[0:00] Good night. Welcome to the
[0:05] joint special meeting of the City
[0:08] of Gloucester on September 22, no. 29
[0:10] . Joint meeting of
[0:17] Gloucester City Council and the
[0:19] Planning Board. This afternoon
[0:23] we will have a public hearing on
[0:25] the Compass Housing Plan. This
[0:29] public meeting of the City Council
[0:31] is recorded on Zoom with a link that is
[0:33] published in the agenda. If you are calling by
[0:35] phone, you can press *
[0:37] 9 to request the word. If you
[0:39] are viewing the meeting on a
[0:40] computer or device, there is a
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[0:44] tap or press to request to
[0:46] speak. Use any of these
[0:47] during oral communications and
[0:49] public hearings to ensure your
[0:51] voice is acknowledged. If
[0:53] technical difficulties arise and the
[0:55] Zoom link is interrupted during a
[0:57] hybrid in-person
[0:59] City Council meeting and there is a quorum, the meeting
[1:01] may continue after
[1:03] efforts have been made to
[1:04] restore the link. The minutes
[1:06] must record the
[1:07] interruption. The City of Gloucester
[1:11] has determined that no person should be
[1:14] denied equal treatment or
[1:16] opportunity because of ancestry,
[1:19] age, color, disability (including
[1:21] intellectual developmental disability
[1:24] ), family status,
[1:26] immigration status, gender identity or expression
[1:29] , military status,
[1:31] marital status, nationality, race, religion,
[1:34] sex, or sexual orientation. This afternoon
[1:40] we are joined by Ward
[1:42] One Councillor Scott Memhard, Councillor-at-Large
[1:45] Hannah Kimberley, Councillor-at-Large
[1:48] Jason Grow, Ward
[1:50] Three Councillor Marjorie Grace,
[1:53] Ward Two Councillor Dylan Benson, and
[1:55] Ward Four Councillor Francesco Majocha.
[2:01] Councilwoman Patty M. Page,
[2:03] District Five Councilman Scott M., and
[2:08] Council Vice President Shawn Nolan are
[2:10] not feeling well this afternoon. They may
[2:13] join us via Zoom
[2:15] , but that will be determined. We will
[2:19] salute the flag. Councilwoman
[2:21] Majocha will guide us in that.
[2:28] I pledge allegiance to the flag of the
[2:30] United States of America and to the
[2:32] republic for which it stands, one nation
[2:35] under God, indivisible, with liberty and
[2:37] justice for all.
[2:46] Mayor Lundberg is also present
[2:47] . We have the Director of
[2:50] Community Development, Alex Kopleman.
[2:52] Online, we have our
[2:55] administrative director, Kelly Dolan. And I think that's it
[3:01] , and I'll hand it over to the Chairman
[3:03] of the Planning Board, Rick
[3:05] Noonan.
[3:07] Good night. I would like to open
[3:11] this afternoon's special meeting of the Planning Board, a joint meeting with the City Council.
[3:13] I'm Rick Noonan, the president.
[3:15] Vice President Jane Ramsden, Ray
[3:17] Catamountary to her immediate right,
[3:20] Steve Yost, David Rosen and Beverly
[3:22] Brookin. And for the record, I'd
[3:25] also like to acknowledge our Drew Tarr.
[3:30] And I would also like to acknowledge that
[3:32] we have the municipal secretary, Grace
[3:34] Poirier.
[3:35] Well, when I should say, sorry
[3:37] Tony, we have two people working
[3:39] remotely. We have Doug Cook and I think
[3:41] Shawn Henry too. Yes, thanks.
[3:45] Thank you.
[3:47] I will open the City Council's public hearing
[3:52] .
[3:56] The special planning board meeting
[3:58] of September 29,
[4:01] 2026.
[4:04] This public hearing is number
[4:07] 2026-023, regarding the consideration of the
[4:10] 2026 Housing Compass Plan. We
[4:15] will now make the presentation. Alex
[4:21] Koppelman.
[4:22] Thank you and good night. It's a pleasure to
[4:24] be with you. Alex Koppelman, I am
[4:26] the city's director of community development
[4:28] . I will give you a
[4:30] relatively
[4:32] brief overview of the planning process that went into
[4:34] creating the plan you are being
[4:36] asked to consider adopting
[4:38] tonight. This is the housing compass plan
[4:42] . It is a plan that
[4:44] proactively analyzes how we meet
[4:46] our housing needs as a
[4:48] community. It is written according to
[4:51] state standards for a
[4:54] housing production plan, but it
[4:55] is actually a local plan based
[4:58] on three principles. The first is to
[5:00] protect the Gloucester community
[5:02] from rising housing costs,
[5:04] the fear of having to leave Gloucester, or
[5:06] not knowing if there is a future home for
[5:08] you here. Preserve the housing we
[5:11] currently have that
[5:12] meets the needs of the
[5:14] community so that we do not lose it. And
[5:18] also to see where we can
[5:19] promote new housing options in
[5:21] places where it makes sense. This
[5:28] process began approximately
[5:30] a year ago. During the course of that
[5:32] year, we engaged the community
[5:34] in a variety of ways while
[5:36] working on an assessment of
[5:38] the city's housing needs,
[5:40] analyzing all the
[5:41] latest available data, and noting the
[5:43] limitations and opportunities for
[5:45] development. Thinking about where it makes
[5:47] sense to encourage
[5:49] housing growth. We have used all of that
[5:51] information to draft the plan
[5:53] before you, and you will be asked to
[5:55] consider voting to adopt it. If they
[5:57] adopt it, it will be sent to the state for
[5:59] approval. As I mentioned, it is
[6:01] written according to
[6:03] state standards for the housing production plan
[6:05] , which essentially
[6:06] gives us greater local control over the
[6:08] housing situation here and
[6:10] protects access to
[6:12] state subsidies. I want to thank the
[6:17] advisory committee for the plan. We had a great
[6:20] group of people representing
[6:22] service providers, the
[6:24] business community, the
[6:26] arts community, the older members of
[6:28] our community, as well as
[6:30] young people and many
[6:32] different stakeholders. It would not have been possible to
[6:34] involve these different people
[6:37] from the Gloucester community without this
[6:39] advisory committee, and they were a
[6:41] very important group of experts when it came to
[6:43] evaluating the recommendations. So,
[6:45] thank you for that. The components of the
[6:49] plan are an assessment of
[6:51] housing needs. All the
[6:53] latest data available to
[6:54] analyze our demographics,
[6:56] housing stock and the extent to which that
[6:58] housing stock meets the
[7:00] needs here in Gloucester.
[7:01] We evaluate the tools the
[7:03] city has to cover housing.
[7:05] Based on all of this, we set
[7:07] goals for the plan that also
[7:09] guide where we want to encourage
[7:11] housing growth, and then there are
[7:13] several policy recommendations.
[7:19] The assessment of
[7:20] housing needs is quite thorough. I'm not going to go into too much detail about it
[7:23] this
[7:25] afternoon. But I think the important thing to
[7:27] keep in mind here is that we analyzed
[7:29] the city's demographics. We have
[7:31] an aging community, but we
[7:33] also have many other people
[7:34] trying to do different things.
[7:36] Your housing goals and needs
[7:38] change as you get older. Therefore, if you
[7:40] belong to a larger family, you
[7:42] may be looking for a way
[7:44] to modify your home to suit
[7:45] your needs so you can stay
[7:47] there, or you may be looking for a
[7:49] downsizing option, something
[7:51] more manageable. For example, if you are
[7:53] a young person, you may be
[7:55] trying to buy your first home or
[7:57] perhaps you are looking to rent one,
[7:58] but this will vary as you
[8:00] get older. And these things are
[8:02] related. Therefore, if an
[8:04] older family cannot find a
[8:06] downsizing option, that means
[8:08] there are fewer large homes available
[8:10] for a younger family who may be
[8:12] looking for a larger home. So
[8:16] , what's the housing stock like
[8:18] here in the city? 56% of the
[8:20] homes here are single-family homes, so
[8:22] most are single-family homes.
[8:25] We have a good portion of
[8:27] smaller multi-family buildings with two to
[8:30] four units, and the rest of the
[8:32] housing stock is of a larger multi-family type
[8:34] with five or more units.
[8:37] Of the approximately 13,000 homes
[8:40] here, 8% are used seasonally,
[8:42] about 1,100 homes. Well, that puts
[8:45] a strain on the year-round housing stock
[8:47] for people who
[8:49] want to live here year-round or
[8:50] perhaps work here, but are having
[8:52] difficulty finding a home
[8:54] here. And that's because housing
[8:57] is very expensive. The average selling price
[9:00] of a single-family home in
[9:02] Gloucester today is $715,000.
[9:06] Therefore, considerable resources are needed
[9:08] to make a
[9:10] down payment, as well as a good income
[9:12] . And if 56% of the housing stock is
[9:15] single-family homes, that means many
[9:17] of them are quite difficult to
[9:19] access. There are fewer rental options
[9:22] and they are also expensive, and we have seen
[9:24] large income disparities
[9:26] between landlords and tenants here
[9:28] in Gloucester. The other finding I
[9:32] will point out here is that there is a
[9:33] mismatch between the size of
[9:35] available housing and the size of
[9:37] households in the city. Therefore,
[9:40] half of the housing stock has
[9:42] three or more bedrooms, but the
[9:44] average household size is about
[9:46] two people. Well, there's a slight
[9:48] mismatch there, and a greater
[9:50] variety of housing types and
[9:52] smaller housing options are needed.
[9:56] Housing affordability has a
[9:58] major impact on the community. 41% of
[10:01] households here spend more than a
[10:03] third of their income on
[10:05] housing costs. Therefore, that also
[10:08] affects our economy. You know,
[10:11] if you spend so much of your income on your
[10:13] housing costs, you can't take care of
[10:15] other things you need. You have less
[10:18] income to support our
[10:20] local economy or perhaps invest in a business.
[10:22] Furthermore, if it's a place where there's a
[10:24] shortage of supply and affordable options
[10:27] , you might not be able to live here
[10:29] even if you work here, and that puts more
[10:31] pressure on traffic and all that.
[10:34] In addition, we have more people who
[10:36] can live in our community,
[10:38] which means we have a
[10:41] stronger market to support our
[10:42] businesses here. There is a clear lack of
[10:46] affordable housing supply in Foster,
[10:48] as in the entire region. For every six
[10:51] households that are eligible for
[10:53] affordable housing, there is only one unit
[10:55] in the city. Well, we took a look
[11:02] at all that data, but the numbers
[11:05] don't tell us much. We placed a lot of emphasis
[11:07] on community participation in
[11:08] this plan to truly understand
[11:12] people's housing needs and goals.
