Ordinance and Administration Committee

AMESBURY CITY HALL 62 Friend Street Amesbury, MA 01913 City Council Ordinance Committee Meeting Minutes Tuesday May 18, 2021 7:00PM Virtual meeting This meeting was conducted under the ‘Executive Order Suspending Certain Provisions of the Open Meeting Law G.L. c.30A, §20’, signed on March 12, 2020. Ordinance Committee Chair Mandeville called the meeting to order at 7:00 PM Roll Call was taken and present were: Attorney Johnson, Councilor Lennon, Attorney Raffa, Councilor Rinaldi and Councilor Mandeville. Minutes for approval: April 20, 2021 Councilor Rinaldi motioned to approve the April 20, 2021 Ordinance Committee meeting minutes with the change of the word “conditioning” to “reconfiguring”. Attorney Johnson seconded this motion. Roll call was taken, 5 out of 5 members voted yes. 2021-077  Director of Community and Economic Development, Angela Cleveland, gave an overview of the order. o This is to protect the undeveloped land for conservation and passive recreation. o It was recognized there were a few tax title parcels just sitting there, so they were sifted through for the sake of conservation. o There are 31 parcels. o This will help with the City’s watershed protection.  Chair of the Open Space, Natural Resources and Trails Committee, Jonathan Sherwood, reiterated an overview of the order.  Councilor Mandeville asked if any of these named parcels were later to be developed, they would have to go through the process of being taken out of Article 97 protection. o Jonathan answered, yes, it would need ¾ of the Conservation Commission, City Council as well as approval by the state legislature.  Councilor Mandeville asked if another purpose for the conserving of the parcels, other than protecting the watershed, was for the residents of the City of Amesbury to be able to use and enjoy the land for passive recreation. o Jonathan replied by saying that is the case for most of the parcels. o Most of the parcels are wetlands, some may have limited recreational value, and some are near developed neighborhoods and might hold passive recreational value to the citizens who live there.   Councilor Stanganelli asked if the letter from the city Treasurer needed to be voted on and/or have a first and second reading. o Angela explained the letter was a part of the order itself. The letter from the Treasurer deems the parcels to be deferred to the Mayor and the Mayor deferred them to conservation. Councilor Rinaldi motioned to send order 2021-077 back to City Council with a positive recommendation. Attorney Raffa seconded this motion. Roll call was taken, 5 out of 5 members voted yes. Motion passed. Councilor Lennon motioned to adjourn. Councilor Rinaldi seconded this motion. Roll call was taken, 5 out of 5 members voted yes. Motion passed. Meeting adjourned at 7:23 pm Respectfully submitted by, May 26, 2021