know

606
00:23:10,027 --> 00:23:11,959
what their options are and what they

607
00:23:11,959 --> 00:23:14,241
might look like before going too far

608
00:23:14,241 --> 00:23:22,085
. In the city center, we have

609
00:23:22,085 --> 00:23:24,877
identified sites of opportunity.

610
00:23:24,877 --> 00:23:27,048
As I mentioned, this is a plan written

611
00:23:27,048 --> 00:23:29,111
according to state standards, so

612
00:23:29,111 --> 00:23:31,228
listing the sites

613
00:23:31,228 --> 00:23:34,992
of opportunity is required. An opportunity site

614
00:23:34,992 --> 00:23:36,793
is essentially a place where the

615
00:23:36,793 --> 00:23:38,800
city says we would like to encourage

616
00:23:38,800 --> 00:23:42,019
affordable housing here. You'll notice

617
00:23:42,019 --> 00:23:43,948
that all of these sites are

618
00:23:43,948 --> 00:23:46,460
privately owned. Therefore, what happens in

619
00:23:46,460 --> 00:23:48,103
them depends entirely on the

620
00:23:48,103 --> 00:23:51,227
private owner. Our role as a

621
00:23:51,227 --> 00:23:52,775
city is to consider ways to

622
00:23:52,775 --> 00:23:54,773
encourage them to create affordable housing

623
00:23:54,773 --> 00:23:56,322
and housing that meets the

624
00:23:56,322 --> 00:23:58,426
needs of the community. So,

625
00:23:58,426 --> 00:24:00,096
you can do it through

626
00:24:00,096 --> 00:24:02,250
zoning, you can do it through

627
00:24:02,250 --> 00:24:04,404
financial incentives, through

628
00:24:04,404 --> 00:24:07,366
programs and partnerships. Therefore,

629
00:24:07,366 --> 00:24:09,316
for several of the sites here,

630
00:24:09,316 --> 00:24:11,206
we suggest the use of a smart

631
00:24:11,206 --> 00:24:12,979
growth overlap zone

632
00:24:12,979 --> 00:24:14,751
to facilitate the

633
00:24:14,751 --> 00:24:21,383
development of affordable housing. The

634
00:24:21,436 --> 00:24:23,496
smart growth overlap zone is established through

635
00:24:23,496 --> 00:24:25,240
Chapter 40R, so it is a

636
00:24:25,240 --> 00:24:27,894
state template zoning.

637
00:24:27,894 --> 00:24:29,971
But it is developed, adopted, and controlled

638
00:24:29,971 --> 00:24:32,415
locally. It just needs to be written

639
00:24:32,415 --> 00:24:34,503
according to the standards set by the

640
00:24:34,503 --> 00:24:36,539
state based on proximity to

641
00:24:36,539 --> 00:24:39,079
public transport and things like that. It is

642
00:24:39,079 --> 00:24:41,325
an overlap zone, so it

643
00:24:41,325 --> 00:24:43,168
overlaps with the

644
00:24:43,168 --> 00:24:45,298
existing zoning and essentially gives the

645
00:24:45,298 --> 00:24:47,256
owner the option of using either the

646
00:24:47,256 --> 00:24:49,387
existing zoning or the

647
00:24:49,387 --> 00:24:52,486
overlap zone. These work best

648
00:24:52,486 --> 00:24:54,569
when you have a willing development partner

649
00:24:54,569 --> 00:24:56,545
, so you exchange ideas

650
00:24:56,545 --> 00:24:58,574
with them and develop the zoning

651
00:24:58,574 --> 00:25:00,604
in a way that makes sense and

652
00:25:00,604 --> 00:25:06,029
is based on community input.

653
00:25:06,081 --> 00:25:07,750
Dimensional and design standards can be established to

654
00:25:07,750 --> 00:25:09,731
ensure that zoning will

655
00:25:09,731 --> 00:25:11,608
result in housing that is appropriate

656
00:25:11,608 --> 00:25:13,121
for the location being

657
00:25:13,121 --> 00:25:16,379
considered. And when that process is

658
00:25:16,379 --> 00:25:18,493
complete, development is permitted

659
00:25:18,493 --> 00:25:22,402
by law. Basically,

660
00:25:22,402 --> 00:25:24,613
city councils used to participate in a

661
00:25:24,613 --> 00:25:27,560
special permitting process. I would

662
00:25:27,560 --> 00:25:29,530
think so. You are proactively doing that

663
00:25:29,530 --> 00:25:31,077
process in

664
00:25:31,077 --> 00:25:33,200
advance. But you still have the

665
00:25:33,200 --> 00:25:35,095
ability to regulate and ensure that

666
00:25:35,095 --> 00:25:37,092
the development looks the way

667
00:25:37,092 --> 00:25:41,082
you want and meets the standards.

668
00:25:41,082 --> 00:25:42,657
Why consider a

669
00:25:42,657 --> 00:25:45,836
smart growth zone? The state

670
00:25:45,836 --> 00:25:47,916
offers really good incentives for

671
00:25:47,916 --> 00:25:52,542
that. Basically, the state recognizes

672
00:25:52,542 --> 00:25:54,845
that the entire region is in a

673
00:25:54,845 --> 00:25:57,091
housing crisis and wants to reward

674
00:25:57,091 --> 00:25:59,163
municipalities that help address that

675
00:25:59,163 --> 00:26:02,164
situation. Therefore,

676
00:26:02,164 --> 00:26:04,148
it will provide a

677
00:26:04,148 --> 00:26:06,243
one-time incentive payment for the number of

678
00:26:06,243 --> 00:26:08,172
housing units allowed under the

679
00:26:08,172 --> 00:26:10,013
zoning. That is the difference

680
00:26:10,013 --> 00:26:11,858
between the base zoning and what is

681
00:26:11,858 --> 00:26:13,858
allowed in the overlap zone.

682
00:26:13,858 --> 00:26:16,449
For example, if up to 20 units were allowed

683
00:26:16,449 --> 00:26:18,911
, the state would provide

684
00:26:18,911 --> 00:26:21,155
the city with $10,000. That would go into the

685
00:26:21,155 --> 00:26:23,659
city's general fund. But

686
00:26:23,659 --> 00:26:26,067
then, once the building permits were issued

687
00:26:26,067 --> 00:26:28,234
, the city would receive an

688
00:26:28,234 --> 00:26:32,045
additional $3,000 per unit. If

689
00:26:32,045 --> 00:26:34,355
any school-age children move into

690
00:26:34,355 --> 00:26:36,723
the newly constructed housing, the state

691
00:26:36,723 --> 00:26:38,974
reimburses their tuition through the

692
00:26:38,974 --> 00:26:45,248
Chapter 40S program. This is an

693
00:26:45,248 --> 00:26:47,191
overview of the process and

694
00:26:47,191 --> 00:26:49,776
recommendations. This is a

695
00:26:49,776 --> 00:26:52,545
proactive plan. Its aim is to protect

696
00:26:52,545 --> 00:26:54,676
the community here, ensuring

697
00:26:54,676 --> 00:26:56,642
that future generations can

698
00:26:56,642 --> 00:26:58,654
continue to call Gloucester home.

699
00:26:58,654 --> 00:27:00,372
We are preserving the housing we

700
00:27:00,372 --> 00:27:02,045
currently have that meets

701
00:27:02,045 --> 00:27:03,690
the needs of the community. And we

702
00:27:03,690 --> 00:27:05,070
are also

703
00:27:05,070 --> 00:27:06,992
carefully analyzing where we want to encourage

704
00:27:06,992 --> 00:27:10,103
the production of new homes.

705
00:27:10,103 --> 00:27:12,104
This is a plan that is based on a year

706
00:27:12,104 --> 00:27:14,105
of community participation and

707
00:27:14,105 --> 00:27:18,713
the latest available data. It is not

708
00:27:18,713 --> 00:27:20,190
one that obliges the city to

709
00:27:20,190 --> 00:27:23,811
implement all the recommendations.

710
00:27:23,811 --> 00:27:25,810
It is a roadmap for the city to

711
00:27:25,810 --> 00:27:29,326
examine and decide what to implement.

712
00:27:29,326 --> 00:27:30,894
I say that almost all of these

713
00:27:30,894 --> 00:27:33,307
recommendations, when implemented,

714
00:27:33,307 --> 00:27:35,721
would involve a public process with the

715
00:27:35,721 --> 00:27:40,408
community to determine the details.

716
00:27:40,408 --> 00:27:42,466
This is the roadmap, but it's up

717
00:27:42,466 --> 00:27:44,471
to the city to implement it and do so

718
00:27:44,471 --> 00:27:47,359
with the community. Okay, with that,

719
00:27:47,359 --> 00:27:50,550
I'll ask if there are any questions.

720
00:27:50,550 --> 00:27:52,194
The questions will come at the end,

721
00:27:52,194 --> 00:27:56,472
after the audience. So, does

722
00:27:56,472 --> 00:28:05,287
anyone want to speak in favor? I'll give

723
00:28:05,287 --> 00:28:07,248
the mayor a little more time, but

724
00:28:07,248 --> 00:28:09,210
everyone else will have a

725
00:28:09,210 --> 00:28:09,801
3-minute limit.

726
00:28:09,801 --> 00:28:11,595
3 minutes will be enough for the

727
00:28:11,595 --> 00:28:17,599
mayor. Thank you. I am Paul Lundberg.

728
00:28:17,599 --> 00:28:19,629
I am the mayor of Gloucester and I had a

729
00:28:19,629 --> 00:28:21,253
unique experience coming into

730
00:28:21,253 --> 00:28:23,182
city government through the

731
00:28:23,182 --> 00:28:27,354
planning board. I was

732
00:28:27,354 --> 00:28:29,180
on the planning board for 6 years and

733
00:28:29,180 --> 00:28:31,463
learned a lot about how this is done

734
00:28:31,463 --> 00:28:33,746
from a practical point of view, so

735
00:28:33,746 --> 00:28:36,028
I have a pretty good idea of

736
00:28:36,028 --> 00:28:40,744
what might work. And first I

737
00:28:40,744 --> 00:28:42,676
want to thank the advisory committee that

738
00:28:42,676 --> 00:28:46,150
created and helped create this plan. They

739
00:28:46,150 --> 00:28:48,070
are all volunteer citizens and did

740
00:28:48,070 --> 00:28:50,416
an excellent job, as you can see.

741
00:28:50,416 --> 00:28:54,350
It's very comprehensive. I would also like to

742
00:28:54,350 --> 00:28:55,987
thank both the

743
00:28:55,987 --> 00:28:57,951
planning board and the city council

744
00:28:57,951 --> 00:28:59,970
because they have both been present

745
00:28:59,970 --> 00:29:01,935
every step of the way in one way or

746
00:29:01,935 --> 00:29:05,806
another. And that's what makes this

747
00:29:05,806 --> 00:29:07,690
plan better than if it had been created

748
00:29:07,690 --> 00:29:11,327
as a kind of standard plan.

749
00:29:11,327 --> 00:29:13,216
So we've reached a point where we

750
00:29:13,216 --> 00:29:14,869
really have something of great

751
00:29:14,869 --> 00:29:19,423
value. It's very dynamic, as Alex said

752
00:29:19,423 --> 00:29:23,064
. And as you know, we all know that

753
00:29:23,064 --> 00:29:25,436
increasing housing, and in particular

754
00:29:25,436 --> 00:29:27,808
affordable housing, is not something

755
00:29:27,808 --> 00:29:30,659
we can do on our own. There are hundreds

756
00:29:30,659 --> 00:29:34,159
of little things that need to go together.

757
00:29:34,159 --> 00:29:36,594
And it requires a lot of processing, but if

758
00:29:36,594 --> 00:29:39,029
we have a goal like the one set out

759
00:29:39,029 --> 00:29:43,269
in this plan, that gives us a guide.

760
00:29:43,269 --> 00:29:45,253
Therefore, I feel very encouraged to

761
00:29:45,253 --> 00:29:47,403
have been a part of this along the

762
00:29:47,403 --> 00:29:50,885
way. I want to thank everyone

763
00:29:50,885 --> 00:29:53,099
who has been a part of this. And

764
00:29:53,099 --> 00:29:54,607
I hope that both the

765
00:29:54,607 --> 00:29:56,477
planning board and the city council

766
00:29:56,477 --> 00:29:58,140
can adopt this plan because it's

767
00:29:58,140 --> 00:29:59,959
really going to be a

768
00:29:59,959 --> 00:30:03,394
useful tool for Gloucester. Thank you.

769
00:30:03,394 --> 00:30:06,075
We're going to ask people in the

770
00:30:06,075 --> 00:30:10,074
audience to speak in favor. In

771
00:30:10,074 --> 00:30:11,939
public, and then we'll talk online.

772
00:30:11,939 --> 00:30:14,701
Go ahead, come closer to the microphone.

773
00:30:14,701 --> 00:30:16,712
Name and address to be recorded in the

774
00:30:16,712 --> 00:30:22,535
minutes, please. Yes. Someone help bring that down

775
00:30:22,535 --> 00:30:27,979
. Very good. I just

776
00:30:27,979 --> 00:30:30,971
want to say that. Okay. I am Laura

777
00:30:30,971 --> 00:30:33,593
Bacchi. I live in the city center,

778
00:30:33,593 --> 00:30:39,205
on Tydedale Avenue. And I think the

779
00:30:39,205 --> 00:30:41,296
compact housing plan is very well

780
00:30:41,296 --> 00:30:43,619
thought out and executed, and I think

781
00:30:43,619 --> 00:30:45,826
everyone did a fantastic job with

782
00:30:45,826 --> 00:30:52,165
it. But I am in favor.

783
00:30:52,165 --> 00:30:54,110
One thing worries me, and that is what Avenue really is

784
00:30:54,110 --> 00:30:59,735
. I believe there has

785
00:30:59,735 --> 00:31:02,714
been a market there for almost 45 years. If not more, then

786
00:31:02,714 --> 00:31:06,034
more. And that has become part

787
00:31:06,034 --> 00:31:08,095
of the fabric of the community and now there is no

788
00:31:08,095 --> 00:31:10,048
market there, and I know there is a

789
00:31:10,048 --> 00:31:11,947
plan to create a

790
00:31:11,947 --> 00:31:16,434
market for housing. My concern is that this will not become

791
00:31:16,434 --> 00:31:20,162
mandatory. Let it

792
00:31:20,162 --> 00:31:22,421
become flexible and simply be

793
00:31:22,421 --> 00:31:24,680
another retail business instead of a

794
00:31:24,680 --> 00:31:26,997
market, a supermarket, a

795
00:31:26,997 --> 00:31:29,141
grocery store, you know, a

796
00:31:29,141 --> 00:31:32,549
good-sized grocery store. And if that

797
00:31:32,549 --> 00:31:36,441
were the case, I wouldn't support it. But I

798
00:31:36,441 --> 00:31:38,684
think it has to be mandatory.

