Newton Corner Neighborhood Association
Meeting Notes:
March 13, 2024
The March meeting of the NCNA held on 3/13/24, began at 7:30 PM, with 3 councilors and nearly 40 members in attendance.
Galen Street Traffic
Councilor Alison Leary, Councilor at Large from Ward 1, discussed the impact of the new Biotech building on Galen Street traffic. Watertown had done a pre-Covid traffic study in which they assumed that 75% of employees would be driving to and from work and that traffic patterns would mirror that of other biotech labs in the area. After speaking with a Watertown city councilor, Councilor Leary was able to report the following:
• Traffic along Galen Street is projected to increase by 170 trips during peak evening hours and 145 trips in the morning.
• 34% of those trips would be made using the Mass Pike.
• There are reasons to believe these numbers might be on the high side because of the building’s location next to a bus hub and next to the Charles River (which has bike paths). Watertown has also made improvements to the traffic flow and can change lights to accommodate traffic flow as needed.
Councilor Maria Scibelli-Greenberg, Ward Councilor for Ward 1, added that Watertown is also planning to redesign its town square. A survey of residents regarding their preferred design was recently completed, and the results of that survey would be available to us upon request. She acknowledged that rebuilding Watertown Square will be a huge project.
Stormwater and flooding in Eldridge Street
Councilor Leary then addressed the issue of stormwater and, in particular, the recurring flooding of Eldridge Street. She has emailed the Commissioner and Associate Commissioner about this matter, but they have not yet gotten back to her. It appears they don’t have a real plan for the Church & Eldridge Street intersection, but she will give an update at the next meeting. The Utility Department has been checking pipes and noted that they are clear in the area of flooding.
Mass DOT Newton Corner Improvements
The next issue addressed by Councilor Leary was the Mass DOT Newton Corner improvements. Mass DOT had a meeting with city staff in early March. Newton’s new Director of Transportation, Ned Todd, sent her the following date options for when DOT could meet with the public. These included Wednesday, May 22, Wednesday, June 5, or Thursday, June 6. Since June 6 is also the day for the Underwood School’s 100th Birthday Celebration, it was immediately suggested that this date would not be a viable option for the community and should be removed from consideration.
Electrification Project
Lastly, Councilor Leary, together with Councilor John Oliver, Councilor at Large from Ward 1, addressed the issues involved with the city’s Electrification Project. This project is required to accommodate the changes in the building code made at the State level. Newton’s goal is to be carbon neutral by 2050. The Citizen’s Commission on Energy Progress is working towards this goal, but she acknowledged that there is a long way to go. Modifications include:
• Creating a tighter building envelope
• Wiring entire buildings to support electrical appliances and vehicles and
• Getting off fossil fuels, which includes prohibiting a gas hookup.
These new rules will apply to all major renovations, i.e., those that involve 50% or more of an existing building or 1000 square feet, and to all new buildings. A concern is that one consequence of these changes will be the creation of “stranded assets,” i.e., the people who continue to use natural gas after others have stopped using it will be paying more for the same amount.
Other comments on electrification:
• Joan Belle Isle stated that while she is fully in support of the electrification process, her concern is for the number of support poles that look as if they are about to fall over (such as the pole by Mt. Ida St.).
• Councilor Leary acknowledged that any discussion about electrification also needs to discuss the distribution network.
• Councilor Marc Laredo was reported to be working on removing double poles and hardening the grid.
Other traffic/road concerns
Both Councilors Leary and Scibelli-Greenberg spoke to the safety concerns raised by the “Newton Safe Routes to School” Program =(https://sites.google.com/view/newtonsaferoutes/home) regarding the intersection of Centre Street and Richardson Street (across from Signal Graphics). This intersection is a strong candidate for the Safety RRFP (Rectangular Rapid Flashing Beacon) program. Underwood School also needs safety upgrades, as is the interaction of Hubbard Park & Tremont.
Councilor Scibelli-Greenberg also commented on the 20 letters she received from “Service Stars” https://www.servicestarskids.org regarding the intersection of Vernon Street and Eldredge Street. The letters noted that the sidewalks were full of cracks and there is no yellow ramp for wheelchairs. Maria wrote to the Transportation Department about these concerns, and the new Director, Ned Todd, wrote back. However, long-term questions about the school’s future make it an unlikely candidate for safety grants at this time.
Community Dialogue Committee
Councilor John Oliver leads a group of five councilors who are studying how the council and city can provide a better baseline of commonly agreed-upon facts to inform conversations with their constituents. In other words, the conversation is not about fact-finding or facts in dispute. It is about solving problems based upon facts already known.
He acknowledged that people sometimes struggle to find information on city websites. The goal of the Community Dialogue Committee is to identify areas of informational interest, reduce it to a list of 12–15 central themes, collect and organize the data by theme and make it easily accessible to all. Having a common information foundation, removing bias, and keeping the focus on the facts would enable people to communicate more clearly in a more transparent and collaborative way. This includes the Mayor’s Office and all the departments she represents, the City Council, the School Committee, and the PTOs.
