City Council

[Music] i would like to call the Monday June 2nd 6:30 p.m public hearing to order Um this is a public hearing for council order uh 225-068 order amending housing development zone and plan um abbreviations HDIP Before we open up to the public uh I'd like to let the public know this is initial discussion first public hearing on this item Um the publica public will give be given another opportunity to be heard at a at a further date No vote will be taken this evening on this item And with that I'd like to turn it over to um chief of staff for the mayor Chris Walker Go right ahead Thank you Mr Chairman members of the committee Appreciate the time tonight and very pleasure to uh testify in support of this map amendment to the city's housing development incentive plan zone The program as we've discussed in previous meetings provides state tax incentives and potentially local ones for the creation of new housing It's a program that's open to all gateway cities in Massachusetts That's uh about a dozen or so communities and it's meant to sort of ease the burden for uh housing development in some of these places where development costs are much higher than other places Uh what's before the council right now uh is just a zone change The current zone uh this body may remember was first created a number of years ago uh for a project in Quinsey Point um which we used to great success to create what really became a model uh for this type of program across the state um a market plus affordable housing development in Quinsey Point known as the Watson Um and that's really been a tremendous success Uh what's before the council right now as I mentioned is the expansion of the zone that includes the property between Bergen Parkway and Grant Street what is commonly referred to and what is known as the the Grossman property Um that is what is before this body right now Um that property has also been subject to a planning board uh review and public hearing process relative to the development of 256 housing units with uh retail on the first floor As I mentioned that the state program here is meant to incentivize housing development and it certainly does that in this case but in this case it has the added component for Quinsey of facilitating economic development in the terms of major retail component The kind of retail that's at the core of what we're trying to do across the downtown What we've been very successful in doing in the downtown over the last number of years um we don't do economic development in a vacuum and the retail potential here uh is driving at least in part this amendment to the HDP map as uh Mr the chairman discussed this testimony is the beginning step of the conversation here Um I my understanding is the hearing is going to be continued until the 16th uh and certainly open uh during uh both that meeting and any other time to answer any questions council councils may have But this testimony and support uh is in the administration support of amending our uh age dip district Thank you very much I'm going to open this up to the public uh for public comment You can go right to the podium at this point point I'd like to ask anyone speaking um to come to the podium state your name and address and go right ahead Good afternoon My name is Kathy Thrron I live at 234 Everett Street in Quincy I'm talking to you about this ordinance or order because I do not know how the Grossman Development is available or is um can be under the housing development incentive program I'm questioning this because the other property that's quoted here on East Howard Street is the Watson building and that's affordable housing When I read a newspaper article about the Grossman development and I'll quote you here asked if Grossman's would build affordable units or pay into the city's affordable housing trust fund Shas told the Patriot Ledger that city officials marked the trust fund as the preferred path for the city to meet its housing goals So is this going to be affordable housing is this going to be medical offices i'm just simply asking because I don't want to see any more tax exemption that's not for the res residential property taxpayer We're paying a lot already We don't have a lean budget and we have huge debt Thank you Thank you Before I get the next person up to wish if anybody um doesn't wish to speak and want to um support opposition recorded there's a signin sheet in the back table in the back of the chambers Go right ahead Can you hear me just want to make sure Okay My name is Virginia Ryan and I live at 89 Alwick Road in Quinsey Mass I stand before you speaking as a concerned taxpayer and resident of Quinzy I am concerned that the mayor is going to grant tax exempt status again for another developmental company for 20 years This tax exempt status is contingent upon a portion of the apartments being affordable Granted we do need affordable apartments but the city is currently in the hole for $1.5 billion And it seems that every time a vote comes up for a new development new spending the citizens only hear that the city council votes unanimously for a yes Are we the citizens actually being represented by the dulyeleed council every time the vote is yes i think not Yet the council doesn't bat an eye when money is stolen from the pension fund when the manager of the elder services program is indicted of embezzlement and fraud or when proper protocols not taken when procuring funds for the religious statues City Council was elected by the registered voters of Quinsey to represent us Stop burdening the taxpayers and instead start representing us Thank you Thank you Hello my name is Jocelyn Sedney I live at 85 Monroe Road here in Quinsey I'm glad to hear that this is not the end of the discussion on this matter because I think it bears um what it actually calls for some real investigation and reading by each council member and I hope you all take advantage of doing that Number one I think that this whole um program initiated by the state and um hinges on the um qualifications of the applicant In other words Quinsey has to be a gateway city to qualify for this program And Quinsey has been designated as a gateway city in the past But I would suggest that Quinsey no longer qualifies as a gateway city It is no longer like Brockton Chelsea Lynn There are three different reasons why a municipality qualifies One they have to be under 250,000 people That's us to the median household income of the city has to be less than the state average And unfortunately that's true But third the educational attainment has to be lower than the states And basically that means that the average number of people who have attained a bachelor's degree in the municipality has to be lower than the number average in the state And we fall below that we fall above that I should say more people in the state in the city of Quinzy on average have bachelor's degrees than they do in the state of Massachusetts So it would mean we don't qualify as a gateway city But second of all I think it's really really important to look at the reason why this program was created It was created to catalyze private housing development in gateway cities Now the Grossman project we call it the Grossman project but the Grossman entity project has already been approved It's going to be 200 and some apartments that are going to be luxury apartments They're not market value They're not workhouse housing It's not affordable housing They're luxury apartments They're supposedly going to be a pool There's going to be an exercise facility And there's going to be significant commercial development Now Grossman Companies has already said that