OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Land Use Committee Meeting Summary - November 21, 2025

Meeting Portal — Friday, November 21, 2025
BodySomerville, Massachusetts
SessionMeeting Portal
DateFriday, November 21, 2025
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 35:49

Transcript — Verbatim
0:02

All right, and now to clear this meeting of the land use committee in order, please note that pursuant to chapter two of the acts of 2025, this meeting of the city council committee will be conducted via remote participation.

0:13

We'll post an audio recording, audio video recording, transcript or other comprehensive record of these proceedings as soon as possible after the meeting on the city assemble website and local cable access government channels.

0:25

Clerk, please call the roll.

0:27

This is roll call, Counselor Davis.

0:29

Here.

0:30

Counselor Said.

0:32

Here.

0:33

Counselor Wilson.

0:34

Present.

0:35

Counselor Ewan Campin?

0:37

Here.

0:38

Councilor McGaughlin.

0:40

Here.

0:41

With all counselors present, we have quorum.

0:43

All right.

0:43

Thank you very much.

0:44

We have a few items on the agenda today.

0:46

We do have a request to take the 90 Washington Street items out of order.

0:50

Mr.

0:50

Demurse has a plan to catch.

0:52

So we'll do that.

0:54

But before that, I'd like to move to approve the minutes.

0:57

Any decor did uh discussion on that?

1:00

Seeing none, please call the roll to approve the minutes.

1:03

And on acceptance of agenda item one, 25-1710, approval of the minutes of the land use committee meeting of November 6, 2025.

1:11

Counselor Davis.

1:12

Yes.

1:13

Counselor Said.

1:15

Yes.

1:16

Counselor Wilson?

1:17

Yes.

1:17

Counselor Ewan Campen?

1:19

Yes.

1:19

Councilor McLaughlin.

1:21

Yes.

1:21

Those are accepted.

1:23

All right.

1:23

I'd like to move to take items seven, eight, and nine out of order.

1:27

Uh seeing no discussion on that, please read those items.

1:32

And that brings us to agenda items seven, eight, and nine, twenty-five-one five nine five requesting approval of an amendment to the memorandum of agreement between the city council and redevelopment authority regarding the redevelopment of 90 Washington.

1:44

25 1596 requesting approval of the development objectives for the redevelopment of 90 Washington Street and 25 1605, executive director of the Office of Strategic Planning and Community Development conveying a summary of the 90 Washington Process Review and Development Pro objectives.

2:00

Excuse me.

2:01

And let's do item six as well.

2:03

Forgot that one.

2:04

In agenda item six, 25-1594 requesting approval of the amended 90 Washington Street Demonstration Project Plan.

2:12

All right.

2:13

So we've got a presentation about this at the last meeting.

2:15

We had a public hearing.

2:17

Mr.

2:17

Demers is here to answer any questions.

2:19

Do anyone does anyone on the council have any questions or comments right now?

2:28

Council Ewan Captain.

2:30

Thank you, Mr.

2:31

Chair.

2:31

True, you uh just wanted to say I don't have any questions.

2:34

I'm in support of these changes.

2:36

I think they make sense based on where we are, and they'll they'll help us move forward.

2:39

All right.

2:40

Any further discussion?

2:44

Seeing none, I agree and would like to make a motion to approve.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Zoning Regulations█████████████████████████████████████████████70%
Procedural████████████18%
Public Engagement█████7%
Community Engagement█2%
Affordable Housing█2%
Historic Preservation█1%
Summary of Proceedings

Land Use Committee Meeting Summary - November 21, 2025

The Land Use Committee convened via remote participation on November 21, 2025, to approve minutes, process amendments regarding the 90 Washington Street redevelopment, and discuss several zoning map amendments currently pending Planning Board recommendations. While unanimous approval was secured for the 90 Washington Street items, the committee chose to retain all other agenda items in committee to await final public comment closures and Planning Board inputs before discharge to the full City Council.

Consent Calendar

  • Approval of the minutes from the Land Use Committee meeting held on November 6, 2025 (Ordinance 25-1710) was approved unanimously following a roll call vote.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Yasmin Rodassi (Legislative Liaison, IGA): Expressed a procedural stance that the committee cannot take action on Agenda Item 2 (zoning amendment for optional pre-submittal meetings) until the public comment period, which runs until November 22, 2025, officially closes. She recommended retaining the item in committee to discharge it to the full Council at the December 11th meeting once the hearing is closed.
  • Councillor Wilson: Highlighted constituent feedback supporting transit-oriented development at the Highland Avenue/Willow Avenue location (Agenda Item 4) and expressed support for maintaining/improving access to the community path. He indicated a position of support for the project pending Planning Board recommendations.
  • Councillor McLaughlin: Expressed support for the Highland Avenue project, noting the significant improvement over the site's history, while requesting the item remain in committee to await Planning Board input.

