Planning & Development Department's "Friday Report"

Visit our website at www.newtonma.gov/planning

Meetings at a Glance

Monday, June 24:

Joint Zoning & Planning Committee and Planning & Development Board, 7:00 p.m., Room 205

Tuesday, June 25:

Joint Land Use Committee and Planning & Development Board, 7:00 p.m., Council Chamber (Room 207)

Wednesday, June 26:

Zoning Board of Appeals, 7:00 p.m., Council Chamber (Room 207)

Thursday, June 27:

Newton Historical Commission, 7:00 p.m., Room 205

Meetings Next Week

Joint Zoning & Planning Committee and Planning & Development Board: On Monday June 24th the Committee and Board will meet to discuss the following: #140-19(3), Zoning amendments for the Riverside Station area; #187-19, Zoning amendment from Newton LFIA for the Riverside Station; #188-19, Zoning amendment to the Inclusionary Zoning Ordinance; #128-19, Zoning amendment for short-term rentals; #136-19, Short-term rental ordinance with fees; #212-19 - #218-19, appointments and re-appointments to the Economic Development Commission, Commission on Disability and Auburndale Historic District Commission. Contact James Freas at 617.796.1137 or jfreas@newtonma.gov.
Joint Land Use Committee and Planning & Development Board: On Tuesday, June 25th the Committee/Board will meet at 7:00 p.m. in the Council Chamber (Room 207) to hear the following petitions: #179-19, Special Permit/Site Plan Review to amend Council Order #96-17 to allow a bank use at 845 Washington Street; #180-19, Special Permit/Site Plan Review to further increase the nonconforming floor area ratio at 67 Marlboro Street; #181-19, Special Permit/Site Plan Review to allow seven Single-Family Attached Dwellings with waivers to the dimensional requirements at 956 Walnut Street. The Committee will then be joined by the Planning and Development Board to hear the following petitions: #140-19, Request to rezone 4.5 acres at 355 and 399 Grove Street to the Mixed Use 3/TOD zone; and #140-19(2) Special Permit/Site Plan Reivew to allow a mixed-use development at the Riverside Station, containing ten buildings of not more than 1,520,000 sq. ft. and more than 20,000 sq. ft. of gross floor area including; up to 650,000 sq. ft. of office use, up to 750 residential units containing no more than 750,000 sq. ft., retail space of not more than 200,000 sq. ft., buildings up to 18-stories in height, building height of up to 230’, Floor Area Ratio up to 2.7, no more than 10% beneficial open space; to permit retail and personal establishments of more than 5,000 sq. ft. Contact Jennifer Caira at 617.796.1121 or jcaira@newtonma.gov.
Zoning Board of Appeals: On Wednesday, June 26th the Board of Appeals will meet at 7:00 p.m. in the City Council Chambers (Room 207) to hear the following petitions: #04-19 Herrick Road Realty Trust, 907 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, Massachusetts, requesting a variance from the front yard setback requirement to construct a three-story, nine-unit residential building at 39 Herrick Road. Contact Adrianna Henriquez at 617.796.1133 or ahenriquez@newtonma.gov.
Newton Historical Commission: On Thursday, June 27th the Commission will meet at 7:00 p.m. in Room 205. The following requests for full demolition will be heard: 50 Plainfield Street, 9 Sharon Avenue. Waiver requests to be heard: 33 Warren Road, 189 Evelyn Road, 21 Park Lane, 45 Fox Hill Road, 401 Albemarle Road. A request to withdraw a full demo application and CLG Eligibility report: 128 Highland Street. Please Click HERE to see the detailed agenda for the June 27th hearing. Contact Katy Hax Holmes at 617.796.1143 or kholmes@newtonma.gov.

