There is some criticism that the Save Our Villages signs are “misleading.” While I have not bothered to count the actual number of floors depicted, I will safely assume that the graphic image on the sign was not meant to be a literal translation of Newton’s rezoning proposal, but more so a conceptual message warning about densification. Looking at the sign, if one did not know about the current VCOD proposal, which is a majority of residents, one could interpret that the City is doing something with our zoning that will lead to the urbanization of our village centers. How is that misleading? After all, it is the intent of our leaders to urbanize our village centers. The Zoning and Planning Committee has even hired an urban consultant, Utile, who continues to reference previous design work in South Boston. Since when is South Boston similar in scale and character to our villages? The goal of this rezoning proposal is so aggressive that it incentivizes development beyond 8,330 units which is the requirement of the MBTA Communities Act, by eliminating the special permit process for up to 30,000 square feet (lot size of Marty’s Liquors). It also allows development up to 6 stories.
Our local businesses in the village centers are most vulnerable to this rezoning proposal given the majority of them have landlords who could cash-in to developers. In Newtonville, about 93% of business are controlled by only a handful of property owners. This is a similar scenario in other villages. As such, it would not take much time for the village landscape to totally transform leading to high rents and gentrification, an issue that the city has failed to acknowledge.
To sum up, the messaging of Save Our Villages sign is SPOT ON!
Margaret Ward
Newtonville
