Newton Villages Alliance Update:
January 10, 2016
Happy New Year...
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| Hello again, and welcome newcomers. In case you’re new to the mailing list, this is the 45th communication from the Alliance. We typically send an update once every few weeks, and alerts when needed. Thank you for reading to keep informed about ways you can participate in preserving the character and scale of Newton’s villages and neighborhoods. Please encourage your neighbors to sign up at: www.newtonvillagesalliance.org
This update concerns the many important meetings and issues on Newton's agenda in January. |
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| A Whole Lot of Meetings... and they're all about important issues |
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Monday, 1/11/16 - Zoning & Planning, City Hall Room 205, 7:45pm - Mayor's housing strategy; HUD-Engine 6 homeless housing agreement.
Tuesday, 1/12/16 - Land Use Committee Public Hearing, City Hall Room 207, 7:00 pm - Turtle Lane Proposal.
Wednesday, 1/13/16 - Newton Housing Partnership, City Hall Room 211, 7:45am - CAN-DO Cherry Street homeless housing proposal; James Freas to discuss NHP future; election of NHP leadership.
Thursday, 1/14/16 - Community Preservation Committee, City Hall Room 204, 7:00pm - Request by CAN-DO for $3 million in CPA funds for Cherry St. (pre-proposal).
Thursday, 1/14/16 - Zoning Board of Appeals Public Hearing, City Hall Room 205, 7:00pm - Rowe St. 40B proposal.
Monday, 1/25/16 - Mayor's Housing Strategy Forum, Location TBD, 7:00 pm.
Tuesday, 1/26/16 - Zoning Board of Appeals Public Hearing, City Council Chamber, 7:00pm - St. Philip Neri 40B proposal.
Thursday, 1/28/16 - Community Meeting, Police HQ Community Room, Washington St, West Newton, 7:00pm - Discussion of CAN-DO Cherry St. proposal.
and next month...
Thursday, 2/11/16 - NNHS Cafeteria, 7:00pm - Public Meeting sponsored by Newtonville Area Council and W2 City Councilors - Orr Building proposal. (More about this in our next update.) |
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| More Details About These Meetings |
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Mayor's Housing Strategy
Mayor Warren's administration has announced plans to increase the number of housing units in Newton by 3,200 in the next few years (a 10% increase). Since Newton is a built-out community, the NVA is concerned that the Mayor and his allies hope to achieve this by rezoning much of Newton to allow for higher housing density, more multi-unit housing and more apartment buildings. There have been three housing strategy public engagement events to date, including one on November 22 at which residents (including Austin St. developer Scott Oran, right) were instructed to put Legos on maps of Newton to indicate where they were willing to see more high-density housing developments. Video here. |
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HUD-Engine 6 Conciliation Agreement
In response to a complaint of violations of the federal Fair Housing Act, and a HUD investigation of Mayor Warren's decision not to fund the Engine 6 homeless housing proposal, HUD, Mayor Warren's administration and the Engine 6 advocacy group entered into a "voluntary" agreement requiring the City to identify sites and provide housing for a specified number of homeless persons. The agreement is here. More info here. |
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| CAN-DO Cherry St. Proposal |
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| CAN-DO, a non-profit developer of subsidized affordable housing has requested $3 million in public Community Preservation Funds to convert a commercial office building in West Newton into housing units for homeless individuals, and to build a second structure on the site to house three homeless families. |
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More info here and here and here. Comments can be sent to: swa...@newtonma.gov; the CPC via aing...@newtonma.gov; and to the City Council via dol...@newtonma.gov
Questions concern the large amount of public funds requested; the potential loss of commercial tax revenue from the site when the City is more than $1 billion in debt; and whether it makes sense for the City to fund a homeless housing project that does not clearly satisfy the requirements of the HUD agreement. On January 4, on the West Newton village public google group, Ted Hess-Mahan, a city councilor from West Newton wrote:
"My understanding is that the HUD Conciliation Agreement obligates the city to create housing and supportive services for 9-12 homeless individuals who are chronically homeless and have a disability by 2020, and that the city is working on a plan to find one or more appropriate locations and developers for such housing. CAN DO's proposal is independent of the city's efforts to create housing for chronically homeless individuals, and it is too early in the process to determine whether CAN DO's project would satisfy some or all of the city's obligations under the HUD agreement." |
