Mayor Vetoes Framingham Community Preservation Act Ordinance

FRAMINGHAM, MA — A disagreement between Mayor Yvonne Spicer and the City Council over how residents will get appointed to the city's new Community Preservation Act (CPA) has stalled passage of an ordinance governing the act.

Spicer vetoed the Council-approved CPA ordinance on Friday, the third veto of her first term. The Council-approved version of the ordinance gives Councilors the power to appointment some members of the CPA committee rather than the mayor.

In a statement Friday, Spicer said she supports every other portion of the Council's ordinance except the appointment part.

According to the ordinance, the CPA committee would be made up of nine members, including one each from the Planning Board, Conservation Commission, Parks and Recreation Commission, Historical Commission and Framingham Housing Authority. The remaining four members would be appointed by the City Council under the approved ordinance.

The conflict over appointments stems from different interpretations of state and local law.

The Framingham City Charter says it's the mayor's job to appoint residents to "multiple-member bodies." But state law governing the CPA doesn't specifically give the power to either the mayor or Council, but says the local ordinance "shall determine the composition of the committee, the length of its term and the method of selecting its members." Since the Council was in charge of writing the ordinance, Councilors chose to be the appointing authority.

"As City officials, we all are duty-bound and obligated to honor and respect the terms of the Charter, Framingham’s constitution, which was approved by the voters in April 2017 and provides comprehensive requirements for the operation of Framingham’s government,” Spicer said in a statement Friday. "Further Article IX, Section 14 of the Charter specifically makes it my responsibility to see that the provisions of the Charter are faithfully followed."

The Council-approved ordinance was created in District 8 Councilor John Stefanini's Ordinance and Rules subcommittee, which also includes District 9 Councilor Tracey Bryant and District 6 Councilor Philip Ottaviani.

Stefanini said Friday the intent behind the Council selecting members was to ensure diversity on the CPA committee. The members of the Planning, Conservation, Parks, Historical and Housing Authority boards disproportionately live on the north side of Framingham, he said. Stefanini also pointed out the Council has held two separate unanimous votes — the last on Feb. 2 — approving this version of the ordinance.

With a veto, the CPA ordinance will likely go back to the City Council, which can override the veto with a two-thirds vote, amend the ordinance or send it back to Stefanini's committee to start over.

Framingham voters approved the adoption of the CPA in November. The formation of a CPA committee is the next step in the adoption process.

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