Licenses and Permits Committee

Hello, good evening. Welcome to the Licenses and Permits Committee meeting of October 21st, 2026. I'm Emily Hardt, Somerville City Councilor from Ward 7 and Chair of the License and Permit Committee. Pursuant to Chapter 2 of the Acts of 2025, this meeting of a City Council committee will be conducted via remote participation. We will post an audio recording, audio-video recording, transcripts or other comprehensive record of these proceedings as soon as possible after the meeting on the City of Somerville website and local cable access government channels. We're joined this evening by Clerk Delaney Fisher-Cassiol. Clerk, can you please call the roll? Yes, I can.

This is a roll call. Councilor Davis. Counciler Wheeler.

Here.

Chair Hardt. Here.

With that, we have two members present so we do have quorum. Okay thank you so much and um Councilor Davis let me know that he is coming from another commitment We'll be here as soon as he can. So hopefully we will see him soon. Could you, clerk, could you please read the first item on the agenda?

Item number one, ID number 26-1451, approval of the minutes of the Licenses and Permits Committee meeting of September 23rd, 2026.

Thank you. Is there any comments or discussion on the minutes? All right, I did read them and approve of them. So I think we are good to lay them on the table for approval at the end of the meeting. Can you read item number two, please?

Yes. Item number two ID number 26-1456 This item has been referred for recommendation Eversource applying for a grant of location to install 346 feet of conduit in Newton Street from the existing manhole 4115 passing through the existing 4123 to a point of pickup at Existing Manhole 31223 next to 24 Webster Avenue.

Okay, thank you so much. So this was referred to committee because of the public hearing held at the council meeting where a resident abutter spoke I'm asking if the work for this could be done at the same time as 32 Webster Ave, which is going to be a... A new construction and so will likely require this sort of work. So I'd love to hear from Ms. Duffy if you would like to speak to this item. If you're able to find out anything on your end.

Yes, Ms. Duffy please. Yep I'm good um we don't have a work order right currently for 32 Webster Avenue I sent this thing to the Conduit Division and to Engineering, and that's nothing right now for 32 Webster.

Right, right. Okay well I appreciate you checking on that. Clerk Henderson is also checking with the engineering department about what we can do from our end so i would like to leave this in committee for the time being until we can get more information. But Councilor Wheeler, I open it up for other discussions or comments.

We kind of need this to get done because I was over there the other day and we are working in the area. And Newton Street is part of what we need to get finished.

Do you have a time frame?

I don't, but I just know. We'd like to get it done obviously before the moratorium. Sure, sure.

What date is the moratorium? This is the winter moratorium, right? Yeah.

And I just asked today, I don't think the next meeting is... The next meeting.

For licenses and permits?

No, for the council.

Oh right, yes, the 12th, that's right. November 12th is the next meeting Yeah Do you know when the moratorium starts? Usually it's the 15th.

That's most cities. Okay, and so... Weather permitting I think that's how they usually base it on. Right, right. Okay.

Councilor Wheeler, I would love to open up the discussion.

Thanks. Just sort of jumping in on this conversation, Ms. Duffy is the expectation that Any work on getting service to 32 Webster is unlikely to happen until the spring?

We don't have a work audit for him. There's no work audit for 32 Webster, so we don't have any work that was supposed to do for this person.

Yeah, they have started the permitting process for that location. So which is you know it's not like there's nothing in the works for them that

Right, I'm not saying there might be something on your end and i'm not doubting that but there's nothing on our end that we have anything that we can look at to see what needs to be done.

