ECDC mtg motes 2-11-2021-final i
CITY of BEVERLY
ECONOMIC AND COMMUNITY
DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL
Beverly, Massachusetts 01915
Phone (978) 921-6000
Fax (978) 921-6187
Mayor
Michael P. Cahill
Members
Neiland Douglas City Council President Paul Guanci
William Howard Darlene Wynne
Richard Marino Michael Collins
Michael O'Brien Denise Deschamps
Richard Vincent
MEETING OF THE ECONOMIC AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL(ECDC)
MEETING NOTES FROM FEBRUARY 11, 2021
ECDC members in attendance: Neiland Douglas;William Howard; Richard Marino; Michael O'Brien;
Richard Vincent; Michael Collins; Darlene Wynne; Denise Deschamps, and Council President Paul Guanci.
City Council President Guanci calls the meeting to order. He asks Denise Deschamps to call the roll.
Deschamps calls the roll. A quorum is established. City Council President Paul Guanci, as Chairperson
of the ECDC, begins the meeting by reading a statement regarding revisions to the Open Meeting Law
allowing for remote meetings due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
MEETING MINUTES FROM JANUARY 21, 2021
Guanci then invites a motion to adopt the ECDC meeting minutes from January 21, 2021. The motion is
made and seconded. Deschamps calls the roll. The minutes are accepted (9-0).
REVIEW OF RECOMMENDATION TO REVISE SPECIAL TAX ASSESSMENT GRANTED TO BEVERLY
RETAUATANT ASSOCIATES, LLC (relative to One Water Street project)
Guanci states that the next item on the agenda is consideration of a request by Martin Bloom of Beverly
Restaurant Associates, LLC,to extend the expiration date of the previously granted Special Tax
Assessment(STA), relative to the proposed restaurant to be located at One Water Street, Beverly, from
its current expiration date of June 30, 2026 to June 30, 2028.
Darlene Wynne, Director of Planning and Development, provides a summary of previous and existing
circumstances. When the STA was originally considered by the ECDC it had always been contemplated
that the STA would be structured so that the restaurant owner could have the most benefit from the tax
relief. Due to unforeseen circumstances, both with the pandemic, and also related to some of the
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permitting timelines that took a little bit longer due to the appeal of the Chapter 91 license, he was not
able to start construction, as early as he had thought. Now, he is planning to open a little bit later. He is
fully permitted; the existing structure has been demolished. He plans to open before summer 2022.
Simply moving the date ensures that he will actually see the benefit of the tax incentive for the full five
years that was anticipated. The Mayor has submitted an Order to the City Council requesting, they
consider this date change during their meeting on Tuesday. If the ECDC votes today to support this
revision to the STA then the Mayor's office will attach their letter of support to the Council Order. The
State's EACC(Economic Assistance Coordinating Council) will also need to review and approve of the
change. They only meet four times a year and they meet next on March 8. This change also needs to
be finalized by June so that the Assessor's office can enter the correct information for the fiscal year.
Mr. Bloom was unable to attend today's meeting because he has a medical procedure scheduled for this
afternoon.
Neiland Douglas asks if there are milestones that need to be met, employment triggers that also need to
be adjusted, in some way due to the change in date. Guanci responds that milestones are measured
from the date by which the agreement commences so no other changes are necessary. Douglas asks if
other projects in Beverly have had STA's with a similar tax exemption structure (over a five-year period:
1001%; 100%; 75%; 50%; 25%). No one could answer the question definitively, during the meeting.
Files would need to be reviewed. However, several members stated that there have been similar tax
incentive structures.
After inviting further comment, and hearing none, Guanci invited a motion to recommend the proposed
revision to the Special Tax Assessment(STA). The motion was made and seconded. Deschamps called
the roll. The motion passed unanimously (9-0).
COMPREHENIVE PLAN IMPLEMENTATION MATRIX
Guanci moves on to the next agenda item, a review of the draft implementation plan for the City's newly
adopted comprehensive plan. Wynne introduces the implementation plan matrix, acknowledging
Associate Planner Chelsea Zakas's work on the project. Like the master plan, it identifies strategies,
objectives and action steps but it will also identify priorities, timelines and the details of
implementation. It is a working document that will be completed over time as projects are taken up and
completed and others commence over the life of the comprehensive plan. Wynne notes she had
intended to share the matrix with the ECDC but it is particularly relevant now given the issues raised by
Neiland Douglas's work(on a draft economic and community development strategy). There is a lot of
overlap between the different categories of the master plan. Housing, workforce development,
education, climate change,transportation are all intertwined. Wynne states that she wanted to present
the implementation plan as a way to frame and think about some of the larger policy statements. The
master plan is more of a blue print or guidebook with strategies, most of which requiring additional
work and effort. The implementation plan also provides the Planning Dept. with a system of checks and
balances to make sure it stays on track. The City can look at how the ECDC can be an advocate for some
of the action items. The ECDC could support housing goals, zoning changes, promote mixed income,
multi-generational neighborhoods, zoning related to cultural heritage properties. Student housing is
another important issue. The MAPC (Metropolitan Area Planning Council) is providing the City with
technical assistance to develop an accessory dwelling unit ordinance. The goal is that such units would
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be available to more than just family members. Factors to consider include impacts on neighborhoods
such as parking and traffic.
There is a question about the passage of zoning legislation on the State level that would allow city and
town legislative bodies to pass zoning change by a simple majority as opposed to a 2/3 majority. Wynne
responds that the Housing Choice legislation which passed was part of the economic development bond
bill. The legislation allowed for a simple majority for certain types of zoning changes and it is only zoning
changes that create new housing units. Everything else still requires a 2/3 majority. There was also
language around encouraging the development of housing of a certain density within a certain distance
from train stations. Wynne states that the City plans to review the new law more carefully to fully
understand its implications.
William Howard notes that the City of Salem has "Salem for All Ages". Should something like this be a
part of Beverly's plan? Wynne responds that Beverly's plan did contemplate policies that are friendlier
across the age spectrum. Wynne will look to see how Beverly categorized those items.
Howard notes that he has heard that the master plan is not development-friendly. Wynne responds
that she has heard comments to the contrary,that it is too developer-friendly. She notes that it will be
interesting to see, as time goes on, if the City can maintain the interest of developers.
Wynne notes that the master plan recommends less parking. The City was hoping to promote other
forms of transportation, particularly public transportation. Given the impact of COVID-19 on mass
transit ridership, we will have to see what happens. However, prior to the pandemic the trend had been
to allow for fewer parking spaces, particularly in the area of Beverly Depot.
Douglas asks Wynne to review the objectives and action steps in the implementation matrix, focusing on
just the key actions steps, included within the matrix. Then connect them to the five fundamental
objectives that have been identified in the current draft ECDC strategy and the existing ECDC strategy.
Wynne reads the content of the implementation matrix.
It was noted that funding for two Beverly projects was included in the economic bond bill, the mobility
hub project and the 128 overpass. This is not a guarantee that the projects will advance but it is a
positive development to have them included. The City has started to look at alternative designs for
phase two/128 overpass.
Wynne recognizes that economic development is not the only category that can be of importance to you
as the ECDC. In the matrix, there are at least a half dozen action items under each objective. The
objectives flow from the goals. For economic development goals,they expand and diversify the tax base
to increase revenue for municipal services, including public safety, public education, community services
and support infrastructure upgrades. They also promote economic sustainability by retaining existing
and attracting new employers that offer well-paying jobs and opportunities for advancement. Another
objective explores new and emerging industry sectors to balance job growth and remain resilient to
natural market cycles.
The City may refocus on its Opportunity Zone and the ECDC may play a role in reviewing applications as
well as familiarizing themselves with the details if it comes up in conversation with others in the
business community. Wynne notes that design guidelines will be a hot topic over the next few years.
The City wants to ensure it has a diverse economic structure. Looking at tourism to see how the City can
harness it to help our community. Certain zoning changes may require more of developers, increasing
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the cost of development, such as solar, so there will need to be trade-offs. Howard poses the question
of how the City entices developers to come in to do what we would like them to do. Howard asks about
the required age of a building in order to be considered historic. Wynne responds that if it is at least 50
years old it triggers a review. The City could say"no". Or the Beverly Historic District Commission could
look at it.
Douglas notes that the matrix is extremely well organized.
Guanci mentions that the Beverly Harbor Management Authority is proposing an interesting concept
that would facilitate communication between boaters and businesses that would hopefully encourage
commerce between the two sectors. He states that he will share the proposal with Deschamps and
asks that she, in turn, forward it to the ECDC members. Deschamps confirms.
ADJOURN
Guanci asks the members if they have any items they would like to mention. Hearing none, he asks for a
motion to adjourn. The motion is made and seconded. The meeting adjourns.
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