Government

State Rep. Hecht to Meet With Residents Twice in Coming Weeks

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State Rep. Jonathan Hecht

The following information was provided by Rep. Hecht’s office:

Representative Jonathan Hecht will hold office hours twice in Watertown in the upcoming weeks. Constituents are invited to meet with Representative Hecht at the following time and location:

Thursday, January 31, 5:00-6:00 p.m. at the Watertown Free Public Library, 123 Main St, Raya Stern Trustees Room

Thursday, February 7, 8:30-9:30 a.m., Watertown Town Hall, 149 Main St, 3rd Floor hallway

Anyone unable to attend these office hours can call Representative Hecht at 617-722-2140 to schedule an appointment at another time.

Government

Watertown Declares Snow Emergency for This Weekend’s Storm

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A snow plow clears snow from a parking lot. The Town of Watertown has declared a snow emergency beginning Saturday evening. See details below. The following announcement came from the Town of Watertown:

A winter weather event is predicted with 8-10 inches of snow accumulation in our area. The Superintendent of Public Works has declared a snow emergency effective 6:00 p.m. Saturday January 19, 2019, and will remain in effect until further notice.

Cell Antenna

Town Council Looking at Ways to Regulate Cell Network Antennas

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An illustration used in an addendum to AT&T’s application showing the amount of RF fields at different distances around a cell antenna. The White arrow shows the less than 0.5 percent shown

New rules passed by the FCC limit how much control local governments have over cellular antennas going up in their communities, including using health risks to deny applications, but the Watertown Town Council is looking at ways of regulating them. Tuesday night, the Council’s Public Works subcommittee discussed ways to control what the cell antennas look like and how close they can be to homes. The subcommittee also looked at the cell antenna installations as a way to require better utility pole installation and maintenance in Watertown. The Council called the meeting after the Town began receiving applications to install antennas for cell carriers’ new 5G networks.

Development

Find Out About New Plans for 130-Foot Building at Arsenal Yards

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Arsenal Yards provided the following information:

Boylston Properties and The Wilder Companies will hold a Community Meeting to review and update the community on the status of Building G located within Arsenal Yards. The purpose of this meeting will be to present and discuss a change in use for the building from Residential to Office/Lab. Building G, as proposed would contain approximately 140,000 sq. ft. of Lab space (a decrease of approximately 48,000 gross sq.

Around Town

Watertown Updating Plans to Deal With & Reduce Impact of Natural Disasters

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Flood waters went above the sidewalk at Arlington and Mt. Auburn streets during a heavy rain storm in 2014. The storm also cause flooding of homes in spots in Watertown. Watertown officials have been working on not just preparing to react to but also to reduce the impact of natural disasters that could befall the town. Watertown created a Hazard Mitigation Plan in 2012, and not is in the process of updating it.

Development

Zoning Board to Hear Appeal on Southside Property with Large Garage

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Neighbors on the back side of 73-75 Morse Street worry that having a two story garage right near their property line will hurt the value of their homes. The Watertown Zoning Board of Appeals will hear the appeal of neighbors about the two-story garage that is being built on Morse Street on the Southside of Watertown. The latest ZBA agenda includes the 73-75 Morse St. case. On Feb.

Bicycles

MassDOT Seeks Input on Mass. Bicycle Transportation Plan

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The following information was provided sent out by MassDOT:

The Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) urges members of the public to comment on the Draft Massachusetts Bicycle Transportation Plan through January 31. The draft plan can be found online here. MassDOT is focused on making the Commonwealth’s transportation system more sustainable – to make it safe for people to choose to walk, bike, and take transit for more of their daily trips. The Plan is important because residents, members of the business community and visitors choose to use a bicycle for daily trips, choosing bike to work, to school, to run errands, for recreation or to reach transit locations. The Draft Plan defines a vision for Massachusetts in which all people have a safe and comfortable cycling option for short trips. The goal is to have a plan which presents an action-oriented strategy which will lead to increased use of trails for short trips made by bicycling. Travel on designated bike and pedestrian thoroughfares will also lead to safer conditions, helping to prevent injuries and fatalities.

Environment

Town Council Seeks to Have Town Move to 100% Renewable Energy

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Watertown Town Hall

In a move to respond to climate change, the Town Council voted to create a Climate and Energy Master Plan, and get the town to 100 percent renewable energy in the coming decades. A proposal for the Climate and Energy Master Plan was presented to a joint subcommittee at meetings in October and December by the Watertown Environment & Energy Efficiency Committee (also called W3EC). It seeks to prepare Watertown for the changing weather conditions, and take steps to reduce the town’s impact on climate change. The proposal states, in part:

“It is clear from projections that Watertown as a community will be increasingly affected by climate change. Significant impacts to daily life in Watertown are to be expected.