Zoning and Planning Committee: The Zoning and Planning Committee will meet in person (Council Chamber (Room 207)/Room 204 and virtually on Zoom on Monday, June 13th at 6:30 p.m.
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The agenda includes the following:
- Two appointments to the Planning and Development Board
- Lee Breckenridge
- Amy Dain
- Appointment of Harvey Schorr to the Newton Historical Commission
The Committee will meet jointly with the Planning and Development Board for a public hearing on the following item:
- Request to amend Chapter 30, Section 5.2, Signs regarding the regulation of non-commercial signs. See Planning Memo
The Committee will then discuss the following:
- Request for review, discussion, and possible ordinance amendments relative to Chapter 30 zoning ordinances pertaining to Mixed Use, business districts, and village districts relative to the draft Zoning Ordinance. (formerly #88-20) – See Planning Memo
Chair’s Note: This item needs to be sent back to Council to be properly referred to both the Finance and Public Facilities Committees.
- Request to approve the recommendation of the Community Preservation Committee to appropriate $133,002 in Community Preservation Act funding from the Unrestricted Prior Year Funds to the control of the Planning & Development Department for the completion of the 100% design of the Commonwealth Avenue Carriageway Redesign project in Auburndale
- Re-appointment of Paul Snyder to the Newton Upper Falls Historic District Commission
Finance Committee: The Finance Committee will meet virtually on Monday, June 13th at 7:00 p.m.
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The agenda includes the following:
- Request to accept, appropriate, and expend $41,460.50 from the Mass Department of Public Health to be used in the City’s efforts to enhance the COVID-19 public health response
- Request to accept and expend a $198,605 MassDOT’s Shared Streets and Spaces Grant for the Albemarle Traffic Calming and Bike Lanes project
- Request to accept and expend a $48,000 MassDOT’s Shared Streets and Spaces Grant for the installation of four Rectangular Rapid Flashing Beacons
- Request to appropriate and expend $1,625,000 from the June 30, 2021, Certified Free Cash account to Fire Rescue Overtime – See Free Cash Expenditures
- Request to transfer $75.000 from Human Resources Full-Time Salaries account to a project account to provide technical support to the Newton Police Department
- Request to transfer and expend $175,000 from Snow and Ice Overtime ($45,000) and June 30, 2021 Free Cash ($130,000) to Snow and Ice Vehicle Rental/Contractors Account. See Free Cash Expenditures List.
- Request to transfer $1,000,000 from DPW Street Division Full-Time Wages Account to support the continuation of the improvement of the City’s Transportation Network/Roads Program.
- Request to approve certain sidewalk/driveway apron and/or curb betterments; said betterments to be levied under the provision of MGL Chapter 83, Sec. 26, authorizing the assessments of betterments for construction (see agenda for list)
- Request to transfer $50,000 from the Main Library Full-Time Salaries Account to the Library Building Repairs and Maintenance Account to fund the emergency repairs to the Library HVAC system
- Request to transfer $24,000 from the Municipal Building Maintenance Building Improvements Account to the Public Building Maintenance Overtime Account
- Request to transfer $220,000 from the Main Library – Full-Time Salaries Account to the Building Demolition/Other Repairs for the emergency demolition of a residential structure located at 91 Newtonville Avenue
- Request to transfer $125,000 from Current Year Budget Reserve to fund engineering consultants required for the design of the turf fields at the high schools.
- Request to appropriate and expend $184,244 from June 30, 2021, Certified Free Cash to resurface the tennis court complex (10 courts) at Newton North High School. See Free Cash Expenditures
- Request to transfer $80,000 from the PRC Public Grounds Maintenance Full-Time Wages Account to the following accounts: Beaut-Grounds Maintenance – $12K; Pub Grounds Maintenance – $13K; Pub Grounds Maintenance – $30K; Rec Buildings Electricity – $15K; and Rec Vehicles – Gas/Diesel – $10K.
- Request to transfer and expend $360,000 from the following accounts: Financial Services – Savings from Attrition – $280,0000; and IT – Savings from Attrition – $80,000 to a Parks, Recreation, and Culture project account to fund the resurfacing of the Newton Centre Playground.
- Request to appropriate $4,632,500 from June 30, 2021, Certified Free Cash to ATB Interest to hold in reserve for potential liability for an Appellate Tax Board Case filed by Eversource – See Free Cash Expenditures
- Request to appropriate and expend $161,502.03 from the Law Department Full-Time Salaries Account to an account that will cover the Newton Lease Settlement Assessment that has been charged to the Newton Public Schools as part of the dissolution costs incurred by the EDCO Collaborative
- Request to appropriate and expend the following amounts to cover the full cost of the FY2022 Non-Contributory Retirement System appropriate for each of the Water, Sewer, and Stormwater Enterprise:
- Current Year Reserve – Water – $69.095
- Current Year Reserve – Sewer – $32,225
- Current Year Reserve – Storm – $5,200
- Request to transfer and expend $200,000 from the PEG Access and Cable Related Fund to the Newton Communications Access Center, Inc. (NewTV) to be used by NewTV to maintain a high level of services, including governmental services at City Hall during this period of declining cable TV revenues.
