Recently the New York Times wrote about families struggling to afford both their cars and housing (How the Costs of Car Ownership Add Up, Oct. 6, 2023). The AAA has estimated that the average annual “cost of ownership” for a new car is now over $12,000. Over the life of a 30-year mortgage a family that can get…
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The zoning ordinance proposal currently before the City Council has become a very controversial piece of legislation. The voters indicated their displeasure in the municipal election held last Tuesday, Nov. 7 when three incumbents who favor this legislation – Alicia Bowman, Deborah Crossley, and Holly Ryan — were all defeated. Their…
After a prolonged period of discord, it is time for our City Councilors to collaborate and compromise on a zoning solution. The “ouster” [Fig City News] of 3 long-serving Councilors – most notably, the 7-term Chair of the Zoning and Planning Committee (ZAP) – and the election of 5 of the…
An electoral earthquake shook Newton politics last Tuesday, as voters swept out candidates who favored exceeding the state’s MBTA Communities rezoning requirements and favored those advocating staying within state limits. Tarik Lucas and John Oliver, whose decisive elections two years ago foreshadowed this earthquake, were the top vote-getters, while other anti-VCOD…
I’m supporting Rena Getz in the upcoming election for City Councilor At-large from Ward 5. Rena is uniquely qualified to lead on addressing the disruptive development policies that threaten to destroy historically significant architectures and rapidly change the appearance of our villages over the coming decade. Rena speaks softly with deliberate…
I have known David Micley all his life. Growing up he was deeply involved in our synagogue and we worked together at the Combined Jewish Philanthropies. David was an amazing part of our staff, a creative leader among his colleagues and a real leader in the community. He was driven…
A common concern regarding the Village Center Overlay District (VCOD) project is that newcomers to Newton living in new, larger developments will potentially create more parking demand than can currently be supplied. Reassuringly, local real-world data shows that this is not the case. At ten multi-family housing sites in Newton, only…
It seems we are living in an age of disinformation when people say things deliberately or inadvertently which have no basis in fact. This is the case for claims in the Ward 4 Councilor race that Randy Block is against the construction of a rail trail in Newton Lower Falls.…
The Zoning and Planning Committee of the City Council has approved new zoning for business districts after a long and thoughtful process, ably assisted by the Planning Department. The Committee and the planners sought out, and benefited from, extensive public input. The committee began work several years ago with the…
A recent social media post referred to anti-development candidates. Let’s be clear. We have NO anti-development candidates. We have candidates who support Newton’s compliance with the MBTA Communities, which requires that Newton zone for a 25% increase in housing units. They support no more until an impact analysis, and additional community education…