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Zoning Code References

Here are the pages of the Watertown Zoning Code that might be useful to you in writing to the Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) about the suitability of the proposal for the 14,000 sq ft CVS in Coolidge Square, and any other projects that come up by residential and small business neighborhoods.

The Zoning Purpose is Article 1.0:

CVS Petition (revised)

Early January 2015 Update

Dear Neighborhood Network Groups and Friends of Sustainable Watertown,

The moment you declare a set of ideas to be immune from criticism, satire, derision, or contempt, freedom of thought becomes impossible. Salmon Rushdie

I do not agree with what you have to say, but I'll defend to the death your right to say it. Voltaire

If Liberty means anything at all, it means the right to tell people what they do not want to hear. George Orwell

The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable man persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore, all progress depends on the unreasonable man. George Bernard Shaw

MONDAY JANUARY 12, 7PM: Coolidge Square Neighborhood Group is holding an informational meeting about the CVS PROPOSAL to be located at Mt Auburn Street at Arlington. Please attend to learn and find out how you can help. There are flyers and petitions—300+ signatures have already been collected. 7PM at Coolidge School Apartments, 319 Arlington St.
The proposal was DENIED by the Planning Board. It will go before the Zoning Board of Appeals January 28. Some of the talking points the neighborhood group has used in their flyers and petitions are: Large, high-volume chain is not in scale, or in character with the neighborhood, or lively business community of small and independent businesses; the 14,300 square foot CVS and the tremendous frontage it would have is about seven times as large as most other stores and markets in Coolidge Square; traffic congestion at this already busy intersection will further slow cars and buses; very large trucks and frequent deliveries will change the neighborhood; the proposed design will have detrimental impacts and is inconsistent with the values and goals of the Comprehensive Plan--it is a standardized, suburban brand building plopped onto a major corner of Watertown; future-thinking designs, whether they include CVS, or not, could enliven the streetscape and enrich the area. Will other chains buy up property? This project does not meet the specific criteria required by section 9.05, or other sections of the Watertown Zoning Code. Join Sustainable’s newest community group at the informational meeting.
••Petition to sign from the Neighborhood group:
Description: http://sustainablewatertown.com/modules/file/icons/application-pdf.pngCV... If this doesn’t open, sign the petition on change.org: CoolidgeSquare-ProposedCVS-Petition
••An excellent letter on the subject (and the Pleasant Street Corridor District as well) from Councilor Aaron Dushku is at: Facebook.com/aarondushku4you.
••The Planning Department Staff Report on CVS is at: http://www.watertown-ma.gov/DocumentCenter/View/15953
••The site plan: http://www.watertown-ma.gov/DocumentCenter/View/15716
••East End neighbors surveyed people about how they use Coolidge Square and made recommendations: Janet Jameson and Deborah Peterson wrote about the need to reduce the negative impact of a corporate chain store in a village environment; Coolidge Square is valued as a village center and it seems important to preserve and enhance its village qualities as a Watertown asset; There is a need for traffic intervention beyond those sited in the traffic study and for pedestrian infrastructure; There is unmet need for restaurants and a variety of retail specialty shops, eg ice cream, book, gift, craft stores.

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 14: PLANNING BOARD MEETING, 7PM, Town Hall.
1) CVS proposal for 14,300 sq ft stand alone building, see above.
2) Redesign of a building at 65 Grove Street for offices. It looks to be a creative, flexible, and modern renovation of an old brick building. However, consider the very large tarmac outdoor parking despite a garage with more spaces than are required. Perhaps, instead of about 50 spaces on an impervious surface in the courtyard, visitors could park inside and enter the office building via a gorgeous green park that could be enjoyed by employees and residents alike. It could be a green amenity to attract tenants and neighbors with only a few visitors allowed to park next to the building. When and if there is a need for more parking, the numbers could be discussed by the Planning Department. Traffic patterns could use review.
••The 65 Grove Street site plans may be viewed at:
http://www.watertown-ma.gov/DocumentCenter/View/15889.
Again, your comments are important BEFORE the hearing at the Planning Board. Please address comments to the Planning Department and Planning Board c/o imarchesano@watertown-ma.gov. Please also send a copy to towncouncilors@watertown-ma.gov.
3) Pleasant Street Corridor District amendments will be discussed. Please see the details at: http://www.watertown-ma.gov/DocumentCenter/View/15006. Please pay particular attention to the length of buildings allowed and mixed-use design banning residential. Which, office, or residential would have the greater effect on traffic? How about a mix? Some have talked about needing housing there to provide shoppers and diners for the amenities planned and to prevent the area between Russo’s and Waltham from being closed down and dark at night. Let us know what you think. And write to the Planning Dept, Planning Board, and your Councilors.
January 26, 7-8:30: Brainstorming monthly meeting Sustainable Watertown, Library, upstairs.
JANUARY 28, ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS, CVS PROPOSAL. 7PM, TOWN HALL. There may be other items on the agenda depending on the decisions of the Planning Board.
We’ll get the rest of the January Update to you when our formatting works again.
Thanks for all you do,
Sustainable Watertown
Info@sustainablewatertown.org

Watertown Public Transit Task Force Mission Statement, Vision, and Goals

Watertown Public Transit Task Force (WPTTF) announced its Mission, Vision, and Goals to guide its advocacy for the betterment of public transit in Watertown, December 15, 2014. Task Force chair Joseph Levendusky said, "After making substantial progress in our first year of existence, this statement clarifies our vision of the future of transportation in Watertown and how we see our role as advocates. We look forward to continuing to give voice to the needs and concerns of the transit riding public."

