Highlights this week:
- City Council …voting on $2,000,000 of CPA funding for restoration of bell tower of First Baptist Church
- Public Safety & Transportation …reviewing recommended appointments to the selection committee for a new Police Chief
- Public Facilities … discussing with DPW about water, sewer, stormwater infrastructure
- Zoning and Planning …reviewing economic analysis of zoning and factors that can lead to tear-downs
- School Committee …addressing a Memorandum of Understanding with NTA regarding Parental Leave
- Community Preservation Committee …holding a public hearing on the West Newton Cinema Foundation proposal
- Economic Development Commission …hosting a talk by City’s Director of Transportation Planning Jenn Martin
- MassDOT …holding the first virtual public meeting on the Newton Corner Long-Term Planning Study
City Council
City Council Chairs will meet on Monday to discuss draft policies on Council communications.
City Council will meet on Monday and is expected to vote on the following (see Reports docket):
Items approved in committee:
- Special Permit/Site Plan Amendment to allow additional parking on site, located 20 feet of a lot line, at 120-126 Norwood Avenue
- Extension of Time to Exercise Special Permit for construction of an attached garage with living space above at 39 Floral Street
- Extension of Nonconforming Two-Family Dwelling Use for construction of modifications including a detached garage, enclosing rear porches, and constructing a covered front porch, resulting in a three-story structure at 52-54 Hatfield Road
- Amendment to Special Permit to reconfigure the parking facility and reduce the number of stalls 386-394 Watertown Street
- Special Permit/Site Plan to demolish existing structures, combine the lots, and construct four residential dwelling units in a building exceeding the by-right height and stories at 340 River Street and 76 Lexington Street
- Amendment to Special Permit to further extend the nonconforming front setback and convert three garage stalls to carports at 290 Watertown Street
- Extension of Nonconforming FAR for construction of a single-story rear addition and an attached garage in place of an existing carport at 15 York Road
- Increase of Nonconforming FAR and Alteration of Nonconforming Second Story to establish an accessory apartment within the existing detached historic barn, altering the roofline for additional habitable space at 6 Lowell Avenue
- MWRA Loans
- Borrow $19,573,000 in an interest-free, ten-year loan for various water infrastructure projects
- Borrow $4,403,000 in an interest-free, ten-year loan for design and construction for Sewer CIP Project 10
- Transfer and expend $215,000 from Trio mitigation funds for new traffic signal equipment at the Lowell Avenue/Washington Street intersection
- CPA Funding:
- $2,000,000 toward restoration of bell tower of First Baptist Church
- $650,000 for renovations at the historic former Davis School Building
Discussion items voted No Action Necessary:
- BERDO: Possible ordinance requiring owners of large property to report energy use and greenhouse gas emissions
- Dudley Road Safety: Safety concerns due to speeding, accidents, and the safety of pedestrians and bikers on Dudley Road
The New Docket contains the following:
- Public hearings on October 22:
- Allow parking in the front setback and within five feet of the front lot line at 31 Chase Street
- Allow parking in the front setback and within five feet of the front lot line at 140 Derby Street
- Allow four single-family attached dwellings, reduce the side setback, and allow a driveway and parking near the lot line at 51 Oak Avenue
- Allow a dormer exceeding 50% of the wall plane below at 67 Chester Street
- Request for Extension of Time to construct an attached garage with living space above, extending the nonconforming front setback and reducing the nonconforming open space at 39 Floral Street
- Appointment of Jennifer Pucci to the Zoning Board of Appeals
- Funding Requests and Authorizations:
- Accept and expend a $585,989.09 grant from FEMA for AEDs, training, and fitness/wellness classes
- Accept and expend a $217,800 grant from MassDOT for BlueBikes bike-share operations
- Accept and expend a $50,000 grant for a Wage and Classification Plan
- Accept and expend a $50,000 grant for an Economic Development Plan
- Appropriate and expend $14,350 for fire training
- Discussions:
- Amendments to the Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) Ordinance to comply with the State’s Zoning Act
- Possible amendments to Chapter 30 Zoning to allow certain routine residential alterations by right
- Changes to the Tree Ordinance to avoid financial hardship for homeowners
- Possible changes to parking fines and residential parking fee structures
- Beaver dam flooding at Wells Avenue: Discussion with DPW and Conservation Commission about non-lethal beaver intervention and sewer main access
- Eversource petition for a grant of location to install and maintain a pole on Christina Street
- Set date for a Special Election to fill the Ward 8 vacancy on the Newton School Committee
Financial Audit Advisory Committee will meet on Tuesday to consider:
- Preliminary Audit Work Performed To-Date
- Update on Year-End Phase of the Audit
- Special Projects Update
- Single Audit/ Federal Grants Status
- Timing of Final Reports/ Meeting schedule
- Questions/Concerns
Public Safety and Transportation will meet on Wednesday to consider:
- Recommended appointments by the Mayor for the Police Chief Selection Committee:
- Karl O’Hara, business executive of the city of Newton
- Michelle Leung, attorney
- Judge Nancy Holtz, member of the Judiciary
- Chief Kevin O’Connell, Massachusetts Police Chiefs Association
- Derege B. Demissie, citizen of the city of Newton
- Rabbi Keith Stern, citizen of the city of Newton
- Officer John Panica, Newton Police Association.
