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HomeMy Public PortalAbout03-10-2015 EDP, RO, PS report amended_201503171052379464MEETING MINUTES JOINT MEETINGS: COMMITTEES ON ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT and PLANNING, RULES AND ORDINANCES, PUBLIC SAFETY Meetings: December 2, 7 PM & December 18, 5 PM, 2014 Report: March 10, 2olti I. December 2, 2014 Attending were Committee members Stephen P. Corbett, Aaron Dushku, Susan Falkoff, and Vincent Piccirilli. Also present were Attorney Doneski of Kopelman & Paige, Council President Sideris; Councilor Palomba; Planning Director Steve Magoon; Sgt Grady of the Watertown Police, Donna Doucette, Licensing Board Chair, Donna Gill, Licensing Board Clerk, George Newman, Licensing Board member, and Mike Athanamsorius from The W Pizza. The purpose of the meeting was to continue discussing the possibility of petitioning the state legislature for additional liquor licenses. Councilor Corbett chaired the meeting and began by summarizing the October 27 meeting of these committees. He listed the following unresolved issues. The outcome of each issue is noted in bold type. 1. How will additional licenses be distributed? The option of a lottery was taken off the table and a decision was made to recommend that the distribution method be determined through Rules established after a Home Rule petition is approved by the Council and then the Legislature. The potential role of the Licensing Board in distribution was discussed. 2. What would be the amount of the fee, and who determines this? Attorney Doneski said that Town Council could be empowered to set the fee but the legislation should reference the criteria that will be used to determine the amount. The Committee discussed creating a mechanism that would equate the cost of a current license and the average life span of a restaurant in Watertown. Ms Doucette said that the value of current licenses is between ten thousand and seventy-five thousand dollars. 3. How will the fee be used? Attorney Doneski suggested the legislature would look favorably on the creation of a special fund for neighborhood development. If the use is not specified, the money automatically goes to the General Fund. Although new development will add additional burden to the General Fund, (police, health inspections, etc.), these costs would presumably be covered by the additional revenue from economic development. 4. Are the boundaries of "Watertown Square" and the "Coolidge Square Business District" sufficiently well-defined? Likewise, are the boundaries of the five economic development areas clear enough? Would it be better not to list them by name but only keep the reference to the Strategic Framework? Steve Magoon will work on defining the boundaries with accuracy. 5. What about the Watertown Mall? Would it be better to replace the "Mall Project" with "The I-1 District?" Since the I-1 district includes both malls, this wording was preferred, and Mr. Magoon will provide mapping for the next discussion. Ms Doucette provided the committees with information about how the Licensing Board makes decisions. They consider • Site suitability. This would not be relevant to the licenses that are designated for particular sites. • Whether the intended use is in the Public Good. By making the request of the legislature, the Council would have already identified the additional licenses as a benefit to the community. • The applicant's character and fiscal stability. This would be the main consideration with the new licenses. The committees expressed the wish to make the new license granting system fair to existing license -holders. Ms. Doucette stated her belief that there would be no way to create a system that would maintain the full value of existing licenses since a large part of their value resides in the fact that the number is limited. She also noted that due to population decrease, we have one more license than we are allowed and if a current license is turned back to the town, it will be lost. Mr. Magoon will work with Attorney Doneski to further refine the language in the Draft Home Rule Petition with associated maps. Councilor Dushku again mentioned a Bring Your Own (BYO) option. Ms. Doucette said that she thinks BYO regulations are "an enforcement headache." The committees decided to table this issue for a future discussion once we have had an opportunity to review some sample rules or ordinances from other communities. II. December 18, 2014 The committees reconvened. The attendees were Committee members Steven Corbett, Aaron Dushku, Susan Falkoff, Vincent Piccirilli and Kenneth Woodland; Council President Sideris, Councilor Palomba, Planning Director Steven Magoon, Licensing Board Clerk Donna Gill, Sgt Grady of the Watertown Police Depat liuent, Attorney Doneski, and Charlie Breitrose of the Watertown News. The committees reviewed two maps, one with the specific addresses that have been approved and a second showing the target areas. The committee members recommended that both be included with the Home Rule Petition. The committee members also reviewed changes to the draft Petition that were submitted by Attorney Doneski, and suggested some minor revisions to further clarify that these licenses cannot be sold, that they will be for All Alcohol, and additional language related to the addresses of the approved sites. The attorney will make these changes and a Draft Final will be presented to the Town Council at the March 10th meeting. Respectfully submitted, Susan Falkoff, Secretary Attachments: 2 maps October 27 draft petition with edits presented by Attorney Doneski on December 2. The final draft will be attached to the Town Council agenda for March 10th.