Letters

LETTER: In Support of a Compromise Rent Control Bill

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By Tony PalombaCity Councilor At-Large

As an At-Large City Councilor in Watertown Massachusetts I am acutely aware of the housing storage that Massachusetts is facing – both for those who wish to purchase a home and who would like to rent. We also know that the cost of homeownership and renting is continuing to climb. The burden of these two factors makes it difficult to provide low-income and moderate-income residents with affordable housing. In Watertown approximately half of our residents are renters, 39% of whom are “cost burdened”, meaning that they spend more than one-third of their income on housing. The median income for Watertown renters is $105,360 with many renters having an income of about $77,000.

Letters

LETTER: Hope is Not a Strategy — Pleasant Street and Beyond

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(Updated June 16, 2026 at 2:24 p.m.)

By Linda ScottWatertown Resident

I want to mention three meetings, one that I attended on June 5th that City Council President Mark Sideris conducted. These meetings are a relatively new concept as a result of our last Charter review. Each councilor is required to have one community meeting a year and invite the public. It’s a good idea. I also want to mention the Watertown Planning Board meeting on June 10th on zoom that I attended (thank you to my friend who kept track of this stuff and mentioned it to me when I was otherwise occupied).

Letters

LETTER: City-Owned Land an Opportunity for Mixed-Income Housing

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Watertown is a Mixed-Income City, City Land Should Prioritize Mixed-Income Housing

This coming Wednesday, May 20 from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m., the City will host an open house at 9 Galen Street where residents will have an opportunity to better understand the proposed Watertown Square Demonstration Project, ask questions, and weigh in on our visions and priorities. At last month’s rollout of the demonstration project, the City shared a lot of information about its plans for Watertown Square. We heard about a new parking garage, 200-300 units of market-rate housing and new open space in parcels behind the existing CVS, much of which is city-owned. Like many residents, we have questions about the project. We are particularly interested to hear more from the City on the following questions:

• What would need to be in place for housing over the garage to be possible?

Business

See the Highlights from the Charles River Chamber’s Forum on Housing, Real Estate

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The Charles River Regional Chamber recently hosted a forum looking at housing production in the area, and heard from a panel of experts, as well as State Sen. Will Brownsberger. See details in the announcement below. A new Boston Indicators report, authored by Newton’s own Amy Dain, found that the law has already helped generate nearly 7,000 housing units statewide. So far that includes 203 homes completed or in the pipeline thanks to MBTA-C in Needham; 193 homes in Watertown; 158 homes in Newton; but none to date in Wellesley, according to Dain’s report.  

(We believe the Watertown number of MBTA-C units is actually higher than Dain reported … Dain concludes that MBTA-C is the most effective state policy to boost housing production in years, writing that “construction is happening as a direct result.”

At the same time, she cautions that the law’s hallmark flexibility “leaves a lot of leeway for communities to embrace — or sidestep — the law’s housing goals.”but sadly not Wellesley’s.)

What’s next?

Letters

LETTER: Housing Production — A Review of Small, but Industrious Watertown (Past, Present and Future)

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By Linda ScottWatertown Resident

We shape our buildings; thereafter they shape us. – Winston Churchill

This is a follow-up to “Where is your Neighborhood Going? (Parts One and Two)”

As I read the responses to the above letters in Watertown News, I decided that maybe an overview of recent housing development in Watertown was in order. So here goes. Watertown’s Bona Fides

Watertown has proven again and again that we are a thoughtful, generous community.

Letters

LETTER: Do You Know Where Your Neighborhood is Going? (Part 2)

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By Linda ScottWatertown Resident

Looking at Trends

Looking back on the past few years, I see a trend:

1 – The Watertown Square Planning process was a plan to rezone our city core. The MBTA state Law that mandated zoning for 1701 new housing units was a major part of this process, and yet a plan for 1,701 didn’t even reach our councilors’ desks, not to mention the community. After community input for 1,701 units, the City came back with a plan for 6,320 units and effectively defined Watertown Square as an area that extended west on Main to Lexington Street and up Galen, almost to the Mass Pike. The City ultimately “settled” for a number just over 3,000 (3,133) units. The response from our City government when this bait and switch was pointed out?

Letters

LETTER: Do You Know Where Your Neighborhood is Going?

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By Linda ScottWatertown Resident

Part One: Preserving Our Neighborhoods

“Preserving neighborhood character involves balancing tradition with growth through strategieslike historic designation, context-sensitive zoning (scale and setbacks), protecting green spaces, community engagement, and rehabilitation of existing buildings, all while fostering a sense of place, often focusing on a neighborhood’s unique look, feel, and activities, rather than just enforcing uniformity, to maintain stability and appeal.”

The above AI definition of preserving neighborhood character is a far cry from the standard, knee-jerk response to the phrase “preserving a neighborhood’s character” as a racist construct. (See also this AI definition: The phrase “preserving neighborhood character” has a complex history rooted in racially exclusionary policies [often referred to as redlining] that were used to maintain segregation in housing in the United States. While seemingly neutral today, the language was historically used as a coded way to prevent people of color from moving into predominantly white areas”). Can it be used for these purposes? Sure.

Business

Chamber’s Real Estate Forum Focuses on What’s Next in the Fight for Housing

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The Charles River Regional Chamber will host the Annual Real Estate Forum: What’s next in the fight for housing on Tuesday, Jan. 27, 9-11:30 a.m. at UMass Amherst Charles River Campus, Newton (formerly Mount Ida). See the announcement from the Chamber below. When the MBTA Communities Act became law in 2021, it marked the most significant zoning reform in Massachusetts in decades — opening the door to new housing production across eastern Massachusetts. But no one believed it would solve the housing crisis on its own.Four years later, the pressure hasn’t eased.