Right right I definitely understand yeah um

So, Chair if I may, it strikes me that if that means that the earliest that we could possibly imagine A hearing for work connecting 32 Webster Ave is sort of the earliest we could imagine that happening is November 12th, three days before the likely winter moratorium. It seems unlikely that it's going to happen before the spring. And that, in my mind... I think the request by this resident to try to put this work together and You know, avoid a situation that I could totally understand the disruption of having days of disruption and then a week later days of destruction in the same spot that could have been reduced.

strikes me that we're probably looking at a situation where um that 32 Webster work might happen after a winter moratorium is over uh now I'm A lot of this is news to me. I don't mean to claim more expertise than I have. I'm really just sort of taking what you have shared with us, Ms. Duffy But if we're talking about work that's going to be many months apart, then in my mind, the scheduling Grouping them together probably doesn't make that much sense to try to do.

The only reason why I'm saying that is he started the permitting with the city, correct? Then he has to come to us and we have to design the work. It has to be engineered. We have to get plans from our survey department. Then we have to go on the agenda for a grant allocation. So that's the time frame. So this is what this man's looking at. This is the first we heard of him, but 32 Webster. I brought it back to everybody and everybody has nothing on it so that's what i'm saying it's holding up this project because he brought up 32 webster that's the only reason why i'm seeing would like to get this one approved

Absolutely, I hear you. Yeah. uh approve it with conditions that because I would love to hear back from engineering um on this and um you know that way it could be Not forgotten? Yes, like it would not be held up by waiting for the next meeting, for example. But I would love to close the loop on you and with you rather and See if there is something that we can do here to mitigate the disruption to the residents in the area. I know that this area has had a ton of construction and they have dealt with so much disruption and the streets being torn up multiple times.

So that's why I would really like to try to do whatever we can But I do understand the time constraints and don't want to hold up the service for another resident. So...

Okay, I'm fine with the stipulation. We could do maybe a stipulation saying that it's brought back again. you know what I mean that we can look into it that the engineering group your engineering group can contact our engineering group to see what we can do but we have nothing from this man right right um

Yes. Clerk Fisher-Cassiel, do you have any feedback or input on the stipulation or condition being applied to it?

Um, I'll be honest and say I've not done that before. It is definitely possible. I don't have kind of a... Any suggestion on what that would specifically look like? But I do know it is possible to do that.

Wheeler, do you have anything to add on that idea?

No, I'll confess. I'm a little confused about what we would be attaching and stipulating.

Just that the hearing back from our engineering department who has a better idea of What's going to be required in the future, I think. So that if there was something that could be done differently about this, that would facilitate that next project. which sounds unlikely given the planning and everything that Miss Duffy said needs to take place.

And I apologize, Chair. This might be a case where my understanding is too thin to quite formulate good questions. I feel like I've understood sort of in this conversation that there All things being equal, it would be great to do work that involves two adjacent properties at the same time. And I think that's a great thing for us to try to do in general. My understanding, at least sort of taking the quick bit of information from Ms. Duffy that Eversource doesn't have... Even the beginning stages of the process for determining what would be needed, where and when. for 32 Webster. I'm not saying we shouldn't try to look into that and find out a little bit more

About that status, that might well make sense. But if these two projects are in very different stages time-wise... and that difference is going to be multiplied by the winter moratorium. Sort of strikes me that there's There aren't at least still big relevant questions that I know enough to identify, but there might be important questions that i do not know enough for those.

Yes. Well, to be honest, I'm in the same position because I did connect with Claire Kinderson on this and she's been talking to engineering. And so she... I recommended keeping this in committee until she was able to complete the conversation with engineering. So, I'm actually not sure if there are other things that I'm not aware of given that request.

If I could just quickly butt in through you, Chair Hardt. I just checked in with our clerk's office just to kind of get advice on what we should do. The committee would recommend approval and then they would kind of take it up and discuss it again at the council meeting because there is a chance for additional conversation there but I'm going to kind of suggest that we wait for the clerk's office to just kind of give us the go-ahead and the suggestion on what to do in this instance because this is a bit of a unique instance I'll be frank but it looks like Peter is typing now so I should have an update shortly

Okay, excellent. Thank you so much. How about we lay this on the table and go on to the next one? Perfect. That sounds like a plan. Thank

All right, so ready for me read number three? Yes, please. Perfect. Item number three, ID number 26-1159 which has been referred to recommendation Eversource applying for a grant of location to install seven feet of conduit in Wheatland Street from utility pole 141.5 to a point of pickup at 6 Wheatland Street

Okay, thank you so much. The context of this one is that the Ward 4 counselor asked for this to be referred to committee because he had some concerns about The situation at this property, but I have discussed it with him and he is fine with us going ahead and approving this evening. So, Ms. Duffy do you have anything to add on this one? No I have nothing. Thank you and Councilor Wheeler do you any questions or concerns?

No, I'm just sort of noting where that is. That's the first residential property at Wheatland, just one property in from Broadway and that sort of parking mini street that comes in there

Right, next to the park.

Yeah, I mean, I don't have any other observations about that but just getting a geographic sense of where that is and I'm glad that we have consulted the ward councillor.

Yes, great. Well I would recommend or move that we leave this on the table for approval at the end of the meeting.

Which one? The Wheatland one? Number three, yes. Wheatlands. Okay. So for the number two one I'm bringing it back again we just need to get this work done They're working out there now. That's my only thing. His project could be delayed months. It all depends on the payment, the design, the engineering. There's a lot involved in getting this done Customer, we have no idea what he's doing. We have no Idea what he is building. So it's holding up this other project because this man brought up 32 Webster Avenue. That's the only thing I'm saying is we want to get this other one done Yes, yes definitely I hear you. And if we had something in the works I would be fine with it like if we were like oh yeah we have a workout but we're not ready for it we have nothing.

I hear you. I definitely take that concern seriously and absolutely don't want to hold up the other customer, especially this time of year. Right. Clerk, have you received any additional information?

Yes, I heard back from Peter with our clerk's team and he said that we're good to do just a conditional approval if that's what the committee is interested in doing.

Okay, excellent. Yeah, I would like to just propose or make a motion that we approve it just on the condition of... or if it's possible to say unless there is... I'm trying to think of the best way to put it. But in in consultation with the engineering department?

And they can contact me if they want directly, the engineering Department. If they have something concrete for 32 Webster I'm fine with that. If you want to say contact Eversource about this, I'm fine with anything that you want

And Chair, if I may sort of return to what the Clerk Fisher-Cassiel suggested. We at least have sort of 24 hours to get a bit more information about this before the council would be picking it up for approval. Thank you for watching! Approve it as a council and attach some kind of requirements to it then. Or if we've heard back to our satisfaction, we could approve it simply. That all makes me wonder if it might make sense to just approve it, you know, to recommend approval in this meeting today simply.

Yes, that sounds like a more straightforward solution. I appreciate that suggestion because yes we can it will be taken up tomorrow.

Excuse me, through the chair. So tomorrow night it'll be on the agenda again so I should be on so I can hear what the stipulations are or anything?

I will be in touch with you tomorrow. If there are, if I'm expecting any stipulations, I will reach out to you tomorrow during the day and then actually get down on tomorrow night. No, you don't. So this committee recommends things to the full council but then it is not fully approved until the council approves Votes on it and approves it. So this is just for recommendations. But you don't need to be there for these, although there might be... I haven't...

I don't have any other ones, but I know like usually they'll say just go to it and just in case they wanted to ask you something, but they never have.

Right, right. Yeah. So... Councilor Wheeler, would you like to make a motion on this one?

I would be happy to chair. I move that we well, I guess since we laid the other item to approve, I mean, we could I could move to lay this item on the table to recommend approval at the end of the meeting as well?

Sounds great. All right, and unfortunately Councilor Davis did message me that he's gotten held up longer than he expected But I think we are ready for the vote.

All right, on adjournment and approval of items 1, 2, and 3. Councilor Davis? Councilor Wheeler?

Yes.

Chairhard. Yes. All right, with that it is 6 25 p.m and we are adjourned.

Thank you. Thank