Please join us
Wed, May 13, 11:30 am – 1:00 pm
NewTV, 23 Needham St., Newton
Brown-bag lunches welcome
Zoning is the means by which the City controls the use of land and defines the rights that landowners have to develop their properties. Zoning describes the uses, density, coverage, and other aspects of what we can put on our residential and commercial land.
Newton’s current zoning ordinance dates back to the early 1950’s and has been updated several times since that time. However, the ordinance has never been comprehensively updated to reflect the City’s comprehensive plan or to address other prospective city goals.
The City’s Planning Department and Aldermen are in the process of completing Phase I of Zoning Reform – in which the current ordinance has been made more legible, better organized, and where known contradictions have been removed or addressed. The City is now on the verge of beginning Phase II, which will update the policies and zones themselves.
Our speaker will be James Freas, Acting Director of Planning and Development. James will provide an overview of the process to date and the issues to be addressed in the coming phases. He will speak for 15 minutes, followed by open discussion among all attendees.