Craft Street Development
The proposed mega-development at 78 Crafts Street, which includes 307 units and 250+ parking spaces, has raised concerns among neighbors regarding building heights and increased traffic. Councilor Oliver will continue to monitor this as it works its way through the Zoning Board of Appeals.
Spears Park Community Garden
Councilor Maria Scibelli-Greenberg provided an update on the Spears Park Community Garden at the corner of Washington Street and Walnut Park. She was happy to report that the Community Preservation Committee (CPC) unanimously voted to move the funding proposal ahead to its next meeting in early April. One more committee vote is required to secure $150,000 in funding. If the garden is again approved, work can begin this summer. She noted that the CPC received 30 letters in support of the project, and the members all seemed enthusiastic about creating the garden.
41 Washington St Project
Councilor Scibelli-Greenberg also reported on a second project of importance to the neighborhood, but the news here was less positive. She had just received an update from the developer of 41 Washington Street in which the developer proposed to demolish the existing home and replace it with a very large rectangular structure with 16 units, 4 of which are designated for “affordable” housing, and 20 parking spaces.
While the developer still needs to go before the Historic Commission, we were reminded that the Commission denied Councilor Greenberg’s application for historic status for the home last year. The question now is how to prevent the construction of an apartment building on land with significant drainage issues in a neighborhood of single-family homes. Because the project includes “affordable housing,” its approval is a matter for the State Zoning Board of Appeals (under State Law 40B) and not Newton city government.
Councilor Oliver explained that State Law 40B was designed to circumvent the process by which local city and local zoning have control over property. It allows developers to bypass local zoning requirements if a certain percent of the proposed new units are set aside for “affordable” pricing.
Once more than 10% of a city’s housing inventory meets the “Affordability” criteria, this ability to circumvent local zoning requirements disappears. Newton has met that 10% threshold and has technically achieved “Safe Harbor” status regarding 40B requirements. Unfortunately, since this project was begun before that threshold was met, the pre-Safe Harbor criteria still apply.
On Wednesday, April 3, this project will again come before the Zoning Board of Appeals for a public hearing on its status as a 40B project. If you are interested in learning more about this issue:
Please contact save.hunnewell@gmail.com
Ask to be added to Councilor Maria Scibelli-Greenberg’s 41 Washington email distribution list to get developer and ZBA updates on the project. Email your request to Councilor Greenberg at msgreenberg@newtonma.gov.
Attend the ZBA Meeting on Wed, April 3, in person at City Hall or by Zoom. Email Ms. Belsante to obtain the Zoom link bbelsanti@newtonma.gov.
School Choice
Rajeev Parlikar, Ward 1 School Committee Member, spoke on School Choice. This process allows school districts to vote if they want to offer open spots in their schools — by grade level and school — to out-of-town students selected through a lottery. Once a student is accepted to a school, they can remain in the system until they graduate. Also, since it is a lottery, there is no way to screen students, and the only preference given is for siblings of existing students. Newton has always voted “No” to this program because while there may be room for students in the primary schools, the system is already overcrowded in the upper grades.
Regarding finances — if a student is selected, their original school district will pay Newton $5000 per year. Since it costs Newton $20,000 a year to educate each student and many neighboring towns have schools that aren’t as good as Newton’s, the result could be a massive overcrowding of Newton Schools at the middle and upper school levels. While students would bring marginal revenue with them, it would not offset the additional costs of their education.
Repairing Farlow Park Pond
Keith Jones, President of Friends of Farlow Park, addressed the issues involved in repairing Farlow Park Pond and planting more cherry trees in the park. Commission Nicole Banks (Parks, Recreation, and Culture) informed Keith that $50K has been allocated by the state towards fixing the pond, but the money must be spent before June 30. She said that bids are being made, and the work will be done by the deadline. Regarding the cherry trees, there is little room for many more trees in the park. The areas of interest include planting along Church Street or along the diagonal path.
Keith noted that Newton SERVES 2024 will be on May 5, and volunteers are needed to clean the pond so the resurfacing can be done.
Fewer non-functioning streetlights
Nate Gibson shared the good news about (fewer) non-functioning streetlights. In January, there were 28 non-functioning lights; by February, there were 11, and by mid-March, only 4. Regarding his continuing saga of requesting information from the DOT — Nate has made 3 public records requests for survey results and traffic projections and one request for emails. After repeated non-compliance, the requests were escalated to the Secretary of State’s Office. The DOT was ordered to comply. They ignored the order, and the process started over again.
City Partnership Committee
Jacqui Lykken, co-chair of the City Partnership Committee (an outgrowth of the Parent Educator Collaborative), introduced her organization to the NCNA. We look forward to working together to increase citizen participation in decisions that impact our community.
Unfortunately, we ran over our target of one hour by nearly 15 minutes. We will try to do better next time.
Thank you to all who attended.
Warm regards,
Robin Z Boger, President
Newton Corner Neighborhood Association