These are just some of the municipal meetings and civic events for the coming week. More are on the City of Somerville website.
Housing over Lyndell’s; lab plan
Planning Board and Land Use Committee, 6 p.m Thursday. The board hears developers hoping to continue work on a nine-story lab building next to McGrath Highway approved two years ago and from DiCamillo Associates on plans to build 30 apartments, including six affordable units, atop Lyndell’s Bakery, an iconic establishment at 720 Broadway, Ball Square.It also hears from representatives of Union Leaf, aptly a pot store at 71-72 Union Square, appealing a stipulation of the board – the need for the appointment-only business model forced upon all Somerville dispensaries in 2021.
Greystar, a global real estate company, asks a special permit for a 1.3 million-square-foot lab, office, hospitality and park development at 20-23 Cummings St., Assembly Square. Greystar – also putting up a 16-story lab building a few blocks away at 74 Middlesex Ave. – says this project would go on the site of the La Quinta hotel and 99 restaurant.
The board also hears about a ordinance proposed by Mayor Katjana Ballantyne to allow apartment- and multiplex-style housing in the city’s urban areas. The board has been asked to provide a recommendation on the proposed policy change. Watchable via videoconferencing.
Deciding the Armory’s future
Finance Committee, 6 p.m. Tuesday. The City Council meets to convey a city staff report on plans for The Armory, a property the city acquired as a community arts center, and the organizations and businesses within. Watchable via videoconferencing.
Garfield backyard renovations
Neighborhood meeting, 6:30 p.m. Tuesday. Public input is asked on the proposed construction of a two-story addition and roof deck to the rear of 11 Garfield Ave., East Somerville. The building’s development team will present the proposed permit plans. Watchable via videoconferencing.
Energy information for renters
Somerville Commission on Energy Use and Climate Change, 7 to 8:30 p.m. Tuesday. In an effort to increase energy efficiency, the city proposes a measure requiring landlords to disclose properties’ energy consumption to current and future tenants. The disclosures, which could include information such as the type of fuel used and energy-saving measures installed, would be posted at a property for renters to consider when searching for housing. The ordinance will spur landlords to take steps toward lower costs of utilities – now easily accessible – and ease tenants’ burden while making older properties more appealing, officials said.
The commission covers two state-level developments too: First is the decision by officials in October against Somerville joining a Fossil Fuel Free initiative that would have let it ban future fossil fuel hookups as a cost-effectiveness test for all-electric development; second, the Nov. 20 enactment of a law aimed at “promoting a clean energy grid, advancing equity and protecting ratepayers” and its impact on Somerville. Watchable via videoconferencing.
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