Minutes
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R&O Subcommittee Minutes Lyceum Room, EB Newton and via Zoom 10/3/2022 Attendance: Councilor Rob DeMarco; Councilor Steve Ruggiero; Councilor John Munson; Councilor Hannah Belcher; Members of the Public; Mike DiLusio, Chair TSAC/Town Hearing Officer Meeting called to order 6:03PM CBD Parking Ruggiero recaps why we are here and recaps the memo drafted by Councilor Christopher in 2018 o Asks to hear from the community to see what the pain points are and decide how we can come to consensus o Wants to hear from businesses at this meeting o Thanks Betsy Shane for circulating the meeting to the business community and for helping get a great turnout tonight o Does not anticipate a vote tonight but rather just a discussion Mike DiLuiso o Recaps MAPC recommendations Councilor Munson – can Mike give an update on if there is a conflict between ordinances and practices o DiLuiso – when we did the striping we solved some of these issues but when we tackle the timing issues we will figure out the rest Councilor DeMarco – do we have any idea where we are in terms of enforcement o DiLuiso – enforcement is only done by officers on shift at this point Paul Lucerto, Swetts Liquors o There are supposed to be three 15 minute parking in front of the Book Depot Councilor Ruggiero – the Council voted on live parking Brenda Christopher, Christophers Flowers o The CBD resident sticker may not work because it still allows for residents to park long term in front of a business o There is a car in front of her business that has been there for days Sue Martucci, Book Depot o If you live in the Center you should be considerate of the area and be cognizant that you cant just leave their car there Councilor DeMarco o Brings up the Somerset and the influx of potential residents Kim Hardy – 57 Putnam Street o The area around the gymnastics academy and Surf Cleaners has been extremely congested and something needs to be done there Councilor Ruggiero asks Mike DiLuiso to remind us of the scope of the discussion o DiLuiso – recaps with a map, we can expand if we’d like but cautions against going too far BrendaChristopher – because there are no signs there is no direction o There have been days where deliveries were interrupted and funeral arrangements have had to been walked over to the rink parking lot Paul Lucerto – counts out the number of residents on Woodside and the number of cars that existed Betsy Shane, Chamber – brings up long term resident parking issue o DiLuiso – need to strike a balance between residents and the business owners We can be flexible for when the parking spots turn back over to the residents We also need a municipal lot ordinance One piece that we’ve missed is that a lot of folks are working from home now Councilor Munson – used to have a business in the center and feels the pain; asks what the actual spots are that need to be addressed o Mike DiLuiso – recaps the streets in the scope Councilor DeMarco – used to manage parking garages in downtown Boston and has some expertise in this area o Have we done any studies on what the overnight parking is and if we can turn the spots back over to the residents after hours? o DiLuiso – there have been a few studies but there has always been parking available if people were willing to walk a block or so. Lucerto – the study was done prior to center revitalization Councilor Munson – asks Mike DiLuiso to recap the municipal lots o Discussion of Hagman Extension lot Councilor Munson – the duration of time can solve problems Mike DiLuiso – reminds group of 2017 parking study that periodically reviewed parking in Winthrop Center – and the result was that the highest utilization of parking in the Center was never higher than 57% Kim Hardy challenges that the study should be completed again o Are we really looking at this the same way we were in 2017? o Should this study be done again? Betsy Shane – if the whole center was 2 hours, it would be easier for a police officer to enforce Lucerto – hookups for electric car spots are being abused Councilor Ruggiero – next steps would be to check with Town Manager and the Police to make sure this is actually enforceable and then work with Mike DiLuiso to put together some language to update the ordinances o Explains the Council’s enforcement authority Hardy – cautions to be mindful of handicapped spots Councilor Belcher – we need to be cognizant of the municipal lot ordinance Councilor Munson – asks if parking in the Hagman lot for employees has been a problem o Hardy – it is fine but it is overflowing ORC Recommendations o Councilor Ruggiero – do we want to take this up now? We said that we needed a clean up motion, we can take this now or later but with this being on tomorrow’s Council agenda, will leave it up to the committee to decide what we want to do o Discussion on procedure – do we need a recommendation by tomorrow? o Councilor Munson – if we are talking about it now, let’s just take it up now. o Councilor Munson – “motion to amend recommendation one from the ORC to revise the charter section 2-1 to read that the term of office for councilors shall be two (2) years” Second by DeMarco for discussion Discussion on whether or not we should be amending these recommendations or just voting them up or down Councilor Ruggiero – yes, this is an amendment but it is not changing the spirit of ORC recommendation 1C Further discussion regading the details of the motion and if this is binding Councilor Ruggiero – no, any Councilor may make a motion if it is seconded at the full Council Call to question by Councilor Munson Passes 2-1 (Munson/DeMarco – Yes) Motion to adjourn by DeMarco, Seconded by Munson, Passes unanimously 7:43PM