A weekly summary of Board of Aldermen agendas and actions highlighting items of interest to the LWVN.

Board and Committee Meeting Schedule

Extracted from the full Aldermanic calendar.

Key to color coding: CPC, Planning, Environmental, Finance, Charter/Elections, Housing.

Agendas:

• 5-29 Zoning: Mauri lots; dilapidated housing
• 5-28 School Committee: Fiscal/Operational report; Facilities update; 
• 5-30 Traffic Council:  
  • handicap parking space in front of 62 Manet Road;
  • “No Parking” signs in front of 35 Border Street, limited to after school hours (2pm – 6pm), Monday through Friday to facilitate safe drop offs/pickups of dance studio students.
  • eight (8) parking spaces in the rear of the Austin Street parking lot be designated for the Department of Senior Services;
  • Stop Sign or alternative solution at the north-west corner of Cabot Street and East Side Parkway;
  • Oakwood Road,from Upland to the Dead End, become part of the Newtonville Neighborhood Parking District, and that the regulations change to two hour limit, except by resident permit and visitor permit, 8AM-4PM, School Days, both sides;
  • full traffic signal at the intersection of Nahanton and Winchester Streets;
  • left-turn prohibition between 4:00 PM and 6:00 PM from Bridge Street southbound onto Watertown Street eastbound;
  • Stop Sign on Varick Road at Beacon Street;
  • a conversion to one-way circulation on Beecher Terrace.

Documents:

• Planning Report
  • Save the Date! Envisioning Needham Street Community Meeting: The City will host a public meeting on Thursday, June 6th from 7:00 – 9:00 p.m. at Countryside Elementary School. We invite property owners, business owners, residents, and anyone interested in the future of Needham Street to join us. Hear updates from the City of Newton staff on planning for the corridor and a presentation from Massachusetts Department of Transportation staff on the roadway design – with opportunity for your comments and questions. We want to hear from you and hope you can join us!
  • Community Preservation Committee Funding Deadline: Pre-proposals must be received by email to aingerson@newtonma.gov by 9 am, Monday, June 3rd for affordable housing, historic resources, open space and/or recreation land projects seeking funds in FY14-15. Contact Alice Ingerson at the email above or 617.796.1144. Pre-proposals received after the deadline above will be scheduled for discussion at a public meeting of the CPC as soon as all fy14-15 pre-proposals have been discussed.
• News Notes

  • Zoning and Planning Committee – The committee will be meeting on Wednesday, May 29th at 7:45p.m. in the Chamber. There will be a public hearing on item #77-13 ALD. GENTILE & HARNEY requesting that the Board of Aldermen amend the City of Newton Zoning Ordinances so that any properties that have been built and purchased that may now be considered noncompliant due to the recent court decision in the Mauri/Chansky case be considered valid nonconforming properties.

  • 2nd Annual Nonantum Village Day – The 2nd Annual Nonantum Village Day will be held on Saturday and Sunday, June 1st and 2nd. On Saturday, beginning at 10:00a.m. throughout the village center, there will be sidewalk sales and a window painting contest. On Sunday, beginning at 12:00p.m., there will be vendor booths at Coletti-Magni Park on Watertown Street. Sunday will also feature a Petting Zoo, Pony Rides, Dunk Tank, and much more! For more information checkout our facebook page, search Nonantum Neighborhood Association like us, or www.nonantum.net. Our Village Day cooordinator is Lois Dominique and she can be reached at loismargaret@gmail.com.

  • Joint Meeting with School Committee – The joint meeting with the School Committee on progress with capital projects will take place on Monday, June 3rd at 7:00p.m in the Chamber. We also have a full a Board meeting that evening. Cheryl & I will be working out the logistics early next week with the S/C and members of the Angier Building Committee. We will get you the details as soon as we get organized. Please look for an email from me.
  • Graduations: Newton North Graduation–Wednesday, June 5th at 5:00p.m. at NNHS. Newton South Graduation – Thursday, June 6th at 5:00p.m. at NSHS.
  • Leaf Blower Task Force – If you recall, last spring the Board passed the establishment of a Leaf Blower Task Force. There has been little interest from the public from the advertisement on the city website. I informed Ald. Hess-Mahan I would post it this week to see if you may know of citizens who may want to get involved. If you know of potential appointees please let me know. They will serve until the completion of the report.

A weekly summary of Board of Aldermen agendas and actions highlighting items of interest to the LWVN.

Board and Committee Meeting Schedule

Extracted from the full Aldermanic calendar.

Key to color coding: CPC, Planning, Environmental, Finance, Charter/Elections, Housing.