Discussion Items

  • 90 Washington Street Redevelopment (Items 6-9): The committee approved the amended demonstration project plan (Item 6), the amendment to the MOA with the Redevelopment Authority (Item 7), and the development objectives (Item 8), marking Item 9 as work complete. Councilor Ewan Campen expressed full support for these changes as a logical next step.
  • Zoning Ordinance Amendments (Item 2): Councillor Ewan Campen recommended discharging items where Planning Board recommendations are anticipated soon, though the legislative liaison advised retaining the item until the public hearing closes. The committee agreed to leave the item in committee.
  • Map Amendment for 363 Highland Ave & 110 Willow Ave (Item 4): Councilor Davis recused himself due to ownership of properties on Highland Ave.
    • Planning Director Dan Bartman: Stated support for the map change and is awaiting feedback from Eversource (owner of 110 Willow Ave) regarding their interest in upzoning. He noted contact with the neighborhood council but confirmed no direct meeting has occurred between staff and the council.
    • Councillor Ewan Campen: Expressed interest in understanding city staff feedback and context regarding the Neighborhood Council's support, noting the proposal is on the edge of the commercial core while finalizing the Davis Square overall plan.
  • Transit-Oriented Height and Density Bonuses (Item 5): Land Use Analyst Samantha Carr presented four upzoning scenarios for Gilman Square.
    • Councilor Davis: Expressed appreciation for the scenarios and noted that the small business district overlay was historically intended to preserve home-based/small businesses lost when the "neighborhood business zone" was removed, rather than to expand commercial usage broadly. He prefers any scenario supported by the Gilman Square Neighborhood Council.
    • Councilor Ewan Campen: Expressed a preference for applying these concepts citywide to all transit nodes simultaneously rather than piecemeal to avoid prolonged processes, though acknowledged different scenarios might suit different neighborhoods. He emphasized the need to engage the community on the ground to understand nuances.
    • Samantha Carr (City Staff): Clarified that Gilman Square was prioritized because the city is concurrently working on the Broadway corridor; she confirmed plans to engage the Neighborhood Council and the public in the new year.
    • Councilor McLaughlin: Expressed a position that upzoning near a T-Stop is logical, though the specific scenario choice remains unclear; she requested to walk the streets to better understand the context before finalizing a preference.

Key Outcomes

  • Approved Unanimously (Roll Call: 6-0):
    • Item 6: 25-1594 (Amended 90 Washington Street Demonstration Project Plan).
    • Item 7: 25-1595 (Amendment to MOA regarding 90 Washington Street).
    • Item 8: 25-1596 (Development Objectives for 90 Washington Street).
  • Items Left in Committee:
    • Item 2: 25-1554 (Zoning Ordinance Amendment for Pre-submittal Meetings).
    • Item 4: 25-1539 (Zoning Map Amendment for 363 Highland Ave and 110 Willow Ave).
    • Item 5: 25-0085 (Transit-Oriented Height/Density Bonuses for Gilman Square).
  • Next Steps:
    • The approved 90 Washington Street items will be taken up at the Tuesday (November 25) City Council meeting.
    • All remaining items remain in Land Use Committee pending Planning Board recommendations and/or the closure of the public comment period, likely for discharge to the Full Council meeting on December 11, 2025.
  • Recusal: Councilor Davis recused himself from Item 4 due to property ownership in the area.

Meeting Transcript

All right, and now to clear this meeting of the land use committee in order, please note that pursuant to chapter two of the acts of 2025, this meeting of the city council committee will be conducted via remote participation. We'll post an audio recording, audio video recording, transcript or other comprehensive record of these proceedings as soon as possible after the meeting on the city assemble website and local cable access government channels. Clerk, please call the roll. This is roll call, Counselor Davis. Here. Counselor Said. Here. Counselor Wilson. Present. Counselor Ewan Campin? Here. Councilor McGaughlin. Here. With all counselors present, we have quorum. All right. Thank you very much. We have a few items on the agenda today. We do have a request to take the 90 Washington Street items out of order. Mr. Demurse has a plan to catch. So we'll do that. But before that, I'd like to move to approve the minutes. Any decor did uh discussion on that? Seeing none, please call the roll to approve the minutes. And on acceptance of agenda item one, 25-1710, approval of the minutes of the land use committee meeting of November 6, 2025. Counselor Davis. Yes. Counselor Said. Yes. Counselor Wilson? Yes. Counselor Ewan Campen? Yes. Councilor McLaughlin. Yes. Those are accepted. All right. I'd like to move to take items seven, eight, and nine out of order. Uh seeing no discussion on that, please read those items. And that brings us to agenda items seven, eight, and nine, twenty-five-one five nine five requesting approval of an amendment to the memorandum of agreement between the city council and redevelopment authority regarding the redevelopment of 90 Washington. 25 1596 requesting approval of the development objectives for the redevelopment of 90 Washington Street and 25 1605, executive director of the Office of Strategic Planning and Community Development conveying a summary of the 90 Washington Process Review and Development Pro objectives. Excuse me. And let's do item six as well. Forgot that one. In agenda item six, 25-1594 requesting approval of the amended 90 Washington Street Demonstration Project Plan. All right. So we've got a presentation about this at the last meeting. We had a public hearing. Mr. Demers is here to answer any questions.

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