Watertown News (https://www.watertownmanews.com/author/cbreitro/page/102/)
Check out this weekend’s Watertown open houses. 101 Forest St., $1,049,000 3 bedroom 3 bathroom 1,860 sq. ft. Single Family, Open house: Sunday, April 14 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM
60 Winsor Ave., $950,000 4 bedroom 1 bathroom 1,686 sq. ft.
Watertown City Hall
A proposal that would have allowed limited forms of short term rentals, such as Airbnb and VRBO, in Watertown was rejected by the City Council in a split vote. On April 9, the Council heard more than an hour of input from residents, and then discussed it for another hour or so. The proposal only allowed short term rentals in owner-occupied homes, or bedrooms of a home when the owner is home, and the most that a home could be rented as a short term rental was 3 months of a year. This was the second time that a proposal had come forward, but in 2021 the Planning Board sent it back for reworking. This year, the Planning Board endorsed the proposal, and sent it to the City Council for a final vote.
Watertown High School sophomore Montserrat Llacuna won five Silver Keys from the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards. (Courtesy Photo)
A Watertown High School student’s poetry earned her several awards in a national scholastic writing and arts competition. WHS sophomore Montserrat Llacuna won five Silver Keys and two honorable mentions in the 2024 Scholastic Art & Writing Awards. Llacuna, who is also an Advisory Council Member of the statewide student leadership program Project 351 submitted several of her social justice poems.
She was encouraged to submit her writing to the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards and got help editing her work from ELA teacher William MacLaughlin and Casey Andrews, the head of the English Department. Llacuna was not the only Watertown student to earn recognition.
Watertown City Hall
Tuesday night, the City Council will consider the proposed rules for short term rentals, aka Airbnb or VRBO, in Watertown. On Monday, the School Committee will hear the Superintendent’s budget presentation for the 2024-25 school year. The City Council will hold a public hearing and vote on a zoning amendment about short term rentals (i.e. Airbnb and VRBO) in Watertown on Tuesday. In March the Planning Board supported the proposal which allows short term rentals with some restrictions, including that the homes or rooms in homes must be the owner’s primary residence, they can only be rented up to three months a year, and they will not be allowed in adjacent units in a multi-family home, such as half of a two family or an accessory (mother-in-law) unit. (Read more details here).
Check out all the Watertown homes sold over the past week. 29 Pilgrim Road, 4 bedroom 2 bathroom 1,357 sq. ft. Single Family Sold : $875,000
32 Whites Ave. #F2201, 1 bedroom 1 bathroom 695 sq.
A large crowd listened to the presentation at the Watertown Square Area Plan Meeting on April 4 at 66 Galen St. (Photo by Rachel Kay)
The proposed design of Watertown Square will look similar to the current intersection, with one leg removed and larger open space. Designers also revealed a new plan to meet the MBTA Communities Law on Thursday, showing a plan with areas for by-right housing around Watertown Square, and south of the Charles River. The design team and City officials have gathered input from the public at previous meetings, City Manager George Proakis said, and there were strong agreement on some areas, such as that the Watertown Square intersection needed improvement and the downtown area has some nice historic architecture, but much of the area lacks character and is not friendly to shoppers and pedestrians. Other matters were more mixed.
A variety of types of homes are on the market in Watertown this week. 141 Galen St., $1,295,900 3 bedroom 3 bathroom 2,385 sq. ft. 3 Family, Open houses: Saturday, April 6 11:30 AM – 1:00 PM Sunday, April 7 11:30 AM – 1:00 PM
127 Waverley Ave. #127, $579,900 2 bedroom 1 bathroom 1,111 sq.
The School Committee approved the addition of taking a world language to the graduation requirements for Watertown High School students. The world language requirement was added to the Watertown High School Program of Studies. Beginning with Class of 2028 (current eigth graders), students will have to pass two years of the same world language (also known as foreign language). WHS Principal Joel Giacobozzi said that the change brings Watertown in line with MassCore, the state’s recommended program of study intended to align high school coursework with college and workforce expectations. “There are reasons for this, the least of which is Massachusetts has set the floor for graduation.