By Cary Shuman
The City Council voted to delay action on placing a nonbinding referendum on the ballot to determine whether Everett residents favor a professional soccer stadium being built on lower Broadway until its Aug. 11 meeting.
The Kraft Group has plans to build a 24,000-seat soccer stadium on the site of a former power plant in Everett. The stadium would be the new home for the New England Revolution professional soccer team that currently plays its home games at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough. The plans also include a new waterfront park.
Ward 5 Councilor Robert Van Campen explained the rationale for submitting the question to the voters of Everett.
“My intention is not to defeat or put an end to the idea of a proposed soccer stadium on Lower Broadway,” said Van Campen. “My sole intention, which I’ve spoken about in multiple committee meetings, which I’ve spoken about publicly in the community, which I have heard loud and clear from the community is to generate greater community engagement over this potentially transformative project. It’s not to kill it, it’s not to defeat it, it’s simply to make sure it’s right for our community.”
Van Campen added, “What has occurred to me is that one way to make sure that it’s right for our community is to actually put [the referendum] in front of the people of Everett.”
Councilor-at-Large Stephanie Smith asked that the Council delay the vote on the referendum issue until August.
“It still gives us time until the Sept. 30 deadline, just so that a comprehensive information packet can be prepared for the voters about what does a nonbinding agreement mean, what does it mean to remove the parcel from the DPA [Designated Port Area], and detailing what the community impact a professional soccer stadium would have on lower Broadway,” said Smith. “It’s not to kill this, it’s not to do anything, it’s just to postpone, so that when we do go out and put this on the ballot, we know what we’re voting for.”
Councilor-at-Large John Hanlon asked about the potential wording of the question on the ballot, adding that he wants the question to become “completely neutral.”
Van Campen assured Hanlon that the ballot question “has been worked out and it is compliant with the statute.”
Ward 6 Councilor Peter Pietrantonio asked for clarification on whether the Council’s vote for passage of the motion would “automatically” place a referendum on the ballot.
“It still needs the mayor’s signature,” said City Clerk Sergio Cornelio.
Ward 3 Councilor Anthony DiPierro said he was “okay” with postponing a vote on the issue “even until perhaps we have a community benefits agreement to actually discuss.”
In response to residents who have been requesting a referendum, DiPierro said, “there is a process in the city charter for citizen-initiative petitions.”
Van Campen said after considering Smith’s request to postpone the Council’s vote on a soccer stadium referendum, “I don’t object to that, and I can appreciate her concern about providing the public with sufficient information before this is considered as a ballot measure.”
Van Campen said unlike the vote to allow Encore to build a resort/casino in Everett (which was a binding vote and passed by an 86-13 percent margin), “it’s a nonbinding vote. It’s simply an expression of sentiment that we’re seeking from the community in an effort to get greater engagement.”