799
00:31:38,684 --> 00:31:41,407
It has to be something unchangeable. It

800
00:31:41,407 --> 00:31:43,548
really needs to be some kind of

801
00:31:43,548 --> 00:31:45,689
market where people can get

802
00:31:45,689 --> 00:31:47,830
basic products, where people

803
00:31:47,830 --> 00:31:49,696
can get the food they

804
00:31:49,696 --> 00:31:53,529
need. You know, for everyday use.

805
00:31:53,529 --> 00:31:55,621
Not a specialty store, but a

806
00:31:55,621 --> 00:31:59,962
regular market. I know, I mean,

807
00:31:59,962 --> 00:32:02,147
the financial circumstances in

808
00:32:02,147 --> 00:32:04,275
the climate we live in may not

809
00:32:04,275 --> 00:32:06,402
be the best, but I think there has to be a

810
00:32:06,402 --> 00:32:08,300
will and drive to

811
00:32:08,300 --> 00:32:13,334
work on it. For that to happen.

812
00:32:13,334 --> 00:32:15,655
Especially for the people you know

813
00:32:15,655 --> 00:32:17,976
, the people who live within, you

814
00:32:17,976 --> 00:32:20,751
know, 3 miles of downtown. You know,

815
00:32:20,751 --> 00:32:24,233
at least. So, thank you.

816
00:32:24,233 --> 00:32:41,346
so much.

817
00:32:41,346 --> 00:32:44,885
Hello everyone. I am Diana Fey. At

818
00:32:44,885 --> 00:32:50,567
3 Barbary Lane. I am addressing you tonight

819
00:32:50,567 --> 00:32:52,263
in my capacity as Chairman of the

820
00:32:52,263 --> 00:32:54,382
Affordable Housing Trust and as a member

821
00:32:54,382 --> 00:32:56,396
of the Advisory Committee that helped guide

822
00:32:56,396 --> 00:33:02,141
the development of Housing Compass. While

823
00:33:02,141 --> 00:33:04,307
these observations are my own, the

824
00:33:04,307 --> 00:33:06,654
Affordable Housing Trust considered the

825
00:33:06,654 --> 00:33:10,180
Housing Compass Plan. On

826
00:33:10,180 --> 00:33:12,611
September 21, the Trust voted

827
00:33:12,611 --> 00:33:15,174
unanimously to affirm that the Gloucester

828
00:33:15,174 --> 00:33:17,737
Affordable Housing Trust fully and

829
00:33:17,737 --> 00:33:20,366
firmly supports Gloucester's Housing Compass Plan 2026

830
00:33:20,366 --> 00:33:23,913
. As outlined in the

831
00:33:23,913 --> 00:33:25,523
Housing Compass Plan,

832
00:33:25,523 --> 00:33:27,182
Gloucester's Affordable Housing Trust has

833
00:33:27,182 --> 00:33:28,645
become an

834
00:33:28,645 --> 00:33:30,597
important tool for promoting the production

835
00:33:30,597 --> 00:33:32,500
and preservation of affordable housing

836
00:33:32,500 --> 00:33:35,086
. Throughout the plan, the Trust is identified

837
00:33:35,086 --> 00:33:37,235
as a key partner in

838
00:33:37,235 --> 00:33:39,383
advancing several of its priorities and

839
00:33:39,383 --> 00:33:42,267
strategies. That's appropriate. The

840
00:33:42,267 --> 00:33:44,416
Trust was established precisely

841
00:33:44,416 --> 00:33:46,458
for this purpose, to help the

842
00:33:46,458 --> 00:33:48,608
city respond to its

843
00:33:48,608 --> 00:33:50,703
affordable housing needs and to provide

844
00:33:50,703 --> 00:33:52,638
flexible municipal resources to

845
00:33:52,638 --> 00:33:56,195
create and preserve affordable housing.

846
00:33:56,195 --> 00:33:58,186
We understand that supporting Housing Compass

847
00:33:58,186 --> 00:34:01,488
means more than just backing a plan. It

848
00:34:01,488 --> 00:34:03,534
means accepting the responsibility to

849
00:34:03,534 --> 00:34:06,142
help implement it. The plan gives

850
00:34:06,142 --> 00:34:08,016
the Trust something we need:

851
00:34:08,016 --> 00:34:09,688
a community-informed assessment

852
00:34:09,688 --> 00:34:11,157
of our current

853
00:34:11,157 --> 00:34:13,082
housing needs and a set

854
00:34:13,082 --> 00:34:15,057
of municipal priorities to help

855
00:34:15,057 --> 00:34:18,202
guide our directions. Several of

856
00:34:18,202 --> 00:34:19,732
the strategies identified in

857
00:34:19,732 --> 00:34:21,355
Housing Compass will require the

858
00:34:21,355 --> 00:34:23,117
Trust to do more than simply respond to

859
00:34:23,117 --> 00:34:24,786
funding requests as they

860
00:34:24,786 --> 00:34:26,657
come in. They envision a

861
00:34:26,657 --> 00:34:28,854
Trust that can help initiate

862
00:34:28,854 --> 00:34:30,488
programs, research new

863
00:34:30,488 --> 00:34:32,572
housing tools, establish

864
00:34:32,572 --> 00:34:34,319
funding priorities,

865
00:34:34,319 --> 00:34:36,459
participate in partnerships, and help

866
00:34:36,459 --> 00:34:38,318
strategies move from an

867
00:34:38,318 --> 00:34:40,909
adopted plan to implementation. In fact

868
00:34:40,909 --> 00:34:43,164
, some of that work has already begun. The

869
00:34:43,164 --> 00:34:45,138
Trust is currently analyzing

870
00:34:45,138 --> 00:34:47,276
methods used by other communities

871
00:34:47,276 --> 00:34:49,470
in Massachusetts, such as

872
00:34:49,470 --> 00:34:51,663
accessory housing unit programs,

873
00:34:51,663 --> 00:34:53,747
purchase reduction programs, and incentives

874
00:34:53,747 --> 00:34:55,940
to reintegrate properties into the

875
00:34:55,940 --> 00:34:58,509
annual rental market. Our aim

876
00:34:58,509 --> 00:35:00,524
is not simply to copy what

877
00:35:00,524 --> 00:35:02,372
other communities are doing, but to

878
00:35:02,372 --> 00:35:04,219
understand what works, how

879
00:35:04,219 --> 00:35:06,291
these programs are managed, how much they

880
00:35:06,291 --> 00:35:08,194
cost, and whether they can be

881
00:35:08,194 --> 00:35:11,257
responsibly adapted in Gloucester. That

882
00:35:11,257 --> 00:35:12,919
is the type of work that Housing

883
00:35:12,919 --> 00:35:14,679
Compass is asking the Trust to

884
00:35:14,679 --> 00:35:16,685
do. Adopting Housing Compass will

885
00:35:16,685 --> 00:35:18,243
not mean that all

886
00:35:18,243 --> 00:35:20,060
strategies in the plan will be automatically approved or

887
00:35:20,060 --> 00:35:22,195
funded. Individual programs and

888
00:35:22,195 --> 00:35:23,509
proposals

889
00:35:23,509 --> 00:35:25,161
20 seconds.

890
00:35:25,161 --> 00:35:28,306
OK. Individual programs and proposals will

891
00:35:28,306 --> 00:35:30,414
continue to require

892
00:35:30,414 --> 00:35:32,702
research, public debate and

893
00:35:32,702 --> 00:35:34,930
appropriate approvals, and in many

894
00:35:34,930 --> 00:35:40,504
cases future board decisions. I

895
00:35:40,504 --> 00:35:42,470
will end here and give my

896
00:35:42,470 --> 00:35:44,273
comments and encourage everyone

897
00:35:44,273 --> 00:35:46,348
present to support and vote in favor of

898
00:35:46,348 --> 00:35:50,377
this plan. Thank you.

899
00:35:50,377 --> 00:35:57,605
Anyone else want to come up to the podium,

900
00:35:57,605 --> 00:36:03,538
please?

901
00:36:03,538 --> 00:36:05,466
Good evening everyone. I am Debbie

902
00:36:05,466 --> 00:36:12,386
Frontiero. 216 Washington Street. I have

903
00:36:12,386 --> 00:36:14,488
lived in Gloucester all my life,

904
00:36:14,488 --> 00:36:16,770
except for a few years in my youth

905
00:36:16,770 --> 00:36:19,112
when I moved away and came back, but this is

906
00:36:19,112 --> 00:36:25,458
the city I love. First, I want

907
00:36:25,458 --> 00:36:27,927
to express my gratitude to Alex, but

908
00:36:27,927 --> 00:36:31,691
to the entire team, to all of you. This

909
00:36:31,691 --> 00:36:33,948
, as I reviewed the plan, is

910
00:36:33,948 --> 00:36:36,752
extremely comprehensive. He is

911
00:36:36,752 --> 00:36:41,079
extremely thoughtful. And even if

912
00:36:41,079 --> 00:36:43,433
you only focus on the three objectives:

913
00:36:43,433 --> 00:36:47,459
protect, preserve, and produce. I think there's

914
00:36:47,459 --> 00:36:49,240
something about them that everyone

915
00:36:49,240 --> 00:36:52,482
in the city can participate in.

916
00:36:52,482 --> 00:36:54,607
We want to protect our city.

917
00:36:54,607 --> 00:36:56,437
We want to preserve the heritage we

918
00:36:56,437 --> 00:36:59,070
have. But we want to produce

919
00:36:59,070 --> 00:37:00,712
enough housing so that we can

920
00:37:00,712 --> 00:37:05,724
remain united as a community. Well

921
00:37:05,724 --> 00:37:08,139
, it was, and when it happened, in a couple

922
00:37:08,139 --> 00:37:10,131
of places it said "in the

923
00:37:10,131 --> 00:37:14,326
right places." And that left the door

924
00:37:14,326 --> 00:37:16,976
open to public commentary.

925
00:37:16,976 --> 00:37:18,595
The opportunity for the public to

926
00:37:18,595 --> 00:37:22,407
make comments was incredible. And

927
00:37:22,407 --> 00:37:24,497
if someone feels they were left out of

928
00:37:24,497 --> 00:37:26,588
the process, I think it's because they didn't

929
00:37:26,588 --> 00:37:28,513
apply for the process because there were

930
00:37:28,513 --> 00:37:34,600
plenty of opportunities to do so. I

931
00:37:34,600 --> 00:37:36,520
love the fact that the plan has

932
00:37:36,520 --> 00:37:38,295
focused on actually considering the

933
00:37:38,295 --> 00:37:41,888
real construction sites. It's not that

934
00:37:41,888 --> 00:37:43,960
we could necessarily do

935
00:37:43,960 --> 00:37:45,863
anything at those sites because they are

936
00:37:45,863 --> 00:37:47,934
privately owned, but it got to that

937
00:37:47,934 --> 00:37:50,819
level of detail. Besides checking

938
00:37:50,819 --> 00:37:53,083
permits and zoning and all

939
00:37:53,083 --> 00:37:55,347
that boring stuff you guys

940
00:37:55,347 --> 00:37:57,441
spend so much time on, I just want to

941
00:37:57,441 --> 00:37:59,592
say that I work with Housing for All

942
00:37:59,592 --> 00:38:02,992
Gloucester. And as such, we pay close

943
00:38:02,992 --> 00:38:04,968
attention to what's happening in the

944
00:38:04,968 --> 00:38:08,533
housing sector here in the city.

945
00:38:08,533 --> 00:38:12,872
And I wholeheartedly support this plan. I really

946
00:38:12,872 --> 00:38:16,615
do it with enthusiasm. Okay, thanks.

947
00:38:16,615 --> 00:38:28,585
Thank you.

948
00:38:28,585 --> 00:38:32,288
Hello, Henry Harrison, 49 Summer Street.

949
00:38:32,288 --> 00:38:34,037
I am a senior student at

950
00:38:34,037 --> 00:38:36,860
Gloucester High School. And as Dev said,

951
00:38:36,860 --> 00:38:39,287
she lived in Gloucester all her life,

952
00:38:39,287 --> 00:38:43,071
except for a few years when she left. I had

953
00:38:43,071 --> 00:38:45,203
always thought of my

954
00:38:45,203 --> 00:38:47,508
life plan as growing up here in Gloucester,

955
00:38:47,508 --> 00:38:49,698
exploring the world, working, getting

956
00:38:49,698 --> 00:38:51,946
married, and then coming back home to raise

957
00:38:51,946 --> 00:38:56,506
my family here in Gloucester. And that's getting harder and harder

958
00:38:56,560 --> 00:38:59,570
, as Alex has just demonstrated.

959
00:38:59,570 --> 00:39:01,444
I can see it in my classmates at The

960
00:39:01,444 --> 00:39:03,171
Blueport and The Lobster who want

961
00:39:03,171 --> 00:39:04,749
to stay, who are products of

962
00:39:04,749 --> 00:39:06,377
Gloucester Institute but are

963
00:39:06,377 --> 00:39:08,370
forced to move away. I can see it in my

964
00:39:08,370 --> 00:39:09,945
football coaches, who are

965
00:39:09,945 --> 00:39:11,472
recent graduates of

966
00:39:11,472 --> 00:39:15,347
Gloucester High School and can't stay. Well,

967
00:39:15,347 --> 00:39:19,438
I speak for all the

968
00:39:19,498 --> 00:39:21,904
Gloucester High School students I've spoken to about

969
00:39:21,904 --> 00:39:23,890
this plan when I say that I

970
00:39:23,890 --> 00:39:25,815
fully support the proactive and

971
00:39:25,815 --> 00:39:27,981
flexible nature of this plan, and that

972
00:39:27,981 --> 00:39:30,207
real action is needed, and I'm

973
00:39:30,207 --> 00:39:32,373
glad that this plan exemplifies that so

974
00:39:32,373 --> 00:39:47,783
well. So, thank you. Thank you.

975
00:39:47,783 --> 00:39:51,095
Bonnie Bifendegous, 61 Fernald Street.

976
00:39:51,095 --> 00:39:52,993
I am speaking in favor of the plan. I think it's

977
00:39:52,993 --> 00:39:54,576
really great. I want to

978
00:39:54,576 --> 00:39:55,853
thank everyone who

979
00:39:55,853 --> 00:39:58,295
participated in its creation. Alex has

980
00:39:58,295 --> 00:40:00,609
done a fabulous job bringing

981
00:40:00,609 --> 00:40:02,862
everyone together and putting the information, the

982
00:40:02,862 --> 00:40:07,402
basic facts, into the report. I think it's

983
00:40:07,402 --> 00:40:09,364
very forward-looking, which is

984
00:40:09,364 --> 00:40:13,324
great. It is a plan that allows for

985
00:40:13,324 --> 00:40:16,684
production. It does not produce housing; It makes it

986
00:40:16,684 --> 00:40:18,892
possible to build and establishes what

987
00:40:18,892 --> 00:40:21,826
we need to enable. No, you know, the

988
00:40:21,826 --> 00:40:24,051
city doesn't have millions and millions of

989
00:40:24,051 --> 00:40:26,106
dollars to waste (I wish it did

990
00:40:26,106 --> 00:40:28,389
) on public housing or anything

991
00:40:28,389 --> 00:40:30,914
like that. But we can make it possible

992
00:40:30,914 --> 00:40:32,843
for other people to build, and

993
00:40:32,843 --> 00:40:34,655
we have inclusive housing ordinances

994
00:40:34,655 --> 00:40:36,934
, which will help increase the

995
00:40:36,934 --> 00:40:38,980
number of affordable homes in

996
00:40:38,980 --> 00:40:43,284
Gloucester. The affordable housing trust

997
00:40:43,284 --> 00:40:45,863
is trying to encourage the

998
00:40:45,863 --> 00:40:47,848
construction of this type of

999
00:40:47,848 --> 00:40:50,494
housing at 60% of the AMI instead of

1000
00:40:50,494 --> 00:40:54,736
80%, which is the bare minimum.

