The City Council will meet in special session on Wednesday, November 29 to consider last-minute amendments to its zoning plan and whether that plan should be limited to compliance with the state MBTA Communities Law — which calls for higher density housing near the MBTA Green Line and commuter rail stations — or should also include some or all of the Village Center Overlay Design (VCOD) proposal developed over the last three years. The VCOD proposal calls for higher density residential and commercial development in and around village centers.
Prior to the November 7 election, the passage of an amalgam of compliance with the MBTA Communities Law and the VCOD seemed all but certain. Since the election – which resulted in the defeat of three incumbents as well as two first-time Ward candidates who all supported the joint plan – many on the Council have become somewhat more circumspect in merging the two initiatives. Among the items to be resolved is Mayor Fuller’s request to include Auburndale in the final zoning plan.
Pam Wright, City Councilor At-Large from Ward 3, has been the most prolific in submitting amendments to the zoning plan (all but one not accepted). In general, her amendments reflect her commitment to following the Washington Street Vision Plan, which called for a maximum of four stories in the village centers. Councilor Wright, an engineer, has been a consistent advocate for adaptive reuse of existing buildings. Some of her amendments were aimed to reduce teardowns and encourage adaptive reuse, especially in neighborhoods near village centers. She is concerned that the incentives for adaptive reuse in village centers have been removed from a previous version of the VCOD plan and would result in teardowns. Her own village center, West Newton Square, is particularly susceptible since most of the property belongs to a handful of owners.
Some of Ward 3 is included in the Newtonville Area Council catchment district and as such, participated in the Area Council’s 2018 survey in which an overwhelming majority of its 2,500 respondents indicated that they wanted buildings to be no more than four stories in village centers. Councilors Wright and Lucas have been arguing against VC3 zoning on Washington and Walnut Streets in the core village centers that would allow by right buildings as tall as six-stories in some areas.
In looking ahead to the final vote, a number of Councilors favor separating the MBTA Communities Law from the VCOD, and voting for only the number of units needed to comply with the MBTA Communities Law. According to Newton’s Planning Department Deputy Director Jennifer Caira, the City has included 9,100 units in its MBTA plan, thereby exceeding the state’s 8,330 requirement for Newton. “I don’t support more units without analyzing the impact on infrastructure, schools, traffic, fields and the environment,” Councilor Wright said.
Councilor Wright and others share a concern that developers are unlikely to develop truly affordable, workforce housing without receiving financial incentives. Since the new zoning rules allow “by right” development of lots up to 30,000 sq. ft., Wright fears that developers will more likely divide larger lots into parcels under the “by right” limit and construct two separate market-rate multi-family buildings with little or no green space or setbacks. Those units, in the thousands, are not counted in the full build out numbers.
In the recent election, “voters were pretty loud” in their opposition to the VCOD, according to David Kalis, Ward 8 Councilor At-Large. “The city is split and we need to find a way to compromise,” he said. While some claimed that constituents do not understand the issues, Councilor Kalis disagrees. In talking to constituents, he found that many were quite well-informed about zoning and the election outcome “spoke to their concerns.”
He agreed that the City Council has been working on zoning redesign for a long time and some Councilors have a deeper understanding of an issue, but he believes the way to resolve complex questions is through compromise. “A good legislative body seeks to find common ground,” Councilor Kalis said, noting “This is difficult as it often leaves both sides unsatisfied.” But, the “all or nothing approach” creates problems. He understands his role is to be “the voice of the constituents.”
Asked how he will vote going forward, Councilor Kalis said he will listen to the discussion, ask questions, and try to offer amendments to bring members together. Just fighting to win a point is not his view of his role as a Councilor. He represents voters who want to feel the Council is listening to them.
City Councilor Deb Crossley, At Large from Ward 5, who as chair of the Zoning and Planning Committee has championed the VCOD project, said, “We started this effort three years ago to do something good for Newton, to reinvigorate our villages by recovering some of the property rights, like allowing housing above retail and a few more stories that were stripped from our village business zoning districts in 1987. Our primary goals were to support struggling local business, address the housing shortage, and foster more environmentally friendly development. Although there is still room for some compromise, I will continue to argue for the whole VCOD zoning as a thoughtful means to the kind of flexible, moderate growth Newton needs to enable if we are to allow the city to evolve to meet the needs of next generations.”
City Council President Susan Albright, At-Large from Ward 2, who has been a strong advocate for the combined MBTA/VCOD zoning plan, noted that she is currently working with her colleagues to find a compromise that will allow for compliance with the MBTA Communities Law and would include Auburndale, one of the three villages with a commuter rail station. Without Auburndale in the MBTA package, President Albright believes Newton may forfeit the funding needed for redesigning the three stations at Auburndale, West Newton, and Newtonville to make them compliant with the requirements of the Americans With Disabilities Act. Moreover, all three stations are limited by one track and one platform.
Congressman Jake Auchincloss has managed to secure $7 million and hopes to secure more funding for the three-station project, and the state legislature has earmarked $85 million in the Transportation Bond Bill, which has not yet been allocated.
At the same time, some of Councilors have opposed the inclusion of Auburndale in the MBTA vote, maintaining that Newton does not need to include the village center zoning to comply with the MBTA Communities Law. But President Albright does not want to “risk losing the money” for upgrading the commuter rail stations, which she thinks could result from Auburndale being eliminated from the zoning plan. Like Councilor Kalis, she believes compromise will resolve the issue. Looking ahead at the planned redesign of the Massachusetts Turnpike, she believes improvement to the three commuter rail stations is essential.