[11:13] We take an approach of meeting
[11:15] people where they are by
[11:17] organizing pop-up events.
[11:19] For example, summer concert series
[11:21] , Halloween parties, and
[11:23] neighborhood festivals that were held.
[11:26] All these things, you know, are
[11:27] events that the community already attends and
[11:29] that allow you to get a
[11:31] more realistic representative sample of the
[11:33] community. So we wanted to try to
[11:35] interact with people in that environment
[11:37] . We also organize
[11:39] focus groups with people from the
[11:41] arts community, the business community, and
[11:43] older people to sit down and have
[11:45] quality conversations with them
[11:47] about the housing challenges they
[11:49] face and what the city
[11:51] could do to address them.
[11:53] We celebrate two great
[11:55] traditional forums. One focused on where to
[11:58] encourage housing growth,
[12:00] and the other on publishing the draft
[12:02] plan and debating its
[12:04] policy recommendations. Both events had a good
[12:06] turnout, with about 100 people
[12:08] present. We conducted a survey that
[12:12] we promoted at our
[12:13] launch events for about
[12:16] six months, in which we gathered
[12:18] extensive public information that
[12:20] ultimately shaped the
[12:21] plan's recommendations. We also
[12:24] partnered with 1623 Studios to create
[12:27] a video summarizing
[12:29] the city's housing needs and produce
[12:30] content from it to direct
[12:33] people to the plan's website and
[12:35] survey. After the plan
[12:37] was released as a draft, we had a
[12:39] 30-day public comment period
[12:41] and then met with the
[12:45] Affordable Housing Trust Planning Board and the
[12:48] City Council Planning Development Subcommittee to gather further
[12:50] feedback and ensure that the
[12:52] recommendations reflected what the
[12:54] community shared with us and that
[12:56] we could refine them appropriately.
[13:01] Here is a chart that gives you a
[13:03] small breakdown of the different
[13:05] events we held and how many
[13:06] people attended. I just want
[13:09] to emphasize again that we speak to
[13:11] specific areas of the community that
[13:13] , as you know, may not participate in a
[13:16] traditional way. We held
[13:18] focus groups at the senior center
[13:20] , Gloucester High School,
[13:21] and Sawyer Public Library
[13:24] . We had
[13:26] trusted members of the Brazilian community
[13:28] hold a focus group with these
[13:29] people to share their
[13:31] housing needs. We met with
[13:33] major employers in Gloucester and they
[13:35] told us that housing has a
[13:37] significant impact on
[13:38] employee recruitment and retention
[13:40] . Therefore, I believe we did a
[13:42] good job covering all the
[13:44] different areas that make
[13:46] Gloucester a special place. In
[13:48] summary, we involved more than 600
[13:50] people. So, based on
[13:55] all that data and
[13:57] community participation, we established four
[13:59] objectives for the plan. The first is to
[14:01] support housing that meets the
[14:03] needs of an
[14:04] aging population. It is clear that Gloucester
[14:07] has an aging population and that is going
[14:09] to continue. So we really
[14:12] took that into account when developing the
[14:14] strategies. But
[14:17] a greater variety of
[14:18] housing options is also needed in general. And the more
[14:20] variety we have, the
[14:22] more smaller types of housing we can
[14:24] create, the more possibilities we will have to
[14:26] create affordable rental and home ownership options
[14:28] .
[14:31] Affordability is an important area of
[14:34] focus for the plan, but
[14:35] specifically deep levels of
[14:37] affordability. Therefore, many of
[14:40] the affordable homes being created
[14:42] do not reach the income levels of
[14:44] Gloucester. Therefore, we are
[14:46] focusing on strategies to increase
[14:48] the affordability of
[14:50] incoming affordable housing units. To
[14:53] achieve this, we must also focus
[14:54] on developing our local capacity.
[14:57] Those are the four objectives of the plan.
[15:00] This is a chart showing
[15:02] policy recommendations. You will see
[15:05] these icons at the top.
[15:08] This is the first objective related
[15:09] to the aging community. This is
[15:12] about various housing options.
[15:14] This is about affordability. And this is
[15:16] the goal of
[15:17] capacity building. If you see a
[15:19] check mark next to any of
[15:21] these goals, it means that the
[15:23] strategy is making progress on that
[15:24] goal or on several goals. If you see
[15:27] a star next to a strategy, it
[15:29] means it's a
[15:31] priority recommendation, and
[15:33] priority recommendations are those we believe would have
[15:35] the greatest impact and that
[15:37] we'd like to implement as soon as
[15:38] possible. I have thoroughly discussed
[15:42] these strategies with both the
[15:44] planning board and the
[15:46] city council, so now I'm going to
[15:47] take it to a higher level. If
[15:49] there is anything you would like to analyze in
[15:51] depth or have
[15:52] questions about, please let me know and we will
[15:54] do it. But the first strategy,
[15:57] which is to analyze all of this
[15:59] anyway, is to find ways to protect the
[16:01] community. The best way to do this
[16:03] is to put down roots in the community and
[16:05] expand
[16:07] first-time home buying and other
[16:08] home ownership options. The first
[16:10] recommendation is to increase the amount
[16:12] of federal assistance the
[16:14] city offers to
[16:16] first-time homebuyers and to look for other ways
[16:18] to support community ownership. The
[16:22] second set of recommendations are
[16:24] ways to protect
[16:26] vulnerable tenants. We have many people
[16:28] who shared their concerns
[16:31] about the cost of housing, you know
[16:33] , about whether they will be able to stay here.
[16:35] So, we have some
[16:37] policy recommendations to
[16:39] protect them. And then, the third
[16:41] set of recommendations are ways
[16:43] to create better cohesion among the
[16:45] cultural activities that make
[16:48] Gloucester a rich cultural center and a great
[16:50] place to live. The second set
[16:56] of recommendations revolves around the
[16:58] principle of preservation, that is,
[17:00] making sure we preserve the housing we
[17:02] have now that meets the
[17:05] needs of the community. The first
[17:07] set of recommendations are ways
[17:10] to avoid large
[17:11] rent increases for people living in
[17:13] affordable housing, to prevent them from having to
[17:15] leave their homes. The
[17:20] second set of recommendations
[17:22] involves monitoring our
[17:24] short-term rental data. We have
[17:27] new data from a record we
[17:29] recently published online.
[17:31] We want to monitor them in order to try to
[17:33] mitigate the pressure on the
[17:35] permanent housing stock. Another way to
[17:39] do this could be to incentivize
[17:41] landlords to rent to
[17:42] permanent residents or people who
[17:44] work in a local business in
[17:46] Gloucester. And then we have some
[17:51] recommendations on increasing
[17:53] capacity and ensuring that
[17:54] new housing is affordable and
[17:58] accessible for
[18:00] Gloucester households. The latest set of
[18:06] recommendations deals with how to
[18:08] produce new housing in
[18:09] locations that make sense. I believe the
[18:12] key recommendation here is to
[18:14] consider the Railroad Ave area and
[18:16] utilize a smart
[18:17] growth zoning overlay
[18:19] established through
[18:21] Chapter 40R to generate
[18:23] housing options in a location that has
[18:25] infrastructure, access to
[18:27] public transportation, access to services, and resources
[18:29] . We also know that, given that
[18:31] Shaw's grocery store has been
[18:34] empty for the past year, it doesn't
[18:36] appear that the market can accommodate a large
[18:38] supermarket there. But perhaps, by
[18:40] facilitating some housing in the area
[18:43] with people living on-site, a
[18:45] smaller grocery store with
[18:47] living quarters above could be more
[18:49] financially viable. The other
[18:53] zoning recommendations here
[18:55] essentially attempt to facilitate the
[18:57] implementation of small
[19:00] housing options such as accessory dwelling units
[19:02] , three-family homes, and
[19:04] clustered cottages in
[19:06] Gloucester neighborhoods. And none of these
[19:09] recommendations are
[19:10] general zoning changes. They are all
[19:13] targeted because Gloucester has
[19:14] very particular development restrictions
[19:16] . So, whenever we
[19:17] want to adopt a
[19:19] zoning policy, I think we really
[19:21] need to consider the area we're
[19:22] considering. Well, none of these
[19:24] things are going to unlock
[19:26] overall housing development, but there needs to be
[19:28] a process for analyzing where it makes
[19:30] sense to try to implement these
[19:32] small, affordable housing options
[19:33] . The
[19:36] remaining recommendations in the products section
[19:38] are about financing
[19:40] affordable housing. Well, ways to finance
[19:43] more affordable housing, and
[19:45] we also get a lot of feedback from
[19:47] people about how they would like to
[19:49] create an accessory dwelling unit
[19:51] or improve their own existing property
[19:53] . The zoning is quite good in
[19:55] that respect. I mean, we allow
[19:57] accessory dwelling units by
[19:59] right in all
[20:00] residential zones. Well, the main
[20:02] barrier is financial. It is difficult
[20:04] to finance an accessory dwelling unit
[20:06] . Well, we have proposed
[20:08] establishing a loan product that would be
[20:10] obtained from the Affordable Housing
[20:12] Trust for eligible landlords who
[20:14] are interested in
[20:16] creating accessory housing units.
[20:19] The final policy points here
[20:21] are basically advocacy against the
[20:23] state to try to expand our
[20:25] options in terms of
[20:27] available grants. When we think about where
[20:33] Gloucester is, it's quite
[20:34] complicated. As I mentioned before, there are
[20:37] many development limitations,
[20:39] from protected open spaces
[20:42] to wetlands and flood-prone areas
[20:44] , places that do not have
[20:46] municipal sewerage. Therefore, it
[20:49] is difficult to find places that encourage
[20:51] housing growth. We have
[20:54] consolidated all
[20:56] development limitations in the dark blue areas of
[20:58] this map. White areas are
[21:00] places where there may be some
[21:02] opportunity to encourage
[21:04] housing growth.
[21:09] We generally consider the recommendations that
[21:11] demarcate between the
[21:12] outlying neighborhoods and the center of Gloucester.
[21:16] Many of Gloucester's neighborhoods
[21:18] do not have sewer systems. That means
[21:20] development there must be based on
[21:22] septic tanks. There are also many
[21:24] other environmental considerations that
[21:26] must be taken into account. In reality, they
[21:28] are not capable of supporting
[21:30] larger multi-family buildings. But they
[21:33] can play a key role in
[21:35] expanding housing options
[21:37] in a way that makes sense with the
[21:39] terrain conditions. Therefore,
[21:41] we are focusing on expanding the
[21:42] supply of affordable housing in
[21:44] Gloucester's neighborhoods.
