Important mtg re: Galen St-Watertown Square

[lisa feltner]

Dear Neighbors - Please join me!

A last minute notice that I have booked space at the Library for residents to ask questions of Town Council regarding the request to change Zoning for Galen Street parcels. Your input is important; Pres. Mark Sideris will join us at 5:30before leaving for a 6:00 School Building Committee meeting at Town Hall on Wednesday.

5:30pm Wed Feb 5, on 2nd floor in Raya Stern Trustees Room of the Watertown Free Public Library, 149 Main St.

I am also holding Saturday Feb. 8 afternoon time, on 2nd floor in the Lucia Mastrangelo Meeting Room. The current reserved window is 1-5pm, as I invited the developer-owners but have not heard back. The purpose is open dialog, not “attack the developers”.

The Town Council vote, now scheduled for Feb. 11 is important, since approx. 5 acres could be redeveloped as a whole, but the zoning change does not specifically address impacts or secure benefits. This is why I made a motion to refer to committee, by a date certain, for public discussion and further consideration. My colleagues clearly did not agree and I invoked Charter Privilege.

It was announced that there will be no public hearing on Feb. 11 before the Town Council vote. There will be the standard public forum available ~7:15, with 2 minutes allowed per speaker, but I am offering to meet 5:30 Wed, and again on Saturday afternoon where I’m holding 1-5pm as I wait to hear developer preference; thus chances to hear directly from you before Feb. 11. I believe this will not only help the long view, but also help prepare for the likely one, perhaps two community meetings that will be offered once this concept project is submitted for formal Town review and Planning and Zoning Board meetings, per our current process. 

Of course you can contact Planning and any or all Town Councilors (group email address is towncou...@watertown-ma.gov ) in the meantime. If at least 6 Councillors vote yes on Feb. 11, then the zoning (for 4 parcels on Galen) will change to our existing Industrial-2, from current Limited Business zoning designation. 

Please invite your neighbors to participate. Thank you for your support and guidance, Lisa

I recently released this statement to be shared on Charlie Breitrose/WatertownMAnews.com site:

Why I Tabled the Town Council Vote to Change Zoning on Galen Street

The request from Boston Development Group to change four parcels, from Limited Business (LB) to Industrial-2 (I-2), is not a bad idea except that the good ideas are not written into the zoning language. 

I support making plans for this approximate 5 acre area, which sits next to the MBTA bus yard between Water and Galen, as a whole. However, we don’t have a neighborhood plan or sub-area plan or Watertown Square plan or “new gateway” or “South Square” plan -yet. Regardless, we don’t have the zoning for it –yet. I don’t support moving forward with a change in zoning before securing benefits for a vision and plans to mitigate known impacts, while also engaging residents. 

Before the January 28^th Town Council meeting, I thought through the zoning change request again. What are the benefits? General assumptions and good intentions were shared in context with the concept plan along with references to the Comprehensive Plan. What are the impacts? They were generally ignored.

For example, creating a four-way signal on Galen with Aldrich Rd. and Water St. could address some traffic conflicts. What about the impacts on Morse St., Hunt St., Aldrich at Watertown and Fifth Ave., Nonantum Rd., Watertown Square, and beyond? How do we ensure we’re getting true mixed-use or a certain amount of retail or restaurant space, or improved transit options? It’s not written into the zoning change. In fact, I-2 zoning does not allow primarily mixed-use or residences; it encourages office, R&D, self-storage, marijuana among others. For all the loud concern about affordable housing, transportation, community and recreational spaces –we don’t really know what we’ll end up getting here. I support creative zoning and planning. This isn’t it. Instead of leading the charge, we continue to react, so I can’t blame “the developers”.  I like this development team, but that’s not the point.

The public is not actively engaged in planning and doesn’t know about the impacts, and residents want connections across Watertown Square. Neither Planning Board nor Town Council received baseline information about the consequences of their votes regarding traffic, parking, heights, streetscape, noise  -because “This is just a concept and you’re not voting on a project; you’re voting on a zoning change”.  

I’m looking forward to improving our zoning and our process. At least give me something I know will sufficiently benefit District B and Watertown without kicking the impacts down the road, something more than hopeful good intentions, things we can rely on, regardless of who owns the property or how the market changes. I owe it to the people.

-Lisa Feltner, District B Town Councillor   LFel...@watertown-ma.gov  (617) 926-5344