Fwd: Davis Square Neighborhood Council Questions

[Zachary Yaro]

Forwarding Councilor Lance Davis's answers to some of our questions:

Zachary Yaro

---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Lance Davis <lanceda...@gmail.com>
Date: Wed, 6 Mar 2024 at 11:27
Subject: Re: Davis Square Neighborhood Council Questions
To: Zachary Yaro <zmy...@zmyaro.com>

Hi Zachary,

Thanks for your questions. I'm so happy that you are willing to put some time into this. I'll respond in-line for ease of reference:

1. This of course started with the issue of enabling people who live/work in Davis to have a seat at the table with developers.  Beyond that, would a neighborhood council have any more ability/influence to push the city for infrastructure or zoning changes than just individual residents reaching out?
   • E.g., could we get Davis residents more in the loop on road work and traffic pattern changes just as we want with private developers' plans?
   • E.g., if a neighborhood council would give us a seat at the table with developers, and we and they are on the same page but blocked by zoning, would we have any more ability to push for rezoning?  
   • LD: Both the Union Square and the newly formed Gilman Square Neighborhood Councils have expressed opinions on various matters over the years and my impression is that Councilors do give weight to that input.  As to things like road work and traffic pattern changes, the city's newsletters are the best resource for that and, I believe, would remain so. The construction, mobility, and the general newsletter have regular updates on projects throughout the city. Of course, a NC could have someone monitor those and provide a digest of Davis Sq. specific projects... something I'd like to be able to do but simply don't have the bandwidth to maintain.
     
   • The ability to request and to enact a zoning change is established by state law but certainly an organized NC could follow that process to submit something or, if it was a submission by a developer, could express support.
     
2. Is there any sort of local change a neighborhood council could implement ourselves (if on public property and approved by the city), or does absolutely everything need to be implemented by the city/a city contractor?
   • E.g., if we wanted to put up signs directing drivers to existing parking lots?  Or get volunteers to repaint a faded crosswalk?
   • LD: The legal authority of a NC is limited and is established by the ordinance, which is heavily informed by the limitations under state laws. A NC could request and advocate for things like new signs or crosswalk re-painting (both things that I've asked of the administration, with varying degrees of success over the years) but those both are strictly governed by state law so they would not be something that could be done outside of the Administration/city contracting process.
3. Could a neighborhood council plan an event on Elm St. with local businesses and coordinate with the city and MBTA to close that stretch of the street for the day (as they do for events like HONK Fest), or would such an event need to be 100% planned by the city? LD: Absolutely! Many events are organized by private groups, including road races, block parties, and HONK!
4. Someone (I don't recall whether it was you or someone else from the city) mentioned there was a vacancy ordinance that wasn't very effective because state law limited it to barely a slap on the wrist.  What, precisely, needs to change at the state level to make that ordinance effective?  Which people should we prioritize reaching out to? LD: Honestly, that's a battle that is not likely worth the time. The state limits municipalities to a fine of $300. Getting the state to allow us to do anything is a significant undertaking and my sense is that something like an exemption from that would be dead in the water. Best approach regarding the vacancy ordinance is getting the administration to add the capacity to ISD to enforce it, which is an ongoing conversation we're having. 
5. We are trying our best to understand the process, largely using the Union Square Neighborhood Council's processes and documentation for reference and adapting it as best we can to Davis.  Are there any other resources you/the city can point us to to help us better understand the neighborhood council formation process, and what is and isn't in the purview of a neighborhood council (beyond the above questions)? LD: to the extent you haven't already, you might reach out to folks from Union Square NC as well as Gilman Square NC. The latter in particular as they formed more recently and didn't already have a significant organization like Union United already in place. Beyond that, a Neighborhood Council is really just a thing that is created through the ordinance. So that is the document that establishes specific authority and obligations. Otherwise, the group as a community organization can do whatever any other community organization can/cannot do.

Hope that all helps a bit. Happy to provide any additional information as needed.

Best,

Lance

Lance Davis (Ward 6)

He/Him/His

857.261.1909

_______________________________

Legislative Matters (Chair)

School Buildings Facilities and Maintenance (Chair)

Land Use (Vice Chair)

Public Health and Public Safety (Vice Chair)

Rules (Vice Chair)

High School Building Committee

Civilian Oversight Task Force

On Tue, Feb 20, 2024 at 10:07 AM Zachary Yaro <zmy...@zmyaro.com> wrote:

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Councilor Davis,

We have been making progress on looking into forming a Davis Square Neighborhood Council, as you suggested at the Davis Square Plan meeting last month.  We had a few questions we were hoping you could help us better understand:

1. This of course started with the issue of enabling people who live/work in Davis to have a seat at the table with developers.  Beyond that, would a neighborhood council have any more ability/influence to push the city for infrastructure or zoning changes than just individual residents reaching out?
   • E.g., could we get Davis residents more in the loop on road work and traffic pattern changes just as we want with private developers' plans?
   • E.g., if a neighborhood council would give us a seat at the table with developers, and we and they are on the same page but blocked by zoning, would we have any more ability to push for rezoning?
2. Is there any sort of local change a neighborhood council could implement ourselves (if on public property and approved by the city), or does absolutely everything need to be implemented by the city/a city contractor?
   • E.g., if we wanted to put up signs directing drivers to existing parking lots?  Or get volunteers to repaint a faded crosswalk?
3. Could a neighborhood council plan an event on Elm St. with local businesses and coordinate with the city and MBTA to close that stretch of the street for the day (as they do for events like HONK Fest), or would such an event need to be 100% planned by the city?
4. Someone (I don't recall whether it was you or someone else from the city) mentioned there was a vacancy ordinance that wasn't very effective because state law limited it to barely a slap on the wrist.  What, precisely, needs to change at the state level to make that ordinance effective?  Which people should we prioritize reaching out to?
5. We are trying our best to understand the process, largely using the Union Square Neighborhood Council's processes and documentation for reference and adapting it as best we can to Davis.  Are there any other resources you/the city can point us to to help us better understand the neighborhood council formation process, and what is and isn't in the purview of a neighborhood council (beyond the above questions)?

Additionally, I wanted to loop you in that we created a Google Groups mailing list.  We would welcome any further help you could provide our efforts.

Thank you,

Zachary Yaro

[Rand Wilson]

Very helpful.  Thanks.  Seems worthwhile to move forward.  

Rand Wilson

(617) 949-9720

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