[21:46] Smaller housing types, such as
[21:48] accessory dwelling units, cabins, and
[21:50] three-family buildings. These are
[21:53] types of housing that are not
[21:55] subject to deed restrictions,
[21:57] but are more easily accessible because they
[21:59] can create a rental option or
[22:01] can create an opportunity to buy
[22:03] a condominium instead of buying a
[22:05] large single-family home. That will be
[22:09] easier to do. One of the ways this
[22:12] could be implemented is through
[22:14] a 40Y Initial Housing District
[22:16] . It is a model state zoning
[22:18] that would be adopted at the local level
[22:20] to basically encourage smaller types of
[22:22] housing that could
[22:24] be starter homes. And the state would
[22:26] reward the city for adopting
[22:28] that zoning with
[22:29] incentive payments to our general fund. The
[22:33] other way we are considering
[22:35] expanding the supply of
[22:36] affordable housing in Gloucester's neighborhoods
[22:38] is, again, to try to ease that
[22:40] financial barrier. I mentioned that the
[22:42] affordable housing trust is
[22:44] basically considering a
[22:46] financial product to help people
[22:48] create ADUs and other types of
[22:50] small housing. The state also
[22:54] recently created an incentive program
[22:56] for ADUs that we would like to advertise
[22:58] on the city's website.
[23:01] Basically, this provides
[23:03] free technical assistance to
[23:05] homeowners who are interested in
[23:07] creating an ADU, but who want to know
[23:10] what their options are and what they
[23:11] might look like before going too far
[23:14] . In the city center, we have
[23:22] identified sites of opportunity.
[23:24] As I mentioned, this is a plan written
[23:27] according to state standards, so
[23:29] listing the sites
[23:31] of opportunity is required. An opportunity site
[23:34] is essentially a place where the
[23:36] city says we would like to encourage
[23:38] affordable housing here. You'll notice
[23:42] that all of these sites are
[23:43] privately owned. Therefore, what happens in
[23:46] them depends entirely on the
[23:48] private owner. Our role as a
[23:51] city is to consider ways to
[23:52] encourage them to create affordable housing
[23:54] and housing that meets the
[23:56] needs of the community. So,
[23:58] you can do it through
[24:00] zoning, you can do it through
[24:02] financial incentives, through
[24:04] programs and partnerships. Therefore,
[24:07] for several of the sites here,
[24:09] we suggest the use of a smart
[24:11] growth overlap zone
[24:12] to facilitate the
[24:14] development of affordable housing. The
[24:21] smart growth overlap zone is established through
[24:23] Chapter 40R, so it is a
[24:25] state template zoning.
[24:27] But it is developed, adopted, and controlled
[24:29] locally. It just needs to be written
[24:32] according to the standards set by the
[24:34] state based on proximity to
[24:36] public transport and things like that. It is
[24:39] an overlap zone, so it
[24:41] overlaps with the
[24:43] existing zoning and essentially gives the
[24:45] owner the option of using either the
[24:47] existing zoning or the
[24:49] overlap zone. These work best
[24:52] when you have a willing development partner
[24:54] , so you exchange ideas
[24:56] with them and develop the zoning
[24:58] in a way that makes sense and
[25:00] is based on community input.
[25:06] Dimensional and design standards can be established to
[25:07] ensure that zoning will
[25:09] result in housing that is appropriate
[25:11] for the location being
[25:13] considered. And when that process is
[25:16] complete, development is permitted
[25:18] by law. Basically,
[25:22] city councils used to participate in a
[25:24] special permitting process. I would
[25:27] think so. You are proactively doing that
[25:29] process in
[25:31] advance. But you still have the
[25:33] ability to regulate and ensure that
[25:35] the development looks the way
[25:37] you want and meets the standards.
[25:41] Why consider a
[25:42] smart growth zone? The state
[25:45] offers really good incentives for
[25:47] that. Basically, the state recognizes
[25:52] that the entire region is in a
[25:54] housing crisis and wants to reward
[25:57] municipalities that help address that
[25:59] situation. Therefore,
[26:02] it will provide a
[26:04] one-time incentive payment for the number of
[26:06] housing units allowed under the
[26:08] zoning. That is the difference
[26:10] between the base zoning and what is
[26:11] allowed in the overlap zone.
[26:13] For example, if up to 20 units were allowed
[26:16] , the state would provide
[26:18] the city with $10,000. That would go into the
[26:21] city's general fund. But
[26:23] then, once the building permits were issued
[26:26] , the city would receive an
[26:28] additional $3,000 per unit. If
[26:32] any school-age children move into
[26:34] the newly constructed housing, the state
[26:36] reimburses their tuition through the
[26:38] Chapter 40S program. This is an
[26:45] overview of the process and
[26:47] recommendations. This is a
[26:49] proactive plan. Its aim is to protect
[26:52] the community here, ensuring
[26:54] that future generations can
[26:56] continue to call Gloucester home.
[26:58] We are preserving the housing we
[27:00] currently have that meets
[27:02] the needs of the community. And we
[27:03] are also
[27:05] carefully analyzing where we want to encourage
[27:06] the production of new homes.
[27:10] This is a plan that is based on a year
[27:12] of community participation and
[27:14] the latest available data. It is not
[27:18] one that obliges the city to
[27:20] implement all the recommendations.
[27:23] It is a roadmap for the city to
[27:25] examine and decide what to implement.
[27:29] I say that almost all of these
[27:30] recommendations, when implemented,
[27:33] would involve a public process with the
[27:35] community to determine the details.
[27:40] This is the roadmap, but it's up
[27:42] to the city to implement it and do so
[27:44] with the community. Okay, with that,
[27:47] I'll ask if there are any questions.
[27:50] The questions will come at the end,
[27:52] after the audience. So, does
[27:56] anyone want to speak in favor? I'll give
[28:05] the mayor a little more time, but
[28:07] everyone else will have a
[28:09] 3-minute limit.
[28:09] 3 minutes will be enough for the
[28:11] mayor. Thank you. I am Paul Lundberg.
[28:17] I am the mayor of Gloucester and I had a
[28:19] unique experience coming into
[28:21] city government through the
[28:23] planning board. I was
[28:27] on the planning board for 6 years and
[28:29] learned a lot about how this is done
[28:31] from a practical point of view, so
[28:33] I have a pretty good idea of
[28:36] what might work. And first I
[28:40] want to thank the advisory committee that
[28:42] created and helped create this plan. They
[28:46] are all volunteer citizens and did
[28:48] an excellent job, as you can see.
[28:50] It's very comprehensive. I would also like to
[28:54] thank both the
[28:55] planning board and the city council
[28:57] because they have both been present
[28:59] every step of the way in one way or
[29:01] another. And that's what makes this
[29:05] plan better than if it had been created
[29:07] as a kind of standard plan.
[29:11] So we've reached a point where we
[29:13] really have something of great
[29:14] value. It's very dynamic, as Alex said
[29:19] . And as you know, we all know that
[29:23] increasing housing, and in particular
[29:25] affordable housing, is not something
[29:27] we can do on our own. There are hundreds
[29:30] of little things that need to go together.
[29:34] And it requires a lot of processing, but if
[29:36] we have a goal like the one set out
[29:39] in this plan, that gives us a guide.
[29:43] Therefore, I feel very encouraged to
[29:45] have been a part of this along the
[29:47] way. I want to thank everyone
[29:50] who has been a part of this. And
[29:53] I hope that both the
[29:54] planning board and the city council
[29:56] can adopt this plan because it's
[29:58] really going to be a
[29:59] useful tool for Gloucester. Thank you.
[30:03] We're going to ask people in the
[30:06] audience to speak in favor. In
[30:10] public, and then we'll talk online.
[30:11] Go ahead, come closer to the microphone.
[30:14] Name and address to be recorded in the
[30:16] minutes, please. Yes. Someone help bring that down
[30:22] . Very good. I just
[30:27] want to say that. Okay. I am Laura
[30:30] Bacchi. I live in the city center,
[30:33] on Tydedale Avenue. And I think the
[30:39] compact housing plan is very well
[30:41] thought out and executed, and I think
[30:43] everyone did a fantastic job with
[30:45] it. But I am in favor.
[30:52] One thing worries me, and that is what Avenue really is
[30:54] . I believe there has
[30:59] been a market there for almost 45 years. If not more, then
[31:02] more. And that has become part
[31:06] of the fabric of the community and now there is no
[31:08] market there, and I know there is a
[31:10] plan to create a
[31:11] market for housing. My concern is that this will not become
[31:16] mandatory. Let it
[31:20] become flexible and simply be
[31:22] another retail business instead of a
[31:24] market, a supermarket, a
[31:26] grocery store, you know, a
[31:29] good-sized grocery store. And if that
[31:32] were the case, I wouldn't support it. But I
[31:36] think it has to be mandatory.
[31:38] It has to be something unchangeable. It
[31:41] really needs to be some kind of
[31:43] market where people can get
[31:45] basic products, where people
[31:47] can get the food they
[31:49] need. You know, for everyday use.
[31:53] Not a specialty store, but a
[31:55] regular market. I know, I mean,
[31:59] the financial circumstances in
[32:02] the climate we live in may not
[32:04] be the best, but I think there has to be a
[32:06] will and drive to
[32:08] work on it. For that to happen.
[32:13] Especially for the people you know
[32:15] , the people who live within, you
[32:17] know, 3 miles of downtown. You know,
[32:20] at least. So, thank you.
[32:24] so much.
[32:41] Hello everyone. I am Diana Fey. At
[32:44] 3 Barbary Lane. I am addressing you tonight
[32:50] in my capacity as Chairman of the
[32:52] Affordable Housing Trust and as a member
[32:54] of the Advisory Committee that helped guide
[32:56] the development of Housing Compass. While
[33:02] these observations are my own, the
[33:04] Affordable Housing Trust considered the
[33:06] Housing Compass Plan. On
[33:10] September 21, the Trust voted
[33:12] unanimously to affirm that the Gloucester
[33:15] Affordable Housing Trust fully and
[33:17] firmly supports Gloucester's Housing Compass Plan 2026
[33:20] . As outlined in the
[33:23] Housing Compass Plan,
[33:25] Gloucester's Affordable Housing Trust has
[33:27] become an
[33:28] important tool for promoting the production
[33:30] and preservation of affordable housing
[33:32] . Throughout the plan, the Trust is identified
[33:35] as a key partner in
[33:37] advancing several of its priorities and
[33:39] strategies. That's appropriate. The
[33:42] Trust was established precisely
[33:44] for this purpose, to help the
[33:46] city respond to its
[33:48] affordable housing needs and to provide
[33:50] flexible municipal resources to
[33:52] create and preserve affordable housing.