Docket:

#176-13 PRESIDENT LENNON in conjunction with Newton Wellesley Hospital recommending the re-appointment/appointment of the following individuals to the Newton Wellesley Hospital Neighborhood Council pursuant to condition 29 of special permit #470-04 for terms concurrent with the 2012-2013 Board of Aldermen:

(A) Theresa Fitzpatrick (B) Katherine Ballou

(C) Andree Saulnier (D) Alderman Jay Harney (Wd 4)

(E) Alderman John Rice (Wd 5)

Public Hearings to be assigned for June 11, 2013:

#177-13 SHARON BURNS, FARMSTEAD TABLE/STEPHEN WERSBERG petition for a SPECIAL PERMIT/SITE PLAN APPROVAL to allow more than fifty seats in a restaurant and to waive the eight additional parking spaces required by the proposed additional seats at 71 UNION STREET, Ward 6, Newton Centre, on land known as SBL 61, 36, 8, located in a district zoned Business 1. Ref: Sec 30-24, 30-23, 30-11(d)(9), 30-19(d)(13), 30-19(m)of the City of Newton Rev Zoning Ord, 2012.

#178-13 RIVERSIDE CHILDREN’S CENTER /THE UNION CHURCH OF WABAN petition to AMEND SITE PLAN APPROVAL #704-83, granted on 12/19/83 for a nursery school for no more than 15 children, to increase the enrollment to a maximum of 55 students and for a SPECIAL PERMIT/SITE PLAN APPROVAL to waive 8 parking stalls and for associated waivers including parking within front and side setbacks and within 5’ from a street; required dimensions for parking stalls and minimum aisle width; landscape screening and interior landscaping requirements; lighting requirements including waiving barriers at edges of surfaced areas; minimum 3-foot wide curb ramps; bicycle parking facilities at 14 COLLINS ROAD, Ward 5, Waban, on land known as SBL 55, 48, 36 and 37, containing approx. 41,302 sf of land in a district zoned SINGLE RESIDENCE 2.

#187-13 DAVID A. OLSON on behalf of BEAUTIFUL NEWTONVILLE seeking approval from the Board of Aldermen as required by the City Charter, Article 9, Section 7(b), of the date of October 1, 2013 as the official election day for the Newtonville Area Council, and to allow early voting on September 29 and 30, to coincide with Newtonville Village Day.

Reports:

• 5-14 Land Use: APPROVED: two-story addition to 12 Fellsmere, Newton Centre, ward 7; addition to Milton’s store for men, chestnut hill; additions to 140 Church St, Newton Corner; 
• 5-13 Zoning: NAN: Economic Development Commission annual report; increasing lot sizes to grandfather some non-conforming developments; HELD: another way to grandfather non-conforming developments; report on lots now considered non-conforming under the Mauri decision.
• 5-13 Finance: APPROVED; $30K for a needs assessment of the senior population; $55K for the Peirce School and Hyde playgrounds; $78K for hardware to ensure survive-ability of city’s financial data in the event of a disaster; adjustment upward of the City Clerk’s salary to reflect new responsibilities; $104K to cover the remainder of the Lincoln-Eliot School’s HVAC project; $105K for more design of the Wires Division and Fire Station 10 (Dedham St); $25K for catch basin improvements around Crystal Lake; three new Capital Stabilization Funds created: 2013 Override Projects, Energy Conservation Projects, Public School Technology.
• 5-8 Public Facilities: APPROVED: Fire Station 10 & Wires Division design review; Lincoln Eliot HVAC; HELD: discussion of smaller capital projects and how to keep transparent; Angier School–possible inclusion of air-conditioning and the precedent that sets for all elementary schools getting a/c.
• 5-8 Programs & Services: APPROVED: playground improvements; consolidation of Elections under City Clerk & raising the Clerk’s salary; NAN: a similar consolidation item; 
• 5-8 Public Safety: NAN: report on state’s unfunded mandate for police training; update on school safety report; 
• 5-7 Land Use: APPROVED: two additional dwellings at 9 Ripley St, ward 6; 

Agendas:

• 5-21 Land Use: Riverside (traffic, circulation, parking, trails,signage, and landscaping)
• 5-22 Public Facilities: discussion of Moulton Street and Colgate Circle (Ward 4); purchasing a street sweeper & back hoe; Angier School update; discussion of Green Communities strategy; 
• 5-22 Programs & Services: Carr School renovation; Newtonville AC vote; remote participation in BoA and board committee meetings; rules on where CPC matters should be referred; support for carbon fees; Angier update; financial strategic plan requirement; human capital plan; 

Documents:

• Letter from the High Performance Buildings Commission on a Sustainability Director position