By Ryan DiLello

The Somerville Land Use Committee voted unanimously to enable Councilors At-Large, or abutting councilors, to fill in at neighborhood meetings in the event that the ward’s official councilor is unable to attend.

The proposal comes from the planning board as a way to address previous instances in which ward councilors were unable to hold neighborhood meetings. “This is a really well thought out procedure and it’s kind of an issue we didn’t foresee but does arise sometimes and we should have a standardized process for dealing with it,” said Council President Ben Ewen-Campen.

The rest of the Committee echoed Councilor Ewen-Campen’s sentiment and voted to affirm the recommendation.

In concluding remarks, Ward 1 Councilor Matthew McLaughlin asked for clarification on what constitutes a valid effort from the ward councilor to hold the neighborhood meeting. Further, he asked, “What happens if the ward councilor was not informed?” To which he suggested that hopefully the Council President will be looking out for fellow ward councilors.