Project & Program Updates

236 Auburn Street: Applications are now being accepted for the affordable housing lottery at 236 Auburn Street. This property will include three new affordable housing units with one 3-bedroom located in a historic renovated house, one 3-bedroom and one 2-bedroom located in a new duplex house. On-site parking and access to great schools and neighborhood amenities. Occupancy is expected 9/1/2019. No pets are allowed. These three units will be made available through this application process and rented to households with incomes at or below 60% of the Area Median Income. For additional information on this and other affordable housing opportunities Click HERE to go to our web page. Contact Malcolm Lucas at 617.796.1149 or mlucas@newtonma.gov.
28 Austin Street: Applications are now being accepted for the affordable housing lottery at 28 Austin Street in Newton. 23 of the apartments at this 68-unit apartment community will be made available through this application process and rented to households with incomes at or below 80% of the Area Median Income. For additional affordable housing assistance Click HERE to go to our web page. Contact Malcolm Lucas at 617.796.1149 or mlucas@newtonma.gov.
New Affordable Housing Opportunities: Stay up-to-date on new affordable housing opportunities in Newton as they become available for rent or purchase. Click HERE to input your name and email address to receive the Planning Department’s Email Updates regarding available affordable housing units throughout the City. Contact Malcolm Lucas at 617.796.1149 or mlucas@newtonma.gov.
Ribbon Cutting Ceremony - Accessible Restroom: On Monday, July 8th, at 6:00 p.m., in partnership with the Commission on Disability, the Planning & Development Department, Public Buildings Department, and ADA Coordinator, will hold a ribbon cutting ceremony to celebrate the completion of the newly constructed, fully accessible unisex restroom on the first floor of Newton City Hall. The new restroom is now available for use by residents, staff, and visitors of City Hall. Contact Jini Fairley at 617.796.1253 or jfairley@newtonma.gov.
Riverside Development Project: The Zoning & Planning Committee will continue it's Public Hearing on Monday, June 24th at 7:00 p.m. in the Council Chamber and on Tuesday, June 25th the Land Use Committee will continue its Public Hearing for the Riverside MBTA Station. Project information can be found on the Planning Department's page at www.newtonma.gov/riverside or the City Council's pages - Click HERE.
Riverside Vision Plan: The Riverside Vision Plan was presented at a community meeting on Tuesday, April 30th. To view the Vision Plan, presentation and NewTV video go to www.newtonma.gov/riversidevision.
Inclusionary Zoning Ordinance: The Planning Department is working on an update to the City’s Inclusionary Zoning ordinance, to increase the number of required affordable housing units per project, among other important changes. Inclusionary Zoning will be discussed at the upcoming Zoning & Planning Committee meeting on Monday, June 24th at 7:00 pm in Room 205. To review the most current proposal and to stay up-to-date on this project, Click HERE. Contact Amanda Berman at 617.796.1147 or aberman@newtonma.gov.
Newton in Motion (NewMo): This week Newton’s new senior transportation system "NewMo" was launched. The system is available to all Newton residents ages 60 and over. It provides on-demand, easily identifiable vehicles, and vetted drivers who will walk passengers to their doors upon request, and reliably get people to and from the senior center, villages, medical appointments and to specified destinations, primarily in Newton. Seniors can book a trip in real time with an app on their smart phone or with a phone call. The system will create a route to pick up multiple passengers along the way; ride sharing is both environmentally friendly and provides a social experience for passengers. Contact Nicole Freedman at nfreedman@newtonma.gov or 617.796.1481.
"Hello Washington Street!" is the City of Newton's initiative to plan proactively the future of Washington Street in a community-based process with residents, local businesses, and City Councilors, with the help of the Principle Group, the planning firm under contract with the City of Newton. The project team presented Draft #3 to the Zoning Committee on Monday, April 22nd. Go to www.newtonma.gov/washingtonstreetvision to see Draft #3.
Make Poetry Concrete: The City of Newton has created a program to stamp selected poems into the concrete of newly constructed sidewalks throughout the City’s villages. Go to www.newtonma.gov/sidewalkpoetry for more information.
Community Preservation Committee: The full agenda and packet for the CPC meeting on July 9th should be online by June 28th. --For the next month, NewTV will be broadcasting a discussion with current and former CPC members, moderated by the League of Women Voters of Newton (LWVN). CLICK HERE for a searchable schedule. --Finally, CLICK HERE to share your ideas about how Newton should use its CPA funds ! Most of this survey's 8 questions are multiple-choice. For assistance, contact Alice Ingerson at 617.796.1144 or aingerson@newtonma.gov.
West Newton Square Enhancements: The project is now advancing from planning to implementation. Click HERE to view the proposed improvements and visit the website. For construction updates contact Terry Crowley at tacrowley@newtonma.gov.
Northland Development: The Land Use Committee will continue their public hearing on Tuesday, July 9th at 7:00 p.m. in the Council Chamber. The proposed project on Needham and Oak Streets, 156 Oak Street, 275‐281 Needham Street & 55 Tower Road, includes 14 buildings varying in height from 3 to 8 stories with a total of 800 housing units (123 of which will be affordable), 180,000 square feet of office space and 115,000 square feet of commercial space on a 22.6 acre site. Information on the project can be found on our website at www.newtonma.gov/northland. To view information on the City Council's Land Use Committee page - Click HERE. Contact Michael Gleba at 617.796.1123 or mgleba@newtonma.gov.
Walnut Street Enhancements Project: Check out the visuals showing recent progress and the anticipated timeline of final design completion and construction, which is on track to begin in 2019. In June 2018 City Council voted to approve the proposed road layout for Walnut Street. Visit the website at www.newtonma.gov/walnutstreet.
Lime Bikes are Back: Lime bikes are back on the street for Season Two and Lime has upgraded Newton’s fleet to be 100 percent battery powered, pedal-assist “e-bikes.” You still have to pedal, but with a small boost of power, the e-bikes help flatten hills and shrink distances. When Lime first introduced e-bikes last September, riders rented the e-bikes twice as often as the manual bikes, prompting Lime to phase out the standard bikes. While scooters are gaining traction across the country, and a pilot is underway in Brookline, Newton is not considering them. Remember to wear a helmet, ride safely and follow the rules of the road. When parking, don’t block sidewalks, driveways, or crosswalks. If you see a bike parked in the wrong place call Customer Service at City Hall at 617-796-1000, or help us out if you can and reposition the bike yourself.
Bicycling in Newton: Did you know that we have a web page just for bicycling located in our Transportation Planning section? Click HERE to check-out it out and to find news and updates to various transportation initiatives. Contact Nicole Freedman at 617.796.1481 or nfreedman@newtonma.gov.
Needham Street Corridor Project (MassDOT roadwork): This project proposes roadway reconstruction and transportation safety improvements including new pavement, sidewalks, traffic signals, crosswalks, bicycle lanes and stormwater management. Email tacrowley@newtonma.gov to sign up for occasional project updates.
Sign Up for Mayor Fuller’s Email Updates: Looking for the latest news about happenings at City Hall and around Newton? Click the icon to the right or input your email address HERE to receive Mayor Ruthanne Fuller’s Email Updates. To see archived editions of the Mayor’s Email Updates, visit the City of Newton website at www.newtonma.gov.

Planning & Development Department | City of Newton, MA | 617.796.1120