Ordinance and Administration Committee

AMESBURY CITY HALL 62 Friend Street Amesbury, MA 01913 City Council Ordinance Committee Meeting Minutes July 20, 2021 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. This meeting was called to order at 7:41 PM Roll Call was taken and present were: Attorney Johnson, Councilor Lennon, Attorney Raffa, and Councilor Rinaldi Absent were: Councilor Mandeville Minutes for approval: June 15, 2021  Attorney Raffa’s correction was the header on the minutes stated it was a virtual meeting when it was an in person meeting. She said that was her only correction. Attorney Johnson motioned to approve the minutes from the June 15 meeting with the th correction from Attorney Raffa. Councilor Rinaldi seconded this motion. Roll call was taken, 3 members voted yes, one abstained (Lennon). Motion passed. 2021-093  Councilor Gilday spoke about the bill:  How herself and Angela Cleveland spoke about it at length at the previous Ordinance Committee meeting.  At the previous meeting it was decided the committee did not want to examine the document further until the KP Law edits were incorporated.  At the previous meeting it was suggested there be a subcommittee established to examine the licensing and regulation bills.  Councilor Gilday stated the document presented today is the redlined version with KP Law’s suggestions  Councilor Gilday mentioned the companion bill, Order 2021-105 which will be discussed at this meeting as well. She would like the Committee to keep in mind that these two bills go together, one being the licensing and one being the regulations.  Councilor Gilday discussed different aspects of the order, stating when the subcommittee gets established those are the pieces of content that will be discussed at greater length. She said once the subcommittee has done their due diligence that is 1  when there can be a public information hearing or there can be public comments accepted at the second reading during a City Council meeting.  Councilor Lennon stated that this order will likely be continued so the working group/subcommittee, which holds two members of the Ordinance Committee, can be established.  Councilor Gilday agreed and also stated it was her understanding that there were to be additional stakeholders for example, Angela Cleveland or Nipun Jain.  Councilor Lennon asked the Ordinance Committee if there were any members interested in being a part of the working group/subcommittee.  Attorney Johnson and Councilor Rinaldi both volunteered.  Councilor Lennon stated she was going to report back that the Ordinance Committee assigned two members to be a part of the working group/subcommittee. She said further stakeholders will be assigned at the discretion of Chair Mandeville. Councilor Rinaldi motioned to continue order 2021-093 to the next regularly scheduled Ordinance Committee meeting on August 17, 2021. In the interim, Attorney Johnson and Councilor Rinaldi will work alongside the sponsors in a working group/subcommittee. Attorney Raffa seconded this motion. Roll call was taken 4 out of 5 members voted yes (one absent). Motion passed. *Order 2021-105 was taken out of order, per the agenda, for the purpose of connectivity* 2021-105  Councilor Gilday explained some components of the order: o She said the summary is almost identical to the summary for order 2021-093. o She stated the order indicates that to even qualify for a license the structure and person applying need to meet certain requirements. o She said she is suggesting that there are few home structures that are allowed. o She stated the minimum rental time would be 5 days. o The maximum times a unit can be rented out in a single calendar year would be discussed. o Nothing can be subleased. o She said the order is trying to do away with homes being bought with the sole intention of being an income property. o She said this bill will have to go to the Planning Board.  Councilor Gilday stated she would like to make in-law apartments rentable to non-family members.  Councilor Gilday wanted to make clear she believes in the importance of long term rental units being preserved. She knows the short term rentals can make a lot of money especially with the establishment of Maples Crossing. Councilor Rinaldi motioned to continue order 2021-105 to the next regularly scheduled Ordinance Committee meeting on August 17, 2021. In the interim, Attorney Johnson and Councilor Rinaldi will work alongside the sponsors in a working group/subcommittee. Attorney Raffa seconded this motion. Roll call was taken 4 out of 5 members voted yes (one absent). Motion passed. 2 2021-102  Councilor Stanganelli explained the order. o He stated that this order is essentially a continuation of order 2018-086 and 2021-077 which were orders to create the Woodsom Farm Park land. o Since this proposal was submitted, two parcels of land have been taken out due to them being found in the previous bill, 2021-077. They will not be included in the final version of the order.  Attorney Johnson asked if the ordinance deals with the town forest. o Councilor Lennon replied by saying this ordinance deals with town forest parcels off of Kimball Road, abutting parcels identified as Great Swamp and a southern Woodsom parcel off of Lion’s Mouth Road. o She stated there is reference to a map within the order, however there is no map provided.  Councilor Wheeler suggested looking at a parcel at the end of Ashley Drive, parcel 61-7, it is shown as a city owned parcel.  Councilor Lennon suggested the adding of the map in order to compare the parcels and make a revision if needed.  Councilor Wheeler stated as a point of information the previously mentioned parcel was mentioned in order 2021-077. Councilor Rinaldi motioned to continue order 2021-102 to the next regularly scheduled meeting on August 17, 2021 with the provision the committee is provided with the map associated with this bill. Attorney Raffa seconded this motion. Roll call was taken, 4 out of 5 members voted yes (one absent). Motion passed. 2021-104  Councilor Rinaldi explained the bill. o The last time there was a gas moratorium it was because of questions over safety of installation. o This bill will give the authority to the City to manage the engineering of emergency and non-emergency installation of gas.  Councilor Lennon asked if the Department of Public Works is aware of this order and if so, in support. o Councilor Stanganelli replied, yes. He said the order requires the City to have a membership with Dig Safe. This bill was circulated to the Fire Chief and the DPW. Neither provided feedback. Councilor Rinaldi motioned to send order 2021-104 back to City Council with a positive recommendation. Attorney Raffa seconded this motion. Roll call was taken, 4 out of 5 members voted yes (one absent). Motion passed. 3 2021-106  Councilor Lennon read line items regarding the Animal Control Officer from the budget book. She stated she would like to hear about them more in depth. Councilor Rinaldi motioned to continue order 2021-106 to the next regularly scheduled Ordinance Committee meeting on August 17, 2021, with a request that the Administration have representation at the meeting. Attorney Johnson seconded this motion. Roll call was taken, 4 out of 5 members voted yes (one absent). Motion passed. Attorney Raffa motioned to adjourn. This motion was seconded by Councilor Rinaldi. Roll call was taken, 4 out of 5 members voted yes (one absent). Motion passed. Adjourn at 8:32pm Respectfully Submitted by, August 13, 2021 4