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…
Posts published in “Zoning”
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…
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…
U-CHAN (Uniting Citizens for Housing Affordability in Newton) will not be officially endorsing any candidates for City Council based on their stance on the Village Center Overlay District (VCOD) zoning proposal, as the short-term and material impact on very low-income households is minimal. As an organization that is well-versed in the multitude…
Newton is on the precipice of an important decision. A decision that will determine not if Newton changes – all communities change – but how Newton changes. That decision is embedded in the Village Center Overlay District proposal now before the Newton City Council. As with every public policy decision,…
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…
I am endorsing the following City Council candidates – Rena Getz, Alan Lobovits, Lisa Gordon, Randy Block, Stephen Farrell, and David Micley. I am doing this because of the current City Council’s failure to examine, much less resist, Mayor Fuller’s plan to rezone Newton. If her plan goes through, there…
Although the ballot doesn’t mention it, this election is about the Administration’s Village Center Overlay District (VCOD) zoning proposal and the majority City Councilors who support it. The VCOD, a boon to wealthy real estate entities, will upzone most of Newton’s village centers and nearby residential streets for some 14,600…
Multiple concerns and issues regarding the VCOD must still be addressed. Ultimately, the City Council should separately vote on compliance with the MBTA Communities Act and provisions of the VCOD. Numerous Questions: What is the projected target population for Newton? What will be the impact on services, including schools, parking, police,…