Cancellations

Snow Closings: Watertown Town Council Meeting Cancelled and More

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With heavy snow fall expected Tuesday afternoon and into the evening, some cancellations and closings have been announced in Watertown. Tuesday night’s Town Council meeting has been cancelled and rescheduled for Thursday, Feb. 14 at 7:15 p.m. All items on the agenda will be heard Thursday, including three requests for cell antennas around Watertown. Also cancelled is the Watertown Public School’s Budget and Finance Subcommittee Meeting, which had been scheduled for 6 p.m. on Tuesday. The Watertown Public Schools also announced there will be no after school or evening activities on Tuesday.

Arsenal Yards

Arsenal Yards Developers Show Plans for Biotech Building

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Architect Adam Gross, of Ayers Saint Gross, shows drawings for the proposed new Building G at Arsenal Yards. It would be a lab/office space for biotech companies. Looking to take advantage of one of the hottest industries in the Boston area, the developers of Arsenal Yards seek to turn the previous proposed residential tower into a biotech research and development lab and office building. Last week, representatives from Boylston Properties presented their preliminary plans for Building G — the last piece of the Arsenal Yards project — during a community meeting. Biotech has already made significant inroads in Watertown, with 23 companies employing about 1,500 people, said Andrew Copelotti, a principal at Boylston Properties.

Government

State Sen. Brownsberger is Looking for 2 State House Interns

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State Sen. Will Brownsberger

The following information came from State Sen. Will Brownsberger’s office:

Senator Will Brownsberger has announced that part-time unpaid internships will be available in his State House office to students from the 2nd Suffolk and Middlesex District for the summer of 2019. Internships are open to undergraduate college students and high school students who will have completed their junior year. All applicants must have a permanent residence or attend school in the Senator’s district. Internships require a commitment of 8-10 hours a week for a minimum of five weeks, with possible added research work outside of scheduled hours. A cover letter and resume should be sent to Anne Johnson Landry, at annejohnson.landry@masenate.gov, or mailed to Senator William Brownsberger, State House Room 504, Boston, MA 02133.

Around Town

What Parking Technologies, Improvements Do You Want in Watertown? Let the Town Know

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If you have you been frustrated by not being able to find parking in Watertown Square or Coolidge Square, found a broken meter, or not been able to find the hours when you have to pay to park — well, Town officials want to hear from you. Watertown officials recently hosted a pair of open houses to talk to residents and people who work in Town about the parking situation in Watertown’s two main business districts. There are many parking spaces in these areas, with more than 1,500 in Watertown Square and nearly 1,400 in Coolidge Square. The majority are off-street spaces. Town officials do not just want to replace the aging parking meters, but to come up with a parking plan.

Government

LETTER: State Legislature Should Pass Rep. Hecht’s Transparency Amendments

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To the Editor:

Please note, this is my personal position not that of the Library Board of Trustees. The Massachusetts Legislature is the second oldest deliberative body in the world (after the U.K. Parliament). But far too often, no deliberation actually happens there. 

Thursday, Watertown State Rep. Jon Hecht fought to change this by filing three common sense transparency amendments to the House rules. His amendments focused on insuring that legislators have time to read what they’re voting on, and insuring that testimony at hearings and recorded votes in closed-door committee meetings are available to the public. They would have made a more democratic and transparent House — good government principles that Watertown residents like myself expect.

Cell Antennas

New Rules for Cell Antennas May Help Town Deal with Problematic Utility Poles

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An example of a double utility pole on Main Street in Watertown. The Public Works Subcommittee passed rules for cell antennas going on poles which they hope will deal with double poles and leaning ones. New rules about where cell antennas can go and what they will look like went into place at a Council subcommittee meeting Tuesday. They include efforts to address the problems of leaning utility poles and double poles around town, but did not go as far as originally proposed. The new rules have a long name: the Grant of Location for a Small Wireless Facility Located in a Public Right of Way in the Town of Watertown.

71 Salibury Road

Construction of East End House Allowed to Go Ahead, District Councilor Critical of Process

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Neighbors of the project at 71 Salisbury Road say the excavation has impacted their properties, and they did not receive notice. The major excavation for a single-family home on Salisbury Road has drawn the ire of neighbors, and now the District Town Councilor, who questions how the work was allowed by Town officials. Last week, residents alerted the Town Council to the work being done at 71 Salisbury Road, including a major excavation of bedrock which took several days and damaged the roots of trees and shrubs on neighboring properties. The property was purchased in August 2015 by Eamon Fee, one of the developers of the parcel. The Town issued a building permit in August 2018 for a single-family house, which is allowed “by right,” so the project would not have to get approval from the Zoning Board of Appeals.

Development

LETTER: East End Resident’s Property Negatively Impacted by Excavation for Project Next Door

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Neighbors of the project at 71 Salisbury Road say the excavation has impacted their properties, and they did not receive notice. The following statement was presented to the Watertown Town Council on Jan. 22, 2019:

My wife and I bought a small house in Watertown 8 years ago and we have begun our family there. We love being in Watertown and intend to continue as a part of the community we have found here. In the past week a developer has begun construction on the lot abutting ours. They are constructing a spec house in place of the previous house which was razed 3 years ago when they acquired the land. This new house is to be put on the market as soon as it is completed. The developer delayed construction these years as they sought a solution to squeeze a two-family structure on the small lot but apparently decided that pursuing a special permit would invite too much push back.  

Now they have pulled a permit for construction ‘by right’ and as a first step have undertaken blasting away the large rock ledge upon which the old house was constructed. They have continued this excavation into a second week using two earth moving machines, one to blast the rock and one to scoop it into a line of waiting dump trucks, right up to the property lines on all sides. The grade has been lowered significantly across the entire parcel such that at my property line there is now a shear face of exposed soil and bedrock where the incline which used to continue from our property into theirs has been blasted away. 

As a result two mature maple trees on our property have had their roots exposed and torn away. No attempt whatsoever was made to protect these trees even though doing so would pose no impediment to the construction of the house which they have permitted. Only willful disregard for the impact on neighbors property and desire to remove as much of the existing topography as possible has led to the damaging of these trees.  

Roots of trees on properties abutting 71 Salisbury Road have been damaged by the excavation on the site.