Government

Meetings This Week: Short Term Rentals & Local Preference for Affordable Housing

By |

Watertown City Hall

Two City Council Committee meetings will take place this week, the first will discuss the rules for short-term rentals, and whether to give preference to Watertown residents to get affordable housing units in town. Short-Term Rentals

On Monday, April 3, the Committee on Rules & Ordinances will continue to discuss creation of a short term rental ordinance. Currently, short-term rentals (such as Airbnb or VRBO) are not allowed in Watertown, but dozens are listed on the Airbnb site. The Council has held multiple meetings over the past few years about short-term rentals, and in June 2021 they recommended that the Planning Board support a set of rules for short-term rentals. City officials argue that having rules would ensure that the rentals would meet certain standards and fines could be assessed for violations.

Around Town

City Manager Discusses Comprehensive Plan, Resident Participation & the High School Project on Watertown Cable Show

By |

Inside Watertown hosts Bob Airasian, far left, and Charlie Breitrose were joined by City Manager George Proakis and Director of Community Development and Planning Steve Magoon. (Screenshot from Watertown Cable). Watertown City Manager George Proakis talked about the ongoing Comprehensive Plan update, how residents can get involved when projects go before the City, and what’s going on with the Watertown High School project in the latest episode of Watertown Cable’s Inside Watertown. Along with Proakis, co-hosts Charlie Breitrose and Bob Airasian were joined by Steve Magoon, Watertown’s Assistant City Manager and the Director of Community Development and Planning. The City recently held a public forum on the Comprehensive Plan, which is being updated for the first time since it was adopted in 2015.

Around Town

Free Curbside Compost Bins Available for Watertown Residents

By |

Watertown DPWCurbside composting toters, like the one on the left, will be part of the Watertown trash and recycling program starting in August. The Watertown Department of Public Works announced that the City received compost bins which can be used with Watertown’s free curbside compost program. The City of Watertown sent out the following information:

“1000 new FREE residential compost bins have been delivered, paid for by a grant from MassDEP! Enrollment in Watertown’s FREE curbside compost program is open for an April 2023 start. Sign up today and your new bin and liners will be delivered the first week of April. www.blackearthcompost.com/watertown,” the announcement reads.

Around Town

Watertown Purchasing Dog to Chase Geese From Parks and Fields

By |

City of WatertownVee, a border collie, will soon be arriving in Watertown where she will chase geese away from City-owned fields and parks. Watertown’s newest employee will get plenty of exercise, time outdoors, and her reward for doing a good job will be treats — doggie treats. Vee, Watertown’s goose control dog, will soon be patrolling the parks and fields around the City to make sure the flocks of birds don’t get too comfortable or leave their marks. She will live with and accompany Department of Public Works Parks and Cemetery Supervisor Bob DiRico to work, said Watertown City Manager George Proakis. “In a few days Mr. DiRico will go to Leesburg, Virginia, to pick up Vee,” Proakis told the City Council on Tuesday.

Around Town

OP-ED: MBTA Communities Law Part 3 – Our Current Watertown Square Housing Situation

By |

Watertown Square

By Linda ScottWatertown Resident

First, Let’s Nerd Out a Bit:

A study was commissioned by Watertown to set a dollar amount to charge non-residential projects in the City. This was to off-set some of the costs of these projects to Watertown, and the aim was to put this money towards affordable housing in the City. This money is called a “linkage fee.” Part of this 2022 study was to project housing needs for Watertown. Here’s what that report (called the “Watertown Commercial Development and Housing Nexus Study”) says:

“Since new employees will live in a variety of communities, it is necessary to determine the share that will demand housing in Watertown. To estimate the percent of new employees who will demand housing within the city, the results from a survey of employees in office, laboratory, hotel and retail buildings conducted in February and March 2022 were used.