City Council

Council to Look at Neighbor Notifications About Projects, Rodent Control Plan & Hiring Department Heads

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Watertown City Hall

After hearing from residents about not being informed about key meetings about development projects in Watertown, the City Council will discuss ways to improve communications with neighbors of such projects. The City will also work on creating a rodent control plan, and the City Manager will be filling three key positions. On Tuesday, City Council President Mark Sideris said that he heard from residents who were frustrated that they did not know about the proposed project at 148 Waltham St. “We it comes to development we put in place the requirement for community meetings, but one thing that came out, particularly with the Sterritt Lumber site — and I thank Councilor (Emily) Izzo for her efforts — but we don’t have a process with notifying neighbors when a hearing is coming up,” Sideris said. “We do notify the immediate abutters, but we can do a better job.

Government

City May Change Rules for Demolishing Historic Buildings

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A City Council Committee has started looking at doubling the maximum delay for demolition of a historic home or building, but also to remove many properties from consideration for the demo delays. The Historical Commission can put a delay on demolishing homes and buildings that have historic significance in an effort to find a way to preserve them, including finding a person or group to buy it and save it. The Commission can prevent a structure from being demolished. The current maximum delay is 12 months. Currently, projects that must be heard by the Historical Commission include any building 50 years old or older.

Government

Council Approves Funds for Highland Ave. Repaving, Numbers Higher Than Planned

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The City Council approved funds to repave and install new sidewalks on Highland Avenue, but the project will cost more than originally anticipated. The total cost of the project will be $2.96 million for the project that also includes Chapman Street, said City Manager George Proakis, and $2 million will come from the loan order approved by the Council Tuesday night. The remaining funds will come from other Department of Public Works accounts. The loan is more than previous years for similar projects on longer roads in Watertown. “I recommend putting $2 million toward that this year, where we originally talked about $1.5 million,” Proakis said.

100 Forge

Arsenal Yards Pulls Request for Illuminated Sign on Tower

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Dave MartinA view down the Charles River from the Bridge on North Beacon Street with the 100 Forge building at Arsenal Yards in the distance. An illuminated sign had been proposed to go near the top of the building. The owners of Arsenal Yards, Boylston Properties, have pulled a request for permission to put an illuminated sign on the top of the tower at the East Watertown complex. Bill McQuillan, principal of Boylston Properties, sent a letter to City Council President Mark Sideris and Assistant Town Manager Steve Magoon informing them of the request. The Zoning Amendment for the sign on top of the 130-foot building known as 100 Forge was scheduled to be discussed at the Sept.

Government

Group Creating Tool to Keep Track of Changes to Watertown’s Charter

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The following announcement was provided by Watertown Forward:

Now that Labor Day and back-to-school transitions are behind us, apple picking, fall foliage, and politics have moved to center stage. With the Nov. 8 election just a few weeks away, it’s easy for Watertown voters to lose sight of seismic changes to our Home Rule Charter that they approved almost a year ago during November’s municipal elections. Progress on implementing the roughly 20 charter revisions remains unclear. That’s because there’s been no formal report back to residents, no ongoing updates as to implementation status, no flagging of timelines or deadlines for achieving required outcomes.

Government

LETTER: Resident Urges Defeat of Proposed Sign at Arsenal Yards

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At this moment, there are folks working hard to convince our City Council to put the best interests of people who don’t live here above the best interests of our town, our neighbors and future generations who will live in Watertown. It seems that there has been an organized movement — what community organizers refer to as an Astroturf campaign — to make a case for private gain over public good. An Astroturf campaign is a carefully constructed PR campaign disguised to appear as grassroots opinion. At issue is a request by Boylston Properties to change our zoning to allow a 10 by 105 foot illuminated commercial sign on top of the tallest building in Arsenal Yards. The sign would be visible from many areas along our riverfront.

Comprehensive Plan

Residents Have Two Chances to Help Shape the Future of Watertown

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The first of two opportunities for the public to help shape the future of Watertown takes place Tuesday night at Watertown Middle School. The interactive workshop about Watertown’s Comprehensive Plan Update will be held on Sept. 20, 2022 beginning at 6:30 p.m. at the Middle School, 68 Waverley Ave. A second meeting will be held on Sept. 29 at 6:30 p.m. at the Watertown Free Public Library (in the Watertown Savings Bank Room).