[33:56] We understand that supporting Housing Compass
[33:58] means more than just backing a plan. It
[34:01] means accepting the responsibility to
[34:03] help implement it. The plan gives
[34:06] the Trust something we need:
[34:08] a community-informed assessment
[34:09] of our current
[34:11] housing needs and a set
[34:13] of municipal priorities to help
[34:15] guide our directions. Several of
[34:18] the strategies identified in
[34:19] Housing Compass will require the
[34:21] Trust to do more than simply respond to
[34:23] funding requests as they
[34:24] come in. They envision a
[34:26] Trust that can help initiate
[34:28] programs, research new
[34:30] housing tools, establish
[34:32] funding priorities,
[34:34] participate in partnerships, and help
[34:36] strategies move from an
[34:38] adopted plan to implementation. In fact
[34:40] , some of that work has already begun. The
[34:43] Trust is currently analyzing
[34:45] methods used by other communities
[34:47] in Massachusetts, such as
[34:49] accessory housing unit programs,
[34:51] purchase reduction programs, and incentives
[34:53] to reintegrate properties into the
[34:55] annual rental market. Our aim
[34:58] is not simply to copy what
[35:00] other communities are doing, but to
[35:02] understand what works, how
[35:04] these programs are managed, how much they
[35:06] cost, and whether they can be
[35:08] responsibly adapted in Gloucester. That
[35:11] is the type of work that Housing
[35:12] Compass is asking the Trust to
[35:14] do. Adopting Housing Compass will
[35:16] not mean that all
[35:18] strategies in the plan will be automatically approved or
[35:20] funded. Individual programs and
[35:22] proposals
[35:23] 20 seconds.
[35:25] OK. Individual programs and proposals will
[35:28] continue to require
[35:30] research, public debate and
[35:32] appropriate approvals, and in many
[35:34] cases future board decisions. I
[35:40] will end here and give my
[35:42] comments and encourage everyone
[35:44] present to support and vote in favor of
[35:46] this plan. Thank you.
[35:50] Anyone else want to come up to the podium,
[35:57] please?
[36:03] Good evening everyone. I am Debbie
[36:05] Frontiero. 216 Washington Street. I have
[36:12] lived in Gloucester all my life,
[36:14] except for a few years in my youth
[36:16] when I moved away and came back, but this is
[36:19] the city I love. First, I want
[36:25] to express my gratitude to Alex, but
[36:27] to the entire team, to all of you. This
[36:31] , as I reviewed the plan, is
[36:33] extremely comprehensive. He is
[36:36] extremely thoughtful. And even if
[36:41] you only focus on the three objectives:
[36:43] protect, preserve, and produce. I think there's
[36:47] something about them that everyone
[36:49] in the city can participate in.
[36:52] We want to protect our city.
[36:54] We want to preserve the heritage we
[36:56] have. But we want to produce
[36:59] enough housing so that we can
[37:00] remain united as a community. Well
[37:05] , it was, and when it happened, in a couple
[37:08] of places it said "in the
[37:10] right places." And that left the door
[37:14] open to public commentary.
[37:16] The opportunity for the public to
[37:18] make comments was incredible. And
[37:22] if someone feels they were left out of
[37:24] the process, I think it's because they didn't
[37:26] apply for the process because there were
[37:28] plenty of opportunities to do so. I
[37:34] love the fact that the plan has
[37:36] focused on actually considering the
[37:38] real construction sites. It's not that
[37:41] we could necessarily do
[37:43] anything at those sites because they are
[37:45] privately owned, but it got to that
[37:47] level of detail. Besides checking
[37:50] permits and zoning and all
[37:53] that boring stuff you guys
[37:55] spend so much time on, I just want to
[37:57] say that I work with Housing for All
[37:59] Gloucester. And as such, we pay close
[38:02] attention to what's happening in the
[38:04] housing sector here in the city.
[38:08] And I wholeheartedly support this plan. I really
[38:12] do it with enthusiasm. Okay, thanks.
[38:16] Thank you.
[38:28] Hello, Henry Harrison, 49 Summer Street.
[38:32] I am a senior student at
[38:34] Gloucester High School. And as Dev said,
[38:36] she lived in Gloucester all her life,
[38:39] except for a few years when she left. I had
[38:43] always thought of my
[38:45] life plan as growing up here in Gloucester,
[38:47] exploring the world, working, getting
[38:49] married, and then coming back home to raise
[38:51] my family here in Gloucester. And that's getting harder and harder
[38:56] , as Alex has just demonstrated.
[38:59] I can see it in my classmates at The
[39:01] Blueport and The Lobster who want
[39:03] to stay, who are products of
[39:04] Gloucester Institute but are
[39:06] forced to move away. I can see it in my
[39:08] football coaches, who are
[39:09] recent graduates of
[39:11] Gloucester High School and can't stay. Well,
[39:15] I speak for all the
[39:19] Gloucester High School students I've spoken to about
[39:21] this plan when I say that I
[39:23] fully support the proactive and
[39:25] flexible nature of this plan, and that
[39:27] real action is needed, and I'm
[39:30] glad that this plan exemplifies that so
[39:32] well. So, thank you. Thank you.
[39:47] Bonnie Bifendegous, 61 Fernald Street.
[39:51] I am speaking in favor of the plan. I think it's
[39:52] really great. I want to
[39:54] thank everyone who
[39:55] participated in its creation. Alex has
[39:58] done a fabulous job bringing
[40:00] everyone together and putting the information, the
[40:02] basic facts, into the report. I think it's
[40:07] very forward-looking, which is
[40:09] great. It is a plan that allows for
[40:13] production. It does not produce housing; It makes it
[40:16] possible to build and establishes what
[40:18] we need to enable. No, you know, the
[40:21] city doesn't have millions and millions of
[40:24] dollars to waste (I wish it did
[40:26] ) on public housing or anything
[40:28] like that. But we can make it possible
[40:30] for other people to build, and
[40:32] we have inclusive housing ordinances
[40:34] , which will help increase the
[40:36] number of affordable homes in
[40:38] Gloucester. The affordable housing trust
[40:43] is trying to encourage the
[40:45] construction of this type of
[40:47] housing at 60% of the AMI instead of
[40:50] 80%, which is the bare minimum.
[40:54] The plan talks about building in the
[40:56] right places. If we look at the
[40:58] population of Gloucester, it has
[41:00] remained fairly stable for quite some
[41:01] time. Similarly, if
[41:03] we look at the actual construction
[41:05] that has taken place during the same
[41:07] period, we can see that
[41:09] much more has been built outside the
[41:11] city center. So, although our
[41:13] population is the same, the population
[41:15] of the center has been greatly reduced.
[41:18] And that's almost certainly a
[41:20] major factor in why Main Street has
[41:22] problems, why there's less
[41:24] parking, because people who go
[41:26] downtown drive. That's why there's more
[41:28] traffic, again, for the same reason
[41:30] : people are driving. Half of
[41:34] Gloucester's working population,
[41:36] sorry, I'm misspoken.
[41:40] Approximately half of the
[41:42] population that works in Gloucester
[41:46] lives outside of Gloucester. Therefore,
[41:48] they drive and they also park. And this is
[41:50] a perennial problem, but the
[41:52] harder we make it for people to
[41:54] live here by restricting
[41:56] housing production, the more traffic
[41:58] and parking problems
[42:00] we will see. That's why it's great that
[42:02] things like the 40R are being considered. It
[42:05] would be fantastic if something were done
[42:07] on Railroad Avenue. I'm sure it would be
[42:09] amazing if we could put
[42:11] a supermarket there. I know it's very
[42:14] difficult to dictate what kind of
[42:16] business activity takes place once you
[42:18] commit to it being commercial. I don't
[42:20] think it's always easy to say, "
[42:22] Well, you have to be a
[42:24] record store or a library or, you know, a
[42:26] video rental store or whatever." I'm
[42:28] getting old. Anyway,
[42:31] thank you very much and thanks again to Alex, and
[42:34] I hope we can approve this and
[42:36] support it and make things happen.
[42:40] Thank you. Is there anyone else in the room
[42:46] before I address the people
[42:48] who are online? Hello, Valerie
[42:52] Nelson.
[43:02] Okay, I think I'm here now.
[43:04] Thank you so much.
[43:05] Okay, that's it...That's good. We can
[43:08] listen to
[43:09] Valerie Nelson and I live at 77
[43:11] Sunset Point Road in Lanesville. I took
[43:14] notes and realized that it would take me
[43:16] too long to talk about
[43:18] them and that you, Counselor Gross, would
[43:21] interrupt me after 3 minutes.
[43:23] Well, that's all. I will send
[43:27] everyone the full scope of
[43:29] the details I wrote later, but I want to
[43:31] add my support for the approval
[43:33] of the Housing Production Plan and
[43:36] mention that I found a
[43:38] previous dialogue in a meeting between all of
[43:40] you at the City Council and Alex,
[43:42] which was extraordinarily helpful in
[43:44] understanding the city's promising commitments
[43:46] to move forward with the
[43:48] implementation of this plan. And I thought
[43:53] all the back-and-forth questions
[43:55] , thank you for all of that, were quite
[43:58] substantial and helpful. First,
[44:03] you all recognize the incredible
[44:05] difficulty of bridging the gap between the
[44:07] public and the great complexity of
[44:09] technical planning and
[44:11] financial details that are difficult
[44:13] for the typical resident to understand.
[44:17] I think that even includes
[44:18] tonight's presentation. So,
[44:21] in a variety of
[44:24] Lanesville Community Center and
[44:25] Downtown Neighborhood Association meetings that I
[44:28] convened or attended,
[44:29] residents grappled with a very
[44:32] long list of possible strategies and
[44:33] recommendations in this extensive plan and
[44:36] how to make sense of it. I want to report
[44:42] that a fairly new idea in
[44:44] Lanesville is that we could finally
[44:46] move away from affordable housing
[44:48] because many current and
[44:50] older homeowners want to create opportunities for
[44:52] their children and grandchildren to live
[44:54] here. And many of them are already
[45:01] taking steps on their own
[45:02] properties to do it again for
[45:05] their children and grandchildren and also, as I
[45:07] would say, for themselves as elderly people.
[45:13] These are some of the most
[45:14] important points from your previous and productive
[45:16] meeting as an advisor with Alex. Alex
[45:24] said that it is not productive to spend a lot of
[45:26] time on the problems of non-
[45:29] conforming batches, but that focusing on opportunities should be a
[45:31] priority in the future
[45:33] . I'm sure the
[45:36] residents of Lanesville said so at
[45:38] the meetings. And two, in Shaw's Plaza,
[45:42] the most important thing,
[45:43] 20 seconds away, Val. It
[45:45] 's in the center. I'll go over all of that
[45:47] in some detail when I send it to you,
[45:50] and there are definitely elements missing from
[45:52] the plan. One is the high cost of the
[45:54] ADUs. Please consider the
[45:56] cost reductions of
[45:58] modular and prefabricated homes and the
[46:00] chronic concerns about
[46:02] permits for very large new homes
[46:04] and demolitions along the coast and
[46:06] for the views from here. Did I do it
[46:09] , Tony?
[46:11] Yes, thanks.
[46:13] I will send the detailed notes.
[46:15] Thank you so much.
[46:21] Now we have Peggy Haggerty Stack.
[46:29] Can you hear me? Here I am. Okay. Yes,
[46:32] thanks. Hello, my name is Peggy
[46:34] Haggerty Stack. I am the
[46:36] CEO of Action Inc. and the office
[46:39] is located at 180 Main Street in
[46:41] downtown Gloucester. As a member of the
[46:44] Gloucester Housing Compass Advisory Committee
[46:46] , I obviously fully support the
[46:48] Gloucester Housing Compass Plan. Alex and
[46:53] his team and the MAPC team
[46:55] worked together with us and other
[46:57] community members to create a
[46:59] plan for the future of housing in
[47:01] Gloucester. And I really wanted to
[47:04] applaud the community's effort to get involved
[47:06] . I thought it was
[47:09] excellent and gave people many
[47:11] ways to find out what was
[47:13] happening and express their thoughts about it
[47:15] . As part of this broader
[47:19] participation process, people
[47:21] said they love Gloucester,
[47:22] want to stay here, but it's becoming increasingly
[47:24] difficult to do so, with
[47:26] housing being the main factor. The
[47:28] community repeatedly expressed that they
[47:30] want more housing options, and that they
[47:32] care about scale, design,
[47:33] infrastructure, and
[47:35] neighborhood context. And as Alex mentioned, right now
[47:38] , 41% of people
[47:40] living in Gloucester have a
[47:42] housing cost burden, which is
[47:44] really significant. And at Action, we
[47:46] see it firsthand every
[47:48] day; the need for
[47:49] affordable and accessible housing only continues to
[47:51] grow and persists as the
[47:53] community's top need. Every time
[47:55] we conduct our
[47:57] community needs assessment, it's the
[47:58] number one problem for people.
[48:00] We recently conducted our own
[48:01] assessment and heard loud
[48:03] and clear from people that housing
[48:05] is a major challenge. The
[48:06] most common barrier to finding or keeping
[48:08] a home is the cost of rent or
[48:10] a mortgage, and that was consistent across
[48:12] all age groups and
[48:14] employment groups. Employment does not necessarily
[48:16] provide enough income to
[48:18] maintain stable housing in the
[48:19] current market. Overall, the data
[48:22] suggest that the housing challenge is
[48:24] not limited to the number of units
[48:26] available, but that while expanding
[48:28] the housing supply remains
[48:30] important, residents still
[48:31] face barriers to making
[48:33] existing housing affordable,
[48:35] such as high housing costs,
[48:37] upfront rental expenses,
[48:38] income and credit requirements, and
[48:40] other eligibility criteria.
[48:42] Therefore, all this only
[48:44] reinforces what we learned through the
[48:46] Housing Compass Plan: that it is not just
[48:48] one problem, but
[48:50] several, and that we need a kind
[48:52] of multi-faceted approach. The Housing Compass Plan
[48:54] seeks to address these
[48:56] problems with the pillars that
[48:58] people talked about earlier, because it is essential
[49:00] that this comprehensive approach protects
[49:03] people in communities so they
[49:05] can remain housed and reduce
[49:07] displacement, because that only causes
[49:09] a domino effect in the system.
[49:13] Preserve what we already have in
[49:14] terms of current affordable and
[49:16] accessible housing and produce
[49:18] new and affordable housing,
[49:20] Peggy.
[49:21] Balance matters, because new
[49:23] constructions won't solve it on their own.
[49:26] And I hope you all will support me.
[49:28] I fully support the
[49:30] priority recommendations mentioned in the
[49:32] executive summary and urge the
[49:34] City Council and the
[49:35] Planning Committee to approve the
[49:37] Housing Compass Plan. It gives us a framework
[49:39] to move forward and a path to address
[49:41] the housing crisis we
[49:42] currently face. Thank you so much
[49:45] .
[49:46] Thank you so much.
[49:59] Okay, does anyone else want to speak in
[50:01] favor? Let him speak out against it. Opponents, come up
[50:07] to the podium. Okay. No. We'll
[50:15] be able to sort it out.
[50:17] Thank you. Because I commented
[50:20] on the 154-page plan and submitted
[50:22] 20 pages of comments. Okay. Well
[50:26] , my name is Jane Fox. I appreciate
[50:28] the opportunity to speak today. I believe
[50:30] their plan was
[50:31] professionally written. Despite its
[50:34] strengths, I have some reservations. There are a
[50:37] few things I want to point out. The
[50:39] plan did not include any analysis of the
[50:41] fiscal impact.
[50:43] Gloucester residents, especially
[50:45] senior citizens, are already struggling with
[50:46] property taxes. The plan did not explain how the
[50:48] increased density, new
[50:50] housing programs, or zoning changes would
[50:52] affect taxes,
[50:54] school budgets, DPW, water, sewer, or
[50:56] safety. An affordability plan
[50:58] cannot ignore taxes. There is no
[51:00] assessment of the infrastructure's capacity
[51:02] . Gloucester is a
[51:04] coastal city with aging systems,
[51:06] but the plan does not provide data on
[51:08] sewage, water pressure,
[51:09] stormwater capacity, flood risk areas,
[51:11] or emergency access restrictions
[51:13] . Without this, the
[51:15] recommendations are not based on
[51:17] reality. The plan does not provide
[51:19] any school registration form. It
[51:21] does not analyze whether new housing
[51:23] will increase enrollment, whether
[51:25] schools have capacity, or whether
[51:27] 40R or 40Y districts would trigger
[51:29] Chapter 40S refunds. This is
[51:31] essential for
[51:33] responsible planning. I could go on and on,
[51:35] but the plan barely addresses
[51:36] short-term rentals and
[51:38] speculative investments, even though both
[51:40] significantly impact
[51:41] Gloucester's property market. There is no
[51:43] data on STRs, investor-
[51:45] owned multifamily units,
[51:47] or
[51:48] displacement risk. The plan does not provide
[51:50] cost estimates for the
[51:52] funding strategy for many of the
[51:53] recommendations. Without costs,
[51:54] staffing needs, or sources of
[51:56] funding, the plan is not viable. The
[51:59] plan does not prioritize their recommendations.
[52:01] Residents and
[52:03] policymakers cannot say what
[52:04] should happen first, what has the
[52:06] greatest impact, or what is feasible. In
[52:08] summary, this is a solid technical document
[52:10] , but it is not yet a
[52:12] resident-friendly plan nor is it
[52:14] ready for implementation. Gloucester
[52:17] deserves a plan that is transparent,
[52:19] fiscally responsible and based on
[52:21] real infrastructure and
[52:23] neighborhood conditions. I urge the city to
[52:27] review the plan to include
[52:29] fiscal impacts, infrastructure capacity,
[52:32] school models,
[52:34] neighborhood-level development analysis,
[52:36] STR data and speculation,
[52:39] cost estimates, and clear prioritization, so that
[52:41] residents can understand how
[52:44] this plan affects their homes, their
[52:46] taxes, and their future. Thank you. I
[52:49] support him, but I think I'm only
[52:51] hearing the good things. I'm not
[52:53] hearing the reality of what it will
[52:55] cost residents today,
[52:56] especially the elderly.
[52:58] Thank you.
[52:59] Does anyone else want to speak out
[53:06] against it? Does
[53:10] anyone else have reservations or want to
[53:12] speak out against it?
[53:23] Beverly Pelmachi, 8 Commonwealth Avenue
[53:26] . I agree with everything he said
[53:28] . And more. I wanted to feel confident
[53:34] that the city center would not again
[53:36] become the center of attention, as it
[53:38] was under the MBTA mandate. Well,
[53:42] we've paid our price. You know,
[53:44] we've changed our zoning. We do
[53:46] n't want to be okay, they have the
[53:48] sewers, so this is where we need to
[53:50] focus. And in terms
[53:53] of...I don't remember exactly how she
[53:58] said it, but I have a
[54:00] situation myself. I'm in the center. The
[54:03] zoning has changed. I'm not
[54:05] sure if this has affected what's
[54:07] happening behind me, but
[54:10] a property was purchased, two very
[54:12] small houses on a non-compliant plot.
[54:15] Affordable rentals. Someone from out
[54:17] of town came and bought it.
[54:20] Rents have doubled. A
[54:22] family had to move. This house is being
[54:25] expanded and improved. This is not going to
[54:28] be affordable for anyone. So I don't
[54:31] know what we have to protect ourselves from
[54:33] that. What will stop
[54:36] people who can still afford these
[54:38] prices, these extreme prices, from coming here and
[54:40] driving them up even more? And in
[54:43] my case, I have been blind for 32
[54:46] years. I can no longer see the water because
[54:50] this construction will not accommodate any
[54:52] more people. It's a two-
[54:54] bedroom house, but it's going to be a
[54:56] grand two-bedroom house, and I can't
[54:58] imagine what the rent will cost
[55:00] . That's why I think it's very
[55:02] important that we protect ourselves in some
[55:04] way. I don't know how, but please do
[55:07] n't just focus on the center because
[55:09] we have the sewer system.
[55:12] Everyone should pay. And don't forget the
[55:15] situation with short-
[55:17] term rentals. I think some of you
[55:19] know that I've been sending you letters about that for
[55:20] years. It should
[55:22] have been controlled a long time ago, and
[55:24] we are paying the price. Thank you.
[55:29] Does anyone else have any
[55:39] comments of any kind? Yes. I'm
[55:57] sorry, it was last minute. Nick
[55:59] Fay, 33 Emerson Ave. I just want to
[56:04] thank Alan and the team. I think
[56:06] everyone has been working very
[56:08] hard on this.
[56:11] Housing development is a very
[56:13] complex situation. Well, I'm an expert with
[56:16] numbers, and as interest rates
[56:19] rise higher and higher each day this
[56:21] week, we're feeling the pressure when it comes
[56:23] to costs. And I believe that
[56:29] community involvement and a
[56:31] proactive stance really help to
[56:33] support the increase in supply.
[56:38] Anyway, I want to thank you and I
[56:39] really appreciate you
[56:41] hosting us. Thank you.
[56:43] Are we having any communication
[56:53] , Madam Secretary?
[56:55] The municipal secretary's office did not
[56:57] receive any communication in time
[56:59] for the deadline. There was a
[57:01] communication that was received after
[57:03] the deadline for sending it and that
[57:05] was sent to the full City Council.
[57:06] Yes.
[57:07] We also received many other
[57:09] communications that were addressed
[57:10] directly to us. Questions from the
[57:14] councilors and the
[57:15] planning board. Raise your hand and go
[57:24] ahead. David.
[57:29] Rosen, member of the
[57:31] planning board. Alex, how long
[57:34] is the housing compass plan valid
[57:36] ? Well,
[57:40] as far as the status is concerned, it's
[57:42] valid for 5 years.
[57:52] Councilman Benson. Thank you. Well, there was
[57:56] a debate and some voters
[57:58] contacted me to
[58:00] ask what a gateway city is
[58:02] . If you could
[58:04] briefly describe what an entry city is
[58:06] , I understand that we can
[58:08] meet some of the criteria,
[58:11] but not others. These cities
[58:14] emerged in the mid-
[58:17] 2000s, specifically due to
[58:19] deindustrialization and the
[58:21] frequent relocation of jobs abroad.
[58:24] Communities like Lynn and other
[58:25] similar communities have been
[58:27] considered gateway cities. But
[58:29] could you define what a gateway city is
[58:31] to clarify some facts,
[58:33] if that makes sense?
[58:34] Of course, it's a designation for the
[58:36] set of state subsidies.
[58:38] Therefore, it is basically a way for
[58:40] the state to think about the types of
[58:42] communities it wants to support with
[58:44] grant funding. Well, you were
[58:46] referring to communities that have had, let's say
[58:48] , jobs that have disappeared due to
[58:50] the decline of the industry, things like that.
[58:54] It has certain criteria for
[58:56] population size, income, and the
[58:59] amount of... There is another criterion that I don't
[59:01] remember right now. Basically,
[59:04] Gloucester meets all the criteria,
[59:06] but our population is
[59:08] 5000 short. Therefore, we
[59:10] are not saying that we will magically increase the
[59:12] population. We're just saying
[59:14] that we meet all the other
[59:16] criteria. We want the state to
[59:18] consider us for
[59:19] available grants through
[59:21] gateway designation.
[59:24] That's how it is. The gateway is
[59:27] 35,000 to 200,000. Jason,
[59:39] Growth Council.
[59:41] Thank you. Alex, you have produced an
[59:43] excellent document. We have
[59:46] many people to thank for their
[59:47] contributions. But
[59:49] now it is up to us to
[59:51] implement it, the
[59:52] Planning Board and the City Council. So
[59:54] , give me a little guidance here.
[59:56] How are we going to do it? How do
[59:58] we classify our main steps
[1:00:00] , you know, one, two or three that we must
[1:00:03] take and that would be the most beneficial
[1:00:05] in the short term? I think I'd
[1:00:08] like us to do something over
[1:00:10] the next year instead of just leaving this
[1:00:13] on a shelf to gather dust,
[1:00:15] which is what we usually do with these
[1:00:17] long-term plans or properties. We do
[1:00:20] n't usually do much with them.
[1:00:23] So, how are we going to get this
[1:00:25] going?
[1:00:29] Well, I think we need to continue what we've been
[1:00:31] doing, which
[1:00:33] is creating a great community process
[1:00:35] because to make any
[1:00:38] of these recommendations a reality, we need to
[1:00:40] have more conversations with the
[1:00:41] community and do things in line with
[1:00:44] what they want to happen where they live.
[1:00:47] I believe we have a great
[1:00:48] infrastructure in place to
[1:00:50] implement this plan. Several of these
[1:00:53] are financing-related recommendations
[1:00:55] that fall within the scope
[1:00:57] of the Affordable Housing Trust.
[1:01:01] Therefore, the trust has already begun to
[1:01:03] evaluate those three recommendations
[1:01:05] regarding the possible creation of a
[1:01:06] lease program for
[1:01:08] local residents, the possible creation of a
[1:01:10] loan product for
[1:01:12] small towns or housing types, and the
[1:01:14] possible subsidy of
[1:01:16] affordable units to make their
[1:01:17] affordability levels higher, a
[1:01:19] price reduction program. Therefore,
[1:01:22] they are analyzing all those things and
[1:01:24] then they will get to work on
[1:01:26] creating those programs. So
[1:01:28] , that's underway. Along
[1:01:30] similar lines, the
[1:01:33] planning board's subcommittee, the
[1:01:35] housing subcommittee, has been analyzing
[1:01:37] many zoning recommendations
[1:01:39] and would be the vehicle, as is
[1:01:41] tradition, to analyze where
[1:01:43] the zoning recommendations would focus
[1:01:45] , what they would look like, and to
[1:01:47] analyze them and make recommendations
[1:01:49] as a city council to adopt the
[1:01:51] zoning. Several of those
[1:01:53] recommendations involve
[1:01:55] smart growth districts. I believe the
[1:01:58] greatest impact we can achieve with
[1:02:01] this plan is to consider where
[1:02:02] to locate them, because not only would they facilitate
[1:02:05] the housing that the city needs,
[1:02:07] but they can also generate
[1:02:09] significant financial benefits. Then
[1:02:14] there are a number of recommendations that
[1:02:16] are really administrative and that
[1:02:18] community development staff
[1:02:20] are well trained to submit,
[1:02:22] such as the tenant notification ordinance
[1:02:25] . You know, that's something we
[1:02:27] could do right away. Create
[1:02:29] a housing resources page that
[1:02:30] not only includes our
[1:02:32] first-
[1:02:34] time homeownership program, but all state programs
[1:02:35] and complementary tools
[1:02:37] that people would want to access. So
[1:02:39] , those things could happen tomorrow.
[1:02:41] And I believe we have the
[1:02:43] right people in the right places to
[1:02:44] advance the most important issues. I'm sorry
[1:02:50] , Kimberly.
[1:02:53] Thank you. What percentage of our
[1:02:56] affordable housing will prioritize
[1:02:58] local preference? The woman in the
[1:03:01] audience spoke, for example, about the
[1:03:03] possible housing above a small
[1:03:05] grocery store in the old
[1:03:07] Shaw's. Would that prioritize
[1:03:08] local preference?
[1:03:11] Each time
[1:03:13] affordable housing is developed and authorized,
[1:03:15] we have the opportunity to request
[1:03:17] local preference from the state, which is
[1:03:20] up to 70% of the units according to
[1:03:22] state fair housing laws. As
[1:03:25] part of that, we can also
[1:03:26] prioritize veterans and
[1:03:28] senior citizens.
[1:03:37] Councilman Newton.
[1:03:38] Thank you. No, no, Harris, me. If anyone
[1:03:42] else has done it...Well, we've talked
[1:03:45] a bit about the 40Y, and I've heard from
[1:03:47] many people in my district and
[1:03:49] elsewhere, especially
[1:03:51] young people, about the idea of
[1:03:53] starter homes. And we've seen this
[1:03:56] in other parts of the state and across the
[1:03:58] country. Could you tell us where
[1:04:01] we might consider creating
[1:04:02] some 40Y zoning in the future?
[1:04:05] Because, again, I think what
[1:04:06] Councillor Gross said is that we need to
[1:04:08] make sure this doesn't just sit on a
[1:04:09] shelf. And that, in fact,
[1:04:11] proactively, once we approve it
[1:04:13] tonight, we need to get going
[1:04:15] and start proactively approving
[1:04:18] tenant rights and other things. But if
[1:04:20] you could mention where you think
[1:04:22] some areas of the city could work
[1:04:25] with 40Y, that would be great.
[1:04:28] Yes. It's something I think you'd want to see
[1:04:32] in the housing restrictions section
[1:04:33] of this plan. And, generally speaking
[1:04:37] , those white areas on the map
[1:04:39] are places where there may be
[1:04:41] opportunities for that. But the
[1:04:44] planning board's subcommittee, the
[1:04:46] housing subcommittee, has begun to look into the
[1:04:48] possibility of clearing part of our
[1:04:50] group zoning. And that's similar
[1:04:52] to what a 40Y would be. Therefore,
[1:04:55] there is a starting point for a process
[1:04:57] of studying where that would go.
[1:04:59] But I think it would be great to see the
[1:05:01] city council work with the
[1:05:03] planning board to identify those
[1:05:06] locations using this plan as a
[1:05:08] guide and then go through a process,
[1:05:10] because as has been pointed out tonight
[1:05:12] and through all the
[1:05:14] public comments, there are unique limitations everywhere
[1:05:17] , and they need to be analyzed and
[1:05:19] made sure that that area can
[1:05:21] accommodate more housing and
[1:05:23] those details can be worked out and make sure
[1:05:25] the neighborhood is on board.
[1:05:28] Well, this plan doesn't say where
[1:05:30] 40Y could go, but it does offer some
[1:05:33] opportunities to consider as a
[1:05:35] guide. Councilman Price.
[1:05:40] Thank you. First of all,
[1:05:42] thank you so much for all the hard work that has been
[1:05:44] done, you know, all the
[1:05:46] research and data and the
[1:05:47] compilation of all this.
[1:05:49] Congratulations. Good job. I have a rather
[1:05:52] strange question, I think. Okay,
[1:05:54] all the grants and other
[1:05:56] funding sources that are mentioned
[1:05:58] when talking about 40R and 40Y and that
[1:06:00] sort of thing: is there any danger
[1:06:02] of that happening? Are they based on
[1:06:05] solid foundations, or is there any
[1:06:07] danger that they could change if we see a
[1:06:09] shift in the landscape after the
[1:06:11] midterm elections?
[1:06:16] Well, that's a good question.
