Although the ballot doesn’t mention it, this election is about the Administration’s Village Center Overlay District (VCOD) zoning proposal and the majority City Councilors who support it. The VCOD, a boon to wealthy real estate entities, will upzone most of Newton’s village centers and nearby residential streets for some 14,600 higher-density housing units.
That’s about 6,000 more than the State’s MBTA Communities law requires. The affordable units and on-site parking requirements are inadequate. Vulnerable residents and small businesses will be displaced as buildings are demolished to make way for high-density, high-priced rental units – pushing housing prices up and putting home ownership further out of reach. There’s been no impact analysis nor planning to address impacts. Public engagement has been top down, and many residents seem unaware of, or unhappy about, the dramatic transformation VCOD will trigger.
That’s why we need to elect six candidates who will shift the City Council to a new majority that supports meeting the State’s 8,330 upzoning requirement, but nothing more. This new majority supports a slower pace of redevelopment in Newton, and resident consent to any further upzoning. There are only six contested races this election, but all six are critical for a new majority and changing Newton’s direction to resident-centered rather than property-speculator-centered.
So please vote for just one candidate, not two, in the at-large races to secure a win. Vote for only Rena Getz in the At-Large Ward 5 race and only Alan Lobovits in the At-Large Ward 6 race. All Newton voters can vote in all at-large races. Ward 2 voters, please vote for David Micley. Ward 4 voters, please vote for Randy Block. Ward 6 voters, vote Lisa Gordon. Ward 8 voters, it’s Stephen Farrell. If these six candidates win, residents will regain a say in our garden city’s future.
Kathleen Kouril Grieser
Newtonville