they're going to move their offices to that um location and that they are going to bring in significant commercial enterprises Now PJ Foley at the planning commission God bless him said to the Grossman companies "Well are you going to bring in commercial entities like it are there now like TJ Maxx the dollar store that he said a lot of people shop there It's a very very popular shopping area." They said "Oh no We don't plan on bringing in that type of development We're bringing in commercial development commercial entities that are going to appeal to the type of people who are going to rent our apartments So to say that we need to do this to drive economic development is simply not appropriate This project has been approved Grossman companies are well on their way They have it all figured out in terms of the commercial development There's a thriving commercial development there right now that apparently we're not going to have anymore that we're going to have to find ways to shop other places So that this project as one of the other speakers says could not qualify for this program and it should not qualify for this program This program is meant and if you look up if you do just a little bit of re of research you'll see that the program was not intended to benefit entities like the grossman companies because the benefit is all taxes The program is comprised of two different conditions One is that the local municipality has to negotiate negotiate with the developer a reduction in local taxes before you can even get it can the program can go forward There has to be it's called a tie agreement The mayor in fact the order that's before the the council asks the mayor to receive per ask that the mayor have permission to negotiate with the grossman companies for a reduction in property taxes and that has to happen in order to partic um to take advantage of this program So there's got to be an agreement with the municipality relieving a percentage of property tax for a certain parcel So in order for this to go forward you vote for this You vote for a reduction in property taxes for the grossman companies that are going to build this huge complex over 200 luxury apartments significant commercial enterprise for them and they deserve and they need a reduction in their local taxes in order to promote economic activity They just spent $40 million to buy the property across the street This area is not an area that is one that was intended to be benefited by this particular program Now the second component of the program once the municipality gives relief for property taxes to the entity then if that's approved by the state the entity then becomes eligible for here it is once a project becomes certified it becomes eligible for tax credits per project this is through the state per project of up to $2 million dollar So this is a windfall for the grossman companies They get the benefit of a reduction in local property taxes and then they get tax credits from the state of potentially up to $2 million That's what's going on here This is not a project as the one ones that have previously been approved in this city If you look at the purpose of this program it says here that HDIP leverages a tremendous amount of private investment and creates much needed missing middle housing with price points lower than Metro Boston Is that what this pro this project is no This project is one to provide luxury housing with significant high-end commercial development It's morally wrong for the city of Quinzy to try to move this development project into a a system where the project developer is going to get this type investment We don't this is not a situation where the developer is saying "Oh no I'm not moving in there It's too risky I can't do it without these benefits That's that's over They've already moved in bought the property had the plan approved This is not the type of project that should be approved It's morally wrong Thank you [Applause] Seeing no further public comment I will continue this public hearing until June 16th I'm going to say 6:30 p.m So we'll continue this No written correspondence have received by the clerk of committees for this item Before we go into closing in the public comment I'd like to let everybody know this is our first public hearing on this item A second public hearing will be scheduled for Monday June 16th This item will remain in ordinance committee for f further deliberations Thank you I would like to call the order the Monday June 2nd um meeting of the Quincy City Council Ordinance Committee to order It is now 6:46 p.m Madame Clerk will you please call the role councilor Ash Council King Council Campbell Council Divine Pres Council Leanne Council Harris Council McCarthy present Council Mitten present Chia Deona present You have a qu We have a quorum We have six members here I'd like to read into the open meeting law Pursuant to the open meeting law any persons may make an audio or video recording of this public meeting or may transmit the meeting through any medium Attendees are therefore advised that such recordings or transmissions are being made whether perceived or per unpermissible by those present and are deemed acknowledgeable and permissible [Music] Um the matters before us for this evening council orders is 225-1058 the ordinance amending zone zoning section 8.5 transit oriented districts also uh 2025-068 order amending housing development zone and plan which is our HDP that we were just talking about um why is this Okay I'd like to open it up to our um chief of um chief of staff of the mayor uh Chris Walker Go right ahead Thank you Mr Chairman Uh following up on the HDP presentation this is similarly uh an effort to protect enhance uh and save for the future our economic development potential uh as a community as everyone in this body has known knows well aware um what's going on in Boston and a lot of other places around the country that the office market in this world has changed dramatically um in an effort to maintain the sizable amount of taxes we receive um in these two particular districts Crown Colony and around the North Quinsey T station the administration together with council divine and through discussions with a number of other counselors is proposing uh this expansion of the existing TOD districts that exist around both Crown Colony via the Quinsey MBTA station and North Quinsey to include uh those districts in the TOD zone This is an expansion that will cover both Crown Colony Park and a number of parcels around the uh North Quincy T station Uh this matter has been unanimously approved uh by the recommended by the planning board and with us tonight is deputy planning director Rob Stevens to give a brief uh further overview of uh the amendment amended districts So with that with your permission Mr Chairman I'd hand it over to Rob Go right ahead Mr Stevens Great Thank you Uh good evening counselors Great to be here again uh with you tonight on a on a lovely night It's it must be the weekday We got uh sun and not not the weekend Uh so I'm here uh it's the second time I'm giving the presentation Uh when it comes to zoning changes by this body uh the planning board uh fulfills a role of reviewing that uh zoning change uh holding a public hearing and issuing a report We did that a few weeks ago and we go went ahead and uh did issue that report to this body tonight Um uh when I started with the planning board I'll start here as well You got to go down uh a little into a little bit of a time machine We're talking about TOD So that's transitoriented development Here in Quinsey we have four subway stations Uh but those stations always uh