On Monday, February 2, Ward 2 City Councilor Susan Albright raised a charter objection to the Public Safety and Transportation Committee’s recommendation to shorten the Newton Centre Plaza pilot to May 31. This effectively delayed consideration of that recommendation until the next City Council meeting. (The City’s Charter allows any Councilor to raise such a charter objection to the consideration of any item, and a charter objection may be made only once to any item before the Council.)
“This item needs more thought,” Albright said during the meeting. “The outpouring of support the Council has received demands more time and consideration. I want to give the Ward 6 Councilors time to work on this and think about this, and that’s why I’m chartering this item tonight.”
In her remarks, Councilor Albright pointed to how the plaza was initially implemented under former Mayor Ruthanne Fuller, saying it was put in place “without much public discussion.”
She said that the Traffic Council later extended the pilot through October 31 to allow time for data collection and evaluation, but that the Public Safety and Transportation Committee’s subsequent vote to end the pilot on May 31 also moved forward without a broader public debate. The sequence, she argued, warranted a pause to allow for more consideration by the Council and community.
The Public Safety and Transportation Committee also heard comments about the possibility of moving the plaza from the parking lot to the adjacent Newton Centre Green. During the full City Council meeting, Councilor Albright raised concerns about accessibility and potential legal implications if plaza elements were moved to the Green.
She questioned whether ramps or platforms would be required to make the Green space accessible to people with disabilities and said that adding permanent structures could trigger Article 97, a state constitutional provision protecting public parkland. If invoked, she said, any changes would require approval by a two-thirds vote of the State Legislature.
Albright also said the debate underscores the need for broader planning in Newton Centre.
“Newton Centre cries out for a master plan. It should be and could be our premier village with some master planning, but that’s for the future,” she said.
Councilor Tarik Lucas, who filed the appeal of the Traffic Council decision and chairs the Public Safety and Transportation Committee, declined to comment on the charter objection.
