Development

Community Meeting Scheduled for Property Across from Town Hall

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A residential building with a commercial space on the ground floor has been proposed for 166 Main St. Developers have submitted a proposal to turn a former convenience store into a five-story residential building with a commercial space on the ground floor. The project has been proposed for the property at 166 Main St., in Watertown Square. The property is across the street from Town Hall and used to be a Tedeschi Food Shop. A community meeting will be held to provide more information and allow residents to ask questions.

Gas Lines

Gas Line Replacements Will Impact Streets in and Around Watertown

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National Grid will be replacing natural gas lines to service a new development just over the town line in Belmont, but the project will impact users of two main roads in Watertown. A representative from the utility appeared before the Town Council earlier this month to discuss the portion of the project in Watertown, which will go down Lexington Street. Then the project continues to Belmont Street. In Watertown, the work will replace 350 feet of 12 inch gas line from Lexington Street at Warren Street to the island at Lexington and Belmont streets. A representative for National Grid at the meeting said the new gas line is needed to allow capacity for a new development in Belmont.

Environment

Plan Calls for Planting Hundreds of Trees in Watertown

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Town officials seek to plant 250 trees a year in Watertown, some of which will be done by the Town, but others will be done by non-municipal groups. Those groups include Trees for Watertown. Pictured here, Watertown resident David Jay of Trees for Watertown plants a tree outside Hosmer Elementary School in honor of Arbor Day. Hundreds of trees will be planted in Watertown each year as part of an effort to increase the number of street trees and tree canopy in town. The Tree Planting Program calls for planting 2,500 trees over 10 years.

Government

Proposed Marijuana Dispensary Holding Community Meeting

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The group proposing to open a recreational marijuana dispensary in Watertown will be hosting a meeting to hear from the public. NS AJO Holdings, Inc., d/b/a Natural Selections will be hosting a required Community Outreach Meeting on the proposed Adult Use/Recreational Marijuana Facility at 23 Elm St. 

The meeting begins at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 21, in the third floor conference room in the Watertown Town Hall, 149 Main St., Watertown. The meeting will be held in accordance with the guidelines as set forth by the Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission. https://www.watertownmanews.com/2019/07/17/marijuana-facility-approved-for-medical-sales-wants-to-sell-for-recreational-use-too/

Natural Selections has already received approval to open a medical marijuana facility in the same location.

101-103 Morse Street

Planning Board Supports 37 Unit Residential Conversion on Southside

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A rendering of the proposed 37-unit residential property at 101-103 Morse St. The proposed conversion of a historic building into a 37-unit apartment complex took a step toward final approval Wednesday night by gaining the support of the Planning Board. The property at 101-103 Morse Street used to be the Cortiva Massage School, but has not been used in several years. A previous owner tried twice unsuccessfully to get approval for a residential conversion — first with 46 units and then with 36. Mouhab Rizkallah of Lacourt Affordable Trust LLC presented the new plan, which he said has some significant differences from the previous ones.

Government

Sen. Brownsberger Seeks Nominees for Citizen’s Legislative Seminar

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Massachusetts State House. The following information was provided by State Sen. Brownsberger’s Office:

Senator Will Brownsberger announced that he is seeking nominees to participate in the 83rd Citizens’ Legislative Seminar (CLS) on Tuesday, Oct. 22 and Wednesday, Oct. 23 at the Massachusetts State House in Boston. CLS is a semi-annual educational seminar geared towards adults of all ages interested in learning more about state government and the legislative process.

Government

Council Rejects Developer’s Request for Relief on Liquor License Fees

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The Town Council rejected a request from the developers of Arsenal Yards to give discounted liquor licenses for establishments that have a liquor license, but will not open until the next year. The proposal called for reducing the annual fee for the liquor licenses from $8,100 to $2,700 for businesses that need to get a license but are not ready to open because their space is still under construction. The Council received the request at the same time that Boylston Properties sought to have the town add more liquor licenses to accommodate the new tenants at the former Arsenal Mall. The Council has requested 15 more special licenses from the Legislature. The rule would only apply to special liquor licenses approved by the State Legislature to encourage economic development in Watertown.

Around Town

See the Recommendations of the Watertown Parking Plan

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A parking consultant recommends replacing Watertown’s current parking meters with “smart” meters that offer a range of payment options. This is one of many recommendations in the Watertown Parking Management Plan. Town officials recently released the final version of the Watertown Parking Management Plan, which included 10 recommendations, including adding high tech meters, adding meters in some places, removing them in others, and having different priced depending on the demand. The recommendations were developed by Stantec, the consultant hired by the town to look at parking in Watertown’s major commercial districts: Watertown Square and Coolidge Square. They also held public meetings to hear from residents and workers.