The Charles River Region Chamber of Commerce opposed the general override as a threat to Newton’s small businesses. It cited economic headwinds (inflation, high borrowing costs, a possible recession, etc.) to argue Newton’s small businesses face enough challenges and this is no time to increase their tax burden. The Chamber wrote: “Without significant relief, we fear Newton could see more vacant storefronts, empty buildings and layoffs in the days to come.”
Key members of the Zoning and Planning Committee claim that upzoning will put “more feet on the street” to save our Village Centers, which they say are “withering.” They ignore the strong bounce back from COVID. Newtonville, for example, has businesses that have expanded (Los Amigos), added branches (Union Pharmacy), newly opened (Grandma’s Kitchen), and moved here from WNS where developers are doing project parcel assembly (Comella’s).
Upzoning is actually an existential threat to our community’s thriving local small businesses. They will be displaced when the buildings they occupy are demolished by developers who can launch projects “By Right” after upzoning. After forcing local small businesses to relocate (like Newtonville Camera, now of Waltham), developer landlords will replace them with regional and national chains (and banks) that can afford the higher rents that come with new construction. Newton’s Village Center storefronts will be repopulated with the kinds of homogenous stores that come with gentrification and urbanization.
The owners of our local small businesses won’t suffer alone. While developers will reap handsome profits, the community will be impoverished by our Village Centers’ loss of character and the loss of many treasured local small (often family-run) businesses.
Carolyn Jacoby Gabbay
Editor’s note: This letter has been edited to remove an error about the Charles River Chamber of Commerce. The Chamber has testified in a public hearing in support of Village Centers upzoning.
