Development

LETTER: Resident Offers Recommendations to Council on RMUD Zoning

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Dear Town Councilors et al.,

Please consider the following recommendations regarding the proposed rezoning of the eastern end of the Arsenal Street corridor. Some of the following will be familiar to some of you, some of it is new. The Process:

Timing: It is more important to thoroughly consider the details of rezoning than to enact a rezoning by any particular date. If there are concerns about potential of-right development under the current zoning, a brief moratorium on large development in the proposed RMU area, until the rezoning is adopted, would be appropriate. Evaluate as a package: The rezoning should be evaluated as a package.

Development

New Mixed-Use Project on Pleasant St. to be Discussed at Community Meeting

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A community meeting will be held to discuss a proposed mixed-use project at 330-350 Pleasant Street. The Community Meeting will be held in the Community Room at the Watertown Police Headquarters, 552 Main St. on Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2016 starting at 7 p.m.

The meeting sponsored by Councilor Ken Woodland and the Petitioner’s Project Design Team. The project is located on Pleasant Street near the intersection with Rosedale Road. For more information, please contact Terry Morris at tpmorris.landuse.law@comcast.net, or 617-202-9132.

Development

Town, Citizens Group Hosting Meetings on Zoning Changes Near Malls

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The proposal to change the zoning for the area around the malls on Arsenal Street has sparked much concern and many questions, and both the town and citizen group Sustainable Watertown will host meetings to discuss the proposed Regional Mixed Use District (RMUD). During Monday night’s Watertown Inauguration Ceremony, Town Council President Mark Sideris announced a pair of meetings about the RMUD hosted by the town and to be held at the Arsenal Project. Both meetings will be held on Saturdays from 10 a.m.-1 p.m., the first will be on Jan. 9 and the second on Jan. 16.

Arsenal on the Charles

Athenahealth Releases Presentation for Second Master Plan Meeting

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Athenahealth will hold the second community meeting about its Campus Master Plan on Thursday, Jan. 14. and the presentation of the latest plans has been released. The meeting will be held on the athenahealth campus, 321 Arenal St., in the Blakeway Auditorium inside Building 311 at 6:30 p.m. on Jan. 14. Use garage and enter through the main South entrance in the middle of Building 311.

Development

LETTER: Former Town Councilor Worried About RMUD Proposal

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Letter to the Editor

I attended the council subcommittee meeting last week and came out upset. This is the most important issue this Council will face and three council members voted on amendments to present to the full nine member council for their vote at their regular council meeting. A recommendation for crucial amendments including zoning for this major development should not have been sent to a subcommittee as well-meaning the members are. First, I want to address the manner in which the Chair Councillor Steve Corbett so rudely ruled Deborah Peterson out of order as soon as she was beginning to present her statement. This is unacceptable and never should be condoned.

Development

LETTER: 2 Residents Want to See Vision for Rezoning Malls Area

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Deborah Peterson and I have been working conscientiously on the RMUD issues, attending meetings, studying the Comprehensive Plan and Design Guidelines and talking with others. The following is what Deborah tried to present at the economic development sub-committee meeting of the Town Council on Dec. 15. She was roundly dismissed by the Chair Steven Corbett, telling her she was out of line in bringing up these issues. She had only begun to give her statement.

Development

Subcommittee Recommends Building Heights up to 130 Feet in RMUD

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There are only two buildings in Watertown 13o feet or taller, but there may be another if the Council subcommittee’s recommendation becomes part of the new zoning for the area around the town’s two malls. Maximum height was one of the amendments to the Regional Mixed Use District zoning discussed Tuesday night at the Community Development and Planning subcommittee meeting at the Watertown Free Public Library. Height has been a contentious issue for many residents who don’t want to see large buildings going up in Watertown, especially near the Charles River. “Are you people crazy? These buildings are too tall!”

Development

Public Can Discuss RMUD at Informal Council Subcommittee Session

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After a hearing comments from dozens of Watertown residents about the proposed changes to the area of the malls in East Watertown last week, the Town Council voted to have another hearing in a more informal setting to hash out the proposal. The zoning changes in the proposed Regional Mixed Use District would allow larger buildings, and for master plans for projects on properties of 2 acres or more. It would also allow housing, commercial, retail and office buildings in the area. At the Town Council meeting about the RMUD on Dec. 1, many residents wanted more details about what the projects would, or could, look like.