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Revere council tables housing production plan after hours of public comment
Summary
The Revere City Council heard more than a dozen public comments on a draft housing production plan Dec. 16 and voted to table the item for further discussion at a future Committee of the Whole meeting.
The Revere City Council on Dec. 16 heard extensive public comment on a draft housing production plan and voted to table the matter for further consideration by the Committee of the Whole.
Residents who spoke during the public-comment period expressed a range of views. Some urged caution and raised concerns about density and neighborhood character. Christine Robertson, a Revere resident, said she had read the plan and called it “quite convoluted” and “hell bent on turning the city into a concrete jungle.” Another longtime resident, Gail Jafrita Kingsley, said she feared losing suburban character and suggested rent control as a response to rising costs. By contrast, Laura Holmes, a member of the Revere Housing Coalition and a participant on the plan’s working group, told the council that the plan reflected significant research and community input and urged the council to keep working on it. Young residents and others, including Taylor Giuffre Catalano and Annabella Sandy Roach, said the plan could help them remain in Revere.
Several speakers also asked for more concrete numbers and fiscal analysis. Anthony Paziali requested a projection of potential revenue over 10 to 15 years and an estimate of how many affordable units the plan might produce. Travis Alpert, who said he works in outreach in the Coolidge Street area, described local needs such as playgrounds and services and argued that if Revere does not prepare its own plan the state could impose solutions with less local control.
After hearing public comment and brief council discussion, the council president said the item had been discussed at subcommittee and would be returned to the Committee of the Whole for further review. The council clerk recorded that the housing production plan “has been tabled for further discussion at the next Committee of the Whole report.”
The council did not adopt the plan or vote on substantive changes at the Dec. 16 meeting; the tabling decision preserves further debate and possible revisions.
The public-comment period and the tabling occurred during regular order of business; speakers were introduced during the allotted public-comment segment and the committee referral was announced later in the meeting.
