At the November meeting of the Somerville City Council Licensing and Permit Committee, resident Lisa White asked the committee to delay action on Comcast’s grant of location for the 121 Prospect Street project, saying the work could require re‑digging a recently repaved Houghton Street.

"We live at 4 Houghton Street… this 121 Prospect project has been under construction for the past 2 years," White told the committee. She said Eversource had been digging and repaving for gas‑line work and that she was frustrated by the prospect that Comcast might later tear up the freshly paved street. "My biggest question is, why does 121 Prospect Street get a conduit buried underground and the rest of us get all of this wiring… on this actual pole?" she asked.

Chair Willie Burnley Jr. (Somerville City Councilor at large) acknowledged White’s email to staff and said the committee could consider conditioning a grant of location — for example, requiring work to occur on Prospect rather than Houghton — but that the committee should first hear from Comcast about feasibility. "I would rather have them as part of this conversation than try to, speed past them," Burnley said.

A Ward 2 councilor who spoke during the discussion noted there are "no less than 20 Comcast low voltage lines" on the existing pole near Houghton and said a prior private pole on Prospect had previously carried lines across the street. Councilor Davis backed leaving the item in committee and suggested the clerk request Comcast appear with engineering answers and a plan for avoiding unnecessary disruption.

The committee recorded that Comcast had been contacted by phone and likely email; however, no Comcast representative attended the meeting. After discussion, members agreed to keep the grant‑of‑location application in committee pending the applicant’s appearance and information from city engineering about whether a Prospect‑side conduit is feasible and whether work can be scheduled to avoid re‑digging newly paved streets.

Next steps: the committee will request Comcast to appear and provide engineering information and timing, and staff will follow up on feasibility before the committee considers conditions or a vote.