← City Council · 2025-12-01 · City Council Meeting
That the City Council adopt a Demolition Review Ordinance as set forth herein, to preserve and protect buildings of historical significance in the City of Melrose.
Agenda original PDF
Minutes original PDF
i. (ID # 2025-571): That the City Council adopt a Demolition Review Ordinance as set forth herein, to preserve and protect buildings of historical significance in the City of Melrose. Motion for Passage as Amended in L&L Committee meeting made by Councilor Romanul Seconded by Councilor Hamilton Motion to Amend Section 10D for first sentence to read:"This section shall take effect upon final vote of council approving a new regulatory authority of a Historical Commission as submitted" made by Councilor Finocchiaro Seconded by Councilor Hamilton All were in favor and motion passed as amended Comments during the meeting: Councilor Williams shared that Lori Massa suggested that a demolition status (of preserved or not) should transfer to the new property owner if sold and this can be amended in the future. Councilor Karmacheti commented that it's worthy of considering a future change of the 1899 date to the 100 year old date. President Migliorelli thanked all for having discussions and for answering her questions after the committee meeting and before this final vote. Councilor Garipay encouraged consideration of the year 1925 as the date for a future amendment. Motion for Passage as Amended and final vote was called by President Migliorelli All were in favor and motion passed as amended. RESULT: PASSED AS AMENDED [UNANIMOUS] 6 AYES: Cal Finocchiaro, Mark Garipay, Ward Hamilton, Manjula Karamcheti, Devin Romanul, Robb Stewart, Kim Vandiver, Leila Migliorelli, Ryan Williams NAYS: None ABSENT: John Obremski VIII. REPORTS FROM COMMITTEES IX. EXPIRIES X. RULE 36 REPORTS XI. ADJOURNMENT Motion to Adjourn by unanimous consent made by President Migliorelli at 8:51 PM Meeting was adjourned 7 City of Melrose Parks Department 100 Slayton Rd. Melrose, MA 02176 MEMORANDUM To: Mayor Jen Grigoraitis & Melrose City Council From: Rob Carrillo – Superintendent of Parks and Open Spaces Date: 11/24/25 Subject: Request for Approval of State Earmark for Playing Fields Purpose The purpose of this memorandum is to request City Council approval to accept and expend a
Transcript
▶ 1:03:09 Devin Romanul: Madam President, this comes to us from the Legal and Legislative Committee as amended with a recommendation for passage, and at this time, I'll make a motion for passage.
▶ 1:03:17 Leila Migliorelli: Second. Motion for passage made by Councilor Romanul, seconded by Councilor Hamilton. On discussion, Councilor Finocchiaro.
▶ 1:03:24 Cal Finocchiaro: Thank you. Um, I'd like to m- Do I, can I make a motion now or could I... You can. Yeah, I'd like to make a motion to, uh, amend the, um, ordinance. Um, President Vignarelli, um, sent... Oh, I did not say your name right. President Vignarelli (laughs) sent, uh, some pertinent questions to our administration. Um, City Solicitor Phillips, um, sent back, um, some, s- small sentence to be added, uh, if you go to the last page of the ordinance, if anybody's interested. Um, section 10E. Sorry, 10D. 10D. Uh, basically, um, we're adding some language in because the Historical Commission is not a, uh, is only an advisory committee, not regulatory, so, um, they're referenced in the ordinance, and without a change to the administrative code, which can only be done, uh, by the mayor, so we're just kind of adding some additional language in there. Um, it's gonna say, um... Is
▶ 1:04:29 Speaker 2: it 10D?
▶ 1:04:30 Speaker 7: 10- 10F. Sorry. Oh.
▶ 1:04:33 Cal Finocchiaro: 10F? I think it said 10D in the email, but now I'm looking at it, it's 10F.
▶ 1:04:37 Speaker 7: The version of the... Sorry, that we're going back and forth, but the, the version of the ordinance that I had-
▶ 1:04:43 Speaker 2: Well, maybe I have the wrong one up. Hold on one second.
▶ 1:04:46 Leila Migliorelli: ... is, uh, the version 20- November 25th, 2025.
▶ 1:04:50 Cal Finocchiaro: Okay. Sorry, I had the wrong one up. It is 10D. Okay. Sorry. Yep. You're right. Um, right now it says, "This section affects sec- this section shall take effect upon approval." Instead, it will say, "This effect, this se- section will- shall take effect upon a final vote of council approving the new regulatory authority of the Historical Commission as submitted by the mayor." Um, so I'd like to make a motion to amend, um-
▶ 1:05:18 Speaker 3: With- An approval?
▶ 1:05:21 Speaker 7: A pro- Yeah. A-
▶ 1:05:24 Speaker 2: Added to the approval. I'm not sure how to say that.
▶ 1:05:25 Leila Migliorelli: (laughs) Uh, let's motion to amend and then we'll do the final... Okay. Yeah. Great. Um, okay. So Councilor Finocchiaro made a motion to attend. Is there a second? Second. Seconded by Councilor Hamilton. On
▶ 1:05:38 Speaker 7: discussion, seeing none,
▶ 1:05:41 Leila Migliorelli: um, this amendment all in favor? I... I... Any opposed? Okay. So now that ordinance is before us as recommended from committee with this amendment made by council. Um, on
▶ 1:05:57 Speaker 7: discussion, Councilor Williams.
▶ 1:05:58 Ryan Williams: Um, I wanted to add, since we're talking about section 10, that, um, a member of the Zoning Board of Appeals and I were speaking about this, and he was asking me about the question of transferability, so I asked Director Massa, and I thought it would be beneficial to the group as well. It is the opinion of Ms. Massa that, um, a demolition, um, what are we calling it? Uh, status, preferably preserved or not, would carry along with the property through a transaction, similar to how a zoning permit or a, a building permit waiver would carry along to new owners if they wanted to keep it. In the language, it says, "When the owner sells or transfers ownership of a property that is in the middle of the demolition review process, that the new owner can continue the process." And it was her understanding that this also means that the result of that process would be transferable as well. This was an issue that came up in conversations with, uh, housing developers because it's important for them to, um-... to be able to initiate this process even before they take purchase of a property, so the homeowner can, or the, the existing property owner can pursue the, uh, demo review period. And then upon accomplishing the status that they desire, they can sell the property and take that with them. So, that was my understanding from talking to, um, Director Masa. I, I'm not looking to make an amendment right now because I'd like to just see this move through, but in the future, uh, if we find that there are hiccups, I'm open to making amendments to, to improve the, uh, execution of this. Thank you.
▶ 1:07:33 Leila Migliorelli: Thank you. Councilor Karamcheti.
▶ 1:07:35 Manjula Karamcheti: Um, similarly, uh, in terms of I am not making a motion at this time, but I do find some of the information that has been shared regarding, um, 100 years verse, uh, 1899 to be compelling. And so, just wanna name that this is another piece that we might, in the future, want to look to amend. Um, I think it's important given we came to consensus, and I really appreciate Councilor Vandiver research in looking at numbers, um, and so not making a motion at this time, but I do think it is worthy of us revisiting, um, in the future. Thank you.
▶ 1:08:22 Speaker 7: Thank you. Anyone else on discussion?
▶ 1:08:27 Leila Migliorelli: Um, I will just take a moment, uh, as the only dissenting member on the Legal and Legislative Committee, um, to explain what steps I've taken in between last meeting and this meeting. Um, following our committee meeting last week, I had emailed Director Masa, um, Mr. Talarico, Director of Inspectional Services, um, and, uh, Ms. Phillips, our City Solicitor, to ask them questions that, um, I wanted answers to that evening. Um, and, uh, partially just to also further explain that typically, um, you know, getting, first of all, getting materials within 24 hours prior to a meeting is something that is not, um, following our Rules of Order, which is why I didn't feel comfortable voting on it at that time without having the ability to re- review it in full. Um, and now we have that final clean copy that was uploaded when the agenda was posted so that we're able to review that, um, and, um, I confirmed that the additional sections and, that were added and were all correct throughout with those, those edits made, which is important to me. Um, and that while the ZBA did not have an opportunity to weigh in, uh, Mr. Talarico did, and I, which I do think is important. I think that as we are, there are ordinances that do impact different legislative, uh, different bodies within the city, it's important to make sure that it all makes sense. And while, yes, this, um, ordinance has been going on for a long time, it has not been going a long time in this body. And I, you know, I don't think that most of the 11 of us here were during that time, so I do appreciate when there's thoughtful discussion and conversation about, um, how, you know, when we're deliberating about an ordinance that's gonna be our laws of the city. Um, I received several other, um, answers from the City Solicitor, and, um, and then most, you know, the other question was making sure the Historical Commission was set up to make this, make this, um, perform a regulatory duty, which is not what they have outlined in our, in our ordinances. So, I'm glad that that parsis- process is gonna be happening. So, um, with all of that, um, thank you for bearing with me as I, um, decide through these thoroughly. And while I will not be involved in, um, whatever potential changes you do make to this ordinance, that this body makes this ordinance in the future, um, I just wanted to convey the kind of way, my thought process in doing it, and hopefully that similar thorough thought process continues moving forward. Um, are there any other comments under discussion? Councilor Finocchiaro?
▶ 1:11:06 Cal Finocchiaro: Yeah. Thank you. I actually just wanted to say thank you for sending those emails and getting that additional information and, you know, checking all the checks and balances. And I just wanted to say thank you to my councilors here for the thoughtful dialogue that we've had. Um, I know last meeting, Legal Leg was a really interesting, um, you know, dialogue and I, all different ty- type of viewpoints that came out. And, um, you know, some of us are not continuing on this council, um, and so I just want to say that I appreciate all of your viewpoints and my co-sponsor, Mr. Hamilton, Councilor Hamilton, because, uh, he's been very helpful and very knowledgeable with all this. So, just wanted to say that, so thank you.
▶ 1:11:44 Speaker 7: Thank you. Um, Councilor Stewart?
▶ 1:11:47 Robb Stewart: Uh, thank you, Madam President. Just to, uh, uh, reiterate what you're saying. Um, I, I'm comfortable with... 'Cause my, my main point of contention is I did not want to see anyone in the administration marginalized no matter how great or small their role was, and you've done that. You were effective in, in addressing that. So, I will support this. Thank you.
▶ 1:12:06 Speaker 7: Thank you. Uh, Councilor Garipay?
▶ 1:12:09 Mark Garipay: That was well done also. (laughs) (laughs) (laughs) I'm not gonna be here, uh, when this takes effect. Uh, well, uh, we probably will actually- (laughs) (laughs) ... 10 or 15 more, but, um, thanks guys right now. Next, uh, next council, uh, I know everyone's talked about the years. I, I was really looking for something around 1925, so I would encourage, uh, the councilors who are gonna be on this committee, or, um, on the committee and any of the new councilors here to really take a look at that, uh, maybe sooner than later.
▶ 1:12:39 Leila Migliorelli: so, yeah. Thank you. (laughs) (laughs) Thanks. See you. Um, given this is an ordinance, Madam Clerk, will you please call roll?
▶ 1:12:55 Speaker 2: Councilor Finocchiaro? Yes. Councilor Garipay? Yes. Councilor Hamilton? Yes. Councilor Gemrolla then Councilor Karamcheti? Yes. Councilor Romanul? Yes. Councilor Stewart? Yes. Councilor Vandiver? Yes. Councilor Williams? Yes. President Migliorelli? Yes. Motion passes. (clapping) Um,