Order for a hearing regarding the coordination of the Construction and Utility Permits. Councilor Arroyo in the Chair.
Um. So we in the Committee of City Services innovation in technology in. In the the Committee on Environmental Justice. Mr. Clarke, can you please read? Dawkins 0966 Duncan members 0966 Councilors Coletta and Flynn offered the following order for a hearing regarding the coordination of construction and utility permits. Thank you, Mr. Clarke. The Chair recognizes Councilor Coletta. Thank you. Vice President Arroyo. So I never know how. Sorry. Vice President Arroyo We love nuts and bolts in District one. I'm pleased to present this hearing order regarding the issuance and coordination of construction and utility permits in the city of Boston. This city is growing exponentially, and for the densest neighborhoods like East Boston, North and like like South Boston, there's a lot of activity when it comes to roadwork and development projects that require digging and the temporary loss of parking on our city streets. What I'm seeing and these Boston and have for the last three years is that somehow all of the roadwork that could happen at any given time takes place at the same time in two block radius. And it's it's a nightmare. In Eagle Hill in 2019, Boston, water and Sewer was digging up 100 year old pipes while Eversource and National Grid were replacing their infrastructure, while numerous development projects shut down streets and sidewalks while the city also repaved streets. This exact thing happened a day square a couple of months later, and today it's happening in Jeffries Point. The problem is not the work. Digging up streets to improve our infrastructure clearly needs to happen. The problem is a lack of coordination and notice to residents about what is happening. And I'm sure District city councilors have heard this numerous times and the lack of consideration for the number of projects and how it will impact residents quality of life. To be able to traverse their streets and go through their neighborhood without conflicting detours, which is happening right now in Boston, where because Boston water and sewer has no idea that National Grid is digging up another street, the detours point to each other and it's just extremely frustrating. I've already been in contact with Public Works, the Bus, Transportation Department and Special Services to better understand the behind the scenes machinations of the permitting approval process in the city of Boston. I'm thankful for their participation in a neighborhood walk through tomorrow just to see how impactful this is for those who would love to be in the weeds of nuts and bolts. I'd be happy to describe the callback system to you all, which is something that was described to me by Public Works, and it is what governs these approvals. And my goal with this hearing is to identify the obvious low hanging fruit, which is to allocate resources both time and money to implementing a better system or supplementing the kobuk system with with something that provides better coordination. So thank you again to my co-sponsor, Councilor Quinn, for this, and I look forward to the hearing. Thank you, Councilor Coletta. The chair recognizes Council President Flynn. Thank you, Counselor Arroyo, and thank you, Counsel Collado, for including me and counsel for the important work that you're doing on this, as well as all of our colleagues that are especially district councils, but certainly at large as well. But district counselors are often the ones that receive the call from concerned residents about a street being dug up. And they're asking, why is the street being dug up? Because six months ago it was dug up previously. And, you know, residents are asking, why can't we coordinate digging up streets almost at the same time or at least know what the schedule is? So if there is a street that needs to be dug up, maybe water and sewer could be in there and then keep the street open and then. Maybe, you know, another utility company might have to do some work there as well. But I think the council, of course, summed it up best. It's about communication. It's about working together. It's about working with our district city councilors. It's about working with our large city councilors. It's about working with owners as well and everybody working together, especially on communication. So we all know what schedules of construction are taking place in our neighborhoods because it is our job as district councilors to communicate a message effectively to our residents why a street is being closed, and what the other options are when that street is closed. You know, you can't drive on this street, but you can drive on several streets later. Council also pointed out parking. If we're closing a street down for two weeks and three weeks is the recommendation on where to park a vehicle. So these are all important issues. These are all important questions that this this hearing will highlight. So I just want to say thank you to our council for the important work and for my colleagues that they're doing on this issue. Thank you. Councilor. Thank you. Council President. Alan, would anyone else like to speak on this issue? Would anyone else like to add their name? Mr. Clarke. Please add Councilor Baker. Councilor Barker. Councilor Brading Councilor Tanya Fernandez Anderson Councilor Flag City Councilor Laura Councilor Louis Chan Councilor Murphy Council. Overall and please add my name. Docket 0966 will be referred to the Committee on City Services and Innovation Technology. Mr. Clarke, can you please read dockets? 0967 Duncan 0967. Councilors Flynn and Murphy offer the following resolution recognizing National Purple Heart Day 2022.