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Turtle Lane
The requested Special Permit would be for a proposal to change one nonconforming use to another by restoring and expanding the Turtle Lane Playhouse with office space above and an addition containing 4 dwelling units at street level and above, and adding a second building containing a 16-unit multi-family dwelling with a below-grade parking garage for 27 cars at 283 Melrose St., in the current MR1 district, or in a proposed MU 4 district. By right, at most 8-10 units could be built. More info is here. Send comments to the City Councilors at: dol...@newtonma.gov |
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Rowe Street 40B Proposal
The present status of the 70 Rowe site is that Verizon holds a multi-year lease on part of the property and is using the site as a vehicle storage yard. The ZBA invoked the 1.5% Land Area Minimum defense, but has not yet defended that claim in the courts after HAC rulings in favor of the developer, Dinosaur Rowe, LLC. Despite various compromise designs that have been produced, it is unclear what Dinosaur Rowe's intentions are with respect to future development. The 135-unit 40B application is still in front of the ZBA. No other formal application has been made. Accordingly, the ZBA will either have to approve, disapprove or approve with conditions at some point, but how this proposal and the 1.5% invocation are resolved remains to be seen. Documents can be found here and here. Send comments as soon as possible to ZBA clerk Adrianna Henriquez at: ahenr...@newtonma.gov |  |
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| St. Philip Neri 40B Proposal |
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| Waban AMA Realty Ventures, LLC is proposing a 48-unit 40B rental development. The project includes 12 townhouse units along Karen Road and 36 units in a four-story building closer to Short Street, with 105 parking spaces. 10 of the 48 units will be affordable. More info is here and here and here. Send comments asap to the ZBA clerk at: ahenr...@newtonma.gov |
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| Please take a few minutes to write an email in support of residents who are working hard to oppose over-development in the villages and neighborhoods described above. Remember, your neighborhood could be next. Take a few minutes to contact the city councilors about your concerns, and if you can spare a few hours, attend one or more of the meetings listed to give support to residents working to preserve their neighborhoods. Thank you. |
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| Re-Cap: Bad News, Good News |
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| ASP Gets Special Permit, Appeal & Lawsuit Filed |
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 | | On December 8th, the Newton Board of Aldermen voted 17-6 (1 absence) to grant a Special Permit to the the Austin Street proposal. On December 30, City Clerk David Olson informed the Board (now known as the City Council) that an appeal had been filed. The plaintiffs are seeking judicial review and annulment of the Special Permit. The appeal is in addition to a lawsuit brought against the City in Middlesex County Superior Court, seeking an injunction against the lease or sale of the Austin Street parking lot to developers Austin Street Partners, LLC. The suit alleges the City did not follow the provisions of state laws to do with procurement, public bidding, and zoning, resulting in limiting competition for the project and insufficiently informing the public about aspects of the project. The court document is here. Newton TAB coverage is here. Boston Globe coverage is here. |
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City Wins Appeal of Wells Avenue 40B Denial
The State's Housing Appeals Committee ruled in Newton's favor and against developer Cabot, Cabot & Forbes' appeal of the ZBA's rejection of the developer's proposal to build a 334-unit 40B housing project on the site of a beloved community fitness center on Wells Avenue. Press coverage is here and here and the decision is here. |  |
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Special Permit Denied for KoC Development
To the great relief of concerned neighbors, on December 8, the Special Permit application to convert the former Knights of Columbus hall at 15 South Gate Park in West Newton into a 4-unit housing development (with a 7-car underground garage and 4 surface parking spaces) failed to win the necessary 2/3rds vote of the Board of Aldermen (now City Council) to gain approval. The vote was 14 yeas, 8 nays and 2 absent. |  |
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