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Workings of the LWVN

Newton Municipal Election – Tuesday, November 7, 2023

Newton municipal elections will take place on Tuesday, November 7, 2023, with options for vote-by-mail as well as absentee and early voting,

Voters will elect a new City Council and School Committee.

Newton’s City Council consists of…

  • 16 At-large City Councilors (2 per ward)
    Elected by voters across the city
  • 8 Ward City Councilors (1 per ward)
    Elected only by the voters in each ward

Newton’s School Committee consists of…

  • 8 members (1 per ward)
    Elected by voters across the city
  • the Mayor.

Learn more about the candidates and how to vote below. Read more →

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

Newton Preliminary Election – Tuesday, September 12, 2023

Three candidates are running for the position of Ward Councilor in Wards 2 and 6.  A preliminary election will be held on Tuesday, September 12 to narrow the selection of candidates to two for the general election in November.  Please note that only Ward 2 residents can vote in the Ward 2 Ward Councilor election, and only Ward 6 residents can vote in the Ward 6 Ward Councilor election.

Who are the candidates and how can Newton voters learn more?

The Candidates

The three candidates for Ward 2 include:

 The three candidates for Ward 6 include:

View the Candidate Forums and Review our 2023 Preliminary Voters’ Guide

LWVN held candidate forums on August 22 and August 23 at the offices of NewTV and recorded by NewTV.  You can view those forums here:

Ward 2 Candidate Forum                  Ward 6 Candidate Forum

Read candidate responses to our questions in the Voters’ Guide for the 2023 Newton Preliminary Elections

Read below for more information about how to plan your vote.

Read more →

The League Presents: Zoning Redesign Part III; Village Center Overlay District Ordinance

Newton’s Zoning Redesign began in approximately 2010. The Village Redesign and ultimately the Village Center Overlay District  (VCOD) work began in 2021 with the Community Engagement initiative.

Given our goal of educating and informing citizens by engaging them through public conversations on timely and important issues, we thought it important to participate in the City’s extensive community engagement process.  One of the ways in which we did this is offering a League Presents series.

Jennifer Caira
Deb Crossley
Deb Crossley

Here is the third in our League Presents series on  Zoning Redesign.  In this episode, Marcia Johnson has a conversation regarding the Village Center Overlay District Ordinance with Jennifer Caira – Deputy Director, Planning & Development Department  and Councilor Deb Crossley – Chair Zoning & Planning Committee.  Issues discussed included:

 

  1. The goals, why these zoning changes are important to the community, and how these goals are being accomplished.
  2. The key features of the village center districts, as there is not a one-size fits all approach.
  3. What the Council and Planning Department have learned from residents, some of the changes made based on that feedback and clarification as to where confusions exist.

For background purposes, we encourage you to also view Parts 1 & 2 of our series:

Watch this episode

 

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: