Council tables proposal to transfer two McCormick Avenue lots to mayor pending affordable-housing briefing

The Medford City Council on Jan. 20 voted to table a mayoral request to transfer two vacant parcels on McCormick Avenue to the mayor so the parcels can be sold under the Uniform Procurement Act (MGL c.30B).

Attorney Sharyn Everett of KP Law told the council the mayor’s office has drafted a request for proposals to sell the parcels and that proceeds would be deposited to the city’s “sale of lots” account; the council would later vote on any appropriation of those proceeds. Everett said the city must comply with c.30B for sales over the statutory threshold and therefore cannot grant a pre-sale right of first refusal to abutters because the procurement law requires an even competitive process.

“By law we can’t give favoritism to anybody,” Attorney Everett said when a councilor asked whether abutters could be given a right of first refusal.

Why it matters: Councilors flagged competing priorities: some said the parcels have been unused since 1950 and proceeds could seed the newly created Affordable Housing Trust; others urged caution before selling public land and asked whether the parcels might be transferred to the trust, reserved for community land trust development, or otherwise used directly for housing.

What happened and next steps: Several councilors asked for more information. Councilor Scarpelli asked for protections for abutters; Councilor Lemming and others noted revenues could be used to fund a nexus/linkage study to establish a citywide affordable-housing linkage fee. Councilor Singh moved to table the request and to convene a committee-of-the-whole meeting with the mayor’s team and Affordable Housing Trust representatives; councilors approved the motion.

Formal outcome: Motion to table the mayor’s transfer and conveyance resolution and to convene a committee-of-the-whole for further discussion passed; the mayor and city staff will be asked to provide supporting documents and a memo describing options (sale revenue estimates, zoning constraints and tradeoffs between on-site development vs. sale-proceeds funding for housing).

Who said it (selected): Attorney Sharyn Everett (KP Law) explained the procurement constraints; Councilor Scarpelli raised abutter-right concerns; Councilor Lemming and Councilor Callahan discussed linkage study and community land-trust options.

Ending: Council president and staff will schedule a committee-of-the-whole session with the mayor’s office and Affordable Housing Trust representatives to examine whether the parcels should be sold or held for on-site affordable housing options and to review legal and revenue implications before any conveyance proceeds are appropriated by the council.