[1:06:17] Fortunately, last fall there was
[1:06:20] a bond bill that
[1:06:22] repaid the 40R program, the
[1:06:24] 40Y program, and that's why we feel confident
[1:06:27] making those recommendations in this plan
[1:06:29] . Well, you know, that could be something
[1:06:31] for which the funding source might
[1:06:33] not be there in the future. So,
[1:06:35] again, I think we should
[1:06:37] prioritize taking action now.
[1:06:40] In other words, right now it's a
[1:06:42] pretty safe bet, but later on it
[1:06:44] could, you know, pull the
[1:06:47] rug out from under you.
[1:06:48] Well, it's authorized by the
[1:06:50] state legislature, so I wouldn't
[1:06:52] worry about a change in the governor's position
[1:06:54] . The funding source
[1:06:58] is limited and could run out as
[1:07:00] more communities file for Chapter
[1:07:02] 40R. I
[1:07:05] just wanted to add that the
[1:07:07] current economic bill proposes to
[1:07:09] increase both the amount and
[1:07:11] structure of incentive payments to
[1:07:13] communities for adopting the
[1:07:14] ordinance. I
[1:07:24] have a couple of questions, Alex. One of
[1:07:28] the speakers mentioned how we can
[1:07:35] guarantee that some
[1:07:37] kind of grocery store will be installed if
[1:07:39] we include the 40R. Mixed use is
[1:07:42] mandatory. Could you elaborate
[1:07:47] on that a little more?
[1:07:49] This is consistent with other feedback we
[1:07:51] received. There was enthusiasm for
[1:07:53] supporting the recommendation regarding 7
[1:07:55] Railroad Ave as a site of
[1:07:57] opportunity in the
[1:07:59] overall Railroad Ave corridor. But many of the
[1:08:02] comments were very clear about
[1:08:04] wanting to use it as a way to
[1:08:06] encourage the return of a
[1:08:08] grocery store downtown, which has been a
[1:08:10] long-standing element that the community
[1:08:13] has wanted to happen. We could
[1:08:16] write the zoning and list
[1:08:18] the permitted uses on the ground floor and
[1:08:20] just list the ones we want to see, and
[1:08:22] this plan is quite clear that
[1:08:24] we want it to be a
[1:08:26] grocery store. The other issue is that
[1:08:29] whoever ends up developing that
[1:08:31] project, we have to work with
[1:08:33] them to find a store that
[1:08:35] can be set up. You know, it's a
[1:08:38] partnership. That's what we need to
[1:08:40] see to have the best chance of
[1:08:42] achieving it. It is a private property. We can't
[1:08:44] control everything that happens,
[1:08:46] but I believe we have many
[1:08:48] tools to ensure
[1:08:50] we get the result the community
[1:08:52] wants.
[1:08:55] And we saw the map of land that is not
[1:08:56] available. And I think I read
[1:08:59] somewhere here that around 75
[1:09:01] % of the city's landmass
[1:09:03] is unavailable for development. Do
[1:09:07] we need to be more cautious in
[1:09:09] how we continue to increase that number
[1:09:15] by adding more and more land to
[1:09:17] conservation?
[1:09:21] Well, those things are certainly in
[1:09:23] conflict. And I think they should review
[1:09:26] their housing plan, their
[1:09:27] open space plan, and reconcile both.
[1:09:30] But you know, that's a decision that
[1:09:31] political leaders have to make
[1:09:33] . I believe this plan gives them what they
[1:09:40] need to consider when deciding
[1:09:42] whether or not to conserve the soil.
[1:09:48] Councilor
[1:09:49] Hanson.
[1:09:50] Thank you. One last question that relates
[1:09:52] to what we were talking about
[1:09:54] earlier. I saw in the plan that 75%
[1:09:56] of all the land in the city is not
[1:09:59] developable. But you spoke, and I think
[1:10:02] we talked about this, and then I think there was
[1:10:04] a wider conversation at
[1:10:06] the forum at the
[1:10:08] senior center. You mentioned that there could be
[1:10:12] funding opportunities
[1:10:14] for the city to obtain money for
[1:10:16] critical infrastructure. So,
[1:10:18] if we could find that
[1:10:20] funding in places where there is no
[1:10:22] sewage system, would it be plausible that
[1:10:25] this could happen in the future? If
[1:10:27] we obtained that money, we could
[1:10:29] invest it and then develop those
[1:10:31] areas.
[1:10:34] Yes, that's something to keep in
[1:10:36] mind. There are some
[1:10:38] state-run programs that provide
[1:10:39] fairly significant amounts of
[1:10:41] funding for infrastructure,
[1:10:43] specifically
[1:10:45] sewer infrastructure, to unlock
[1:10:47] development. It is not possible without them. The
[1:10:49] MassWorks program, the
[1:10:51] HousingWorks program, you know, you can receive
[1:10:54] millions of dollars through those
[1:10:56] programs. But to have a good
[1:10:59] application, you need to have a good
[1:11:01] affordable housing development or
[1:11:04] something that generates jobs and has a big
[1:11:06] impact. So, that's possible, but
[1:11:10] you need to have a good application
[1:11:12] to have a chance of getting
[1:11:14] that funding.
[1:11:15] Thank you. So yes, this really
[1:11:18] lays the foundation for everything we
[1:11:19] want to do and hope to do,
[1:11:21] especially in terms of
[1:11:23] infrastructure if the money is
[1:11:25] available. But, thank you.
[1:11:28] Shawn Henry has raised his hand. Go
[1:11:30] ahead, Shawn.
[1:11:32] Thank you. I don't want to talk out of
[1:11:35] turn. I just wanted to return to your
[1:11:37] question as a member of the Housing
[1:11:42] Compass group, regarding your point about the
[1:11:44] tension between conservation. In
[1:11:47] fact, I think I'm officially supposed to
[1:11:49] start my video. I'm sorry.
[1:11:54] Regarding your point about the tension
[1:11:56] between soil conservation and
[1:11:58] development, I believe that where the plan
[1:12:00] addresses that issue is through
[1:12:02] appropriate sizing.
[1:12:05] Historically, when we installed the
[1:12:07] sewer system in North Gloucester,
[1:12:09] we doubled the lot size requirements
[1:12:12] . When doing 3A, we recognized
[1:12:19] that our R5 district contained
[1:12:21] many lots that were well below
[1:12:24] that size. Therefore, in order to
[1:12:27] respond to 3A, we had to
[1:12:29] address it by reducing the minimum
[1:12:32] lot size to 4000 square feet. And I
[1:12:35] believe that if we review and examine
[1:12:37] our existing zoning,
[1:12:39] we will discover that the vast majority of
[1:12:41] existing housing is on
[1:12:43] undersized lots.
[1:12:48] Therefore, if we address the
[1:12:50] development problem not by occupying
[1:12:52] existing green spaces, but
[1:12:54] by zoning to the
[1:12:56] appropriate size, which is what the
[1:12:59] plan recommends. Then, we will eliminate that
[1:13:03] tension between preserving
[1:13:05] green space and allowing new developments. And I
[1:13:11] think that, as you know, including
[1:13:13] downtown, there's no
[1:13:15] reason why a development on Main
[1:13:17] Street that allows for the development of a
[1:13:20] lot-line to lot-line commercial building
[1:13:22] should be forced to
[1:13:24] go through a ZBA process when
[1:13:27] a residential component is introduced into
[1:13:32] it. Anyway, so as not to take up
[1:13:35] more than my 3 minutes, I think
[1:13:37] appropriately sized zoning
[1:13:39] addresses the problem you raised. I
[1:13:43] have no time constraints.
[1:13:46] Oh, don't tell him. Are you ready,
[1:13:49] Sean?
[1:13:50] For now.
[1:13:51] Are you ready? Okay, thanks. I
[1:13:53] don't want to be the big talking head
[1:13:55] in the room.
[1:14:01] Anyone else? Go
[1:14:07] ahead,
[1:14:08] yes, we had...I'm sorry, I don't remember
[1:14:10] your name, the young woman with glasses who
[1:14:12] spoke about...who was neither for nor
[1:14:14] against, rather in the
[1:14:16] middle. Have any of
[1:14:18] those questions been answered?
[1:14:19] Jane Fox. Have any of
[1:14:21] these issues been considered with this
[1:14:23] administration and the DPW, given the rising
[1:14:25] cost of everything, such as water,
[1:14:27] sewage, and traffic, all
[1:14:29] within the housing plan? Has
[1:14:31] that information been shared?
[1:14:33] Yes, there were interviews with the
[1:14:35] Public Works Health Board and other
[1:14:37] staff who looked at those kinds of
[1:14:39] limitations, and broadly speaking, the
[1:14:41] conclusion was that the center can
[1:14:43] support further development and our
[1:14:46] upgrade to the
[1:14:47] secondary wastewater treatment facilities will
[1:14:49] only improve that
[1:14:51] situation. We have no concerns
[1:14:53] about the infrastructure and its capacity
[1:14:56] to manage development at all
[1:14:58] sites of opportunity, but I
[1:14:59] also believe there would be a process
[1:15:01] to analyze that specifically as
[1:15:03] development progresses
[1:15:05] .
[1:15:06] And just one last question, when
[1:15:08] is the deadline for us to
[1:15:10] submit this to the state? There
[1:15:14] is no deadline, but we would
[1:15:16] like to have a state-approved plan
[1:15:18] because it will give us more
[1:15:21] local control over
[1:15:22] Chapter 40B proposals.
[1:15:26] Thank you. Well, there was another component
[1:15:37] here that, well, I felt
[1:15:40] deserved some discussion, and that is,
[1:15:42] well, to create a sort of
[1:15:49] task force to examine, well, the
[1:15:52] building codes and the way they are
[1:15:54] affecting our
[1:15:59] moderately sized multi-family buildings and grouping them into, well,
[1:16:01] large projects. And I'm very happy
[1:16:05] with our other... Is this going to be a
[1:16:07] regional effort to try to reach
[1:16:09] the state, or is the state going to take the
[1:16:12] lead on this? Do we need to, well
[1:16:15] , who do we need to pressure to
[1:16:17] make sure this gets
[1:16:19] going and gets going
[1:16:20] quickly?
