THE REVERE ADVOCATE – FRIDAY, JANUARY 14, 2022 Page 7 City Council looks at zoning change for condos By Adam Swift T he City Council is looking for a new ordinance that will provide a clearer defi nition of condominiums in the city’s regulations and prevent condominium developments from easily being fl ipped to apartments. At last Monday night’s meeting, Ward 1 Councillor Joanne McKenna and City Council President Gerry Visconti cosponsored a motion asking the City Planner to draft a new ordinance for the definition and use regulations for condominiums, specifi cally to defi ne condominiums as a separate use from apartments. “Currently, our ordinance doesn’t diff erentiate between apartments and condos,” said Visconti. “Bringing forth this motion was to make sure that future developers that come into our city don’t come in front of the council and market their project as condos and then fl ip them to apartments.” McKenna said there was an incident almost two years ago where a businessman bought a three-fl oor apartment complex in her ward and wanted to turn them into six condos. After the building design was approved for the condominiums, she said, the businessman sold the building to someone who turned the condos into six apartments in the building. “Not only is it bad for the neighborhood and now the street is inundated with cars – there are no repercussions going forward,” said McKenna. “This has taken place throughout the whole city and has to be stopped. A new ordinance has to be written to protect our neighbors.” Councillor-at-Large Dan Rizzo said there are plenty of apartments throughout the city, and separating apartments and condominiums makes perfect sense. “It’s much more palatable, and always has been much more palatable to me to entertain a condo project complex, for obvious reasons,” said Rizzo. “You’ve got ownership issues; they become invested in the community in respect to the transient nature of apartments versus condominiums. It just makes perfect sense as far as I am concerned.” Councillor-at-Large George Rotondo said the City Solicitor will have to take a very deep look at the legality of any new ordinance. “I think use is a very specifi c legal term, and I think we need to really ensure that we have the ability to do this,” said Rotondo. “I support the effort, but I think there may be some legal hurdles here.” Ward 5 Councillor Al Fiore said he supports any measure that strengthens the zoning ordinance in the city. “We’ve allowed far too many apartments to be built over the past several years, burdening our neighborhoods and creating traffi c problems,” said Fiore. Baker launches tool for residents to access digital COVID-19 vaccine card The Baker-Polito Administration recently announced a tool that gives residents a new way to access their digital COVID-19 vaccine card and vaccination history. The new tool, which is called My Vax Records, allows people who received their vaccination in Massachusetts to access their own vaccination history and generate a COVID-19 digital vaccine card containing similar vaccination information to that on a paper U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) card. The COVID-19 digital vaccine cards produced by the system utilize the SMART Health Card platform and generate a QR code that can be used to verify vaccination. The Administration is not requiring residents to show proof of vaccination to enter any venue, but this tool will help residents who would like to access and produce a digital copy of their record. The new tool is available at MyVaxRecords.Mass.Gov. How it works The new tool is easy to use; a person enters their name, date of birth and mobile phone number or email address associated with their vaccine record. After creating a four-digit PIN, the user receives a link to their vaccine record that will open upon reentry of the PIN. The electronic record shows the same information as a paper CDC vaccine card: name, date of birth, date of vaccinations and vaccine manufacturer. It also includes a QR code that makes these same details readable by a QR scanner, including smartphone apps. Once the SMART Health Card is received, users can save the QR code to their phone, such as the Apple Wallet, screenshot the information and save it to their phone’s photos, or print out a copy for a paper record. The system follows national standards for security and privacy. This system provides an optional way that residents can access their vaccination information and a COVID-19 digital vaccine card. This will provide residents with another tool to provide proof of COVID-19 vaccination, should it be requested by businesses, local governments or other entities. The system leverages the Massachusetts Immunization Information System (MIIS), the offi cial database used by health care providers across the state to record vaccination information. The system relies on hundreds of providers inputting demographic and health information. Some users might not be able to immediately fi nd their record or might fi nd an incomplete record. Residents whose record is incomplete or cannot be found can either contact their health care provider or contact the MIIS team to update their records. Learn more about the tool and view frequently asked questions at www.mass.gov/myvaxrecord. Massachusetts has worked with VCI™, a voluntary coalition of public and private organizations which developed the open-source SMART Health Card Framework in use by other states. The VCI coalition is dedicated to improving privacy and security of patient information, making medical records portable and reducing healthcare fraud. My Vax Records is just one way residents can obtain their COVID-19 vaccination record. Pharmacies that administered the COVID-19 vaccine and many health care providers also are making SMART Health Cards available or are providing additional options. www.eight10barandgrille.com We Have Reopened for Dine-In and Outside Seating every day beginning at 4 PM Need a hall for your special event? The Schiavo Club, located at 71 Tileston Street, Everett is available for your Birthdays, Anniversaries, Sweet 16 parties and more? Call Paul at (617) 387-5457 for details. WE'RE OPEN! 8 Norwood Street, Everett (617) 387-9810 Like us on Facebook advocate newspaper Facebook.com/Advocate.news.ma STAY SAFE!
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