1001
00:40:54,736 --> 00:40:56,388
The plan talks about building in the

1002
00:40:56,388 --> 00:40:58,728
right places. If we look at the

1003
00:40:58,728 --> 00:41:00,268
population of Gloucester, it has

1004
00:41:00,268 --> 00:41:01,952
remained fairly stable for quite some

1005
00:41:01,952 --> 00:41:03,962
time. Similarly, if

1006
00:41:03,962 --> 00:41:05,930
we look at the actual construction

1007
00:41:05,930 --> 00:41:07,898
that has taken place during the same

1008
00:41:07,898 --> 00:41:09,547
period, we can see that

1009
00:41:09,547 --> 00:41:11,622
much more has been built outside the

1010
00:41:11,622 --> 00:41:13,880
city center. So, although our

1011
00:41:13,880 --> 00:41:15,934
population is the same, the population

1012
00:41:15,934 --> 00:41:18,275
of the center has been greatly reduced.

1013
00:41:18,275 --> 00:41:20,278
And that's almost certainly a

1014
00:41:20,278 --> 00:41:22,504
major factor in why Main Street has

1015
00:41:22,504 --> 00:41:24,285
problems, why there's less

1016
00:41:24,285 --> 00:41:26,511
parking, because people who go

1017
00:41:26,511 --> 00:41:28,499
downtown drive. That's why there's more

1018
00:41:28,499 --> 00:41:30,916
traffic, again, for the same reason

1019
00:41:30,916 --> 00:41:34,788
: people are driving. Half of

1020
00:41:34,788 --> 00:41:36,779
Gloucester's working population,

1021
00:41:36,779 --> 00:41:40,873
sorry, I'm misspoken.

1022
00:41:40,873 --> 00:41:42,340
Approximately half of the

1023
00:41:42,340 --> 00:41:46,034
population that works in Gloucester

1024
00:41:46,034 --> 00:41:48,193
lives outside of Gloucester. Therefore,

1025
00:41:48,193 --> 00:41:50,463
they drive and they also park. And this is

1026
00:41:50,463 --> 00:41:52,537
a perennial problem, but the

1027
00:41:52,537 --> 00:41:54,720
harder we make it for people to

1028
00:41:54,720 --> 00:41:56,302
live here by restricting

1029
00:41:56,302 --> 00:41:58,485
housing production, the more traffic

1030
00:41:58,485 --> 00:42:00,286
and parking problems

1031
00:42:00,286 --> 00:42:02,420
we will see. That's why it's great that

1032
00:42:02,420 --> 00:42:05,066
things like the 40R are being considered. It

1033
00:42:05,066 --> 00:42:07,061
would be fantastic if something were done

1034
00:42:07,061 --> 00:42:09,773
on Railroad Avenue. I'm sure it would be

1035
00:42:09,773 --> 00:42:11,686
amazing if we could put

1036
00:42:11,686 --> 00:42:14,446
a supermarket there. I know it's very

1037
00:42:14,446 --> 00:42:16,531
difficult to dictate what kind of

1038
00:42:16,531 --> 00:42:18,564
business activity takes place once you

1039
00:42:18,564 --> 00:42:20,776
commit to it being commercial. I don't

1040
00:42:20,776 --> 00:42:22,687
think it's always easy to say, "

1041
00:42:22,687 --> 00:42:24,598
Well, you have to be a

1042
00:42:24,598 --> 00:42:26,721
record store or a library or, you know, a

1043
00:42:26,721 --> 00:42:28,661
video rental store or whatever." I'm

1044
00:42:28,661 --> 00:42:31,833
getting old. Anyway,

1045
00:42:31,833 --> 00:42:34,086
thank you very much and thanks again to Alex, and

1046
00:42:34,086 --> 00:42:36,214
I hope we can approve this and

1047
00:42:36,214 --> 00:42:40,673
support it and make things happen.

1048
00:42:40,673 --> 00:42:46,578
Thank you. Is there anyone else in the room

1049
00:42:46,578 --> 00:42:48,259
before I address the people

1050
00:42:48,259 --> 00:42:52,726
who are online? Hello, Valerie

1051
00:42:52,726 --> 00:43:02,590
Nelson.

1052
00:43:02,590 --> 00:43:04,932
Okay, I think I'm here now.

1053
00:43:04,932 --> 00:43:05,534
Thank you so much.

1054
00:43:05,534 --> 00:43:08,196
Okay, that's it...That's good. We can

1055
00:43:08,196 --> 00:43:09,069
listen to

1056
00:43:09,069 --> 00:43:11,547
Valerie Nelson and I live at 77

1057
00:43:11,547 --> 00:43:14,942
Sunset Point Road in Lanesville. I took

1058
00:43:14,942 --> 00:43:16,787
notes and realized that it would take me

1059
00:43:16,787 --> 00:43:18,989
too long to talk about

1060
00:43:18,989 --> 00:43:21,310
them and that you, Counselor Gross, would

1061
00:43:21,310 --> 00:43:23,498
interrupt me after 3 minutes.

1062
00:43:23,498 --> 00:43:27,478
Well, that's all. I will send

1063
00:43:27,478 --> 00:43:29,726
everyone the full scope of

1064
00:43:29,726 --> 00:43:31,917
the details I wrote later, but I want to

1065
00:43:31,917 --> 00:43:33,996
add my support for the approval

1066
00:43:33,996 --> 00:43:36,131
of the Housing Production Plan and

1067
00:43:36,131 --> 00:43:38,154
mention that I found a

1068
00:43:38,154 --> 00:43:40,233
previous dialogue in a meeting between all of

1069
00:43:40,233 --> 00:43:42,481
you at the City Council and Alex,

1070
00:43:42,481 --> 00:43:44,672
which was extraordinarily helpful in

1071
00:43:44,672 --> 00:43:46,920
understanding the city's promising commitments

1072
00:43:46,920 --> 00:43:48,774
to move forward with the

1073
00:43:48,774 --> 00:43:53,245
implementation of this plan. And I thought

1074
00:43:53,245 --> 00:43:55,672
all the back-and-forth questions

1075
00:43:55,672 --> 00:43:58,162
, thank you for all of that, were quite

1076
00:43:58,162 --> 00:44:03,408
substantial and helpful. First,

1077
00:44:03,408 --> 00:44:05,198
you all recognize the incredible

1078
00:44:05,198 --> 00:44:07,436
difficulty of bridging the gap between the

1079
00:44:07,436 --> 00:44:09,507
public and the great complexity of

1080
00:44:09,507 --> 00:44:11,689
technical planning and

1081
00:44:11,689 --> 00:44:13,591
financial details that are difficult

1082
00:44:13,591 --> 00:44:17,039
for the typical resident to understand.

1083
00:44:17,039 --> 00:44:18,552
I think that even includes

1084
00:44:18,552 --> 00:44:21,689
tonight's presentation. So,

1085
00:44:21,689 --> 00:44:24,015
in a variety of

1086
00:44:24,015 --> 00:44:25,817
Lanesville Community Center and

1087
00:44:25,817 --> 00:44:28,027
Downtown Neighborhood Association meetings that I

1088
00:44:28,027 --> 00:44:29,830
convened or attended,

1089
00:44:29,830 --> 00:44:32,039
residents grappled with a very

1090
00:44:32,039 --> 00:44:33,900
long list of possible strategies and

1091
00:44:33,900 --> 00:44:36,168
recommendations in this extensive plan and

1092
00:44:36,168 --> 00:44:42,542
how to make sense of it. I want to report

1093
00:44:42,542 --> 00:44:44,169
that a fairly new idea in

1094
00:44:44,169 --> 00:44:46,269
Lanesville is that we could finally

1095
00:44:46,269 --> 00:44:48,158
move away from affordable housing

1096
00:44:48,158 --> 00:44:50,153
because many current and

1097
00:44:50,153 --> 00:44:52,252
older homeowners want to create opportunities for

1098
00:44:52,252 --> 00:44:54,142
their children and grandchildren to live

1099
00:44:54,142 --> 00:45:01,136
here. And many of them are already

1100
00:45:01,136 --> 00:45:02,955
taking steps on their own

1101
00:45:02,955 --> 00:45:05,185
properties to do it again for

1102
00:45:05,185 --> 00:45:07,297
their children and grandchildren and also, as I

1103
00:45:07,297 --> 00:45:13,019
would say, for themselves as elderly people.

1104
00:45:13,019 --> 00:45:14,872
These are some of the most

1105
00:45:14,872 --> 00:45:16,876
important points from your previous and productive

1106
00:45:16,876 --> 00:45:24,608
meeting as an advisor with Alex. Alex

1107
00:45:24,608 --> 00:45:26,912
said that it is not productive to spend a lot of

1108
00:45:26,912 --> 00:45:29,157
time on the problems of non-

1109
00:45:29,157 --> 00:45:31,288
conforming batches, but that focusing on opportunities should be a

1110
00:45:31,288 --> 00:45:33,591
priority in the future

1111
00:45:33,591 --> 00:45:36,540
. I'm sure the

1112
00:45:36,540 --> 00:45:38,386
residents of Lanesville said so at

1113
00:45:38,386 --> 00:45:42,099
the meetings. And two, in Shaw's Plaza,

1114
00:45:42,099 --> 00:45:43,854
the most important thing,

1115
00:45:43,854 --> 00:45:45,428
20 seconds away, Val. It

1116
00:45:45,428 --> 00:45:47,839
's in the center. I'll go over all of that

1117
00:45:47,839 --> 00:45:50,061
in some detail when I send it to you,

1118
00:45:50,061 --> 00:45:52,171
and there are definitely elements missing from

1119
00:45:52,171 --> 00:45:54,634
the plan. One is the high cost of the

1120
00:45:54,634 --> 00:45:56,445
ADUs. Please consider the

1121
00:45:56,445 --> 00:45:58,565
cost reductions of

1122
00:45:58,565 --> 00:46:00,304
modular and prefabricated homes and the

1123
00:46:00,304 --> 00:46:02,205
chronic concerns about

1124
00:46:02,205 --> 00:46:04,325
permits for very large new homes

1125
00:46:04,325 --> 00:46:06,498
and demolitions along the coast and

1126
00:46:06,498 --> 00:46:09,522
for the views from here. Did I do it

1127
00:46:09,522 --> 00:46:11,344
, Tony?

1128
00:46:11,344 --> 00:46:13,000
Yes, thanks.

1129
00:46:13,000 --> 00:46:15,107
I will send the detailed notes.

1130
00:46:15,107 --> 00:46:21,196
Thank you so much.

1131
00:46:21,196 --> 00:46:28,939
Now we have Peggy Haggerty Stack.

1132
00:46:29,034 --> 00:46:32,679
Can you hear me? Here I am. Okay. Yes,

1133
00:46:32,679 --> 00:46:34,972
thanks. Hello, my name is Peggy

1134
00:46:34,972 --> 00:46:36,896
Haggerty Stack. I am the

1135
00:46:36,896 --> 00:46:39,032
CEO of Action Inc. and the office

1136
00:46:39,032 --> 00:46:41,223
is located at 180 Main Street in

1137
00:46:41,223 --> 00:46:44,351
downtown Gloucester. As a member of the

1138
00:46:44,351 --> 00:46:46,465
Gloucester Housing Compass Advisory Committee

1139
00:46:46,465 --> 00:46:48,751
, I obviously fully support the

1140
00:46:48,751 --> 00:46:53,455
Gloucester Housing Compass Plan. Alex and

1141
00:46:53,455 --> 00:46:55,132
his team and the MAPC team

1142
00:46:55,132 --> 00:46:57,256
worked together with us and other

1143
00:46:57,256 --> 00:46:59,436
community members to create a

1144
00:46:59,436 --> 00:47:01,560
plan for the future of housing in

1145
00:47:01,560 --> 00:47:04,284
Gloucester. And I really wanted to

1146
00:47:04,284 --> 00:47:06,189
applaud the community's effort to get involved

1147
00:47:06,189 --> 00:47:09,238
. I thought it was

1148
00:47:09,238 --> 00:47:11,203
excellent and gave people many

1149
00:47:11,203 --> 00:47:13,168
ways to find out what was

1150
00:47:13,168 --> 00:47:15,239
happening and express their thoughts about it

1151
00:47:15,239 --> 00:47:19,691
. As part of this broader

1152
00:47:19,691 --> 00:47:21,311
participation process, people

1153
00:47:21,311 --> 00:47:22,976
said they love Gloucester,

1154
00:47:22,976 --> 00:47:24,686
want to stay here, but it's becoming increasingly

1155
00:47:24,686 --> 00:47:26,396
difficult to do so, with

1156
00:47:26,396 --> 00:47:28,092
housing being the main factor. The

1157
00:47:28,092 --> 00:47:30,025
community repeatedly expressed that they

1158
00:47:30,025 --> 00:47:32,010
want more housing options, and that they

1159
00:47:32,010 --> 00:47:33,995
care about scale, design,

1160
00:47:33,995 --> 00:47:35,771
infrastructure, and

1161
00:47:35,771 --> 00:47:38,030
neighborhood context. And as Alex mentioned, right now

1162
00:47:38,030 --> 00:47:40,341
, 41% of people

1163
00:47:40,341 --> 00:47:42,712
living in Gloucester have a

1164
00:47:42,712 --> 00:47:44,549
housing cost burden, which is

1165
00:47:44,549 --> 00:47:46,705
really significant. And at Action, we

1166
00:47:46,705 --> 00:47:48,412
see it firsthand every

1167
00:47:48,412 --> 00:47:49,972
day; the need for

1168
00:47:49,972 --> 00:47:51,873
affordable and accessible housing only continues to

1169
00:47:51,873 --> 00:47:53,628
grow and persists as the

1170
00:47:53,628 --> 00:47:55,529
community's top need. Every time

1171
00:47:55,529 --> 00:47:57,089
we conduct our

1172
00:47:57,089 --> 00:47:58,525
community needs assessment, it's the

1173
00:47:58,525 --> 00:48:00,226
number one problem for people.

