Government

Date and Venue for Next Watertown Square Area Plan Meeting Announced

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The City of Watertown provided the following announcement:

The Watertown Square Area Plan will be discussed at the Joint Hearing on Thursday, June 13, 2024, at 6:00 PM in the Watertown Middle School Auditorium at 68 Waverley Avenue in Watertown. Please note the updated date and location. The Joint Hearing will be to discuss the plan document submitted to the City Council and Planning Board prior to the Hearing. This plan document will also be shared on the Project Website, on the City of Watertown’s website and social media prior to the Hearing on June 13, 2024. The online participation information will be released closer to the event, along with the Public Hearing’s agenda and the plan document.

Around Town

LETTER: A Resident’s Comments on Proposed Rezoning of Watertown Square

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To the Editor:

I’ve been impressed by Manager George Proakis’ initiative, effort and community involvement process for the Watertown Square Area Redesign. In terms of the streetscape, it’s terrific that the manager is trying to create a plan that insists that our Square is first and foremost the center of our community, not just an intersection to drive through as quickly as possible. It is in terms of zoning that the draft plans have led to more disagreement. Unlike some municipalities, we are choosing to obey the new MBTA Communities law and join in the region-wide attempt to increase the supply of housing by changing the zoning in the Square. The need for more housing units at lower rents and/or purchase prices is clear.

Business

Charles River Chamber’s Spring Event Focuses on the Need for Housing in the Region

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The Charles River Regional Chamber announced it will hold its Spring Business Breakfast on June 7. The Chamber, which serves Watertown, Newton, Needham and Wellesley, provided the following information. Housing, our region’s competitive future, and a salute to an outstanding member of our business community are on the menu at this year’s Spring Business Breakfast, presented by Eastern Bank. Program Information

We’ll hear from the Commonwealth’s first Secretary of Housing and Livable Communities, Ed Augustus, the point person in the Healey-Driscoll Administration on efforts to drive efforts to increase housing production and lower housing costs across Massachusetts. We will be honoring Susan Paley who is retiring after leading The Village Bank’s community commitment efforts in support of all aspects of the region’s civic life, safety net, and cultural vitality for nearly two decades.

Around Town

What to Expect at Next Watertown Square Meeting, Manager Will Also Discuss Zoning on Prior Day

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The redesign of Watertown Square will be discussed on June 12. (Photo by City of Watertown)

(NOTE, May 24, 2024: They day and location of the Watertown Square meeting has changed and has been updated in this article)

The draft of the Watertown Square Area Plan will be discussed at a meeting on June 12, but prior to that City Manager George Proakis will delve into the topic of zoning during a live and interactive show on Watertown Cable. Watertown Square Meeting

The meeting focused on Watertown Square will take place on Thursday, June 13 beginning at 6 p.m. It will take place at the Watertown Middle School Auditorium. Present at the meeting will be both the City Council and the Planning Board, said City Council President Mark Sideris. He said it may be the first of multiple meetings on the Watertown Square Area Plan, which includes not only the redesign of the main intersection, but also where the City will allow housing to be built by right to meet the requirements of the MTBA Communities Law, as well as form-based zoning which will determine how future developments will look.

Around Town

LETTER: A Chilly Reception From Housing Advocates

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By Linda ScottWatertown Resident

Let’s go back to April 25, 2024, when I visited the April Watertown Democratic Town Committee Meeting. The Watertown Democratic Town Committee Meeting:

One of my public meeting stops was the Watertown Democratic Town Committee (WDTC) Meeting to see what they had on their minds. I noticed that Dan Pritchard, one of the four founders of Housing for All Watertown (HAW) was going to be speaking. I was interested. I want to thank the WDTC for being so welcoming to this “Independent” voter.

Around Town

LETTER: Let’s Take More Time to Consider Watertown Housing Plan

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By Linda ScottWatertown Resident

Lately, I’ve been attending public meetings, and I’ve been speaking with citizens about their thoughts and feelings about development plans in Watertown Square. The Watertown Square Plan and its Moving Parts:

As most of you know, in response to the State’s MBTA Communities Law, which requires Watertown to zone for 1701 new multifamily housing units, Watertown City Manager George Proakis and the Department of Community Development and Planning (DCDP) have been enthusiastically over-achieving. First, they proposed zoning for 6,320 new housing units instead of the State mandated 1701. They justified this momentous decision to more than triple the housing units by referring to a straw poll of 75 Watertown citizens and nonresidents who chose the 6,320 option. (See Democracy Dismantled One Poll and Survey at a Time, click here)

The choices that the City Manager and the DCDP gave the Watertown public for this vote:

6,320 housing units by right or

2,631 housing units by right

There was no option for 1,701 units – the number actually mandated by the MBTA zoning law.

Around Town

LETTER: What Both Biotech Workers & High Schoolers Need — Housing

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In my role as a founder of CoLAB — a non-profit organization that connects Watertown students and biotech companies — I have had the unique opportunity to connect with two distinct groups, biotech business leaders and local high school students. For as many differences as there are between them, both groups share a primary concern: the housing crisis. For business leaders, it’s becoming more and more difficult to afford the costs associated with the housing crisis. For high school students, they face a future of deep uncertainty. Will they be able to remain in the city they love?

Around Town

OP-ED: As Housing Costs Push Younger Workers Out, Watertown Could Lead Battle to Deal with Crisis

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Linda ScottThe Elan Union Market apartment building on Arsenal Street. By Mark Pickering

The bad news about the housing market in Massachusetts keeps piling in. “More 25- to 44-year-olds are leaving the state than any other groups,” concludes a new report. The top culprit: Housing costs are too high. The good news for Watertown: People from a range of incomes want to move here.