On December 8, the Planning Department held an online Village Center Zoning Input Session to hear feedback, receive comments, and answer questions related to the proposed zoning map for Newtonville. Over 140 residents attended the meeting. The Planning Department summarized public comments in real-time in notes appended to a map…
Fig City News
The fifth Village Center Zoning Input Session focused on the village of West Newton. The meeting was held on Wednesday, December 7 with over 120 participants attending the discussion Unlike previous presentations, Planning Department staff attempted to show three examples of VC 1: 110-112 Webster Street (3 units, 3900 sq.…
On December 5, the Planning Department held its fourth Village Center Zoning Input Session to hear feedback, receive comments, and answer some (but not all) questions related to the proposed zoning maps for Newton Lower Falls and Auburndale. Over 70 participants were on hand to hear the short presentation by…
On Thursday, December 1st, Barney Heath, Director of Newton’s Planning Department, joined by members of his staff, launched the third in a series of seven community presentations on the proposed Village Center Overlay Design. This meeting, focused on Newton Center and Thompsonville, was not meant to be a public hearing,…
On Wednesday, November 30, approximately 59 residents participated in the third Village Center Zoning Input Session, focusing on the proposed maps for Four Corners and Newton Highlands. After a brief presentation by the Planning Department, Ward 5 Councilor Brenda Noel was the first to ask for clarification on what problems…
A group of climate action advocates in Newton, led by Mothers Out Front/Newton, is asking the City Council’s Public Facilities Committee for more transparency about National Grid’s gas-pipeline-replacement projects and for gas-leak repairs that are less disruptive, trenchless, lower-cost, yet as-safe. The group is concerned that Committee has been permitting…
Discussed equity versus excellence and whether to soften community feedback Following the collection of data from surveys and focus groups, the recruiting firm hired by Newton — Hazard, Young, and Attelier (HYA) — authored 1) a six-page Leadership Profile Report that condensed the survey and focus group into a summary…
By the December 1 deadline, the City received nine responses to the Dudley Road Estate Requests for Expression of Interests (EOI) that was issued by the City to developers that may be interested in partnering on a plan for the parcel that was offered to the City by its current…
The Riverside Neighborhood Liaison Committee sent an update to the community stating that the Riverside project is currently on hold. According to the report, “Over the last four months, increased construction costs (they have gone up by 25%) and rising interest rates have stalled the project. Once Mark Development has…
Over 100 people participated in the November 29 online information session about proposed zoning maps for Upper Falls and Waban. The meeting was led by the City’s Planning Department. After a brief presentation on the process of creating the maps and an explanation of the different Village Center Districts, the…
In October, the Newton Cemetery & Arboretum (NC&A) sent a letter to the City Council’s Programs & Services Committee requesting exemption from Newton’s Tree Preservation Ordinance (TPO) – both in the current form of the ordinance and under either of two proposed revisions to it (one by the City Council…
Three City meetings, all on December 1, were announced too late to be included in Fig City’s Monday newsletter of Local Government Meetings and Reports: The Housing and Community Development Division of the Newton Planning and Development Department will hold a Special WestMetro HOME virtual (Zoom link) meeting on Thursday,…