1174
00:48:00,226 --> 00:48:01,771
We recently conducted our own

1175
00:48:01,771 --> 00:48:03,488
assessment and heard loud

1176
00:48:03,488 --> 00:48:05,205
and clear from people that housing

1177
00:48:05,205 --> 00:48:06,960
is a major challenge. The

1178
00:48:06,960 --> 00:48:08,820
most common barrier to finding or keeping

1179
00:48:08,820 --> 00:48:10,778
a home is the cost of rent or

1180
00:48:10,778 --> 00:48:12,540
a mortgage, and that was consistent across

1181
00:48:12,540 --> 00:48:14,351
all age groups and

1182
00:48:14,351 --> 00:48:16,187
employment groups. Employment does not necessarily

1183
00:48:16,187 --> 00:48:18,045
provide enough income to

1184
00:48:18,045 --> 00:48:19,806
maintain stable housing in the

1185
00:48:19,806 --> 00:48:22,770
current market. Overall, the data

1186
00:48:22,770 --> 00:48:24,739
suggest that the housing challenge is

1187
00:48:24,739 --> 00:48:26,660
not limited to the number of units

1188
00:48:26,660 --> 00:48:28,580
available, but that while expanding

1189
00:48:28,580 --> 00:48:30,353
the housing supply remains

1190
00:48:30,353 --> 00:48:31,929
important, residents still

1191
00:48:31,929 --> 00:48:33,504
face barriers to making

1192
00:48:33,504 --> 00:48:35,375
existing housing affordable,

1193
00:48:35,375 --> 00:48:37,296
such as high housing costs,

1194
00:48:37,296 --> 00:48:38,970
upfront rental expenses,

1195
00:48:38,970 --> 00:48:40,792
income and credit requirements, and

1196
00:48:40,792 --> 00:48:42,828
other eligibility criteria.

1197
00:48:42,828 --> 00:48:44,582
Therefore, all this only

1198
00:48:44,582 --> 00:48:46,438
reinforces what we learned through the

1199
00:48:46,438 --> 00:48:48,346
Housing Compass Plan: that it is not just

1200
00:48:48,346 --> 00:48:50,151
one problem, but

1201
00:48:50,151 --> 00:48:52,111
several, and that we need a kind

1202
00:48:52,111 --> 00:48:54,553
of multi-faceted approach. The Housing Compass Plan

1203
00:48:54,553 --> 00:48:56,382
seeks to address these

1204
00:48:56,382 --> 00:48:58,667
problems with the pillars that

1205
00:48:58,667 --> 00:49:00,896
people talked about earlier, because it is essential

1206
00:49:00,896 --> 00:49:03,182
that this comprehensive approach protects

1207
00:49:03,182 --> 00:49:05,296
people in communities so they

1208
00:49:05,296 --> 00:49:07,582
can remain housed and reduce

1209
00:49:07,582 --> 00:49:09,868
displacement, because that only causes

1210
00:49:09,868 --> 00:49:13,175
a domino effect in the system.

1211
00:49:13,175 --> 00:49:14,858
Preserve what we already have in

1212
00:49:14,858 --> 00:49:16,813
terms of current affordable and

1213
00:49:16,813 --> 00:49:18,496
accessible housing and produce

1214
00:49:18,496 --> 00:49:20,548
new and affordable housing,

1215
00:49:20,548 --> 00:49:21,378
Peggy.

1216
00:49:21,378 --> 00:49:23,299
Balance matters, because new

1217
00:49:23,299 --> 00:49:26,713
constructions won't solve it on their own.

1218
00:49:26,713 --> 00:49:28,813
And I hope you all will support me.

1219
00:49:28,813 --> 00:49:30,626
I fully support the

1220
00:49:30,626 --> 00:49:32,390
priority recommendations mentioned in the

1221
00:49:32,390 --> 00:49:34,204
executive summary and urge the

1222
00:49:34,204 --> 00:49:35,478
City Council and the

1223
00:49:35,478 --> 00:49:37,340
Planning Committee to approve the

1224
00:49:37,340 --> 00:49:39,281
Housing Compass Plan. It gives us a framework

1225
00:49:39,281 --> 00:49:41,207
to move forward and a path to address

1226
00:49:41,207 --> 00:49:42,982
the housing crisis we

1227
00:49:42,982 --> 00:49:45,459
currently face. Thank you so much

1228
00:49:45,459 --> 00:49:46,292
.

1229
00:49:46,292 --> 00:49:59,823
Thank you so much.

1230
00:49:59,823 --> 00:50:01,640
Okay, does anyone else want to speak in

1231
00:50:01,640 --> 00:50:07,721
favor? Let him speak out against it. Opponents, come up

1232
00:50:07,721 --> 00:50:15,099
to the podium. Okay. No. We'll

1233
00:50:15,099 --> 00:50:17,501
be able to sort it out.

1234
00:50:17,501 --> 00:50:20,309
Thank you. Because I commented

1235
00:50:20,309 --> 00:50:22,825
on the 154-page plan and submitted

1236
00:50:22,825 --> 00:50:26,235
20 pages of comments. Okay. Well

1237
00:50:26,235 --> 00:50:28,644
, my name is Jane Fox. I appreciate

1238
00:50:28,644 --> 00:50:30,532
the opportunity to speak today. I believe

1239
00:50:30,532 --> 00:50:31,949
their plan was

1240
00:50:31,949 --> 00:50:34,804
professionally written. Despite its

1241
00:50:34,804 --> 00:50:37,488
strengths, I have some reservations. There are a

1242
00:50:37,488 --> 00:50:39,848
few things I want to point out. The

1243
00:50:39,848 --> 00:50:41,791
plan did not include any analysis of the

1244
00:50:41,791 --> 00:50:43,521
fiscal impact.

1245
00:50:43,521 --> 00:50:45,200
Gloucester residents, especially

1246
00:50:45,200 --> 00:50:46,925
senior citizens, are already struggling with

1247
00:50:46,925 --> 00:50:48,964
property taxes. The plan did not explain how the

1248
00:50:48,964 --> 00:50:50,994
increased density, new

1249
00:50:50,994 --> 00:50:52,822
housing programs, or zoning changes would

1250
00:50:52,822 --> 00:50:54,598
affect taxes,

1251
00:50:54,598 --> 00:50:56,578
school budgets, DPW, water, sewer, or

1252
00:50:56,578 --> 00:50:58,520
safety. An affordability plan

1253
00:50:58,520 --> 00:51:00,962
cannot ignore taxes. There is no

1254
00:51:00,962 --> 00:51:02,629
assessment of the infrastructure's capacity

1255
00:51:02,629 --> 00:51:04,368
. Gloucester is a

1256
00:51:04,368 --> 00:51:06,344
coastal city with aging systems,

1257
00:51:06,344 --> 00:51:08,164
but the plan does not provide data on

1258
00:51:08,164 --> 00:51:09,932
sewage, water pressure,

1259
00:51:09,932 --> 00:51:11,960
stormwater capacity, flood risk areas,

1260
00:51:11,960 --> 00:51:13,988
or emergency access restrictions

1261
00:51:13,988 --> 00:51:15,560
. Without this, the

1262
00:51:15,560 --> 00:51:17,365
recommendations are not based on

1263
00:51:17,365 --> 00:51:19,285
reality. The plan does not provide

1264
00:51:19,285 --> 00:51:21,188
any school registration form. It

1265
00:51:21,188 --> 00:51:23,280
does not analyze whether new housing

1266
00:51:23,280 --> 00:51:25,432
will increase enrollment, whether

1267
00:51:25,432 --> 00:51:27,525
schools have capacity, or whether

1268
00:51:27,525 --> 00:51:29,677
40R or 40Y districts would trigger

1269
00:51:29,677 --> 00:51:31,907
Chapter 40S refunds. This is

1270
00:51:31,907 --> 00:51:33,541
essential for

1271
00:51:33,541 --> 00:51:35,404
responsible planning. I could go on and on,

1272
00:51:35,404 --> 00:51:36,852
but the plan barely addresses

1273
00:51:36,852 --> 00:51:38,301
short-term rentals and

1274
00:51:38,301 --> 00:51:40,170
speculative investments, even though both

1275
00:51:40,170 --> 00:51:41,946
significantly impact

1276
00:51:41,946 --> 00:51:43,669
Gloucester's property market. There is no

1277
00:51:43,669 --> 00:51:45,425
data on STRs, investor-

1278
00:51:45,425 --> 00:51:47,130
owned multifamily units,

1279
00:51:47,130 --> 00:51:48,473
or

1280
00:51:48,473 --> 00:51:50,388
displacement risk. The plan does not provide

1281
00:51:50,388 --> 00:51:52,197
cost estimates for the

1282
00:51:52,197 --> 00:51:53,509
funding strategy for many of the

1283
00:51:53,509 --> 00:51:54,980
recommendations. Without costs,

1284
00:51:54,980 --> 00:51:56,978
staffing needs, or sources of

1285
00:51:56,978 --> 00:51:59,407
funding, the plan is not viable. The

1286
00:51:59,407 --> 00:52:01,535
plan does not prioritize their recommendations.

1287
00:52:01,535 --> 00:52:03,204
Residents and

1288
00:52:03,204 --> 00:52:04,776
policymakers cannot say what

1289
00:52:04,776 --> 00:52:06,741
should happen first, what has the

1290
00:52:06,741 --> 00:52:08,631
greatest impact, or what is feasible. In

1291
00:52:08,631 --> 00:52:10,841
summary, this is a solid technical document

1292
00:52:10,841 --> 00:52:12,711
, but it is not yet a

1293
00:52:12,711 --> 00:52:14,864
resident-friendly plan nor is it

1294
00:52:14,864 --> 00:52:17,660
ready for implementation. Gloucester

1295
00:52:17,660 --> 00:52:19,757
deserves a plan that is transparent,

1296
00:52:19,757 --> 00:52:21,798
fiscally responsible and based on

1297
00:52:21,798 --> 00:52:23,952
real infrastructure and

1298
00:52:23,952 --> 00:52:27,438
neighborhood conditions. I urge the city to

1299
00:52:27,438 --> 00:52:29,755
review the plan to include

1300
00:52:29,755 --> 00:52:32,261
fiscal impacts, infrastructure capacity,

1301
00:52:32,261 --> 00:52:34,265
school models,

1302
00:52:34,265 --> 00:52:36,770
neighborhood-level development analysis,

1303
00:52:36,770 --> 00:52:39,276
STR data and speculation,

1304
00:52:39,276 --> 00:52:41,718
cost estimates, and clear prioritization, so that

1305
00:52:41,718 --> 00:52:44,036
residents can understand how

1306
00:52:44,036 --> 00:52:46,166
this plan affects their homes, their

1307
00:52:46,166 --> 00:52:49,293
taxes, and their future. Thank you. I

1308
00:52:49,293 --> 00:52:51,086
support him, but I think I'm only

1309
00:52:51,086 --> 00:52:53,206
hearing the good things. I'm not

1310
00:52:53,206 --> 00:52:55,057
hearing the reality of what it will

1311
00:52:55,057 --> 00:52:56,608
cost residents today,

1312
00:52:56,608 --> 00:52:58,560
especially the elderly.

1313
00:52:58,560 --> 00:52:59,774
Thank you.

1314
00:52:59,774 --> 00:53:06,001
Does anyone else want to speak out

1315
00:53:06,001 --> 00:53:10,993
against it? Does

1316
00:53:10,993 --> 00:53:12,625
anyone else have reservations or want to

1317
00:53:12,625 --> 00:53:23,586
speak out against it?

1318
00:53:23,586 --> 00:53:26,079
Beverly Pelmachi, 8 Commonwealth Avenue

1319
00:53:26,079 --> 00:53:28,016
. I agree with everything he said

1320
00:53:28,016 --> 00:53:34,299
. And more. I wanted to feel confident

1321
00:53:34,299 --> 00:53:36,586
that the city center would not again

1322
00:53:36,586 --> 00:53:38,814
become the center of attention, as it

1323
00:53:38,814 --> 00:53:42,145
was under the MBTA mandate. Well,

1324
00:53:42,145 --> 00:53:44,371
we've paid our price. You know,

1325
00:53:44,371 --> 00:53:46,467
we've changed our zoning. We do

1326
00:53:46,467 --> 00:53:48,433
n't want to be okay, they have the

1327
00:53:48,433 --> 00:53:50,625
sewers, so this is where we need to

1328
00:53:50,625 --> 00:53:53,498
focus. And in terms

1329
00:53:53,498 --> 00:53:58,620
of...I don't remember exactly how she

1330
00:53:58,620 --> 00:54:00,290
said it, but I have a

1331
00:54:00,290 --> 00:54:03,220
situation myself. I'm in the center. The

1332
00:54:03,220 --> 00:54:05,670
zoning has changed. I'm not

1333
00:54:05,670 --> 00:54:07,942
sure if this has affected what's

1334
00:54:07,942 --> 00:54:10,156
happening behind me, but

1335
00:54:10,156 --> 00:54:12,312
a property was purchased, two very

1336
00:54:12,312 --> 00:54:15,392
small houses on a non-compliant plot.

1337
00:54:15,392 --> 00:54:17,863
Affordable rentals. Someone from out

1338
00:54:17,863 --> 00:54:20,400
of town came and bought it.

1339
00:54:20,400 --> 00:54:22,070
Rents have doubled. A

1340
00:54:22,070 --> 00:54:25,085
family had to move. This house is being

1341
00:54:25,085 --> 00:54:28,839
expanded and improved. This is not going to

1342
00:54:28,839 --> 00:54:31,387
be affordable for anyone. So I don't

1343
00:54:31,387 --> 00:54:33,152
know what we have to protect ourselves from

1344
00:54:33,152 --> 00:54:36,021
that. What will stop

1345
00:54:36,021 --> 00:54:38,163
people who can still afford these

1346
00:54:38,163 --> 00:54:40,422
prices, these extreme prices, from coming here and

1347
00:54:40,422 --> 00:54:43,765
driving them up even more? And in

1348
00:54:43,765 --> 00:54:46,446
my case, I have been blind for 32

1349
00:54:46,446 --> 00:54:50,083
years. I can no longer see the water because

1350
00:54:50,083 --> 00:54:52,044
this construction will not accommodate any

1351
00:54:52,044 --> 00:54:54,856
more people. It's a two-

1352
00:54:54,856 --> 00:54:56,876
bedroom house, but it's going to be a

1353
00:54:56,876 --> 00:54:58,842
grand two-bedroom house, and I can't

1354
00:54:58,842 --> 00:55:00,807
imagine what the rent will cost

1355
00:55:00,807 --> 00:55:02,755
. That's why I think it's very

1356
00:55:02,755 --> 00:55:04,686
important that we protect ourselves in some

1357
00:55:04,686 --> 00:55:07,384
way. I don't know how, but please do

1358
00:55:07,384 --> 00:55:09,823
n't just focus on the center because

1359
00:55:09,823 --> 00:55:12,751
we have the sewer system.