haven't always been there In fact uh back in the 1950s when the Southeast Expressway opened passenger rail service ended uh for the city of Quinsey at that time Uh it took a number of years and uh the uh acts of 1967 uh up at the state house uh created the expansion of the red line subway into the southshore Uh from there uh the MBTA uh began land takings and the development of the Red Line in Quinsey Uh it included JFK obviously that's in in Boston but we've got North Quinsey Station we've got Wallist and then Quinsey Center was the last station on that stop Fast forward an additional 10 years uh and the MBTA came in and constructed the uh Redline station in Brainry and then they backfilled uh the Redline station at Quinsey Adams Now I I give you that brief history um because both of those districts we're here tonight looking at North Quinsey and at Quinsey Adams Um we're not here talking about Wallist or Quinsey Center uh because the administration uh has adopted urban renewal districts uh for those two station areas So for North Quinsey and uh Quinsey Adams we've used the zoning mechanism um to do that Now part of the history uh uh or the time machine here's a late picture we've had in the office uh uh funded a flyover back in the late 1970s So you've got the uh rail line has been extended into North Quinsey Uh we've got one of the uh office buildings on Newport A Uh there's uh three there now you see the large state street complex but that whole development that uh roadway into that development uh you know stops we know there was a subsequent development that has occurred um you do kind of right in the dead center is the Quinsey uh North Quinsey station it's cover it's surrounded by surface parking um now in 2016 uh the city adopted the original to district we're looking to expand here tonight and North Quinsey uh looks a lot different today We do see the full development of the State Street complex and we also see the development that was spurned by that original adoption of the TOD zoning which is uh the 600 units plus the 50,000 square foot of retail uh that today is uh anchored by the the Target store We also see in this picture just uh west of uh the train tracks but not crossing Newport A You see the three uh office buildings there uh 100 150 Newport and 200 Newport A Um all three of those buildings were constructed uh over 40 years ago So those three structures are now you know we believe getting a little bit tired So with the success of uh the North Quinsey original TOD district we're looking to expand it to the other side of the tracks to pick up those three commercial properties The second area we're looking at tonight is Crown Colony and this one's um a very fascinating picture again late 1970s from the flyover Uh it's more of what you don't see So you don't see any crown colony For folks that don't know that used to be a gravel operation So you see an open pit uh gravel operation There were no Crown Colony um on-ramps or off-ramps to the highway Highway access uh for Quinsey Center came through uh Corey Street to the Furnishersburg Parkway uh on ramp and off-ramp that you can see at the very top of the picture that that loud uh large roundabout Uh another interesting piece on this picture that is uh related but not uh fully related would be some of the Willard Street development and the National Fire Protection Association development And here's what that looks like today We do see a fully developed Crown Colony although there are two sites undeveloped up in there but a lot of the roadway and the infrastructure is developed You can see in the top left picture uh you do have that uh National Fire Protection and the Willard Street area development Sort of the bottom right we've got the Quinsey Adam Station We've got the Home Depot Um and uh there's a number of other uh accessory developments that have occurred uh just outside of the office park Um looking through our department records uh we found uh the development of that uh gravel pit into the office uh park Uh there's some program material here to try to support that Uh as I look at that image it's it dates from 1984 Um it's it's still good today This this location the geography of it has not changed Uh it's still at the intersection of three interstate highways still at the intersection of the Quinsey Adams tea station Um so it's really and you know we've got you know some other area uh uh attractions you know to Cape Cod obviously Logan airport um very fascinating and another piece I saw and I'm just sharing uh with you in the in the public is you know they did do some modeling of what uh Crown Colony could look like and uh at least the first phase of development you could see in there on Crown Colony the three buildings that all look similar uh that's what it looks like today um you know some of the uh hotel is over a little bit uh that's the elevation apartments but uh really kind of neat to see some of the material and then fast forward 30 years and you know that's that's where you know the planning was done back then um so I did find another more updated picture than the late '7s and this one's important because you could see the development of that crown colony so the state made the investment of uh constructing the Quinsey the Adams TA Station Uh they've made the investment of uh creating the Crown Colony interstate off-ramps and on-ramps Uh and that also for folks that don't know necessitated the need to develop uh the entirety of Bergen Parkway down to uh Granite Street And then another sort of added benefit to that infrastructure in investment in the 1990s the Army Corps of Engineers came through and did the Townbrook flood control using these uh conveyance systems So it's it's really a fascinating story uh of this area Um I did go back and capture a little bit more of the timeline uh related to the zoning So um from the gravel pit uh that is is a heavy industry use This area is zoned um for both industrial A and industrial B and that still stands today So uh we've got the investment of the Quinsey Adam station I think the folks running the gravel operation said is a higher and best use is something else than gravel uh pit Uh so a subdivision application was approved in 1984 Uh what a subdivision application does is it lays out the roads uh and from there further subdivision of parcels but the subdivision was the first piece on Crown Colony and that triggered nine projects to get constructed between 1984 and 1990 It would appear there was a a brief pause uh for a few years and then another five projects um including the Marriott Hotel um were developed uh up till 2000 At that point um I do believe the traffic uh vehicular traffic coming out of the park uh created uh chronic congestion It was at that time that uh Mr uh the late Mr flatly uh invested into some traffic studies and he donated some land uh for the benefit of creating a crown colony onramp So in 2009 uh the state uh funded about $18 million to construct to construct the uh new uh Crown Colony uh sort of slip lane as you see down in Center Street And internal to Crown Colony is a new on-ramp directly into the interstate system that seemed to relieve a lot of the traffic congestion of the offices You know that had that 9 to5 uh um sort of you know operation So a rush in the morning and the rush in the afternoon And after that system was uh updated and improved we had another two projects uh come forward in Crown Colony One of them was the BJ's Wholesale Club that replaced the old printing press and the second was the Elevation Apartments which was residential Um we uh worked with both of those uh developments They both had meeper responsibilities which is uh they were big enough to require some state uh permitting and um but I would point out to the counselors those were the first developments that were not strictly office 9 to5 and I believe that park both sites have have have uh been uh very productive I think BJ's is a popular store and I do believe the elevation apartments are uh you know healthy have a healthy occupancy to them Oh I think sorry before I jump one more I did add three additional projects also occurred just outside of Crown Colony I would uh say those would be the Lowe's Improvement Center another retail Uh we've got Deco Apartments another residential We we do know Lowe's didn't make it at that site and it's now uh been acquired by the Commonwealth for the MBTA bus barn Uh and then the third use would be the storage facility over behind the Quinsey Adams uh tea station Okay So uh the zoning uh that we're here to discuss tonight uh was first introduced to this body in 2016 uh the state at that time uh made a big push to look at land area around TA stations and they issued a request for development proposals for the North Quinsey MBTA site and that did generate interest and in order to um you know we discussed um how do we better you know best receive uh the type of development on TA stations uh mixed use is a uh the market is demanding more of that you know uh moving residences with retail uh with businesses So uh the city had proposed to develop this overlay district just for primarily the North Quinsey station site It did come up to Squanum Street So that included the fire station and I think an old gas station and there's an office building uh with a fast food restaurant out front That was the original district And from there we were able to um uh permit the uh mixeduse uh development we see there today Um so the overlay district does encourage mixed use Um it also identified the planning board as a special permit granting authority Um so this was a role the board has uh taken on uh since the adoption of the urban renewal plans In a way I look at it as a almost uh like a uh uh not well expedited permitting but having the board manage just the the site plan to uh the flood plane permits Uh the uh the planning board we have the benefit of utilizing independent engineering peer review on projects and we really take a look at the totality of the site Um we support a lot of the housing and infrastructure programs Um so at that time uh the council did uh see the benefit of identifying the planning board as that special permit granting authority uh and that is in place The uh minimum lot uh size or some of the dimensionals we have a 1acre minimum lot size height is eight stories Um and we also introduce shared parking and that goes with you know there are daytime needs for parking and there's overnight needs for parking when you introduce uh residential into um a mixeduse uh you know business or retail area Um so that was adopted in 2016 Fast forward to uh 2022 and uh the city had a brownfield site located down on Center Street that was taken by tax title and there was some development interest uh in that area Uh so this to overlay district was expanded down to center street Uh again being just minutes to the highway you know the industrial use is not the highest and best use in that area So uh with that resoning a um a new multif family I think it's 288 unit multif family development is now under construction in that location At the time because the Crown Colony area uh was sort of master planned uh we did not extend uh the district into that area And these are what those two original boundaries look like On the left is the uh North Quinsey station area Uh there is a small sliver and that's the the the area at the bottom left The MBTA that's a remnant of the uh acquisition parcels to build the rail system They've like repaved that and it's like a strip of parking So that was included in that uh TOD And then on the right uh the long straight angle to the right is Center Street So that um sticks into some of the properties that have access off of Center Street without going into the Crown Colony area Um we're going to give you a a recess but we're going to allow you to finish and the councils will have an opportunity but we have to recess and get into our regular scheduled meeting Um we're just over just by a little bit Okay So I'm going to put this into recess We'll come back and the councils have an opportunity to speak Okay Great Thank you Good evening Thank you Uh we call the Monday June 6 2025 city council meeting to order Madam clerk please call the role Councelor Ash Councelor Campbell Council Divine Council Deona present Council Harris Council Leang Council McCarthy present Councelor Minton pres President King present Member Thank you Madam Clerk Uh whatever Please stand to observe a moment of silence Please use this moment as you will Please turn to the flag for the pledge of allegiance I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands one nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice for all Okay before we go back to the ordinance committee meeting we have special guests here tonight in the Girl Scouts Um and councelor Deona will be honoring them this evening Do you want to go up to the Okay Thank you President Kaine And u tonight is a great night Um over the years the Girl Scouts have been a ve very integral part of our community here in Quinsey with all their leadership uh out in the community Uh they've done a great job We've had them in the chambers over the last few years and I just want to thank them for all their consideration what they do in the community Um they really make us proud up here at the city council Um there's a couple different awards here silver award recipients as well as the gold award recipients Um it's a period positive project that they did Um and their goal is to raise awareness and promote period positivity in their community which they obviously do daily on a daily basis So uh we want to thank everybody for coming in tonight um always put a put a nice big smile on our faces So we're going to start off with the presentation and um and um the girls can come right up here and stay up here with us and uh I'll give you the thing So in recognition of receiving the Girl Scout Silver Award through and through their project the POS you know the period positivity you tackled the stigma around menstrual raised awareness about period poverty through education advocacy and creative outreach Your work sparked important conversations with the community leaders and school leaders And your courage compassion and dedication to creating lasting change truly embody the spirit of the Silver Award And I want to congratulate you all on a well job well done Um and we're going to start off with Michaela Joyce Michaela there you go Olivia Batistas I said that right Samantha Bole and Theres San Jose Can we give them a round of applause for all their hard work why don't you stay up here and we'll give the gold um the gold awards up and they'll they'll stand over here I guess Okay Thank you so much Uh in recognition of receiving the Girl Scout Gold Award through the project you can be UV safe Your educated and community on dangers of skin cancer and importance of sun protection Your sun safety pamphlets and UV sensitive bracelets encourage regular sunscreen use and the impact of them will continue through your high school's health program Your dedication to the public health and community education exemplifies the spirit of the gold award Congratulations on a job well done And we have Maline [Applause] Yang and Ru [Applause] Lee We