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LWVN Reaffirms Its Support of Village Center Overlay District in its Current Form

On November 13, 2023, LWVN sent a letter to the City Council reaffirming its support of the Village Center Overlay District (VCOD) in furtherance of the positions of LWVN and implementation of the Massachusetts Housing Choice Bill (MBTA Communities).  We first wrote to support the Village Center Overlay District (VCOD) in our letter dated June 26, 2023. We write now to urge the Newton City Council to adopt and implement the VCOD in its currently proposed form, without further changes.

You can read the entirety of LWVN’s letter below:

LWVMA Webinar Series on the Status and Future Plans for Offshore Wind

Massachusetts and other New England states are planning on offshore wind as a major factor in meeting renewable energy generation and emissions reduction goals as we transition off fossil fuels.  Join LWVMA as they take a deep dive into the Northeast’s offshore wind industry and learn about the value of critical offshore wind projects and threats to their timely deployment. Each session has a separate Zoom registration. Sign up for one, two, or all three! See full descriptions and registration links for each session on the  LWVMA website. This series is co-hosted by LWVMA and New England for Offshore Wind (NE4OSW).

What’s Up with Offshore Wind? Current Status – Future Plans – Getting It Done

Webinars are 4:00-5:00pm Eastern Time
Webinar I, September 14, 2023: Collaboration and Ambition: Where Offshore Wind Stands Now
Webinar II, November 16, 2023: Opportunities and Obstacles: Costs and Benefits of Offshore Wind
Webinar III, January 18, 2024: Conflicts and Solutions: Overcoming Offshore Wind Opposition

LWVN Joins Newton for Everyone

The LWVN board voted in October to join Newton for Everyone, a coalition of civic, housing, climate activists, clergy, and local businesses supporting the proposed Village Center Overlay District (VCOD) under consideration by the Newton City Council. This is a non-partisan coalition.

As Newton goes through the process of considering the VCOD, its citizens will need a reasoned and well informed coalition that can present factual information regarding the changes being proposed.  LWVN will be lending its name, reputation, and experience as Newton for Everyone works to ensure that correct information is being given to citizens through leafleting, signs, and ensuring there is a balanced representation at community forums.  

To learn more about the coalition, visit Newtonforeveryone.com.

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Banned Books Week: October 1-October 7

October 1 – October 7 is Banned Books Week

According to the American Library Association (ALA), “Banned Books Week celebrates the freedom to read and spotlights current and historical attempts to censor books in libraries and schools. For more than 40 years, the annual event has brought together the entire book community — librarians, teachers, booksellers, publishers, writers, journalists, and readers of all types — in shared support of the freedom to seek and to express ideas, even those some consider unorthodox or unpopular.”

ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom documented 1,269 demands to censor library books and resources in 2022, the highest number of attempted book bans since ALA began compiling data about censorship in libraries more than 20 years ago. The unparalleled number of reported book challenges in 2022 nearly doubles the 729 book challenges reported in 2021.

PEN America counted school book bans in the 2022-2023 school year, and found 3,362 book bans affecting 1,557 unique titles, with more than 40% of the bans occurring in Florida.

We invite you to take action on “Let Freedom Read” Day – October 7, 2023!

To better explore the issue of banned books, LWVN is inviting all community members to join us in a December book group discussion on one of the most banned books of the last two years, Gender Queer: A Memoir by Maia Kobabe.  We will be discussing the book (and other books on the banned books list, if you are inclined to read others), why it has caused so many schools and libraries to remove it from the shelves, whether LWVN or any League should take a position on book banning, and more.

Following the discussion, we invite all to celebrate with us the holiday season and join in some holiday cheer.  More details to follow.

For more information on Banned Books, read below.

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LWVN Supports Northland Charlemont Project

On July 28, 2023, LWVN sent a letter to the Zoning Board of Appeals in support of Northland 160 Charlemont LLC’s request for a Comprehensive Permit for a project to feature 370 residential units comprising 465,654 gross square feet of area in two seven-story structures on 6.98 acres of land located at 160 Charlemont Street and 56 Christina Street in the Mixed Use 1 Zoning District (Northland Charlemont Project). The project includes 438 parking stalls and 93 affordable units.

The Northland Charlemont Project will help make Newton’s housing stock more diverse by providing an alternative to single-family homes.  In addition, 25 percent of the units will be affordable, producing 93 new affordable units in the City of Newton.  LWVN supports Zoning Board of Appeals Member Brooke Lipsitt’s request that the developer make affordable units available at a deeper level than the 80 percent of area median income required by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. We believe deeper affordability is necessary to meet community
needs, particularly given the shortage of affordable housing in the City.  Furthermore, the developer has stated its goal to reduce the project’s energy consumption over its lifetime, include include shuttle service and a bike path, and provide access to electric vehicle charging to 20 percent of the parking spaces.

The Northland Charlemont Project will help meet goals common to the City of Newton and LWVN: increasing housing diversity; building sustainably; mitigating the use of cars; encouraging biking and walking; and increasing tax revenue for the City.

You can read the entirety of LWVN’s letter below:

LWVN Supports Village Center Overlay District

On June 26, 2023, LWVN sent a letter to the City Council in support of the Village Center Overlay District (VCOD) in furtherance of the positions of LWVN and implementation of the Massachusetts Housing Choice Bill (MBTA Communities).

The VCOD is structured to promote safe and secure housing at a range of price points, while incentivizing increasing supply of smaller units.  It concentrates the opportunity for compact development near transit and where key infrastructure exists, providing support to our local economy with minimal increase in car trips, while supporting walkable centers. It is in furtherance of the regional plan (MBTA Communities) enacted to address the critical housing shortage by increasing the housing supply statewide, particularly in connection with transportation hubs.

You can read the entirety of LWVN’s letter below: