Government

Hearing on Trees Set to be Removed Scheduled for June 15

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Watertown Tree Warden Chris Hayward announced a meeting to discuss trees that are scheduled to be removed in Watertown. 
The meeting was originally scheduled to be held on Tuesday, June 13. The hearing has been rescheduled to Thursday, June 15, 2017 at 11:30 a.m. It will be held in the 3rd Floor Meeting Room in the Administration Building located at 147 Main St. Please see the attached agenda for more information. TREE Hearing List

Location

DBH

Type of Tree

Common/Spring St. Delta

8”

Chinese elm

291 Arsenal St

6”

Honeylocust

291 Arsenal St

6”

Honeylocust

330 Arsenal St

10”

Bradford pear

330 Arsenal St

11”

Bradford pear

330 Arsenal St

9”

Bradford pear

45 Robbins Road (on Orchard St)

32”

Norway maple

4 Orchard St

23”

Norway maple

58 Robbins Rd (on Orchard St)

22”

Norway maple

Hayward said that people do not need to attend the Tree Hearing to be heard.

Amstel Heritage

New Project Proposed on Pleasant Street with 58 Residential Units and Commercial Space

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A community meeting will be held for a commercial and residential development proposed for a thin piece of land on Pleasant Street currently occupied by a parking lot and warehouse. 

The meeting for the project at 385 Pleasant Street will be held on Monday, June 26 at 6:30 p.m. at the Community Room in the Watertown Police Station, 552 Main St. According to the project narrative submitted by developers Amstel Heritage LLC, the project includes five new buildings on the current parking lot near the intersection of Pleasant Street and Rosedale Road, plus the existing warehouse. The site backs up onto properties along Waltham Street. In addition, a small public park will be built where Pleasant and Waltham Streets converge at Rosedale Road. The residential component includes 58 units.

Government

Discussions for Renovation of Arsenal Park to Start Soon, See One Possible Addition

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With all the changes coming to the Arsenal Mall, the park next door will also see some changes. Town officials will soon begin discussing how to renovate Arsenal Mall, and the changes could include the relocation of a small piece of the historic Arsenal. During a community meeting about the second phase of the Arsenal Yards project Watertown Senior Planner Gideon Schreiber said that discussions about the park will begin soon. “On June 21 there will be a meeting with an internal (town) group and abutters to discuss the process,” Schreiber said. Following that meeting, there will be public meetings to discuss changes to the park.

Arsenal Street

See MassDOT’s Recommendations for Improvements to Arsenal Street

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The Massachusetts Department of Transportation has released a draft of the report and recommendations for improving the Arsenal Street Corridor, and officials will host a meeting later in June to discuss the report with the public. 

The report made for MassDOT by consultants from VHB, includes improvements to vehicular, transit, bicycle, and pedestrian uses of the corridor, “with a targeted focus on enhancements to bus service along Arsenal Street and locations where the bus service ties into other crossing bus routes,” according to the MassDOT announcement. Click here to see the draft Final Report. The meeting will be held on Thursday, June 22 starting with a presentation at 6 p.m. and an open house from 7 to 8 p.m. The meeting will be in the Watertown Savings Bank Room at the Watertown Free Public Library, 123 Main St. In the draft final report, MassDOT officials write that the recommendations would require “a significant investment in potential transportation-related infrastructure.” “These projects represent an investment in total that currently far exceeds available funding as presently programmed.

Government

Board of Health Considering Making New Tobacco Rules After Hearing from WHS Students

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After hearing about research collected by some Watertown High School students, the Watertown Board of Health will look at possible changes to the town’s tobacco regulations. The students are Watertown Youth Coalition Peer Leaders – a program of the Wayside Multi-Service Center – and also take part in a statewide movement of youth fighting tobacco in their communities, said Dawn Graham, media and prevention specialist with Wayside. As part of the statewide anti-tobacco effort, called The 84 Movement, the students mapped where tobacco retailers are in town, and their proximity to schools, parks and places where teens hang out. “They found that there are more tobacco retailers in Watertown than there are schools, parks, and other teen hangouts combined,” Graham said. “They were concerned to see that most places teens spend time – including Watertown High School – are less than a 5 minute walk away from a retailer and that there is currently no cap on the number of retailers that can be in Watertown.”

Government

Find Out When You Can Meet with State Rep. Jonathan Hecht

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State Representative Jonathan Hecht announced he will hold office hours twice in Watertown this month. Constituents are invited to meet with Representative Hecht at the following times and locations:

Tuesday, June 27th
8:30-9:30am
Watertown Town Hall
149 Main St, 3rd Floor hallway

Tuesday, June 27th
8:30-9:30am
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.

Arsenal Mall

Residents Want to Talk Taxes, Traffic & New Hotel at Recent Arsenal Yards Meeting

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Residents received more information about the hotel planned for the renovated Arsenal Mall and the rest of phase 2, and gave it mixed reviews. The 155 room Hampton Inn & Suites is planned to go in Building B, along with retail on the ground floor and a six level parking garage. While Wednesday’s meeting focused on the plans for the second phase of the Arsenal Yards project, residents brought up other concerns, including the taxes that the project would pay to the town. Developers have requested a tax assurance from the town that would cap the tax rate for the project. Tom Wilder, of mall management company The Wilder Cos., said the tax estimates are still being calculated but it will be discussed at a later date. “We want to have a forum on that when the information is available,” Wilder said.

Government

Meetings Scheduled for Group Looking at Renovation of Victory Field Track Area

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The group looking at renovating the track and courts area at Victory Field had their first meeting this week, and set dates for in-depth discussions of different portions of the complex. The first meeting of the Ad Hoc Committee on Victory Field Phase 2 was taped by Watertown Cable and will be shown on cable and on the WCATV.org website. The committee includes town officials and residents representing youth sports, the neighborhood and the Watertown Schools. All meetings will be open to the public and will be held in the Lower Hearing Room at Town Hall, unless noted. Here are the upcoming meeting dates and the focus of the meeting:

 
Thursday, June 15, 2017, 5-6 pm: Site visit to Victory Field.