also want to thank all the volunteers that have really helped us over the years I see a lot of familiar faces Um if anyone wants to come up and speak if not we'll just take some photos and we'll we'll Yeah come on up Yeah come on up to the podium right here Thank you Thank you My name is Gail Spring I'm a 25-y year volunteer with Quincy Girl Scouts Love these girls What we failed to mention was that Rue did a different project and a lot of children Do you want to tell them or do you want me to tell them okay So a lot of children can't afford music lessons And Rue taught music lessons to children um that were interested in music but couldn't afford it And she took children that hadn't even learned FAC Every good boy deserves fudge you know didn't even know that And she got them to learn how to play the cello and she also got them to join an orchestra So I didn't want it to be said that Rue did the same project Also we have Mattie Yang was a national delegate and attended convention at um Girl Scouts trying to breathe Um Girl Scouts of USA and international and so Maddie went to Florida and she represented us as well as Donna Yang who was also a national delegate So Quinsey's been very involved and I just wanted people to know that we are in the upper level of Girl Scouts and I'm so proud of these girls All right Thank you [Applause] So President Kane whenever you want Yeah why don't we thank you Congratulations Thank you for being here We're so proud of you You represent this city so well Why don't we adjourn this portion of the meeting we'll take pictures with all of you in the well and then uh we'll take it from there Nice [Music] Heat Heat [Music] Heat Heat [Music] We're back into our ordinance committee meeting Um want to thank the Girl Scouts for coming in Really appreciate that Mrs Stevens we'll go right back to you and go right into it and then we'll open it up to the counselors for any questions or comments All right Great Those are nice moments when we get to recognize the young folks in our community and all their hard work Good stuff Um excellent Well thank you I think I believe I left off sorry I believe I left off on this slide which uh is the two existing districts side by side The one on the left is the North Quinsey Station Uh the one on the right is the Center Street uh TOD district with that long straight line to the right being Center Street to help orient you to uh the image Um now what's before the council at this point is the expansion of the North Quinsey district Um so this would be the new map for that North Quinsey area We'd pick up the three commercial properties Uh there's actually a fourth property but it's uh owned by the MBTA It's part of their uh substation electrical components but it would essentially put in um uh let's see here 150 Newport A which was originally constructed in 1972 It's 53 years old Uh 100 Newport A uh constructed in 1980 45 years old and uh 200 Newport A constructed in 1985 Okay The next image is the proposed district expansion into the Crown Colony area Now this expansion uh would include all of uh what is commonly referred to as Crown Colony It would add 16 parcels into this overlay district Uh so that would provide a mixeduse uh zoning district for new projects to come forward in this area Uh it's currently zoned in industrial Now I mentioned in my opening remarks the planning board uh did receive this presentation a couple of weeks ago and they issued a report There's one recommendation uh that they do suggest is the original uh center street to district uh was named the center street to district This proposed one is Crown Colony They will have a common boundary So the board recommended if uh this body wants to move forward with the zoning uh amendment that uh it be called one like you know the districts be combined and and be called the Quinsey Adams TOD district uh for both areas and from there the the board voted unanimously to issue a report recommending uh approval or adoption of the ordinance Uh and that would be the conclusion of my presentation and I'm available for any questions you folks may have Thank you Mr Stevens for your presentation tonight and um in detail Thank you for the aerial shots and we really appreciate seeing that Thank you I'm going to open this up to the counselors You have any questions or concerns or Yeah I'd like to uh chair recognizes councelor Divine Thank you uh Mr Stevens very much for coming in tonight Uh this is extremely important I think to our um our residential side because um a few of those buildings have recently sold for a small fraction of their cost which will mean that our commercial base will start to slide and uh that's going to put a burden on our residential tax If we can get um a few of these buildings to be more exciting and uh retail and people living up there the other properties will uh bounce back hopefully and uh maybe accelerate past where we're at now so we can get some more commercial uh real estate uh I mean commercial taxes so um we can reduce the burden of residential taxes So I'm I'm really excited for this It's I don't even I don't know why we didn't do it when we worked so hard last a year and a half ago when we did the regular to Uh it just seems to make sense Uh so I am very much looking forward to it and I hope that this is going to be a positive um monetary for us as a city Thank you Any other counselors um chair recognizes councelor Ash Thank you Mr Chairman Mr Steven thank you for the presentation Um if if we're looking at the development timeline um it says you you put here uh currently zoned industrial A and B prohibits residential use Um with respect to the elevation apartments are those is that solely that parcel zoned differently or how does how does that exception to industrial A and B work right So u as elevation needed both the planning board and the zoning board to work together Um the zoning board issues variances There's two major categories of variances One is dimensional variances Variances on height or setback or those types of things The second type of variance is use variances So after the proponent uh went through the uh meeper ENF process it went through and then was scoped to do a EIR an environmental impact report Uh they and prior to being filing with the planning board they appeared before the zoning board and received a use variance to construct residential in an industrial zone Okay And that'd be the same I assume with the condos up there right correct In the very beginning I think when the park was laid out they wanted to seed some initial residential to get um you know constructed and get that cash flow going Correct Um when we're talking about the to district expansion I know councelor um Divine's introducing it He just um commented on taxes and and um in an aerial view but is there and when I looked um earlier this weekend rather at chapter 375 8.5 um while there have been a number of amendments and they were not the easiest to rectify Um I just I would like to be clear for the public and and for the council if we are uh voting on the TOD overlay does this overlay contain any say tax incentives or any tax breaks for anybody no they do not Okay Thank you Thank you Councelor Ash Uh chair recognizes councelor McCarthy Thank you Mr Chair Good evening Mr Stevens Good evening uh kind of going down the same avenue as councelor Rash Uh first of all you your the the presentation was great Rob and it was u funny to look at the late '7s and you know what it is today especially Crown Colony when there was nothing up there But um those were all old industrial areas besides Crown Colony which there wasn't anything up