- Recommended appointments by the City Council for the Police Chief Selection Committee:
- Councilor Tarik Lucas
- Dr. Lauren Solotar
- Possible ordinance changes, and whether such changes are needed regarding:
- Categories and levels of parking fines
- Residential parking programs and fee structures
Public Facilities will meet on Wednesday to consider:
- Grant of location in a manhole in Wells Avenue south of Nahanton Street
- Grant of location to install and maintain one new jointly owned pole on the north side of Christina Street, west of Bernard Street
- Discussion with DPW on Newton’s water, sewer, stormwater infrastructure, cost savings from these upgrades, present position, and future work planned to upgrade the infrastructure including a timeline
- Discussion on private ways; methods for them to become public ways if requested, problems related to private ways; and any possible ordinance changes needed
Programs and Services regularly scheduled meeting has been canceled.
Zoning and Planning will meet on Thursday to consider:
- Possible public hearings on November 14 on possible amendments:
- To dormer regulations for Residential Building to clarify overall dormer-length calculations
- To retaining wall regulations for Multi Family/Commercial/Industrial/Civic Buildings
- Economic analysis by Landwise of current zoning and the factors that can lead to teardowns, to support discussions of possible ordinance amendments to:
- Enhance the preservation of existing homes
- Revise the metrics in the multi-residence zones to regulate the size of new buildings better, enable a wider range of housing options close to public transit, and better incentivize preservation and renovation of existing housing stock
- Align zoning to the proposed use for by right or special permit projects for new build or major renovations, to further improve consistency in lot utilization
- Ensure that Newton’s Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) Ordinance complies with the State’s Zoning Act (Ch. 40A)
School Committee
Negotiation Subcommittee will meet on Monday in Executive Session to conduct strategy with respect to collective bargaining with the NTA regarding Parental Leave.
School Committee will meet on Monday to consider:
- Consent Agenda: Capital Improvement Plan (CIP), Gift to Williams Elementary School, Field trips
- Superintendent’s Report: DESE SRO Report, Superintendent Goals
- Student Services Overview
- MCAS Opt-Out Update
- Human Resources Update: Hiring, Churn, Retention Rates
- Memorandum of Understanding with NESA on Days/Work hours
- Memorandum of Understanding with NTA on Parental Leave
Boards and Commissions
Auburndale Historic District will meet on Tuesday to consider a Certificate of Appropriateness to install heat pumps at 150 Woodland Road.
Community Preservation Committee will meet on Tuesday to consider:
- West Newton Cinema Full Proposal public hearing
- Jackson Homestead Basement pre-proposal
- First Baptist Church Update and possible vote
- Other Business: Existing and Potential Future Projects, Current Finances
Economic Development Commission will meet on Tuesday for:
- City updates
- Guest Speaker: Director of Transportation Planning Jenn Martin
- Massachusetts Competitive Index Report discussion
Urban Design Commission will meet on Wednesday to consider:
- Sign Permits: Directory Sign at 846 Walnut Street, Cannibis by Redi at 26 Elliot Street, Camp Schodack at 15 Cypress Street, multiple signs at 269-287 Grove Street
- Fence Appeals: 126 Parker Street, 6 Locksley Road, 11 Dedham Street
- Sign Ordinance
Newton Housing Authority will meet on Thursday.
Conservation Commission will meet on Thursday to consider:
- Eagle Scout Presentation by Jacob Shen- Wood Chip Installation on Trail at Flowed Meadow
- Notices of Intent:
- 24 Warren Street development
- Ch. 40B development of 184-unit multi-family residential building at 528 Boylston Street
- BC Quonset hut at 825 Centre Street
- Tear-down of single family house and construction of a duplex at 712 Watertown Street
- Request for an Amended Order of Conditions for a patio at 15 Keefe Avenue
- Requests for Certificates of Compliance:
- Partial demolition and reconstruction of a single-family home with mitigation plantings at 192 Concord Street
- Demolition and construction of a single-family house with mitigation planting at 25 Bernard Street
- Closeout for demolition of a single-family house and construction of a duplex at 942 Watertown Street
- Single-family house renovation at 409 Crafts Street
- Clean the original “pond” bottom, cut leaning willow tree, plant 3 trees and 5 shrubs, and establish a 3-foot minimum annual mow strip at Woodland Golf Club, 1897 Washington Street
- Interior addition at 104 Lake Avenue
Newton Upper Falls Historic District will meet on Thursday to consider:
- Requests for Certificates of Appropriateness to:
- Install fence sections at 1174 Boylston Street
- Renovate the existing house, enlarge the dormer, build an addition on the back, and make changes to the side elevations, driveways, and hardscaping at 16-20 Winter Street
- Renovate the house, rebuild front entry porch, raise roof height or tower height, demolish chimney, rear addition and garage, and build new rear addition at 103 High Street
- Request for feedback on a proposed renovation of existing building, addition or dormers, carport and parking, and driveway and site changes at 44 Oak Street
Other
MassDOT will hold its first virtual Public Information Meeting for the Newton Corner Long-Term Planning Study on October 8, 6:30PM-7:30PM. The study team will review the existing conditions of the study area; outline issues, opportunities, and constraints; and solicit feedback. Register here.
The Development Review Team will meet to consider the razing of a single-family dwelling to construct four attached singles at 49 Dalby Street, and the rezoning of 386-390 Watertown Street to allow for a four-story, multi-unit, mixed use building.
This week’s road construction schedule has not been posted.