We revised Nonantum residents clash with City Councilors to state that Greg Reibman is not a City employee and to more fully describe his remarks at the meeting.
Posts published in September 2023
We updated Council voted Sept. 18 on enabling craft breweries and reducing use of single-use plastics with the results of the City Council’s votes. We updated Ward 2 results: Gaynor and Micley advance to Nov. 7 election and Ward 6 results: Bixby and Gordon advance to Nov. 7 election to…
At Monday’s City Council meeting, concern was focused on the Zoning and Planning Committee’s vote to remove parking requirements associated with regard to the Craft Beverage Ordinance. Ward 4 Councilor, Lenny Gentile, said he has no issue opening up the opportunity to have craft beverage production in the City, thinks…
On September 18, after an extensive debate regarding ordinance language about helium balloons, the City Council unanimously approved an amendment to the City’s Sustainable Containers, Packaging, and Single Use Ordinance to further reduce the distribution of single-use plastics. (See Fig City News article on how some businesses are moving ahead…
The City Council deferred its vote on the craft breweries ordinance and voted to adopt the plastic reduction ordinance amendments on Monday, September 18. Craft Breweries: The Council deferred its vote (until the next full Council meeting) on a proposed ordinance that would enable breweries, wineries, distilleries, and other similar…
Additional Post-Hearing Filing Submitted by School Committee on September 12 Despite expectations of both the School Committee and the Newton Teachers Association of a faster state ruling on the School Committee’s September 5th petition for the NTA to cease-and-desist “Work-to-Rule” activities, as of this writing, no determination has been made.…
The Mayor’s proposal to create an Operations Booster Stabilization Fund (OSBF) (see Fig City News article) is headed back to the Finance Committee. The Council began its discussion of the OBSF late on September 18, at approximately 10:25 PM — after the Council had received a presentation from the Mayor…
The City Council’s Zoning and Planning Committee (ZAP) and the Planning and Development Board will hold a joint public hearing on the proposed Village Center Overlay District – Version 3.0 (maps and text) on Tuesday, September 26 at 7PM. To create Version 3.0, the Committee met all through the summer to incorporate…
I have studied Newton’s zoning since January 2020 and am concerned that the proposed Village Center Zoning is too dense, too intense, and too tall. Village Center Zoning has only recently been connected with the Massachusetts Housing Choice Law (MBTA Communities Law), which intervenes in municipal zoning to promote multi-family…
I support the Village Center Overlay District (VCOD) proposal. To make this decision, I did some homework. I poured over VCOD-related materials: plans, letters, testimonials, videos, and pondered one-on-one discussions. It took a while to sort through the details including the various models and the proposed modifications for different village types.…