there But the North Quinsey area was all industrial Um to revitalize it by being able to have mixed use I think is is is great And I know that Council Divine was um was pushing for the Center Street area Very positive about it And when you look at the areas that um you know that have been selected in regards to the the transit um oriented area uh you know it makes a lot of sense to be able to utilize it uh so much more uh especially um when I look at that uh Crown Colony area which looks like it's going to be really one big area but there's still um you know a lot growth that could happen up in up in that area uh in regards to um this mixed use So it's um I think it's good all the way around I think the areas that you've looked at the work that you've done it it all makes sense in regards to that residential and commercial mix So um I'll be in favor of it all Thank Thanks Rob Chair recognized Council Campbell Hello Thank you Mr chairman and thank you so much Rob for coming in I apologize I I I came in a little late here Uh so if you covered something already forgive me Um I I was just curious I grew up on Senna Street and that was Dirt Bike Alley back in the day That whole area we would we would always get our legal uh dirt bikes down there and uh we had some fun It was it was an awesome place to grow up and and to watch the development of between Rathon and and then the Quinsey Adams T station and then just the little additions everywhere I think that the work that's being done on Center Street down near Joe's um um Monty's the Monty Monty area you know that was would would climb all over those So it's great to see that Um and I think that this addition is really the best move that could make best use for the land uh possible Do you have an idea of what types of condos apartments and like I said you may have already gone over this condos apartments um the makeup of it and how how it would work Is is there a target kind of group that you're going after is it rentals is it um by Right Well with with any you know zoning change we're trying to encourage you know uh a reaction from the development community Um as I look at it you know the version in the 1980s you know office park 9 to5 I believe a lot of those buildings had cafeterias in them So those workers and I think a daycare was a big feature of the original development So drop your kid off at 9:00 go to work and don't leave the building all day Uh have lunch at the cafeteria grab your kid on the on the way out I I think today's workforce needs something more Um I don't think there's enough workers up there to support cafeterias So there's no food op options up there I think we could see a run on uh some food service I think some personal service I know when I'm up there I always see folks walking around you know the sidewalk I think you know there's some uh an introduction of real Yeah office retail and bringing in apartments condos all different types Uh the original condos um I believe councelor Ash mentioned they were more like town home condos where the elevation apartments are more six sevenstory apartments So I think we'll see a mix Um I we do get a sense that home ownership is on the rise We're starting to see a little bit more interest in constructing condos Of course condos and apartments are more or less permitted the same way It's it's usually we try to push back on the developers to you know declare what they uh plan to do because we're either going to deal with an owner of apartments or we're going to deal with a condo association on operation things But um I think just being flexible I know when I look up there you see tremendous amounts of surface parking lots So that's that's one of the worst you know uses of of land Uh so there's an awful lot of surface parking lots They're they're empty an awful lot too So I even see you know it's 16 parcels We may even see some subdivisions now minimum 1 acre under the zoning Uh but some of those parcels are 10 12 acres So it'll be an interesting journey I think the city will embark on to see uh the you know uh reinvestment back into this uh Crown Colony area Is there any um highway uh action being considered is there is there any offramps on ramps uh nothing new Um what we're taking a close eye at is uh TDM measures and I believe that TDM is transportation demand management So uh what do folks do to encourage that transit use but we believe Crown Colony already operates a a specific shuttle bus and perhaps that becomes its own um uh service to all of the properties versus you know uh only funded by a few Whether the city as the the park redevelops uh or reinvents itself can participate you know remains to be seen I'm we're ready willing and able to pursue you know grants and those types of fundings Um I would note that when the park was originally laid out and I discovered this through the review of the elevation apartments is a lot of the storm water drainage was um it was almost overengineered So uh a lot of that is is you know some of the concern we may have a redevelopment you know the subsurface the water I don't really have that concern up in this area That's great I'm excited I I hope very much that that we we get to move things forward So thank you Excellent Great Thank you Thank you Any council i want to um go back around the well to uh council Divine Chair recognized council Harris want to go first Harris can go first Yeah No go ahead Go ahead Oh no No Let me let me go We're talking about Crown Colony right now right so okay All right Let's We'll go um chair recognized council again Um you got me confused a little bit now I forget what I was going to say No not really Um when uh when I'm up there it's uh you mentioned people walking around There really is not much to do up there Uh so uh just my my basic thoughts is that uh I see that as like um Derby Street on steroids basically uh similar stores to that but then with living upstairs but not all of them Uh hopefully that just a couple of these buildings will be changed that uh that will entice enough people to come and save these other big buildings that are empty because it's a ghost town up there Uh and then uh if we can get all those people back in uh we're going to have hopefully we'll get some meal taxes maybe some liquor taxes from them Uh the other thing is that none of this traffic will have to go through the neighborhoods Uh where literally uh you don't even have to leave Crown Colony to get out you know and uh then if you're coming in and out in certain areas you really just have to go by BJS So uh I don't see any real disruption to uh the residents in Ward 4 Uh you know we've since co it's been quiet up there There used to be a lot of traffic from there Uh it's it's not there anymore And it'd be nice to have a buzz going on there So just when you asked about you know what it's going to look like I don't know what it's going to look like but that's just what I see Uh and so uh somebody else mentioned earlier in the public meeting about losing some of the stores because of Grossman's Uh maybe some of those smaller stores will add to what we might lose from that Grossman project So uh once again very excited about it Thank you Chair recognizes uh Council Harris Hi Rob Thank you Thanks for your your presentation I'm just going to just say one thing because I know the North Quincsey project is mentioning in this project Um there was nothing I remember there was a lot of anxiety that took place um and a lot of talk a lot of debate when we were talking about North Quinzy that North Quinsey project changed the face of what was a a tired area um a congested area um to a beautiful and there's