1360
00:55:12,751 --> 00:55:15,609
Everyone should pay. And don't forget the

1361
00:55:15,609 --> 00:55:17,404
situation with short-

1362
00:55:17,404 --> 00:55:19,071
term rentals. I think some of you

1363
00:55:19,071 --> 00:55:20,894
know that I've been sending you letters about that for

1364
00:55:20,894 --> 00:55:22,567
years. It should

1365
00:55:22,567 --> 00:55:24,699
have been controlled a long time ago, and

1366
00:55:24,699 --> 00:55:29,014
we are paying the price. Thank you.

1367
00:55:29,014 --> 00:55:39,541
Does anyone else have any

1368
00:55:39,541 --> 00:55:57,472
comments of any kind? Yes. I'm

1369
00:55:57,472 --> 00:55:59,980
sorry, it was last minute. Nick

1370
00:55:59,980 --> 00:56:04,397
Fay, 33 Emerson Ave. I just want to

1371
00:56:04,397 --> 00:56:06,412
thank Alan and the team. I think

1372
00:56:06,412 --> 00:56:08,223
everyone has been working very

1373
00:56:08,223 --> 00:56:11,474
hard on this.

1374
00:56:11,474 --> 00:56:13,032
Housing development is a very

1375
00:56:13,032 --> 00:56:16,864
complex situation. Well, I'm an expert with

1376
00:56:16,864 --> 00:56:19,264
numbers, and as interest rates

1377
00:56:19,264 --> 00:56:21,480
rise higher and higher each day this

1378
00:56:21,480 --> 00:56:23,880
week, we're feeling the pressure when it comes

1379
00:56:23,880 --> 00:56:29,597
to costs. And I believe that

1380
00:56:29,597 --> 00:56:31,598
community involvement and a

1381
00:56:31,598 --> 00:56:33,599
proactive stance really help to

1382
00:56:33,599 --> 00:56:38,053
support the increase in supply.

1383
00:56:38,053 --> 00:56:39,855
Anyway, I want to thank you and I

1384
00:56:39,855 --> 00:56:41,503
really appreciate you

1385
00:56:41,503 --> 00:56:43,758
hosting us. Thank you.

1386
00:56:43,758 --> 00:56:53,268
Are we having any communication

1387
00:56:53,268 --> 00:56:55,929
, Madam Secretary?

1388
00:56:55,929 --> 00:56:57,861
The municipal secretary's office did not

1389
00:56:57,861 --> 00:56:59,843
receive any communication in time

1390
00:56:59,843 --> 00:57:01,445
for the deadline. There was a

1391
00:57:01,445 --> 00:57:03,230
communication that was received after

1392
00:57:03,230 --> 00:57:05,061
the deadline for sending it and that

1393
00:57:05,061 --> 00:57:06,810
was sent to the full City Council.

1394
00:57:06,810 --> 00:57:07,491
Yes.

1395
00:57:07,491 --> 00:57:09,033
We also received many other

1396
00:57:09,033 --> 00:57:10,961
communications that were addressed

1397
00:57:10,961 --> 00:57:14,339
directly to us. Questions from the

1398
00:57:14,339 --> 00:57:15,718
councilors and the

1399
00:57:15,718 --> 00:57:24,568
planning board. Raise your hand and go

1400
00:57:24,568 --> 00:57:29,567
ahead. David.

1401
00:57:29,567 --> 00:57:31,505
Rosen, member of the

1402
00:57:31,505 --> 00:57:34,172
planning board. Alex, how long

1403
00:57:34,172 --> 00:57:36,226
is the housing compass plan valid

1404
00:57:36,226 --> 00:57:40,477
? Well,

1405
00:57:40,477 --> 00:57:42,362
as far as the status is concerned, it's

1406
00:57:42,362 --> 00:57:52,980
valid for 5 years.

1407
00:57:52,980 --> 00:57:56,719
Councilman Benson. Thank you. Well, there was

1408
00:57:56,719 --> 00:57:58,611
a debate and some voters

1409
00:57:58,611 --> 00:58:00,559
contacted me to

1410
00:58:00,559 --> 00:58:02,508
ask what a gateway city is

1411
00:58:02,508 --> 00:58:04,846
. If you could

1412
00:58:04,846 --> 00:58:06,784
briefly describe what an entry city is

1413
00:58:06,784 --> 00:58:08,957
, I understand that we can

1414
00:58:08,957 --> 00:58:11,188
meet some of the criteria,

1415
00:58:11,188 --> 00:58:14,808
but not others. These cities

1416
00:58:14,808 --> 00:58:17,083
emerged in the mid-

1417
00:58:17,083 --> 00:58:19,125
2000s, specifically due to

1418
00:58:19,125 --> 00:58:21,225
deindustrialization and the

1419
00:58:21,225 --> 00:58:24,396
frequent relocation of jobs abroad.

1420
00:58:24,396 --> 00:58:25,797
Communities like Lynn and other

1421
00:58:25,797 --> 00:58:27,152
similar communities have been

1422
00:58:27,152 --> 00:58:29,080
considered gateway cities. But

1423
00:58:29,080 --> 00:58:31,189
could you define what a gateway city is

1424
00:58:31,189 --> 00:58:33,409
to clarify some facts,

1425
00:58:33,409 --> 00:58:34,878
if that makes sense?

1426
00:58:34,878 --> 00:58:36,658
Of course, it's a designation for the

1427
00:58:36,658 --> 00:58:38,589
set of state subsidies.

1428
00:58:38,589 --> 00:58:40,577
Therefore, it is basically a way for

1429
00:58:40,577 --> 00:58:42,566
the state to think about the types of

1430
00:58:42,566 --> 00:58:44,256
communities it wants to support with

1431
00:58:44,256 --> 00:58:46,116
grant funding. Well, you were

1432
00:58:46,116 --> 00:58:48,580
referring to communities that have had, let's say

1433
00:58:48,580 --> 00:58:50,983
, jobs that have disappeared due to

1434
00:58:50,983 --> 00:58:54,480
the decline of the industry, things like that.

1435
00:58:54,480 --> 00:58:56,879
It has certain criteria for

1436
00:58:56,879 --> 00:58:59,038
population size, income, and the

1437
00:58:59,038 --> 00:59:01,378
amount of... There is another criterion that I don't

1438
00:59:01,378 --> 00:59:04,303
remember right now. Basically,

1439
00:59:04,303 --> 00:59:06,676
Gloucester meets all the criteria,

1440
00:59:06,676 --> 00:59:08,867
but our population is

1441
00:59:08,867 --> 00:59:10,810
5000 short. Therefore, we

1442
00:59:10,810 --> 00:59:12,599
are not saying that we will magically increase the

1443
00:59:12,599 --> 00:59:14,554
population. We're just saying

1444
00:59:14,554 --> 00:59:16,245
that we meet all the other

1445
00:59:16,245 --> 00:59:18,055
criteria. We want the state to

1446
00:59:18,055 --> 00:59:19,509
consider us for

1447
00:59:19,509 --> 00:59:21,327
available grants through

1448
00:59:21,327 --> 00:59:24,463
gateway designation.

1449
00:59:24,463 --> 00:59:27,547
That's how it is. The gateway is

1450
00:59:27,547 --> 00:59:39,799
35,000 to 200,000. Jason,

1451
00:59:39,799 --> 00:59:41,014
Growth Council.

1452
00:59:41,014 --> 00:59:43,510
Thank you. Alex, you have produced an

1453
00:59:43,510 --> 00:59:46,157
excellent document. We have

1454
00:59:46,157 --> 00:59:47,667
many people to thank for their

1455
00:59:47,667 --> 00:59:49,916
contributions. But

1456
00:59:49,916 --> 00:59:51,355
now it is up to us to

1457
00:59:51,355 --> 00:59:52,621
implement it, the

1458
00:59:52,621 --> 00:59:54,421
Planning Board and the City Council. So

1459
00:59:54,421 --> 00:59:56,428
, give me a little guidance here.

1460
00:59:56,428 --> 00:59:58,014
How are we going to do it? How do

1461
00:59:58,014 --> 01:00:00,549
we classify our main steps

1462
01:00:00,549 --> 01:00:03,149
, you know, one, two or three that we must

1463
01:00:03,149 --> 01:00:05,749
take and that would be the most beneficial

1464
01:00:05,749 --> 01:00:08,734
in the short term? I think I'd

1465
01:00:08,734 --> 01:00:10,902
like us to do something over

1466
01:00:10,902 --> 01:00:13,126
the next year instead of just leaving this

1467
01:00:13,126 --> 01:00:15,239
on a shelf to gather dust,

1468
01:00:15,239 --> 01:00:17,352
which is what we usually do with these

1469
01:00:17,352 --> 01:00:20,626
long-term plans or properties. We do

1470
01:00:20,626 --> 01:00:23,602
n't usually do much with them.

1471
01:00:23,602 --> 01:00:25,776
So, how are we going to get this

1472
01:00:25,776 --> 01:00:29,676
going?

1473
01:00:29,676 --> 01:00:31,778
Well, I think we need to continue what we've been

1474
01:00:31,778 --> 01:00:33,880
doing, which

1475
01:00:33,880 --> 01:00:35,927
is creating a great community process

1476
01:00:35,927 --> 01:00:38,030
because to make any

1477
01:00:38,030 --> 01:00:40,132
of these recommendations a reality, we need to

1478
01:00:40,132 --> 01:00:41,958
have more conversations with the

1479
01:00:41,958 --> 01:00:44,060
community and do things in line with

1480
01:00:44,060 --> 01:00:47,116
what they want to happen where they live.

1481
01:00:47,116 --> 01:00:48,401
I believe we have a great

1482
01:00:48,401 --> 01:00:50,033
infrastructure in place to

1483
01:00:50,033 --> 01:00:53,776
implement this plan. Several of these

1484
01:00:53,776 --> 01:00:55,779
are financing-related recommendations

1485
01:00:55,779 --> 01:00:57,732
that fall within the scope

1486
01:00:57,732 --> 01:01:01,141
of the Affordable Housing Trust.

1487
01:01:01,141 --> 01:01:03,197
Therefore, the trust has already begun to

1488
01:01:03,197 --> 01:01:05,099
evaluate those three recommendations

1489
01:01:05,099 --> 01:01:06,898
regarding the possible creation of a

1490
01:01:06,898 --> 01:01:08,903
lease program for

1491
01:01:08,903 --> 01:01:10,753
local residents, the possible creation of a

1492
01:01:10,753 --> 01:01:12,552
loan product for

1493
01:01:12,552 --> 01:01:14,402
small towns or housing types, and the

1494
01:01:14,402 --> 01:01:16,047
possible subsidy of

1495
01:01:16,047 --> 01:01:17,846
affordable units to make their

1496
01:01:17,846 --> 01:01:19,902
affordability levels higher, a

1497
01:01:19,902 --> 01:01:22,247
price reduction program. Therefore,

1498
01:01:22,247 --> 01:01:24,322
they are analyzing all those things and

1499
01:01:24,322 --> 01:01:26,285
then they will get to work on

1500
01:01:26,285 --> 01:01:28,512
creating those programs. So

1501
01:01:28,512 --> 01:01:30,965
, that's underway. Along

1502
01:01:30,965 --> 01:01:33,025
similar lines, the

1503
01:01:33,025 --> 01:01:35,257
planning board's subcommittee, the

1504
01:01:35,257 --> 01:01:37,203
housing subcommittee, has been analyzing

1505
01:01:37,203 --> 01:01:39,492
many zoning recommendations

1506
01:01:39,492 --> 01:01:41,324
and would be the vehicle, as is

1507
01:01:41,324 --> 01:01:43,384
tradition, to analyze where

1508
01:01:43,384 --> 01:01:45,387
the zoning recommendations would focus

1509
01:01:45,387 --> 01:01:47,447
, what they would look like, and to

1510
01:01:47,447 --> 01:01:49,679
analyze them and make recommendations

1511
01:01:49,679 --> 01:01:51,911
as a city council to adopt the

1512
01:01:51,911 --> 01:01:53,834
zoning. Several of those

1513
01:01:53,834 --> 01:01:55,686
recommendations involve

1514
01:01:55,686 --> 01:01:58,809
smart growth districts. I believe the

1515
01:01:58,809 --> 01:02:01,010
greatest impact we can achieve with

1516
01:02:01,010 --> 01:02:02,855
this plan is to consider where

1517
01:02:02,855 --> 01:02:05,235
to locate them, because not only would they facilitate

1518
01:02:05,235 --> 01:02:07,377
the housing that the city needs,

1519
01:02:07,377 --> 01:02:09,340
but they can also generate

1520
01:02:09,340 --> 01:02:14,184
significant financial benefits. Then

1521
01:02:14,184 --> 01:02:16,367
there are a number of recommendations that

1522
01:02:16,367 --> 01:02:18,669
are really administrative and that

1523
01:02:18,669 --> 01:02:20,734
community development staff

1524
01:02:20,734 --> 01:02:22,977
are well trained to submit,

1525
01:02:22,977 --> 01:02:25,337
such as the tenant notification ordinance

1526
01:02:25,337 --> 01:02:27,240
. You know, that's something we

1527
01:02:27,240 --> 01:02:29,112
could do right away. Create

1528
01:02:29,112 --> 01:02:30,901
a housing resources page that

1529
01:02:30,901 --> 01:02:32,421
not only includes our

1530
01:02:32,421 --> 01:02:34,076
first-

1531
01:02:34,076 --> 01:02:35,864
time homeownership program, but all state programs

1532
01:02:35,864 --> 01:02:37,519
and complementary tools

1533
01:02:37,519 --> 01:02:39,395
that people would want to access. So

1534
01:02:39,395 --> 01:02:41,559
, those things could happen tomorrow.

1535
01:02:41,559 --> 01:02:43,138
And I believe we have the

1536
01:02:43,138 --> 01:02:44,995
right people in the right places to

1537
01:02:44,995 --> 01:02:50,996
advance the most important issues. I'm sorry

1538
01:02:50,996 --> 01:02:53,522
, Kimberly.

1539
01:02:53,522 --> 01:02:56,744
Thank you. What percentage of our

1540
01:02:56,744 --> 01:02:58,305
affordable housing will prioritize

1541
01:02:58,305 --> 01:03:01,229
local preference? The woman in the

1542
01:03:01,229 --> 01:03:03,280
audience spoke, for example, about the

1543
01:03:03,280 --> 01:03:05,330
possible housing above a small

1544
01:03:05,330 --> 01:03:07,381
grocery store in the old

1545
01:03:07,381 --> 01:03:08,919
Shaw's. Would that prioritize

1546
01:03:08,919 --> 01:03:11,252
local preference?

