Vol. 4, No. 6
March 22, 2004
Once again, this newsletter is filled with notices of meetings on major issues that affect the
quality of life in Somerville. There are so many meetings that some nights, it may be hard to
decide just which issue is most pressing.
Contents
1) ASSEMBLY SQUARE MEETINGS CONTINUE
A) Legislative Matters Committee Meetings Scheduled
The aldermanic Committee on Legislative Matters has two more meetings scheduled again this
week to discuss Assembly Square: Tuesday, March 23, and Wednesday, March 24, 2004, at
7:00 p.m. Discussion is expected to continue on the March 1 zoning proposal and the draft
covenants for development at the mall and IKEA parcels.
The city's new Director of Housing and Community Development, Jim Kostaras, has been
invited to meet with the committee at his earliest convenience. He will not be starting the job
until May 1; the Board is expected to vote on the final zoning on April 8. Committee meetings
will be held in the aldermanic committee room or in the Aldermen's Chamber on the second
floor of City Hall.
B) Clear ASMUD? Comments on the New Zoning and Covenants
The Basic Plan
Alright, it's a terrible pun, but I couldn't resist. The new zoning for Assembly Square gives that
area of the city a new name: the Assembly Square Mixed Use District, or ASMUD. The zoning
itself does permit a variety of uses in the district, but the already permitted IKEA and the "re-tenanting" of the mall as a "priority use" will ensure that the first phase of development at the
Square will be primarily large format retail. The draft "covenant" for the 26 acre mall site does
promise a modest amount of other use, including residential and small format retail, to be added
as 50,000 square of building per year over the next six years.
The Covenants
The new proposed zoning, submitted to the Board March 1, is long, conceptually complex, and
contains several novel provisions not typically found in Massachusetts zoning laws. The 'quid
pro quo,' or ostensible benefit to the city in exchange for adopting the zoning, are contained in
agreements, called "covenants," with IKEA and with Assembly Square Limited Partnership
(ASLP), the owner of the mall. The draft covenants, submitted to the Board on March 18, are
heavily detailed, as yet unfinished, and to me disappointingly modest in what they provide the
city.
One Example of a "Benefit" I find Murky
A much-touted feature of the plan embodied in the covenant for the mall site is the "penalty"
that ASLP forfeit land to the city if ASLP abandons or falls behind in the development of the
Main Street project. While the covenant does provide that ASLP loses control of the site, it also
absolves ASLP from responsibility for its development. It is true that the covenant dictates that
ASLP conveys land to city for $1 if it hasn't kept its development promises.
What hasn't been advertised is that the city then has the duty to "sell or ground lease [the
land]... subject to an equivalent mix of uses and quality of construction...in order to preserve
the value of the adjoining [mall]." So the city must become ASLP's sales/rental agent for the
undeveloped part of the land. While the city may recoup its "actual, documented costs" for doing
so, it may also have to reimburse ASLP's development cost, and must split any profits with
ASLP.
Has Somerville the technical capacity to market an abandoned development project between two
parking lots? Is it fair and appropriate for the city to assume such a responsibility? Is loss of half
its potential profits on the site -and absolution from the responsibility for development - a
sufficient "incentive" to ensure that ASLP builds its 50,000 square feet per year? What happens
if the city is unable, despite its best efforts, to find a buyer or lessee for the property?
I will be looking to have these questions, and others like them, answered during the committee
meeting process.
What can an individual resident do?
I encourage anyone who is interested in Somerville's future to investigate both the zoning and
the covenants. At its March 18 hearing on the new zoning, the Board of Aldermen has left its
public comment period open until April 2. Comments may be sent to the Board officially via
email to City Clerk John Long,
who is also Clerk of the Board.
2) LECHMERE STATION CLOSURE UPDATE
Approximately 200 people from Cambridge and Somerville attended a March 10, 2004
community meeting organized by a coalition of community groups with MBTA staff concerning
the upcoming closure of Lechmere Station. The MBTA expects to cut off the Green Line to
Lechmere as of June 19, 2004, "for about a year." The current MBTA plan is to substitute
diesel-fueled shuttle buses from Lechmere to Government Center.
According to the T's presentation, the frequency of service will be 12 buses per hour during
weekday peak hours, and 8 per hour on weekends; the shuttle trip is estimated to take 19
minutes. The T plans to charge $1.25 for the shuttle, with at least some subway transfers
available. T representatives were not overly receptive to the many good suggestions made by
those in attendance - such as shuttling commuters to Kendall Square to transfer to the Red Line -
but indicated that their plans are not yet completely set.
I thank the Somerville Transportation Equity Partnership for its efforts, and suggest that readers
who want good information about local transit issues contact them at
S_T_E_P@yahoogroups.com
3) PUBLIC HEARING ON 2 A.M. CLOSINGS
This notice is just a reminder about the Somerville Licensing Commission's special meeting on
Monday, March 22, 2004, on the proposal to extend closing hours for liquor licensees until 2:00
a.m. That hearing will be held at 6:00 p.m. in the Academy Room of the Public Safety Building
in Union Square, 220 Washington Street, at 6:00 p.m. For questions, contact Joanne Burke at
617-625-6600,or
jburke@ci.somerville.ma.us
4) PUBLIC HEARING ON SMOKING BAN
The Somerville Board of Health will be holding a public hearing on the impact of the smoking
ban in Somerville. It will take place on Wednesday, March 24, 2004, at 6:00 p.m., in the
Academy Room of the Public Safety Building in Union Square, 220 Washington Street. Readers
may remember that one member of the Board of Health has been replaced since the smoking ban
was adopted in June 2003, so there is no predicting what the outcome might be.
Economic impacts?
Much of the testimony is likely to be from members of the Somerville Bar & Restaurant
Association, which attributes a significant drop off in business to the ban. It is unlikely that there
will be any direct evidence of health effects in Somerville, as the ban only went into effect on
October 1, 2003. Still, data from elsewhere are suggestive.
Public health impacts?
A recent study of the population of geographically isolated Helena, Montana, a city of 26,000,
looked for effects of that city's June, 2000 smoking ban for restaurants, bars, and casinos. That
study, by Sargent and Shepard, presented at a recent meeting of the American College of
Cardiology, showed a 58 percent drop in the rate of hear attack for Helena residents after the
ban took effect. The heart attack rate remained constant for residents of other localities.
5) SCHOOL COMMITTEE NEWS
A) Community Forum Monday Night
The School Committee is holding the third of its series of Community Forums on the Public
Schools on Monday, March 22, at the A.D. Healey School, 5 Meachum Street, at 6:30 p.m.
Anyone with questions or concerns about the Somerville public schools is invited to attend.
B) Community Forum on Youth Substance Abuse, Mental Health, and Violence
This Forum, sponsored by Somerville Cares About Prevention, will be held on Tuesday, March
23, at the East Somerville Community School (Pearl Street between Cross Streets and Glen),
from 6:00 and 8:00 p.m. (snow date April 7). The "springboard for discussion" will be the
recent health survey of students in grades 6 through 8. Teens, pre-teens and adults are invited;
there will be light refreshments and a prize raffle.
Child care is available for those who call ahead to request it. Interpreters will be available for
Spanish, Portuguese, and Haitian Creole. For more information, call Carole Gilberti at 617-625-6600 x6253.
To request a copy of survey highlights be emailed to you, please contact Kathy
Keegan at kkeegan@ci.somerville.ma.us
C) Powderhouse School Vindicated
In my February 23, 2004 newsletter, I reported that the Powderhouse School had been cited
under the federal No Child Left Behind Act as a school in need of remediation in mathematics.
On Friday, February 22, I was informed that changes in federal regulations promulgating that
Act had been changed, allowing the scores of LEP (Limited English Proficiency) students to be
omitted from the school's MCAS score calculation. Consequently, the Powderhouse School is
no longer considered to be in need of remediation under NCLB.
6) "GANG LOITERING" ORDINANCE UPDATE
The Chairman of the Committee on Legislative Matters, Alderman Tom Taylor, has stated that
the gang loitering ordinance will be discharged from committee before the end of March. Any
member of the Board of Aldermen can at any Board meeting make a motion to discharge any
item from committee.
copyright 2004 Denise Provost
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