- Request to provide a supplemental appropriation to the Newton Public Schools in the amount of $538.589 which is equal to the reimbursement that the City has received to the General Fund from the Mass COVID-19 Emergency Paid Sick Leave.
Land Use Committee: The Land Use Committee will meet both in person (Council Chambers) and virtually on Zoom on Tuesday, June 14th at 7:00 p.m.
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The agenda includes the following:
- Request for a Consistency Ruling relative to the Washington Place (TRIO) Special Permit’s condition #8 – Transportation Demand Management (TDM)Subsidy Program – see Memo from Planning and Letter from Mark Development attached to the agenda.
- Request for a Special Permit/Site Plan Approval to reconstruct the roof and add front and rear dormers, further increasing nonconforming FAR at 73‐75 Ripley Street – See Special Permit documents and see Planning Memo
- Request for a Special Permit/Site Plan Approval to raze the existing garage and construct a new detached garage, further increasing the nonconforming FAR at 34 Westbourne Road – See Special Permit documents
- Request to amend a previously approved Special Permit/Site Plan Approval and to amend the Restrictive Covenant recorded at the Middlesex South Registry of Deeds and request an additional waiver of parking stalls at 148 California Street – See Special Permit documents and see Planning Memo
- Request for a Special Permit/Site Plan Approval to install a free‐standing sign and to allow exceptions to the number and size of secondary signs at 1210‐1230 Washington Street – See Special Permit documents and see Planning Memo
Real Property Reuse Committee: The Real Property Reuse Committee will meet virtually on Wednesday, June 15th at 7:00 p.m.
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The agenda includes the following:
- Request by the Director of Planning and Development to make available for sale or lease, an 1157 sq. ft. City-owned parcel of land located on Whitlowe Road – See Planning Memo.
Public Facilities and Programs and Services Committee: The Public Facilities Committee and the Programs and Services Committee will meet jointly and virtually on Thursday, June 16th at 7:00 p.m.
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The agenda includes the following:
- Request for 5-58 schematic design and site plan approval at 150 Jackson Road for the demolition and replacement of the existing former chapel and convent structures with the design of a new 24,000 SF addition and to renovate the remainder of the former Aquinas Junior College to become the new location for the Lincoln-Eliot Elementary School.
Traffic Council: The Traffic Council will meet virtually on Thursday, June 16th at 7:00 p.m.
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The agenda includes the following:
- Request to review and potentially change the parking regulations along all or a portion of Gardner Street, in order to balance resident parking needs with current and future school-related parking needs. NOTE: The Council held this item for a trial of Option 5 which removes all existing parking regulations on Gardner Street. Option 5 adds the following parking regulations on Gardner Street:
- Parking prohibited, all times, all days, east side;
- Parking prohibited, all times, all days, south side;
- No restrictions, any time, north side (remove all posted signage); and
- 15-minute limit, school days
- Request for discussion and possible action to relocate the accessible parking space currently located on the south side of Gardner Street, in front of 22 Gardner Street, across the street to the north side of Gardner Street, as a safety improvement
- Request to add ‘STOP’ signage to the Silver Lake Avenue eastbound and westbound approaches to Adams Street.
- Request to add a STOP sign to the Grove Hill Avenue southbound approach to Lakeview Avenue.
- Request to add a STOP sign to the Prospect Street westbound approach to Beaumont Avenue.
- Request to add a STOP sign to the Adena Road northbound and southbound approaches to Derby Street.
- Request for a parking restriction near the site driveway of the proposed cannabis dispensary at 131 Rumford Avenue. In the event said restriction is approved, a new sign will be installed at the petitioner’s expense east of the driveway reflecting said restriction; in the event the proposed new restriction is not approved, a new sign will be installed, at the petitioner’s expense, west of the site driveway reflecting the existing parking condition.
- Request for a long-term and flexible trial to be followed by potential changes to the official Traffic and Parking Regulations (TPR) for Bridges Avenue. These changes were made to support the opening of the new Cabot School and include changes to various elements of the TPR such as parking regulations and direction of travel. NOTE: This item was held in 2019 for a trial.
- Request for a long-term and flexible trial to be followed by potential changes to the official Traffic and Parking Regulations (TPR) for East Side Parkway. These changes were made to support the opening of the new Cabot School and include changes to various elements of the TPR such as the implementation of a blue zone and changes to parking regulations. NOTE: This item was held in 2019 for a trial.
- Request for a long-term and flexible trial to be followed by potential changes to the official Traffic and Parking Regulations (TPR) for Parkview Avenue. These changes support the opening of the new Cabot School and include changes to various elements of the TPR such as closing the connection to Cabot Street, removal of the old blue zone and stop sign, and changes to parking regulations, access, and circulation. NOTE: This item was held in 2019 for a trial.
- Request for a long-term and flexible trial to be followed by potential changes to the official Traffic and Parking Regulations (TPR) for Norwood Avenue. These changes support the opening of the new Cabot School and include changes to various elements of the TPR such as parking regulations, access, and direction of travel. NOTE: This item was held in 2019 for a trial.
- Request to update the TPR to add a stop sign at the intersection of Melrose Street at Ash Street, to match existing posted signage. Note that this item makes no change in the field and fixes an omission in the Traffic and Parking Regulations.