1547
01:03:11,252 --> 01:03:13,267
Each time

1548
01:03:13,267 --> 01:03:15,345
affordable housing is developed and authorized,

1549
01:03:15,345 --> 01:03:17,802
we have the opportunity to request

1550
01:03:17,802 --> 01:03:20,069
local preference from the state, which is

1551
01:03:20,069 --> 01:03:22,525
up to 70% of the units according to

1552
01:03:22,525 --> 01:03:25,255
state fair housing laws. As

1553
01:03:25,255 --> 01:03:26,805
part of that, we can also

1554
01:03:26,805 --> 01:03:28,505
prioritize veterans and

1555
01:03:28,505 --> 01:03:37,336
senior citizens.

1556
01:03:37,336 --> 01:03:38,454
Councilman Newton.

1557
01:03:38,454 --> 01:03:42,673
Thank you. No, no, Harris, me. If anyone

1558
01:03:42,673 --> 01:03:45,145
else has done it...Well, we've talked

1559
01:03:45,145 --> 01:03:47,554
a bit about the 40Y, and I've heard from

1560
01:03:47,554 --> 01:03:49,779
many people in my district and

1561
01:03:49,779 --> 01:03:51,941
elsewhere, especially

1562
01:03:51,941 --> 01:03:53,857
young people, about the idea of

1563
01:03:53,857 --> 01:03:56,222
starter homes. And we've seen this

1564
01:03:56,222 --> 01:03:58,290
in other parts of the state and across the

1565
01:03:58,290 --> 01:04:01,071
country. Could you tell us where

1566
01:04:01,071 --> 01:04:02,989
we might consider creating

1567
01:04:02,989 --> 01:04:05,007
some 40Y zoning in the future?

1568
01:04:05,007 --> 01:04:06,678
Because, again, I think what

1569
01:04:06,678 --> 01:04:08,092
Councillor Gross said is that we need to

1570
01:04:08,092 --> 01:04:09,720
make sure this doesn't just sit on a

1571
01:04:09,720 --> 01:04:11,514
shelf. And that, in fact,

1572
01:04:11,514 --> 01:04:13,385
proactively, once we approve it

1573
01:04:13,385 --> 01:04:15,256
tonight, we need to get going

1574
01:04:15,256 --> 01:04:18,634
and start proactively approving

1575
01:04:18,686 --> 01:04:20,555
tenant rights and other things. But if

1576
01:04:20,555 --> 01:04:22,668
you could mention where you think

1577
01:04:22,668 --> 01:04:25,015
some areas of the city could work

1578
01:04:25,015 --> 01:04:28,310
with 40Y, that would be great.

1579
01:04:28,310 --> 01:04:32,078
Yes. It's something I think you'd want to see

1580
01:04:32,078 --> 01:04:33,669
in the housing restrictions section

1581
01:04:33,669 --> 01:04:37,128
of this plan. And, generally speaking

1582
01:04:37,128 --> 01:04:39,363
, those white areas on the map

1583
01:04:39,363 --> 01:04:41,040
are places where there may be

1584
01:04:41,040 --> 01:04:44,409
opportunities for that. But the

1585
01:04:44,466 --> 01:04:46,342
planning board's subcommittee, the

1586
01:04:46,342 --> 01:04:48,445
housing subcommittee, has begun to look into the

1587
01:04:48,445 --> 01:04:50,720
possibility of clearing part of our

1588
01:04:50,720 --> 01:04:52,958
group zoning. And that's similar

1589
01:04:52,958 --> 01:04:55,066
to what a 40Y would be. Therefore,

1590
01:04:55,066 --> 01:04:57,152
there is a starting point for a process

1591
01:04:57,152 --> 01:04:59,283
of studying where that would go.

1592
01:04:59,283 --> 01:05:01,563
But I think it would be great to see the

1593
01:05:01,563 --> 01:05:03,843
city council work with the

1594
01:05:03,843 --> 01:05:06,006
planning board to identify those

1595
01:05:06,006 --> 01:05:08,228
locations using this plan as a

1596
01:05:08,228 --> 01:05:10,391
guide and then go through a process,

1597
01:05:10,391 --> 01:05:12,671
because as has been pointed out tonight

1598
01:05:12,671 --> 01:05:14,834
and through all the

1599
01:05:14,834 --> 01:05:17,115
public comments, there are unique limitations everywhere

1600
01:05:17,115 --> 01:05:19,336
, and they need to be analyzed and

1601
01:05:19,336 --> 01:05:21,324
made sure that that area can

1602
01:05:21,324 --> 01:05:23,429
accommodate more housing and

1603
01:05:23,429 --> 01:05:25,709
those details can be worked out and make sure

1604
01:05:25,709 --> 01:05:28,232
the neighborhood is on board.

1605
01:05:28,232 --> 01:05:30,882
Well, this plan doesn't say where

1606
01:05:30,882 --> 01:05:33,003
40Y could go, but it does offer some

1607
01:05:33,003 --> 01:05:35,323
opportunities to consider as a

1608
01:05:35,323 --> 01:05:40,567
guide. Councilman Price.

1609
01:05:40,567 --> 01:05:42,606
Thank you. First of all,

1610
01:05:42,606 --> 01:05:44,572
thank you so much for all the hard work that has been

1611
01:05:44,572 --> 01:05:46,330
done, you know, all the

1612
01:05:46,330 --> 01:05:47,986
research and data and the

1613
01:05:47,986 --> 01:05:49,483
compilation of all this.

1614
01:05:49,483 --> 01:05:52,121
Congratulations. Good job. I have a rather

1615
01:05:52,121 --> 01:05:54,346
strange question, I think. Okay,

1616
01:05:54,346 --> 01:05:56,575
all the grants and other

1617
01:05:56,575 --> 01:05:58,519
funding sources that are mentioned

1618
01:05:58,519 --> 01:06:00,748
when talking about 40R and 40Y and that

1619
01:06:00,748 --> 01:06:02,978
sort of thing: is there any danger

1620
01:06:02,978 --> 01:06:05,899
of that happening? Are they based on

1621
01:06:05,899 --> 01:06:07,670
solid foundations, or is there any

1622
01:06:07,670 --> 01:06:09,441
danger that they could change if we see a

1623
01:06:09,441 --> 01:06:11,363
shift in the landscape after the

1624
01:06:11,363 --> 01:06:16,100
midterm elections?

1625
01:06:16,100 --> 01:06:17,927
Well, that's a good question.

1626
01:06:17,927 --> 01:06:20,292
Fortunately, last fall there was

1627
01:06:20,292 --> 01:06:22,233
a bond bill that

1628
01:06:22,233 --> 01:06:24,659
repaid the 40R program, the

1629
01:06:24,659 --> 01:06:27,024
40Y program, and that's why we feel confident

1630
01:06:27,024 --> 01:06:29,390
making those recommendations in this plan

1631
01:06:29,390 --> 01:06:31,630
. Well, you know, that could be something

1632
01:06:31,630 --> 01:06:33,765
for which the funding source might

1633
01:06:33,765 --> 01:06:35,913
not be there in the future. So,

1634
01:06:35,913 --> 01:06:37,681
again, I think we should

1635
01:06:37,681 --> 01:06:40,022
prioritize taking action now.

1636
01:06:40,022 --> 01:06:42,425
In other words, right now it's a

1637
01:06:42,425 --> 01:06:44,638
pretty safe bet, but later on it

1638
01:06:44,638 --> 01:06:47,167
could, you know, pull the

1639
01:06:47,167 --> 01:06:48,390
rug out from under you.

1640
01:06:48,390 --> 01:06:50,207
Well, it's authorized by the

1641
01:06:50,207 --> 01:06:52,318
state legislature, so I wouldn't

1642
01:06:52,318 --> 01:06:54,605
worry about a change in the governor's position

1643
01:06:54,605 --> 01:06:58,116
. The funding source

1644
01:06:58,116 --> 01:07:00,237
is limited and could run out as

1645
01:07:00,237 --> 01:07:02,413
more communities file for Chapter

1646
01:07:02,413 --> 01:07:05,060
40R. I

1647
01:07:05,060 --> 01:07:07,229
just wanted to add that the

1648
01:07:07,229 --> 01:07:09,182
current economic bill proposes to

1649
01:07:09,182 --> 01:07:11,026
increase both the amount and

1650
01:07:11,026 --> 01:07:13,196
structure of incentive payments to

1651
01:07:13,196 --> 01:07:14,877
communities for adopting the

1652
01:07:14,877 --> 01:07:24,720
ordinance. I

1653
01:07:24,720 --> 01:07:28,865
have a couple of questions, Alex. One of

1654
01:07:28,865 --> 01:07:35,708
the speakers mentioned how we can

1655
01:07:35,708 --> 01:07:37,626
guarantee that some

1656
01:07:37,626 --> 01:07:39,385
kind of grocery store will be installed if

1657
01:07:39,385 --> 01:07:42,592
we include the 40R. Mixed use is

1658
01:07:42,592 --> 01:07:47,487
mandatory. Could you elaborate

1659
01:07:47,487 --> 01:07:49,576
on that a little more?

1660
01:07:49,576 --> 01:07:51,467
This is consistent with other feedback we

1661
01:07:51,467 --> 01:07:53,591
received. There was enthusiasm for

1662
01:07:53,591 --> 01:07:55,750
supporting the recommendation regarding 7

1663
01:07:55,750 --> 01:07:57,411
Railroad Ave as a site of

1664
01:07:57,411 --> 01:07:59,570
opportunity in the

1665
01:07:59,570 --> 01:08:02,805
overall Railroad Ave corridor. But many of the

1666
01:08:02,805 --> 01:08:04,788
comments were very clear about

1667
01:08:04,788 --> 01:08:06,770
wanting to use it as a way to

1668
01:08:06,770 --> 01:08:08,808
encourage the return of a

1669
01:08:08,808 --> 01:08:10,901
grocery store downtown, which has been a

1670
01:08:10,901 --> 01:08:13,104
long-standing element that the community

1671
01:08:13,104 --> 01:08:16,368
has wanted to happen. We could

1672
01:08:16,368 --> 01:08:18,263
write the zoning and list

1673
01:08:18,263 --> 01:08:20,312
the permitted uses on the ground floor and

1674
01:08:20,312 --> 01:08:22,258
just list the ones we want to see, and

1675
01:08:22,258 --> 01:08:24,306
this plan is quite clear that

1676
01:08:24,306 --> 01:08:26,099
we want it to be a

1677
01:08:26,099 --> 01:08:29,449
grocery store. The other issue is that

1678
01:08:29,449 --> 01:08:31,616
whoever ends up developing that

1679
01:08:31,616 --> 01:08:33,513
project, we have to work with

1680
01:08:33,513 --> 01:08:35,463
them to find a store that

1681
01:08:35,463 --> 01:08:38,262
can be set up. You know, it's a

1682
01:08:38,262 --> 01:08:40,330
partnership. That's what we need to

1683
01:08:40,330 --> 01:08:42,161
see to have the best chance of

1684
01:08:42,161 --> 01:08:44,971
achieving it. It is a private property. We can't

1685
01:08:44,971 --> 01:08:46,931
control everything that happens,

1686
01:08:46,931 --> 01:08:48,427
but I believe we have many

1687
01:08:48,427 --> 01:08:50,130
tools to ensure

1688
01:08:50,130 --> 01:08:52,193
we get the result the community

1689
01:08:52,193 --> 01:08:55,001
wants.

1690
01:08:55,001 --> 01:08:56,762
And we saw the map of land that is not

1691
01:08:56,762 --> 01:08:59,086
available. And I think I read

1692
01:08:59,086 --> 01:09:01,254
somewhere here that around 75

1693
01:09:01,254 --> 01:09:03,367
% of the city's landmass

1694
01:09:03,367 --> 01:09:07,747
is unavailable for development. Do

1695
01:09:07,747 --> 01:09:09,551
we need to be more cautious in

1696
01:09:09,551 --> 01:09:15,477
how we continue to increase that number

1697
01:09:15,477 --> 01:09:17,386
by adding more and more land to

1698
01:09:17,386 --> 01:09:21,509
conservation?

1699
01:09:21,509 --> 01:09:23,636
Well, those things are certainly in

1700
01:09:23,636 --> 01:09:26,152
conflict. And I think they should review

1701
01:09:26,152 --> 01:09:27,904
their housing plan, their

1702
01:09:27,904 --> 01:09:30,186
open space plan, and reconcile both.

1703
01:09:30,186 --> 01:09:31,878
But you know, that's a decision that

1704
01:09:31,878 --> 01:09:33,662
political leaders have to make

1705
01:09:33,662 --> 01:09:40,433
. I believe this plan gives them what they

1706
01:09:40,433 --> 01:09:42,294
need to consider when deciding

1707
01:09:42,294 --> 01:09:48,719
whether or not to conserve the soil.

1708
01:09:48,719 --> 01:09:49,547
Councilor

1709
01:09:49,547 --> 01:09:50,296
Hanson.

1710
01:09:50,296 --> 01:09:52,592
Thank you. One last question that relates

1711
01:09:52,592 --> 01:09:54,281
to what we were talking about

1712
01:09:54,281 --> 01:09:56,844
earlier. I saw in the plan that 75%

1713
01:09:56,844 --> 01:09:59,352
of all the land in the city is not

1714
01:09:59,352 --> 01:10:02,647
developable. But you spoke, and I think

1715
01:10:02,647 --> 01:10:04,597
we talked about this, and then I think there was

1716
01:10:04,597 --> 01:10:06,547
a wider conversation at

1717
01:10:06,547 --> 01:10:08,343
the forum at the

1718
01:10:08,343 --> 01:10:12,219
senior center. You mentioned that there could be

1719
01:10:12,219 --> 01:10:14,075
funding opportunities

1720
01:10:14,075 --> 01:10:16,031
for the city to obtain money for

1721
01:10:16,031 --> 01:10:18,751
critical infrastructure. So,

1722
01:10:18,751 --> 01:10:20,509
if we could find that

1723
01:10:20,509 --> 01:10:22,812
funding in places where there is no

1724
01:10:22,812 --> 01:10:25,176
sewage system, would it be plausible that

1725
01:10:25,176 --> 01:10:27,309
this could happen in the future? If

1726
01:10:27,309 --> 01:10:29,356
we obtained that money, we could

1727
01:10:29,356 --> 01:10:31,347
invest it and then develop those

1728
01:10:31,347 --> 01:10:34,064
areas.

