Younes Abesi v. Everett, City of - Office of the City Clerk (SPR 20253758)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records January 6, 2026 SPR25/3758 Colleen M. Mejia, Esq. Office of the City Solicitor City of Everett 484 Broadway, Room 21 Everett, MA 02149 Dear Attorney Mejia: I have received the petition of Younes Abesi appealing the response of the City of Everett (City) to a request for public records. See G. L. c. 66, § 10A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). On December 2, 2025, Mr. Abesi requested the following: . . . [T]he complete application file for: Petition #2661 – . . . Main Street[;] Applicant: [an identified individual][;] Owner: Main and Linden LLC[;] Hearing Date: November 17, 2025[.] Please include: [a] All application forms[;] [b] All architectural drawings and site plans[;] [c] All engineering reports[;] [d] All variance justification statements[;] [e] All correspondence with the applicant[;] [f] Staff memos[;] [g] Traffic and parking assessments[;] [h] Shadow studies . . .[;] [i] The decision document[;] [j] Minutes, attendance sheets, and votes[;] [k] Any digital materials submitted to the Board[.] The City provided a response on December 2, 2025. Unsatisfied with the City’s response, Mr. Abesi petitioned this office and this appeal, SPR25/3758, was opened as a result. One Ashburton Place, Room 1719, Boston, Massachusetts 02108 • (617) 727-2832• Fax: (617) 727-5914 sec.state.ma.us/pre • pre@sec.state.ma.us

Colleen M. Mejia, Esq. SPR25/3758 Page 2 January 6, 2026 The Public Records Law The Public Records Law strongly favors disclosure by creating a presumption that all governmental records are public records. G. L. c. 66, § 10A(d); 950 C.M.R. 32.03(4). “Public records” is broadly defined to include all documentary materials or data, regardless of physical form or characteristics, made or received by any officer or employee of any agency or municipality of the Commonwealth, unless falling within a statutory exemption. G. L. c. 4, § 7(26). It is the burden of the records custodian to demonstrate the application of an exemption in order to withhold a requested record. G. L. c. 66, § 10(b)(iv); 950 C.M.R. 32.06(3); see also Dist. Attorney for the Norfolk Dist. v. Flatley, 419 Mass. 507, 511 (1995) (custodian has the burden of establishing the applicability of an exemption). To meet the specificity requirement a custodian must not only cite an exemption, but must also state why the exemption applies to the withheld or redacted portion of the responsive record. If there are any fees associated with a response a written, good faith estimate must be provided. G. L. c. 66, § 10(b)(viii); see also 950 C.M.R. 32.07(2). Once fees are paid, a records custodian must provide the responsive records. The City’s December 2nd Response In its December 2, 2025 response, the City acknowledged receipt of Mr. Abesi’s request and assigned it the reference number 2025-0625. Current Appeal In his December 22, 2025 appeal to this office, Mr. Abesi contends, “[t]he City acknowledged receipt of my request . . . but as of today, no documents . . . or updates of any kind have been provided. The statutory deadline for a response, December 16, 2025, has now passed without any communication.” Mr. Abesi additionally provides a copy of his December 17, 2025 email to the City in which he inquires as to the status of his request and further notes that he “did not receive a reply” from the City to his December 17th correspondence. Timeliness in Providing Records G. L. c. 66, § 10(b) provides, in pertinent part, that if the magnitude or difficulty of the request unduly burdens the other responsibilities of the agency or municipality such that the agency or municipality cannot provide records within 10 business days, the agency or municipality must inform the requestor in writing within 10 business days. With respect to the timeframe to produce responsive records, the written response shall: identify a reasonable timeframe in which the agency or municipality shall produce the public records sought; provided, that for an agency, the timeframe shall not exceed 15 business days following the initial receipt of the request for public

Colleen M. Mejia, Esq. SPR25/3758 Page 3 January 6, 2026 records and for a municipality the timeframe shall not exceed 25 business days following the initial receipt of the request for public records; and provided further, that the requestor may voluntarily agree to a response date beyond the timeframes set forth herein. G. L. c. 66, § 10(b)(vi). Where Mr. Abesi submitted his request on December 2, 2025, and the City has not provided the responsive records, nor cited an exemption for withholding records, I find the City has not met its burden in responding to the request in accordance with G. L. c. 66, § 10(b). Consequently, the City must provide an estimated date as to when it intends to complete the search and provide the responsive records. See G. L. c. 66, § 10(a) (records must be provided without unreasonable delay). To the extent possible, the City must provide responsive records on a rolling basis. Conclusion Accordingly, the City is ordered to provide Mr. Abesi with a response to his request, provided in a manner consistent with this order, the Public Records Law and its Regulations within ten (10) business days. A copy of any such response must be provided to this office. It is preferable to send an electronic copy of the response to this office at pre@sec.state.ma.us. Sincerely, Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records cc: Younes Abesi