nobody that can argue that what what's going on in the North Quinsey project um and that what what happened and adding to the North Quinsey project the more people we can get off get off the roads and into the the MBTA the better and um this and again um with everything that'll probably go around the project um I know the the intersection for instance just at at North Quinzy is was just so upgraded that it isn't the headache that it it used to be and it's a cleaner safer vibrant um project that that happened And I if I was in the Crown Colony area I would be excited about that project very much so And I I I think it it I know there's always a a disruption but it goes by time goes by and all of a sudden you look at it you say "Wow you know I can't even believe that I I I I I never thought I was going to be alive to see that project come to um to this point." And so I'm um I'm thrilled you know I I like what I hear and I'm I'm interested to to hear more what's going on So thank you to uh the the board for doing their diligence and thanks Thank you You're welcome Okay Chair recognized councelor Ash Thank you Sorry for the um the C to circle back but I guess since everyone kind of talking in um I want to say hypotheticals but maybe generalizations a bit I uh my I've worked in Crown Colony now for about a dozen years Uh we had offices in 300 400 and now 1,200 And probably 10 years ago you would see at 4:00 the cars that would go all the way up the hill right and you would wait until everybody got out so that you could get out and not have to sit in a half an hour uh of traffic Now I mean everyone's right It is a ghost town I don't know that you see me walking around but I probably I probably should be on my lunch but um it is a ghost town up there I mean my office is the one of the only office buildings that has tenants outside of Arbella and we only recently um in at 1200 owned by Fox Rock started to to see the offices fill up so much so that we could that the the landlord could substantiate um a cafeteria So um I do think it's it sounds like a great plan Um as somebody who's been up there for over 10 years um it sounds like the logical next step So I just wanted to to voice um that as well Thank you Great Any other councils mr Stevens I want to thank you for your discussion tonight and giving the public an opportunity to digest this a little bit Like I said at the beginning of the meeting there's going to be no votes tonight Um we'll continue both of these and they will remain both of these in the ordinance committee for further consideration on a later date Um there will be a public hearings for both items on Monday June 16th allow public and everyone to allow that Um at this point I'd like to close the ordinance um meeting at 7:32 p.m [Music] Okay back to the regularly scheduled council meeting Uh madam clerk I don't think we read the open meeting law If you please do that Of course Pursuant to the open meeting law any person may make an audio or video recording of this public meeting or may transmit the meeting through any medium Attendees are therefore advised that such recordings or transmissions are being made whether perceived or unpersceived by those present and are deemed acknowledged and permissible Thank you Um Madam Clerk first item agenda please 2025 074 land disposition agreement 1620 Hancock Street Motion to move to ordinance Uh motion to move to finance Finance That would be great Uh motion move to finance and advertise please Um all those in favor those opposed eyes have it Next item please madam clerk Number two 202575 an appropriation for 8,250,000 for equipment and capital improvements Motion moving into finance Motion to move to finance committee and advertise Please Uh uh all those in favor i Those opposed eyes have it Next item please Number three 2025 076 A gift for $250 from assembly to deer Motion to approve Motion to approve Made by councelor Deon Seconded by councelor McCarthy Madam clerk please call the role Excuse me Councelor Ash yes Councelor Campbell yes Councelor Divine yes Councelor Deona yes Council Harris yes Council McCathy yes Councelor Minton President Keane yes Eight members Thank you All right that concludes our regular schedule for tonight Approval of previous meeting minutes from May 19 Motion to approve by councelor Campbell seconded by councelor Divine All those in favor those opposed Eyes have it Communications and reports from the mayor other city officers and city boards Madam clerk I have um traffic requests to refer to ordinance committee for advertising ward 4 council divine remove handicap parking at 65 Luren Street And uh couple of utility requests to refer to public works committee for scheduling and advertising Grant of location national grid Verizon Granite Street and Walter Hannon Parkway Granted location National Grid Verizon Elm Street and Edward Street Granted location National Grid Verizon Quinsey A and Faxen Park Road Thank you Madam Clerk Uh unfinished business and proceeding meeting Seeing none reports of committees President recognizes Chair McCarthy Thank you Mr President Um I'd like to go forward and um approve a few things in the finance committee Um 2025 uh-53 appropriation for fiscal 2026 general fund budget And I make a pause on recommendation [Music] Yeah Give me a second Okay Second Uh positive recommendation for 2025-53 appropriation for the fiscal 2026 general fund budget Yep By councelor chair McCarthy Seconded by councelor Deona Madame clerk please call the role Councelor Ash yes Councelor Campbell yes Councelor Divine yes Councelor Deona yes Councelor Harris yes Council Mac yes Councelor Mitten yes President Kaine yes Eight eight members Thank you Thank you Also 202554 appropriation fiscal 2026 sewer enterprise budget I make a positive recommendation Positive recommendation for 2025-54 appropriation fiscal 2026 sewer enterprise budget Seconded by councelor Dubona seconded by councelor Harris Uh madam clerk please call the role Councelor Ash yes Councelor Campbell yes Councelor Divine yes Councelor Deona yes Council Harris yes Council McCarthy yes Councelor Minton yes President Kane yes Eight members And uh 20255 appropriation fiscal 2026 water enterprise budget I make a motion Positive recommendation Pause the recommendation A motion to approve in by councelor MacArthur for 2025-55 appropriation for fiscal 2026 water enterprise budget Seconded by councelor Deona Madam clerk please call the role Councelor Ash Yes Councelor Campbell Yes Councelor Divine yes Councelor Dabona yes Councelor Harris yes Council McCarthy yes Councelor Minton President Kane yes Eight members All set Mr Chair Uh while I'm here I I'd like to also if I could uh schedule a finance committee meeting on Wednesday 6:11 at 6:30 p.m Wednesday 611 at 6:30 6:30 Got it Thank you All right Thank you Mr Chair Um our ordinance committee chair is not here I got it right here Our uh second command is here Councelor Deon Thank you Mr President Um a couple ordinances These traffic requests were advertised in the Quinsey Sun on May 22nd 2025 We have out award 2 2025-071 add handicap parking at 32 Lawrence Street Positive recommendation Positive recommendation A motion to approve made by councelor Deona for 2024-70 Seconded by council McCarthy Madam clerk please call the role Councelor Ash yes Councelor Campbell Councelor Divine Council Debana yes Council Harris yes Council McCarthy yes Council Mitten yes President Kaine yes Eight members Uh Ward 4 2025-072 add no parking to the odd side of Bunker Hill Lane from Willard Street to West Street Positive recommendation Second Positive recommendation and a motion to approve made by councelor Dabona for 2025-72 Seconded by councelor McCarthy Madame clerk please call the role Councelor Ash yes Councelor Campbell yes Councelor Divine yes Councelor Deona yes Councelor Harris yes Councelor McCarthy yes Councelor Mitten yes President Kane yes Eight members Wood 62025-073 at handicap parking at 18 Webster Street Positive recommendation Uh positive recommendation and a motion to approve made for 2025-73 by councelor Dabona Seconded by councelor McCarthy Madam clerk please call the role Councelor Ash yes Councelor Campbell yes Councelor Divine yes Councelor Dona yes Council Harris yes Council McCarthy yes Council Minton yes President Kane yes Eight members Thank you Also Mr Chair thank you Okay Petition uh presentation of petitions memorials and remmonstrants President recognizes councelor Campbell Uh thank you Mr President Um wanted to send our extended um wishes for for healing uh to the um Haskins family down in in House Neck Um they lived right down uh the end of my street Um Doug uh DJ was 34 years old He was the son of Doug and Lynn Haskins and he was a sixth generation hous Um he was the he was married to uh his wife Jillian for I want to say about five years Um he had uh three three children Gavin uh Donovan and Sloan and he was the uncle of Lennon who um his only sister Nicole uh recently had five-month-old uh Lennon He um he was an incredible young guy He went to Athen and how he went to Broad Meadows and Archbishop Williams He went went on to play quarterback and goalie for the lacrosse team An incredible hockey player a really kind of really good guy and someone who I really really appreciated being in the neighborhood There was a really great bond that was built in in that neighborhood and they all uh felt this and um you know their neighbors uh became brothers and sisters There were two two boys two girls the Anastasis and the and the Haskins and uh they they were inseparable and they they were great friends So they were really hit hard by this uh because DJ probably the the um uh the best compliment I could give him was something that his sister said was that he was unapologetically himself And I thought that that was probably the way that most people would like to be remembered in that incredible way So I wanted to send uh extend those those feelings thoughts on behalf of the council and and and keep them in your prayers if you could Thank you Thank you Councelor Campbell President recognizes councelor Harris Thank you President Kaine Um um it's with a sad heart um in Ward 6 and cross many people in Quinsey that knew Janet Coughlin Um this evening I attended before coming tonight Uh I attended her wake and Janet of Squanum passed away on May 29th 2025 at home Wife of the late Gerard Jerry Coughlin daughter of the late Charles and Alice Melvin cherished mother of Gerard Coughlin Jr and his wife Melissa of Squanum Lee Forest and her husband Richard of Weimoth and Leslie Coughlin of Squanum sister of recently departed uh Peter Melvin adored grandmother of Kelsey Jack and Cole Coughlin all who live in Squanum also survived by many nieces and nephews Janet was born on December 30th of 1941 in Quinsey She married the love of her life Jerry on July 6th 1963 Janet and Jerry eventually moved to Squanum and brought up three children in a loving and nurturing household Janet uh started her career as a nurse at the Blue Hills Regional Tech School in Canton and eventually moved on to work for state senator Michael Morrison uh uh she loved and excelled at at this job and she was able to interact with and help people as um as benefit her outgoing personality Janet was always active in Squan the Squanum community She was a volunteer for the North Quinsey High School booster club Upon uh the um upon her husband's death Jerry um in 1991 she made sure to provide her children with a safe and loving environment as they reached adulthood Um her uh she will be um always um be remembered for her outgoing and loving personality and was always available to help family and friends when it was needed Uh tomorrow uh at 11:00 a.m at uh Lady of Good Council Church in Quinsey um will be at at 11:00 a.m uh will be um her funeral So with that again our hearts our hearts go out to the Coughlin family and um uh she was quite an incredible woman and tonight showed it today showed it with uh the number of people that would attended So thank you President Kaine Thank you Council Harris Anyone else president recognizes councelor Ash Thank you President Kaine Um I would like to uh similarly um extend condolences on behalf of the city council to to the family of Christine Churchill uh maiden named Tobin um who passed away on Friday May 23rd at age 73 Um she was raised she was I'm sorry born in Connecticut um and raised in Situit um attended nursing school in New York and has lived for the last uh 48 years in Quinsey Um Christine was employed as a registered nurse and began her career at Quinsey City Hospital before going on to Carney and later at Blue uh working as a case manager for Blue Cross Blue Shield She retired from Beth Israel after 12 years of service Um Christine is the beloved wife of Richard S Church Hill Quinsey Police Department retired um and they would have celebrated 50 years of marriage in September Devoted mother of Robert Churchill and his wife Angela of Fort Meyers Sarah Churchill of Quinsey and Richard S Churchill Jr of Quinsey Um Christine was also the dear sister of Robert Tobin of Plymouth and his late wife Susan Joseph Tobin of Florida Mary Quinn and her husband Brian of New Hampshire and the late Barbara Collerin Um if uh folks know the Church Hill family and would like to pay their respects the um the visiting hours are tomorrow June 3rd from 4 to 7 PM at Sweeney Brothers Home for funerals one Independence A funeral mass at St John's 10:00 a.m on Wednesday morning So um my and our condolences to the Churchill family Um good um friends of many of ours I'm sure Um and thank you very much Thank you Councelor Ash President recognizes councelor Dono Thank you Mr President Um there's a heavy heart with the Matthew Stewart passing Uh he suddenly passed away at his home on uh Monday May 19th Um grew up here in Quinsey to marry um Elizabeth Bertrand Stewart and Grant Raymond Stewart He grew up in a military family and the eldest of eight Um you know Matt was a big Celtics fan and he loved the city of presence living here in Quinsey Uh he had a lot of he really enjoyed the bonfires in Wealthfleet and the joy of Dunkin Donuts coffee Um you know um he's going to above all Matt's greatest love was his family most especially his three boys Jack Leo and Max who he raised lovingly with his wife Danielle He'll be profoundly missed by Danielle and his boys his parents his seven siblings in-laws nieces nephews aunts uncles and many cousins and friends It's a very big family Nothing made Matt Maddie happier than than you know his family affair Most especially a white Christmas Um just want to say my condolences to the steward family who's very part of the community Thank you Thank you councelor Dona Okay Uh motions orders and resolutions Seeing none Schedule scheduling of committee meetings and public hearings Uh we just scheduled a finance committee meeting for Wednesday June 11 at 6:30 p.m And then our next city council meeting is Monday June 16 at uh 6:40 but we have an ordinance committee meeting for transit oriented districts at 6:30 and the continuation of the H DIP order at 6 at 6:35 before the council meeting Let's entertain a motion to adjurnn Thank you Councelor Campbell All those in favor those opposed Okay Meeting adjourned Thank you Thank you [Music]