City Council preview: May 24
This week’s City Council meeting is Tuesday at 6:30pm. The agenda is here.
Topics: Signing a contract with the temp City Manager, zoning, 311, police training, tracking and inspecting rental units, making Finance Committee meetings shorter.
Zoom Link: https://zoom.us/j/91727574825
Allowing New Buildings: There’s a request to change the zoning ordinances so that in Commercial Corridors Overlay Districts, the Planning Board will be able to allow new mixed-use and multi-family buildings, in areas where they otherwise wouldn’t be permitted. This will go to the Planning Board for further discussion.
Zoning Changes: There’s a request to clean up the zoning of the adjacent 266 Webster Street and 15 Clover Street to make it all business, rather than part residential.
Resident Permit Parking: There are requests to establish permit parking on parts of Barclay Street and Mulberry Street. This will go to the Traffic and Parking Committee for further discussion.
Dark Skies: There’s a request that the city restrict outdoor lighting in accordance with the guidelines of the International Dark-Sky Association.
Boards and Commissions: The Manager has appointed Sarah Faucher to the Elder Affairs Commission, Avae Quartey to the Worcester Arts Council, and James Carmody to Constable. The Council will vote whether to appoint Emmanuel Larbi, and reappoint Bryon Milward and Michael Murphy, to the Community Development Advisory Committee.
Inclusionary Zoning: The Manager wants the Council to start thinking about approving an inclusionary zoning ordinance. “Inclusionary zoning” involves requiring a certain fraction of new housing developments be “affordable housing.”
ShotSpotter: The WPD has a report on the ShotSpotter Connect system they’ve been using since last summer. This is a service provided by the company that makes the gunfire-detection system ShotSpotter. This service uses crime data to suggest better patrol routes for the police. The WPD said that violent crimes and thefts are down 13% since the system was put into place.
Police Training: The WPD have a report on the fifteen different training courses police officers have taken over the past year. In addition to tactical room clearing, active shooter training, water safety, CPR, and firearms training, the report notes courses included “De-escalation and Use of Force, Cultural Competency and Responding to Mass Gatherings, Human Trafficking, Law Enforcement Officer Mental Wellness, Law Enforcement Officer Suicide Prevention, Critical Incident Stress Management, Legal Updates, and Responding to Emergencies Involving Mentally Ill.”
Rental Unit Registry: The Fire Department and Inspectional Services would like the Council to approve a couple ordinances related to rental properties. One would create a database with contact info for the owners of the 50,000 rental units in the city. (The report notes this would allow the WFD to just call the owner of a building that had a suspected issue, rather than mailing a notice.) The second would require every rental unit be inspected every 5 years. Currently, there are inspections of rental properties, but not necessarily the individual units. Both ordinances include fees that would cover the costs.
311: We’re establishing a combined 911 and 311 call center. 911 is for emergency calls; you will be able to dial “311” instead of “508‐929‐1300” if you want to sort something out with the Department of Public Works, or otherwise have a municipal customer service issue. You’ll also be able to text or Whatsapp the 311 people, and it will be integrated into SeeClickFix.
Financial Update: We have a Q3 financial update from the city CFO. He says we are doing fine.
Stop Talking So Much at Finance Committee Meetings: Councilor Toomey wants the Council to change its rules so that at Finance Committee meetings, a Councilor can only speak for 10 minutes at a time, and 20 minutes total on a given item.
Trans Sanctuary Laws: Councilor Nguyen wants the Council to ask the state to pass “so-called ‘sanctuary’ laws to ensure trans individuals and their families have ‘the power of enjoying, in safety and tranquility, their natural rights and the blessings of life,’ as guaranteed by the Constitution of the Commonwealth.” The School Committee passed a similar resolution last week.
Hiring a Temp City Manager: The Council will be voting to appoint Eric Batista as Acting City Manager effective June 1. The Mayor will be authorized to sign a contract with him. It is pretty wild the Council is taking the final vote on this with only a week to spare.