1729
01:10:34,064 --> 01:10:36,172
Yes, that's something to keep in

1730
01:10:36,172 --> 01:10:38,068
mind. There are some

1731
01:10:38,068 --> 01:10:39,908
state-run programs that provide

1732
01:10:39,908 --> 01:10:41,964
fairly significant amounts of

1733
01:10:41,964 --> 01:10:43,534
funding for infrastructure,

1734
01:10:43,534 --> 01:10:45,482
specifically

1735
01:10:45,482 --> 01:10:47,376
sewer infrastructure, to unlock

1736
01:10:47,376 --> 01:10:49,689
development. It is not possible without them. The

1737
01:10:49,689 --> 01:10:51,637
MassWorks program, the

1738
01:10:51,637 --> 01:10:54,011
HousingWorks program, you know, you can receive

1739
01:10:54,011 --> 01:10:56,385
millions of dollars through those

1740
01:10:56,385 --> 01:10:59,848
programs. But to have a good

1741
01:10:59,848 --> 01:11:01,926
application, you need to have a good

1742
01:11:01,926 --> 01:11:04,123
affordable housing development or

1743
01:11:04,123 --> 01:11:06,498
something that generates jobs and has a big

1744
01:11:06,498 --> 01:11:10,226
impact. So, that's possible, but

1745
01:11:10,226 --> 01:11:12,354
you need to have a good application

1746
01:11:12,354 --> 01:11:14,540
to have a chance of getting

1747
01:11:14,540 --> 01:11:15,780
that funding.

1748
01:11:15,780 --> 01:11:18,200
Thank you. So yes, this really

1749
01:11:18,200 --> 01:11:19,985
lays the foundation for everything we

1750
01:11:19,985 --> 01:11:21,770
want to do and hope to do,

1751
01:11:21,770 --> 01:11:23,607
especially in terms of

1752
01:11:23,607 --> 01:11:25,445
infrastructure if the money is

1753
01:11:25,445 --> 01:11:28,357
available. But, thank you.

1754
01:11:28,357 --> 01:11:30,669
Shawn Henry has raised his hand. Go

1755
01:11:30,669 --> 01:11:32,754
ahead, Shawn.

1756
01:11:32,754 --> 01:11:35,295
Thank you. I don't want to talk out of

1757
01:11:35,295 --> 01:11:37,559
turn. I just wanted to return to your

1758
01:11:37,559 --> 01:11:42,735
question as a member of the Housing

1759
01:11:42,735 --> 01:11:44,775
Compass group, regarding your point about the

1760
01:11:44,775 --> 01:11:47,407
tension between conservation. In

1761
01:11:47,407 --> 01:11:49,605
fact, I think I'm officially supposed to

1762
01:11:49,605 --> 01:11:54,368
start my video. I'm sorry.

1763
01:11:54,368 --> 01:11:56,411
Regarding your point about the tension

1764
01:11:56,411 --> 01:11:58,509
between soil conservation and

1765
01:11:58,509 --> 01:12:00,441
development, I believe that where the plan

1766
01:12:00,441 --> 01:12:02,098
addresses that issue is through

1767
01:12:02,098 --> 01:12:05,850
appropriate sizing.

1768
01:12:05,850 --> 01:12:07,951
Historically, when we installed the

1769
01:12:07,951 --> 01:12:09,943
sewer system in North Gloucester,

1770
01:12:09,943 --> 01:12:12,155
we doubled the lot size requirements

1771
01:12:12,155 --> 01:12:19,356
. When doing 3A, we recognized

1772
01:12:19,356 --> 01:12:21,656
that our R5 district contained

1773
01:12:21,656 --> 01:12:24,362
many lots that were well below

1774
01:12:24,362 --> 01:12:27,849
that size. Therefore, in order to

1775
01:12:27,849 --> 01:12:29,705
respond to 3A, we had to

1776
01:12:29,705 --> 01:12:32,100
address it by reducing the minimum

1777
01:12:32,100 --> 01:12:35,074
lot size to 4000 square feet. And I

1778
01:12:35,074 --> 01:12:37,122
believe that if we review and examine

1779
01:12:37,122 --> 01:12:39,053
our existing zoning,

1780
01:12:39,053 --> 01:12:41,277
we will discover that the vast majority of

1781
01:12:41,277 --> 01:12:43,326
existing housing is on

1782
01:12:43,326 --> 01:12:48,135
undersized lots.

1783
01:12:48,135 --> 01:12:50,287
Therefore, if we address the

1784
01:12:50,287 --> 01:12:52,678
development problem not by occupying

1785
01:12:52,678 --> 01:12:54,651
existing green spaces, but

1786
01:12:54,651 --> 01:12:56,923
by zoning to the

1787
01:12:56,923 --> 01:12:59,195
appropriate size, which is what the

1788
01:12:59,195 --> 01:13:03,944
plan recommends. Then, we will eliminate that

1789
01:13:03,944 --> 01:13:05,985
tension between preserving

1790
01:13:05,985 --> 01:13:11,183
green space and allowing new developments. And I

1791
01:13:11,183 --> 01:13:13,400
think that, as you know, including

1792
01:13:13,400 --> 01:13:15,556
downtown, there's no

1793
01:13:15,556 --> 01:13:17,952
reason why a development on Main

1794
01:13:17,952 --> 01:13:20,288
Street that allows for the development of a

1795
01:13:20,288 --> 01:13:22,624
lot-line to lot-line commercial building

1796
01:13:22,624 --> 01:13:24,841
should be forced to

1797
01:13:24,841 --> 01:13:27,117
go through a ZBA process when

1798
01:13:27,117 --> 01:13:32,886
a residential component is introduced into

1799
01:13:32,886 --> 01:13:35,390
it. Anyway, so as not to take up

1800
01:13:35,390 --> 01:13:37,494
more than my 3 minutes, I think

1801
01:13:37,494 --> 01:13:39,538
appropriately sized zoning

1802
01:13:39,538 --> 01:13:43,798
addresses the problem you raised. I

1803
01:13:43,798 --> 01:13:46,010
have no time constraints.

1804
01:13:46,010 --> 01:13:49,858
Oh, don't tell him. Are you ready,

1805
01:13:49,858 --> 01:13:50,928
Sean?

1806
01:13:50,928 --> 01:13:51,739
For now.

1807
01:13:51,739 --> 01:13:53,760
Are you ready? Okay, thanks. I

1808
01:13:53,760 --> 01:13:55,566
don't want to be the big talking head

1809
01:13:55,566 --> 01:14:01,527
in the room.

1810
01:14:01,527 --> 01:14:07,424
Anyone else? Go

1811
01:14:07,424 --> 01:14:08,202
ahead,

1812
01:14:08,202 --> 01:14:10,403
yes, we had...I'm sorry, I don't remember

1813
01:14:10,403 --> 01:14:12,547
your name, the young woman with glasses who

1814
01:14:12,547 --> 01:14:14,575
spoke about...who was neither for nor

1815
01:14:14,575 --> 01:14:16,603
against, rather in the

1816
01:14:16,603 --> 01:14:18,412
middle. Have any of

1817
01:14:18,412 --> 01:14:19,171
those questions been answered?

1818
01:14:19,171 --> 01:14:21,708
Jane Fox. Have any of

1819
01:14:21,708 --> 01:14:23,047
these issues been considered with this

1820
01:14:23,047 --> 01:14:25,189
administration and the DPW, given the rising

1821
01:14:25,189 --> 01:14:27,171
cost of everything, such as water,

1822
01:14:27,171 --> 01:14:29,153
sewage, and traffic, all

1823
01:14:29,153 --> 01:14:31,327
within the housing plan? Has

1824
01:14:31,327 --> 01:14:33,576
that information been shared?

1825
01:14:33,576 --> 01:14:35,761
Yes, there were interviews with the

1826
01:14:35,761 --> 01:14:37,602
Public Works Health Board and other

1827
01:14:37,602 --> 01:14:39,558
staff who looked at those kinds of

1828
01:14:39,558 --> 01:14:41,686
limitations, and broadly speaking, the

1829
01:14:41,686 --> 01:14:43,757
conclusion was that the center can

1830
01:14:43,757 --> 01:14:46,000
support further development and our

1831
01:14:46,000 --> 01:14:47,783
upgrade to the

1832
01:14:47,783 --> 01:14:49,624
secondary wastewater treatment facilities will

1833
01:14:49,624 --> 01:14:51,350
only improve that

1834
01:14:51,350 --> 01:14:53,948
situation. We have no concerns

1835
01:14:53,948 --> 01:14:56,062
about the infrastructure and its capacity

1836
01:14:56,062 --> 01:14:58,069
to manage development at all

1837
01:14:58,069 --> 01:14:59,760
sites of opportunity, but I

1838
01:14:59,760 --> 01:15:01,715
also believe there would be a process

1839
01:15:01,715 --> 01:15:03,670
to analyze that specifically as

1840
01:15:03,670 --> 01:15:05,731
development progresses

1841
01:15:05,731 --> 01:15:06,955
.

1842
01:15:06,955 --> 01:15:08,995
And just one last question, when

1843
01:15:08,995 --> 01:15:10,512
is the deadline for us to

1844
01:15:10,512 --> 01:15:14,617
submit this to the state? There

1845
01:15:14,617 --> 01:15:16,642
is no deadline, but we would

1846
01:15:16,642 --> 01:15:18,957
like to have a state-approved plan

1847
01:15:18,957 --> 01:15:21,098
because it will give us more

1848
01:15:21,098 --> 01:15:22,892
local control over

1849
01:15:22,892 --> 01:15:26,712
Chapter 40B proposals.

1850
01:15:26,712 --> 01:15:37,569
Thank you. Well, there was another component

1851
01:15:37,569 --> 01:15:40,007
here that, well, I felt

1852
01:15:40,007 --> 01:15:42,593
deserved some discussion, and that is,

1853
01:15:42,593 --> 01:15:49,939
well, to create a sort of

1854
01:15:49,939 --> 01:15:52,127
task force to examine, well, the

1855
01:15:52,127 --> 01:15:54,702
building codes and the way they are

1856
01:15:54,702 --> 01:15:59,079
affecting our

1857
01:15:59,144 --> 01:16:01,268
moderately sized multi-family buildings and grouping them into, well,

1858
01:16:01,268 --> 01:16:05,390
large projects. And I'm very happy

1859
01:16:05,390 --> 01:16:07,622
with our other... Is this going to be a

1860
01:16:07,622 --> 01:16:09,912
regional effort to try to reach

1861
01:16:09,912 --> 01:16:12,086
the state, or is the state going to take the

1862
01:16:12,086 --> 01:16:15,020
lead on this? Do we need to, well

1863
01:16:15,020 --> 01:16:17,068
, who do we need to pressure to

1864
01:16:17,068 --> 01:16:19,007
make sure this gets

1865
01:16:19,007 --> 01:16:20,516
going and gets going

1866
01:16:20,516 --> 01:16:21,913
quickly?

1867
01:16:21,913 --> 01:16:24,080
Yes, well, actually, based on

1868
01:16:24,080 --> 01:16:26,194
your comments at the P&D meeting,

1869
01:16:26,194 --> 01:16:28,362
we wanted to clarify that it should be a

1870
01:16:28,362 --> 01:16:30,467
state commission. Well, there were also

1871
01:16:30,467 --> 01:16:32,281
some comments sharing

1872
01:16:32,281 --> 01:16:34,242
concerns about whether changing

1873
01:16:34,242 --> 01:16:35,811
the building code will

1874
01:16:35,811 --> 01:16:37,478
affect, well, health and

1875
01:16:37,478 --> 01:16:39,299
safety. Well, we want to make

1876
01:16:39,299 --> 01:16:41,424
changes that will make it more

1877
01:16:41,424 --> 01:16:43,326
financially viable to create

1878
01:16:43,326 --> 01:16:45,450
smaller housing options. But we want to

1879
01:16:45,450 --> 01:16:47,293
do it in a way that does not compromise

1880
01:16:47,293 --> 01:16:49,235
public health and safety. I believe

1881
01:16:49,235 --> 01:16:51,431
a state-led panel with

1882
01:16:51,431 --> 01:16:53,627
state experts should handle

1883
01:16:53,627 --> 01:16:55,823
that because, at the end of the day, it's a

1884
01:16:55,823 --> 01:16:57,745
state building code and

1885
01:16:57,745 --> 01:16:59,392
any changes they make would

1886
01:16:59,392 --> 01:17:02,333
apply statewide. We have

1887
01:17:02,333 --> 01:17:04,355
some excellent partners at DOER with

1888
01:17:04,355 --> 01:17:06,323
whom we can talk and advocate

1889
01:17:06,323 --> 01:17:08,398
for the establishment of that commission

1890
01:17:08,398 --> 01:17:21,942
. Thank you. Anyone else? Very good. I am

1891
01:17:21,942 --> 01:17:23,832
going to close the public hearing for

1892
01:17:23,832 --> 01:17:28,228
the city council. Closing the

1893
01:17:28,228 --> 01:17:29,970
public comment period for

1894
01:17:29,970 --> 01:17:34,355
the planning board. Does any

1895
01:17:34,355 --> 01:17:39,265
board wish to make a recommendation?

1896
01:17:39,265 --> 01:17:41,469
I propose that the planning board

1897
01:17:41,469 --> 01:17:43,619
adopt the 2025 Housing Compass Plan. I

1898
01:17:43,619 --> 01:17:47,066
have a motion to adopt it.

1899
01:17:47,066 --> 01:17:48,907
I need a second, please.

1900
01:17:48,907 --> 01:17:49,636
Second.

1901
01:17:49,636 --> 01:17:51,556
Seconded by Steve Yost. The motion

1902
01:17:51,556 --> 01:17:53,205
was made by Jane Ramsden. I need

1903
01:17:53,205 --> 01:17:54,787
a roll call vote, please.

1904
01:17:54,787 --> 01:17:55,678
Member Noonan.

1905
01:17:55,678 --> 01:17:56,184
Yes.

1906
01:17:56,184 --> 01:17:57,226
Ramsden member.

1907
01:17:57,226 --> 01:17:57,712
Yes.

1908
01:17:57,712 --> 01:18:01,349
Bookman member. We can hear him. That

1909
01:18:01,349 --> 01:18:06,123
was a yes. Member Henry.

1910
01:18:06,123 --> 01:18:08,589
Yes, although I think it's the

1911
01:18:08,589 --> 01:18:10,572
2026 Housing Compass plan.

1912
01:18:10,572 --> 01:18:13,159
Oh, sorry. I'm amending my

1913
01:18:13,159 --> 01:18:17,262
motion for the 2026 Housing Compass Plan.

1914
01:18:17,427 --> 01:18:20,728
Time flies. And I'm not sure if we

1915
01:18:20,728 --> 01:18:22,483
still have member Cook.

1916
01:18:22,483 --> 01:18:24,244
Mr. Cook, yes.

1917
01:18:24,244 --> 01:18:27,190
Excellent. Member Rosen.

1918
01:18:27,190 --> 01:18:28,485
Yes.

1919
01:18:28,485 --> 01:18:29,271
Yost.

1920
01:18:29,271 --> 01:18:30,206
Yes.

1921
01:18:30,206 --> 01:18:31,222
It's unanimous.

1922
01:18:31,222 --> 01:18:34,064
vote, thank you.

1923
01:18:34,064 --> 01:18:36,225
Hello, and advisor Groat. I

1924
01:18:36,225 --> 01:18:36,913
make a...

