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THE REVERE ADVOCATE – FRIDAY, JULY 8, 2022 Page 7 New ordinance would legalize in-law apartments Mayor: Legalizing ADU’s benefi ts the city By Adam Swift S o-called in-law apartments may soon be legal in the city. Last week the City Council held a public hearing on a proposed ordinance to legalize accessory dwelling units (ADUs) in Revere. “Legalizing ADUs will allow eligible homeowners to have a smaller additional unit within the existing footprint of their home,” stated Mayor Brian Arrigo. The ordinance will off er several benefi ts to the city, according to the mayor. “First, it will refl ect the reality of numerous properties in our community that have so-called ‘in-law’ apartments,” stated Arrigo. “As these structures do not comply with current zoning, unsafe conditions persist. The ADU process will grant homeowners a path forward to complying with life safety codes without necessarily removing the entire structure.” At the same time, the city’s naturally occurring aff ordable housing stock will increase without drastic changes to the neighborhoods, Arrigo stated. “What it means, particularly ASSAULT | FROM Page 6 their sexual assault kits processed in transparent, timely manner. We are grateful to Reps. Cleaver, Clark, and Wagner for introducing the Backlog Justice Act of 2022. This bill will provide incentives for states to develop rape kit tracking systems, which empower survivors by giving them access to information about the status of their kits. It will also help reduce the rape kit backlog by increasing the capacity of DNA labs to test kits and help streamline processing of these kits nationwide,” said Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN) Senior Legislative Policy Counsel Erin Earp. To cut down on the SAK backlog, the Backlog Justice Act of 2022 would: • Direct the Bureau of Justice Assistance to establish, maintain and update a National Sexual Assault Kit Backlog Database, enabling policymakers and advocates alike to have more comprehensive data so that they can recommend and implement more precise policies and funding levels that would more effectively reduce the backlog. • Authorize training programs at the FBI laboratory to increase the number of DNA analysts available to test SAKs in crime labs across the country, as the severe understaffi ng of crime labs is a key factor contributing for seniors, single parents, families with grown children, it will allow them to remain in their homes and obtain extra income,” said City Planner Frank Stringi. “It also provides a broader range of accessible and more aff ordable housing in the city.” Stringi said the ordinance will only apply to existing owneroccupied, single-family homes. In single-family RA districts, the maximum size for the ADUs is capped at 600 square feet and one bedroom. In the RB districts, the maximum size for the ADUs would be 900 square feet and two bedrooms, according to Stringi. “In the city, there are a number of single-family homes that have illegal apartments, or inlaw apartments,” said Stringi. “This is an opportunity to make them safe, compliant with building codes and fi re safety codes and allow the residents to have what they had, as long as they don’t change the character of that house.” “This ordinance is an excellent one,” said local Attorney Gerry D’Ambrosio. D’Ambrosio said it allows people who already have in-law to the backlog in testing. • Shift the burden of DNA instrument calibration and validation from individual crime labs to the FBI laboratory. In many jurisdictions, untested SAKs have outpaced the resources to test, process and profi le DNA samples in crime labs. One major reason for this is because lab technicians are often having to spend outsized portions of their time testing and validating the lab instruments used in the DNA testing process. By transferring much of the instrument validation burden over to FBI labs, DNA analysts in crime labs across the country would be able to focus more of their time and resources on testing SAKs. • Incentivize states to implement electronic evidence tracking systems for SAKs to increase transparency into the testing process for survivors and their advocates. The Backlog Justice Act of 2022 is endorsed by the Joyful Heart Foundation, RAINN, the Missouri Coalition Against Domestic & Sexual Violence, the American Society of Crime Laboratory Directors, Consent Action Network, End Rape on Campus, the Faith Trust Institute, and It’s On Us. The offi cial text of the Backlog Justice Act of 2022 is available at https://cleaver.house.gov/sites/ cleaver.house.gov/files/Backlog%20Justice%20Act.pdf apartments to legalize them by upgrading them. “We currently have in-law apartments that fall under the line, if you will, and not being inspected, they tend to be a little bit more unsafe,” he said. “This ordinance will allow homeowners to make the needed remedial measures to fix them and bring them above the line. The second thing that this ordinance will do is that it truly adds to the aff ordable housing stock in the City of Revere.” Lor Holmes of the Revere Housing Coalition asked if there would be measures in place to prevent the ADUs from being used as short-term rentals, such as Airbnbs. Stringi said the intent of the ordinance is to have no Airbnbs and no boarders in the ADUs. “This is needed; we have a lot of people in the city who come to us on a monthly basis trying to sell their homes, and because their grandmother owned it, they have to bring it up to code or the sale gets disrupted,” said Ward 4 Councillor Patrick Keefe. “It causes a lot of issues and stress on families for a home that was built 30 or 40 years ago and they assumed it was a legal apartment.” Special Election: Tuesday, July 19, 2022 Keep Your Full Time Councilor Working for You for 19, 2022 • I supported the school building program which included the Rumney Marsh Middle School, the Paul Revere Elementary School, both of which serve children of Ward 5. • In July 2019, I secured a commitment from the Mayor and the City Council to construct a new fire station on the Lynnway to better serve the Point of Pines, Oak Island and the Boulevard and lower Revere Street, as well as the entire City. Since then, the funding has ben approved, the site has been cleared and the project is in final design, and we are waiting on approval from the state. • I have been a strong advocate of a commuter rail station at Wonderland, and recently testified along with Governor Baker and Mayor Arrigo in support of the current Transportation Bond Bill which includes $25M for construction of a commuter rail station. In addition, there is a $4M design grant which was obtained by our Congresswoman Katherine Clark. A commuter rail station at Wonderland would take a large amount of traffic off the Boulevard, North Shore Road, and Route 107. John Powers John Po John Po brings Leadership, Experience, Common Sense and Commitment to the City Council. Former City Councilor John Powers HE GETS THINGS DONE Paid Political Advertisement Return Return

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