A recent request to revise an approved special permit for development in Nonantum has stirred controversy around a lot that has remained vacant for seven years.
On October 7, 2024, the City Council issued a special permit to the owners of the property at 386-394 Watertown Street to build a three-story, ten-unit, multi-use building with two below-market-rate units, fourteen-stall parking, and commercial space on the first floor. The market-rate units would be smaller condominiums, therefore more affordable than other developments. The property is directly across Watertown Street from Coletti-Magni Park and has been a gaping hole since the existing building was demolished in 2017.
John Mula, who owns Salvi Barber Shop around the corner on Adams Street, had been in discussions with community leaders Teresa Sauro and Francis Yerardi to agree to ground-level parking rather than underground parking, which would make the project more expensive. Mrs. Sauro is President of the Nonantum Neighborhood Association, and Mr. Yerardi is a longtime Nonantum businessman with offices close to the project.
Mr. Mula and his attorney, Matthew Eckel, met with City Councilors and Nonantum community leaders to introduce plans for a new special permit on the site with an increase of half a story and three more units, including an additional affordable unit. They said they were considering applying for a VC2 zoning change, which would allow Mr. Mula to build up to three-and-a-half stores by right. Mr. Yerardi convinced the developers that they would “face huge community opposition and they didn’t have (the Council) votes.” Councilor John Oliver (At-large from Ward 1) told them he would support the project, but he could not support a VC2 designation. The other Ward 1 City Council members, Alison Leary and Maria Scibelli Greenberg, supported the new project. For Mrs. Sauro, Mr. Yerardi, and other Nonantum residents, the permission to rezone the property from its current BU1 to MU4 would set a precedent that would alter Watertown Street and Nonantum.
With the new project and the new zoning request in hand, Mr. Mula and Mr. Eckel presented their request to the Land Use Committee and the Planning and Zoning Board. A number of Nonantum residents spoke in opposition to his plan. Peter Doeringer, a Board member said, “I did find the notion of extending the MU4 zoning more broadly along Watertown Street to be an interesting one.” Barney Heath, Director of Newton’s Planning and Development Department, explained that MU4 zoning as applicable to ”a kind of spot where it’s appropriate as opposed to a stretch which I think gets into the larger discussion that was raised by some other speakers about the appropriate zoning for Watertown Street.”
In order to show the plans to Nonantum residents, Mr. Eckel organized a meeting on Wednesday, January 22nd at the Ciociara Club, at the corner of Bridge and Watertown Street, providing a clear view of the empty property. Trevor O’Leary, the architect of the project, joined Mr. Eckel in presenting renderings of the three-story and proposed four-story buildings and a timeline from 2017 to the current rezoning request (see slides). More than sixty people crowded into the club, and an additional forty people joined remotely on Zoom. Mr. Mula was at the club while his business partner, Nicholas Beaujean, was on Zoom answering questions in the “chat.” Councilor Alison Leary invited her colleague, Tarik Lucas, from Ward 2, to serve as MC. Their colleagues – Councilors Susan Albright and Andrea Kelley, chair of the City Council Land Use Committee – were in the audience, as were Councilors John Oliver and Maria Greenberg. Several Watertown Street property owners also attended.
One attendee asked if adding a fourth floor would change community life, to which Mr. Yerardi answered that it would set a precedent. A woman from West Newton read a letter from her daughter who was unable to attend but lived in Nonantum and appreciated its convenience and walkability. She expressed gratitude that her parents were able to help her buy her condominium. Arrianna Proia, a twenty-three-year old, third-generation Nonantum resident, responded that not everyone had those resources. She lives with her family and would not be able to afford an apartment. Attorney Peter Harrington raised the question of the size of the lot, which is 9,542 s.f., whereas MU4 is allowed on lots of 10,000 sf. to 19,999 s.f.
Jennifer Caira, Newton’s Deputy Planning Director, explained to Fig City News, “The 10,000 s.f. minimum lot size only applies when creating a new lot. This is also the minimum size in the existing zoning district of BU1. If someone wanted to subdivide a lot to create new lots, they would need to meet the minimum lot size; it does not impact the ability to rezone or develop.” As the meeting progressed, attendees on both sides expressed more anger and frustration, and the meeting ended rather abruptly.
For Mrs. Sauro, the development of even modest condominiums is problematic. She said “Our children can’t afford to live here,” adding that longtime businesses renting space in existing buildings in the area would close or try to relocate elsewhere if the properties were sold for redevelopment.
Mr. Yerardi observed: “We always fight first and negotiate after,” which he thinks is counter-productive. But he said he understands the neighborhood’s concerns about the zoning precedent-setting. Mr. Yerardi was responsible for finding a solution that changed the Nonantum business district development designation at the end of 2023, suggesting instead the unused Manufacturing District space for development. He told Fig City News, “You cannot get cheaper rates than you can in Nonantum and then sell them for Newton prices.” There needs to be another meeting, he said. Janine Stewart, a Nonantum Neighborhood Association Board member, lives on Adams Street and laments the heavy traffic. She says Nonantum is already vibrant, easily walkable and has a wide variety of stores. She shares the concern that if Mr. Mula’s property is rezoned, other property owners will ask for that option and drive businesses out of the area and encourage more expensive housing.
Councilor Leary told the audience at the Ciociara Club and reiterated to Fig City News that MU4 zoning has existed since 2012, and there have been four requests: TRIO, 28 Austin Street, a property under development in Newton Highlands, and another project not yet granted. While she could not commit to not approving other requests, she emphasized that the designation has been used ”sparingly.” Of the current project, she noted that no residents would be displaced, it would fill the hole in the ground, and it would provide smaller, more affordable units in a walkable neighborhood.
“We support Nonantum businesses,” Maria Greenberg told Fig City News, and said she thinks another business would increase the area vibrancy. According to the proposal, the ground floor would be ideal as a coffee shop. At the same time, she lamented the lack of civil discourse, which she thinks inhibits participation of some residents.
Councilor Oliver told Fig City News that Mr. Eckel and Mr. Mula stated in August that they were planning for three-and-a-half stories, but they needed to finalize the existing permit for three stories before it expired in December, 2024. They then applied for a Special Permit for the current proposal. He emphasized that MU4 zoning requires a Special Permit, nothing can be built by right, and the developer would always have to come before the City Council. He noted that the Council would be reviewing a zoning change request for this parcel.
In commenting on the meeting and some of the hostility, Mr. Mula told Fig City News, “My intent is the latest version of this project – going back to early last year – has been to erect a four-story building. I shared this idea and the updated plans with elected officials, abutters, and community stakeholders in 2024.” He said he was gratified by the turnout at the meeting, but “I understand the concerns raised regarding future over-development, but also appreciate those who supported the project and believe it should be approved on its own merits and will result in an attractive, efficient building which will provide both residential housing and commercial use at the site that everyone in Nonantum can be proud of.”
Mr. Mula and Mr. Eckel want the proposal to go before the Land Use Committee as soon as possible to begin the formal MU4 zoning process.
