Tonight's City Council Meeting Agenda
Tonight is the regular City Council meeting, beginning at 7:30PM.
On the agenda: Appropriation of funds to cover costs of fixes to water main breaks on Bridge St and Loring Ave; repairs and maintenance of Leslie Retreat Park; removal of the ventilator shaft at the Officers Building on Winter Island.
Also, a resolution supporting the creation of South Salem Commuter Rail Station. This was submitted by the Mayor, and Councilors Dibble and Turiel. My name would have been on this as well, but the email was sent late. The addition of this commuter rail station will enable closer rail access for SSU students and faculty as well as employees and visitors of Salem Hospital. It is also accessible from both Canal St. and Jefferson Ave and will allow walking access from those neighborhoods. It is also right on the bike path, allowing commuters from Marblehead and residents in the area to leave their car at home and bike to the station. This will ultimately result in less traffic from South Salem and Marblehead through the city to the downtown station. Beverly has several neighborhood train stops which serve the community well and cut down on car travel to the downtown.
Next, the Inclusionary Zoning Ordinance will be introduced and sent to committee. This ordinance will require that new housing development of over 6 units produce 10% of those units as affordable at 60% of AMI. This is much more deeply affordable than our current handshake agreement of 80% AMI. I will write in more depth about this ordinance soon.
We will also be voting on first passage of a stop sign on Wheatland St at the intersection with Lawrence St. This was pointed out as necessary because of the added traffic being diverted from Jefferson Ave due to the National Grid project. In any event, a stop sign should be at that intersection.
And finally, 2 items will be sent to the Committee on Public Health, Safety, and the Environment: a discussion to address single use plastics, nip bottles, Styrofoam, helium balloon release, and cigarette butts; and the discussion of a draft ordinance on the prohibition on new fossil fuel infrastructure in major construction. These are in the discussion phase only, as the committee is trying to take a more proactive approach to environmental issues this year. If you are interested in either of these issues, keep an eye out for the meeting. I will post it in the newsletter when the date is set.
At last night's A&F meeting, all items were sent back to the City Council with a positive recommendation. So tonight we will vote on approval of the funds for the Highland Avenue Corridor Study. Please keep in mind that this is NOT a traffic study. It will focus on properties that could be developed over the next several years, to understand the potential for the corridor, and the future marketing and partnerships to make this happen. Everyone agreed that Highland Avenue needs this kind of attention now.
As always, the City Council meeting is open to the public. If you would like to provide public comment, please sign up in the City Clerk's office by 7:00PM (30 minutes before start of the meeting).