[1:16:21] Yes, well, actually, based on
[1:16:24] your comments at the P&D meeting,
[1:16:26] we wanted to clarify that it should be a
[1:16:28] state commission. Well, there were also
[1:16:30] some comments sharing
[1:16:32] concerns about whether changing
[1:16:34] the building code will
[1:16:35] affect, well, health and
[1:16:37] safety. Well, we want to make
[1:16:39] changes that will make it more
[1:16:41] financially viable to create
[1:16:43] smaller housing options. But we want to
[1:16:45] do it in a way that does not compromise
[1:16:47] public health and safety. I believe
[1:16:49] a state-led panel with
[1:16:51] state experts should handle
[1:16:53] that because, at the end of the day, it's a
[1:16:55] state building code and
[1:16:57] any changes they make would
[1:16:59] apply statewide. We have
[1:17:02] some excellent partners at DOER with
[1:17:04] whom we can talk and advocate
[1:17:06] for the establishment of that commission
[1:17:08] . Thank you. Anyone else? Very good. I am
[1:17:21] going to close the public hearing for
[1:17:23] the city council. Closing the
[1:17:28] public comment period for
[1:17:29] the planning board. Does any
[1:17:34] board wish to make a recommendation?
[1:17:39] I propose that the planning board
[1:17:41] adopt the 2025 Housing Compass Plan. I
[1:17:43] have a motion to adopt it.
[1:17:47] I need a second, please.
[1:17:48] Second.
[1:17:49] Seconded by Steve Yost. The motion
[1:17:51] was made by Jane Ramsden. I need
[1:17:53] a roll call vote, please.
[1:17:54] Member Noonan.
[1:17:55] Yes.
[1:17:56] Ramsden member.
[1:17:57] Yes.
[1:17:57] Bookman member. We can hear him. That
[1:18:01] was a yes. Member Henry.
[1:18:06] Yes, although I think it's the
[1:18:08] 2026 Housing Compass plan.
[1:18:10] Oh, sorry. I'm amending my
[1:18:13] motion for the 2026 Housing Compass Plan.
[1:18:17] Time flies. And I'm not sure if we
[1:18:20] still have member Cook.
[1:18:22] Mr. Cook, yes.
[1:18:24] Excellent. Member Rosen.
[1:18:27] Yes.
[1:18:28] Yost.
[1:18:29] Yes.
[1:18:30] It's unanimous.
[1:18:31] vote, thank you.
[1:18:34] Hello, and advisor Groat. I
[1:18:36] make a...
[1:18:36] Well, a motion of mine, seconded by
[1:18:38] Councilor Kimberly, the
[1:18:40] Planning and Development Committee voted two in
[1:18:42] favor, zero against, one absent,
[1:18:44] to recommend that the City Council
[1:18:46] accept the draft
[1:18:48] Housing Compass Plan submitted by the
[1:18:50] Community Development Director and
[1:18:51] presented on September 2, 2026.
[1:18:53] And so I do. I
[1:18:55] second.
[1:18:56] Motion made by Councillor Groat,
[1:18:58] seconded by Councillor Kimberly.
[1:19:01] Before we have the debate, I would
[1:19:03] like to make an amendment. I would like to
[1:19:07] remove the word "accept" and insert "
[1:19:09] adopt". And I make that motion.
[1:19:14] Seconded.
[1:19:15] Motion made by Councillor Groat,
[1:19:17] seconded by Councillor Memmerth.
[1:19:19] Debate. Regarding the amendment.
[1:19:23] Any particular reason?
[1:19:25] Because accepting is different from adopting.
[1:19:28] Okay. Thank you, professor.
[1:19:31] Brilliant. Yes.
[1:19:35] Everyone who's in favor?
[1:19:37] Yes. Yes.
[1:19:38] Against? The eyes have it, seven to
[1:19:40] zero, two absent. Now, on the
[1:19:43] main motion, let's debate.
[1:19:45] I think, you know, one of the reasons
[1:19:47] many of us don't
[1:19:49] have questions is that we've been
[1:19:51] talking about this for months and months, but I just want to thank
[1:19:55] Alex again and everyone involved
[1:19:57] , everyone in the community who has
[1:19:59] stepped up. You know, there are a lot of complaints
[1:20:01] about these processes because people don't
[1:20:03] get a chance to speak up,
[1:20:05] right? And I think DeAnne said it
[1:20:06] well. If they felt they didn't have the
[1:20:09] opportunity to speak up, they missed out on
[1:20:11] some of the many opportunities
[1:20:13] to contribute in ways both big and
[1:20:15] small. And I think he created a
[1:20:18] document that we could actually
[1:20:20] use and that could be productive
[1:20:22] in producing housing in this
[1:20:24] community, which is something I think
[1:20:26] everyone in this district and on this board
[1:20:29] is eager to do. So,
[1:20:31] thank you for your work. Now that that
[1:20:33] 's done, we need to get to
[1:20:35] work and do the other work that
[1:20:37] actually makes housing
[1:20:39] possible. I would like to invite my colleagues
[1:20:42] from the board of directors. Yes. Let's be
[1:20:46] honest too. Yes, exactly. Rao.
[1:20:52] I hope we can find a way to
[1:20:54] move things forward quickly and
[1:20:56] make next year
[1:20:58] really productive.
[1:21:03] Anyone else?
[1:21:04] Councilman Benson.
[1:21:05] Thank you. Yes. First, I want to thank
[1:21:11] Alex, the city, the
[1:21:12] administration, and Director
[1:21:14] Katamatory for all the work that went
[1:21:16] into this. There was broad
[1:21:21] public participation and opportunities
[1:21:23] for the public. I wish
[1:21:27] the public would participate more, and I think we've
[1:21:29] thought of some creative ways to
[1:21:31] get more input from the public, and I
[1:21:33] think that will move forward. One thing that
[1:21:38] really caught my attention here,
[1:21:41] and that I already knew, is that 41% of
[1:21:43] households allocate more than 30% of their
[1:21:46] income to housing, and
[1:21:47] approximately half of them
[1:21:50] spend more than 50% of their
[1:21:52] monthly income on housing. That's a
[1:21:57] crisis and we have to address it. And
[1:22:01] going back to the point I made earlier, and as
[1:22:04] the person who represents District 2
[1:22:06] and the devastation, I am glad that the
[1:22:08] Council President addressed
[1:22:11] this question about the lack of a
[1:22:13] grocery store. And we have to
[1:22:16] work hard to find the
[1:22:18] right person to go in there, someone who
[1:22:21] is committed to
[1:22:23] affordable housing, but also
[1:22:24] committed to a
[1:22:26] grocery store that serves the people
[1:22:28] downtown, many of whom don't have a
[1:22:31] vehicle, our senior population
[1:22:33] who don't always have access to go
[1:22:35] to Market Basket or other
[1:22:37] grocery stores. Well, I know that's a
[1:22:40] commitment shared by everyone up here
[1:22:42] on the City Council, and I've
[1:22:44] spoken with members of the
[1:22:46] Planning Board who are committed
[1:22:48] to ensuring that we find a way that
[1:22:50] , whatever goes there,
[1:22:52] a grocery store is at the
[1:22:54] end. Finally, I will also say that
[1:23:02] this is a start and we will not just put it
[1:23:04] on a shelf, but we will get
[1:23:07] aggressive immediately once we
[1:23:09] adopt it to enact
[1:23:11] zoning changes that will help drive
[1:23:13] smart growth and
[1:23:15] smart development and help us
[1:23:18] address this affordability crisis
[1:23:20] that we can't seem to solve—the rising
[1:23:23] cost of housing, which,
[1:23:25] when I say housing, actually means the
[1:23:27] cost of building it has increased by almost
[1:23:30] 50% in 5 years. We can't solve it
[1:23:36] , but we can solve what we can
[1:23:38] solve, and this plan will help us
[1:23:40] solve it. Therefore, I urge you—I believe
[1:23:43] most of my colleagues
[1:23:45] will support this, but I hope all of
[1:23:47] you will support it—and let's be proactive
[1:23:49] and do things to help resolve
[1:23:51] this crisis we face in our
[1:23:54] community. Thank you.
[1:24:02] Anyone else? I'll say a few words.
[1:24:05] I would like to thank the Boston
[1:24:07] Housing Compass Advisory Group, 13
[1:24:09] people who sat down and put a
[1:24:11] lot of hard work into this.
[1:24:15] Community Development, Planning Board,
[1:24:20] lots of work. All the citizens who
[1:24:23] attended the two large
[1:24:25] meetings. It was extremely
[1:24:28] informative to hear that if we look
[1:24:30] at the information that was gathered
[1:24:32] during those meetings. It was very useful.
[1:24:37] As we all know, this is not an
[1:24:39] easy solution. We're going to have to
[1:24:44] decide who we are and what we're going to
[1:24:46] do about it, and it's going to require us to roll up our sleeves
[1:24:49] , think a lot, and
[1:24:51] decide whether or not we want to have, you
[1:24:53] know, homes here for
[1:24:55] people who want to live here. And
[1:25:01] that's going to require, uh, some work,
[1:25:04] some, uh, a lot of explaining and,
[1:25:10] hopefully, also a lot of listening and
[1:25:12] constructive conversations about this
[1:25:14] , because that's the only way, as a
[1:25:17] community, that we'll be able to
[1:25:19] resolve any of these, however little
[1:25:21] we can resolve. Therefore, it will
[1:25:24] require everyone to be willing
[1:25:26] to work towards achieving it and not just
[1:25:28] say no. And so, I simply thank
[1:25:33] everyone, the administration and those
[1:25:35] sitting here. Okay,
[1:25:40] is that all? Yes. Everyone who's in
[1:25:44] favor? Me, me, me. Against? The
[1:25:47] eyes have it 7 to 0. Two reluctantly absent
[1:25:50] . Are you presiding? This is
[1:26:07] a motion to adjourn the
[1:26:08] session. OK. Then, motion
[1:26:14] by Dave Bramson, by Jane oh, Dave
[1:26:17] Bramson without any retraction. Regarding
[1:26:22] the marriage of Dave Rosen and Jane Remson,
[1:26:24] a roll call vote, please. Member
[1:26:27] Nunan: Yes. Member Remson: Yes. Member Bookin: Yes. Member
[1:26:29] Cook: Yes. Member Henry:
[1:26:31] Before we vote, I just want to reiterate my
[1:26:33] thanks to Alex for conducting
[1:26:36] this process. Yes. Member Rosen and
[1:26:42] Member Yost: Yes, thank you. And Jane: A
[1:26:46] motion to adjourn. So, motion.
[1:26:48] Second motion made by
[1:26:50] Council Grove, seconded by Council
[1:26:53] Benson. All those in favor,
[1:26:55] against. Eyes: You have it 7 to 0. Absent. Thank you
[1:26:57] very much, Sean. Thank you, friends.