1925
01:18:36,913 --> 01:18:38,869
Well, a motion of mine, seconded by

1926
01:18:38,869 --> 01:18:40,726
Councilor Kimberly, the

1927
01:18:40,726 --> 01:18:42,733
Planning and Development Committee voted two in

1928
01:18:42,733 --> 01:18:44,540
favor, zero against, one absent,

1929
01:18:44,540 --> 01:18:46,346
to recommend that the City Council

1930
01:18:46,346 --> 01:18:48,052
accept the draft

1931
01:18:48,052 --> 01:18:50,009
Housing Compass Plan submitted by the

1932
01:18:50,009 --> 01:18:51,866
Community Development Director and

1933
01:18:51,866 --> 01:18:53,823
presented on September 2, 2026.

1934
01:18:53,823 --> 01:18:55,906
And so I do. I

1935
01:18:55,906 --> 01:18:56,812
second.

1936
01:18:56,812 --> 01:18:58,826
Motion made by Councillor Groat,

1937
01:18:58,826 --> 01:19:01,326
seconded by Councillor Kimberly.

1938
01:19:01,326 --> 01:19:03,069
Before we have the debate, I would

1939
01:19:03,069 --> 01:19:07,392
like to make an amendment. I would like to

1940
01:19:07,392 --> 01:19:09,503
remove the word "accept" and insert "

1941
01:19:09,503 --> 01:19:14,827
adopt". And I make that motion.

1942
01:19:14,827 --> 01:19:15,746
Seconded.

1943
01:19:15,746 --> 01:19:17,670
Motion made by Councillor Groat,

1944
01:19:17,670 --> 01:19:19,687
seconded by Councillor Memmerth.

1945
01:19:19,687 --> 01:19:23,439
Debate. Regarding the amendment.

1946
01:19:23,439 --> 01:19:25,445
Any particular reason?

1947
01:19:25,445 --> 01:19:28,206
Because accepting is different from adopting.

1948
01:19:28,206 --> 01:19:31,544
Okay. Thank you, professor.

1949
01:19:31,544 --> 01:19:35,673
Brilliant. Yes.

1950
01:19:35,673 --> 01:19:37,001
Everyone who's in favor?

1951
01:19:37,001 --> 01:19:38,136
Yes. Yes.

1952
01:19:38,136 --> 01:19:40,618
Against? The eyes have it, seven to

1953
01:19:40,618 --> 01:19:43,323
zero, two absent. Now, on the

1954
01:19:43,323 --> 01:19:45,867
main motion, let's debate.

1955
01:19:45,867 --> 01:19:47,821
I think, you know, one of the reasons

1956
01:19:47,821 --> 01:19:49,524
many of us don't

1957
01:19:49,524 --> 01:19:51,428
have questions is that we've been

1958
01:19:51,428 --> 01:19:55,336
talking about this for months and months, but I just want to thank

1959
01:19:55,336 --> 01:19:57,290
Alex again and everyone involved

1960
01:19:57,290 --> 01:19:59,144
, everyone in the community who has

1961
01:19:59,144 --> 01:20:01,323
stepped up. You know, there are a lot of complaints

1962
01:20:01,323 --> 01:20:03,342
about these processes because people don't

1963
01:20:03,342 --> 01:20:05,197
get a chance to speak up,

1964
01:20:05,197 --> 01:20:06,990
right? And I think DeAnne said it

1965
01:20:06,990 --> 01:20:09,224
well. If they felt they didn't have the

1966
01:20:09,224 --> 01:20:11,421
opportunity to speak up, they missed out on

1967
01:20:11,421 --> 01:20:13,674
some of the many opportunities

1968
01:20:13,674 --> 01:20:15,814
to contribute in ways both big and

1969
01:20:15,814 --> 01:20:18,809
small. And I think he created a

1970
01:20:18,809 --> 01:20:20,807
document that we could actually

1971
01:20:20,807 --> 01:20:22,977
use and that could be productive

1972
01:20:22,977 --> 01:20:24,805
in producing housing in this

1973
01:20:24,805 --> 01:20:26,861
community, which is something I think

1974
01:20:26,861 --> 01:20:29,088
everyone in this district and on this board

1975
01:20:29,088 --> 01:20:31,598
is eager to do. So,

1976
01:20:31,598 --> 01:20:33,797
thank you for your work. Now that that

1977
01:20:33,797 --> 01:20:35,605
's done, we need to get to

1978
01:20:35,605 --> 01:20:37,464
work and do the other work that

1979
01:20:37,464 --> 01:20:39,372
actually makes housing

1980
01:20:39,372 --> 01:20:42,429
possible. I would like to invite my colleagues

1981
01:20:42,429 --> 01:20:46,240
from the board of directors. Yes. Let's be

1982
01:20:46,240 --> 01:20:52,720
honest too. Yes, exactly. Rao.

1983
01:20:52,720 --> 01:20:54,613
I hope we can find a way to

1984
01:20:54,613 --> 01:20:56,456
move things forward quickly and

1985
01:20:56,456 --> 01:20:58,043
make next year

1986
01:20:58,043 --> 01:21:03,507
really productive.

1987
01:21:03,507 --> 01:21:04,684
Anyone else?

1988
01:21:04,684 --> 01:21:05,895
Councilman Benson.

1989
01:21:05,895 --> 01:21:11,096
Thank you. Yes. First, I want to thank

1990
01:21:11,096 --> 01:21:12,688
Alex, the city, the

1991
01:21:12,688 --> 01:21:14,525
administration, and Director

1992
01:21:14,525 --> 01:21:16,852
Katamatory for all the work that went

1993
01:21:16,852 --> 01:21:21,767
into this. There was broad

1994
01:21:21,767 --> 01:21:23,743
public participation and opportunities

1995
01:21:23,743 --> 01:21:27,465
for the public. I wish

1996
01:21:27,465 --> 01:21:29,338
the public would participate more, and I think we've

1997
01:21:29,338 --> 01:21:31,488
thought of some creative ways to

1998
01:21:31,488 --> 01:21:33,472
get more input from the public, and I

1999
01:21:33,472 --> 01:21:38,416
think that will move forward. One thing that

2000
01:21:38,416 --> 01:21:41,138
really caught my attention here,

2001
01:21:41,138 --> 01:21:43,720
and that I already knew, is that 41% of

2002
01:21:43,720 --> 01:21:46,233
households allocate more than 30% of their

2003
01:21:46,233 --> 01:21:47,977
income to housing, and

2004
01:21:47,977 --> 01:21:50,350
approximately half of them

2005
01:21:50,350 --> 01:21:52,793
spend more than 50% of their

2006
01:21:52,793 --> 01:21:57,520
monthly income on housing. That's a

2007
01:21:57,520 --> 01:22:01,743
crisis and we have to address it. And

2008
01:22:01,743 --> 01:22:04,089
going back to the point I made earlier, and as

2009
01:22:04,089 --> 01:22:06,436
the person who represents District 2

2010
01:22:06,436 --> 01:22:08,723
and the devastation, I am glad that the

2011
01:22:08,723 --> 01:22:11,011
Council President addressed

2012
01:22:11,011 --> 01:22:13,123
this question about the lack of a

2013
01:22:13,123 --> 01:22:16,978
grocery store. And we have to

2014
01:22:16,978 --> 01:22:18,933
work hard to find the

2015
01:22:18,933 --> 01:22:21,175
right person to go in there, someone who

2016
01:22:21,175 --> 01:22:23,014
is committed to

2017
01:22:23,014 --> 01:22:24,968
affordable housing, but also

2018
01:22:24,968 --> 01:22:26,750
committed to a

2019
01:22:26,750 --> 01:22:28,992
grocery store that serves the people

2020
01:22:28,992 --> 01:22:31,234
downtown, many of whom don't have a

2021
01:22:31,234 --> 01:22:33,361
vehicle, our senior population

2022
01:22:33,361 --> 01:22:35,603
who don't always have access to go

2023
01:22:35,603 --> 01:22:37,615
to Market Basket or other

2024
01:22:37,615 --> 01:22:40,669
grocery stores. Well, I know that's a

2025
01:22:40,669 --> 01:22:42,612
commitment shared by everyone up here

2026
01:22:42,612 --> 01:22:44,504
on the City Council, and I've

2027
01:22:44,504 --> 01:22:46,345
spoken with members of the

2028
01:22:46,345 --> 01:22:48,391
Planning Board who are committed

2029
01:22:48,391 --> 01:22:50,436
to ensuring that we find a way that

2030
01:22:50,436 --> 01:22:52,431
, whatever goes there,

2031
01:22:52,431 --> 01:22:54,221
a grocery store is at the

2032
01:22:54,221 --> 01:23:02,233
end. Finally, I will also say that

2033
01:23:02,233 --> 01:23:04,687
this is a start and we will not just put it

2034
01:23:04,687 --> 01:23:07,018
on a shelf, but we will get

2035
01:23:07,018 --> 01:23:09,349
aggressive immediately once we

2036
01:23:09,349 --> 01:23:11,557
adopt it to enact

2037
01:23:11,557 --> 01:23:13,949
zoning changes that will help drive

2038
01:23:13,949 --> 01:23:15,912
smart growth and

2039
01:23:15,912 --> 01:23:18,305
smart development and help us

2040
01:23:18,305 --> 01:23:20,697
address this affordability crisis

2041
01:23:20,697 --> 01:23:23,028
that we can't seem to solve—the rising

2042
01:23:23,028 --> 01:23:25,420
cost of housing, which,

2043
01:23:25,420 --> 01:23:27,628
when I say housing, actually means the

2044
01:23:27,628 --> 01:23:30,021
cost of building it has increased by almost

2045
01:23:30,021 --> 01:23:36,446
50% in 5 years. We can't solve it

2046
01:23:36,446 --> 01:23:38,636
, but we can solve what we can

2047
01:23:38,636 --> 01:23:40,713
solve, and this plan will help us

2048
01:23:40,713 --> 01:23:43,079
solve it. Therefore, I urge you—I believe

2049
01:23:43,079 --> 01:23:45,147
most of my colleagues

2050
01:23:45,147 --> 01:23:47,154
will support this, but I hope all of

2051
01:23:47,154 --> 01:23:49,587
you will support it—and let's be proactive

2052
01:23:49,587 --> 01:23:51,959
and do things to help resolve

2053
01:23:51,959 --> 01:23:54,331
this crisis we face in our

2054
01:23:54,331 --> 01:24:02,184
community. Thank you.

2055
01:24:02,184 --> 01:24:05,480
Anyone else? I'll say a few words.

2056
01:24:05,480 --> 01:24:07,535
I would like to thank the Boston

2057
01:24:07,535 --> 01:24:09,715
Housing Compass Advisory Group, 13

2058
01:24:09,715 --> 01:24:11,957
people who sat down and put a

2059
01:24:11,957 --> 01:24:15,614
lot of hard work into this.

2060
01:24:15,614 --> 01:24:20,426
Community Development, Planning Board,

2061
01:24:20,426 --> 01:24:23,849
lots of work. All the citizens who

2062
01:24:23,849 --> 01:24:25,461
attended the two large

2063
01:24:25,461 --> 01:24:28,732
meetings. It was extremely

2064
01:24:28,732 --> 01:24:30,839
informative to hear that if we look

2065
01:24:30,839 --> 01:24:32,734
at the information that was gathered

2066
01:24:32,734 --> 01:24:37,126
during those meetings. It was very useful.

2067
01:24:37,126 --> 01:24:39,118
As we all know, this is not an

2068
01:24:39,118 --> 01:24:44,433
easy solution. We're going to have to

2069
01:24:44,433 --> 01:24:46,737
decide who we are and what we're going to

2070
01:24:46,737 --> 01:24:49,102
do about it, and it's going to require us to roll up our sleeves

2071
01:24:49,102 --> 01:24:51,285
, think a lot, and

2072
01:24:51,285 --> 01:24:53,529
decide whether or not we want to have, you

2073
01:24:53,529 --> 01:24:55,773
know, homes here for

2074
01:24:55,773 --> 01:25:01,187
people who want to live here. And

2075
01:25:01,187 --> 01:25:04,789
that's going to require, uh, some work,

2076
01:25:04,789 --> 01:25:10,394
some, uh, a lot of explaining and,

2077
01:25:10,394 --> 01:25:12,402
hopefully, also a lot of listening and

2078
01:25:12,402 --> 01:25:14,774
constructive conversations about this

2079
01:25:14,774 --> 01:25:17,147
, because that's the only way, as a

2080
01:25:17,147 --> 01:25:19,337
community, that we'll be able to

2081
01:25:19,337 --> 01:25:21,710
resolve any of these, however little

2082
01:25:21,710 --> 01:25:24,009
we can resolve. Therefore, it will

2083
01:25:24,009 --> 01:25:26,124
require everyone to be willing

2084
01:25:26,124 --> 01:25:28,022
to work towards achieving it and not just

2085
01:25:28,022 --> 01:25:33,011
say no. And so, I simply thank

2086
01:25:33,011 --> 01:25:35,406
everyone, the administration and those

2087
01:25:35,406 --> 01:25:40,297
sitting here. Okay,

2088
01:25:40,297 --> 01:25:44,039
is that all? Yes. Everyone who's in

2089
01:25:44,039 --> 01:25:47,825
favor? Me, me, me. Against? The

2090
01:25:47,825 --> 01:25:50,313
eyes have it 7 to 0. Two reluctantly absent

2091
01:25:50,313 --> 01:26:07,003
. Are you presiding? This is

2092
01:26:07,003 --> 01:26:08,834
a motion to adjourn the

2093
01:26:08,834 --> 01:26:14,551
session. OK. Then, motion

2094
01:26:14,551 --> 01:26:17,033
by Dave Bramson, by Jane oh, Dave

2095
01:26:17,033 --> 01:26:22,661
Bramson without any retraction. Regarding

2096
01:26:22,661 --> 01:26:24,799
the marriage of Dave Rosen and Jane Remson,

2097
01:26:24,799 --> 01:26:27,109
a roll call vote, please. Member

2098
01:26:27,109 --> 01:26:29,420
Nunan: Yes. Member Remson: Yes. Member Bookin: Yes. Member

2099
01:26:29,420 --> 01:26:31,442
Cook: Yes. Member Henry:

2100
01:26:31,442 --> 01:26:33,695
Before we vote, I just want to reiterate my

2101
01:26:33,695 --> 01:26:36,006
thanks to Alex for conducting

2102
01:26:36,006 --> 01:26:42,249
this process. Yes. Member Rosen and

2103
01:26:42,249 --> 01:26:46,622
Member Yost: Yes, thank you. And Jane: A

2104
01:26:46,622 --> 01:26:48,808
motion to adjourn. So, motion.

2105
01:26:48,808 --> 01:26:50,938
Second motion made by

2106
01:26:50,938 --> 01:26:53,182
Council Grove, seconded by Council

2107
01:26:53,182 --> 01:26:55,427
Benson. All those in favor,

2108
01:26:55,427 --> 01:26:57,614
against. Eyes: You have it 7 to 0. Absent. Thank you

2109
01:26:57,614 --> 01:27:00,571
very much, Sean. Thank you, friends.