Licenses and Permits Committee

City of Somerville, Massachusetts City Council Licenses and Permits Committee Meeting Minutes Wednesday, September 13, 2023 6:00 PM Roll Call Present: Chairperson Willie Burnley Jr., Vice Chair Jesse Clingan and Ben Ewen-Campen Committee Approval of the Minutes of the Licenses and Permits Committee meeting of Minutes July 12, 2023. (ID # 23-1143) RESULT: ACCEPTED License Renewing Garage License, Dewire Family Trust, 387 Washington St. (ID # 23-0584) Chair Burnley noted that this item would be taken together with ID # 23-0583. Chair Burnley opened the public hearing at 6:02 p.m. Councilor Ewen-Campen expressed reservations regarding granting the licenses because the applicant has not responded to multiple communications from the city, and indicated he would defer to the Ward’s Councilor regarding approval. Chair Burnley asked Assistant Clerk Rodriguez whether there had been any complaints made to the city regarding the properties at issue, who responded that the 387 Washington Street property received a ticket on January 30, 2022 regarding snow removal, and that the ticket has not yet been paid. Assistant Clerk Rodriguez also noted that the property was issued tickets in 2008 and 2009, but that there is no further information in the city’s records due to their age. Chair Burnley sponsored Ward 2 Councilor Scott, who expressed no specific objection to the applications, but rather confusion as to why there has been no response from the applicants, and indicated a preference to defer to colleagues regarding approval. Councilor Clingan expressed reservations regarding approval of the licenses due to the applicant’s failure to respond to communications from the city. Chair Burnley asked Assistant Clerk Rodriguez to provide further detail Page 1 of 2 Licenses and Permits Committee Meeting Minutes September 13, 2023 regarding the city’s attempts to contact the applicant, who replied that the city has sent multiple communications since the first time the applications appeared on the agenda, including sending approximately ten emails and making multiple calls, the latter resulting in messages that the phone number has been disconnected. Councilor Ewen-Campen asked if the applicant could reapply if the licenses were rejected in committee, and Assistant Clerk Rodriguez replied that he believed they could reapply but could look into it provide further details to the committee. Councilor Ewen-Campen then indicated a preference to keep the items in committee pending additional context. Chair Burnley asked when the licenses are set to expire, and Assistant Clerk Rodriguez replied that they have already expired and that the businesses should not be currently operating without renewed licenses. In response to statements from Chair Burnley and Councilor Ewen-Campen, Councilor Clingan stated a preference to keep the items in committee pending further information. Chair Burnley closed the public hearing at 6:15 p.m. RESULT: KEPT IN COMMITTEE License Renewing Garage License, Dewire Family Trust, 381 Washington St. (ID # 23-0583) Chair Burnley stated that this item would be taken together with ID # 23-0584. RESULT: KEPT IN COMMITTEE Page 2 of 2