At a special virtual meeting on Saturday, September 10, the Newton Highlands Area Council voted to approve a letter requesting additional time for community engagement and provide feedback on the Zoning redesign process. Several Area Council members suggested edits — including a reminder that each of the Area Councils is an elected body representative of its community, and the specification of an end date (December 31, 2022) for the Area Council to conduct its review. The vote was 6-0-0 with two absences.
The Council previously met on Thursday, September 1 to decide whether to support this Joint Letter that the Area Councils of Newtonville and Waban sent to the Chair of the Zoning and Planning Committee, Deb Crossley, and the Zoning and Planning Committee members, regarding their concerns about the feedback period and the role of the Area Councils in the process. The Newton Highlands Area Council had voted 4-4, so the motion to send the letter failed. A subsequent motion to send a separate letter (voted on Saturday) regarding the need for more time passed 6-0.
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