September 2014 Update

Without...largeness of conception and breadth of vision...and without the constant hand and touch of Art upon every detail, a beautiful city can never be built. Otto Wagner 1912

Dear Sustainable Watertown and Neighborhood Networkers,

The news is the vote by the Town Council to pay for an architect/planner consultant who will look at the corridors and squares containing underutilized space that have been marked for transformation by the Strategic Framework and our planners. Under the leadership of Council President Mark Sideris with the help of Director of Community Planning and Development Steve Magoon, the scope of work for this architect/planner has been agreed to in principle. The action was taken in response to Moratorium petitions signed by hundreds requesting some kind of overall look at the galloping development here. Piecemeal approval of disparate projects, separate traffic studies, old fashioned parking requirements, etc are not going to give us great development that respects adjacent properties and the qualities of Watertown that the public wishes to maintain and improve. The Comprehensive Plan, when ready, will reflect the hopes of the public and the economic development detailed by consultants and the Planning Department. Sustainable Watertown and those who signed the petitions hope for some kind ofintegrated approach that will lead us to excellence in development and future-thinking changes in the zoning code. Further discussions with the Town Council on the scope of work will be held because integration of infrastructure and transition zones seem to be major factors in quality development. Please read the powerful excerpt at the end that could stand as a manifesto for great development in a town like Watertown.

TONIGHT, SEPTEMBER 15, MEETING WITH THE DEVELOPER OF THE PIROLLI PROPERTY, IRVING AND ARSENAL STREETS. Please look over the plans on the town website. Still having trouble sending links, so you will have to go toci.watertown.ma/documentcenterii.asp, then find Community Development and Planning, then Cases, then Irving and Arsenal Sts, then wait and plans will come up. It takes a long time to open, but they are there. The Developers will present the plans tonight for your consideration. The Goldstar/Elan developers at Pirolli have agreed to be "A DEMONSTRATION PROJECT FOR THE DESIGN STANDARDS TO BE DEVELOPED BY THE TOWN." Mr Magoon has stated that feedback from the community meeting with the developer will help inform the design standard discussion [with the new architect/planner, the Planning Dept, and the community and Council we presume]. "As we develop our design standards, we will be able to use this property as a test case to see how the standards would play out." We look forward to working with the town on this new project. Your opinions will be important, so take a look at the plans. POLICE STATION COMMUNITY ROOM, MAIN STREET. 7-9. It would be a good time to plan meetings of your neighborhood groups to discuss this and the other developments which you will hear about below.

WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 17, PHASE II VICTORY FIELD DISCUSSION WITH THE RECREATION DEPARTMENT COMMITTEE. LIBRARY. 7-9PM,
Second presentation by the development committee. Your presence and voices are needed. Plans are on line for you to see for a new track, new lighting, new courts- one to be a hockey and basketball court/rink, more parking, and artificial turf in the oval, and more. This is in addition to the 180,000 sq ft of artificial turf from Phase I which privately raised only a small percentage of the amount borrowed. Town financing is clearly a concern. Community participation in the development process was sorely missed and was suggested by residents at the last presentation. Scheduling for town teams is difficult for the artificial turf fields, but neighbors are confident that solutions could be found to satisfy teams and the neighborhood quality of Victory Field with participation of the community.

WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 17, ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS, COUNCIL CHAMBERS 7-9:30. The 21 NORTH BEACON STREET property, currently the home of Sullivan Tire, has asked for permission to become a used car sales and maintenance area for Volkswagen which has a nearby building. The town Planning Department Staff Report has recommended approval, and the owner has talked about a 20 year lease, but since this usage does not at all conform to the expectations of the Comprehensive Plan vision for Watertown Square and at least two councilors, Corbett and Lenk, have opposed it because the vision for a walkable destination development has not been met, your input is needed. The case has been continued until October 22 because not all members who voted at the last meeting will be present this month to complete the discussion. More information will be sent out as we get it. What we have heard is that Sullivan Tire would like to remain at that location. Why end the chance of development of that property and area for twenty years with a use not very different from what is there now?
There will be a vote on reappointment of the chair and clerk of the ZBA. Be there, or send your thoughts to the ZBA and your councilors.

SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 21 CLIMATE MARCH, NYC.

SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 21 3PM, CELEBRATION OF THE TAPESTRY OF CULTURES MURAL, BAPTIST WAY AND MT AUBURN STREET. MEET THE ARTISTS FROM WATERTOWN HIGH SCHOOL AND ENJOY OUR SECOND MAJOR PUBLIC ART MURAL. Refreshments, music. Take a chair and join the fun.

MONDAY SEPTEMBER 22, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT SUBCOMMITTEE AND PLANNING BOARD JOINT MEETING TO DISCUSS THE DETAILS of the COMPREHENSIVE PLAN. 7-9. Lower Meeting Room. Next section will be discussed October 9.

SEPTEMBER 24, 7-9, COMMUNITY MEETING WITH DEVELOPER OF 65 GROVE STREET, Coolidge Apartment Community Room. Another development redesign for office space which uses the existing brick and adds lots of glass for a modern look. Cressett would like to add a parking garage behind the building and a parking entrance totaling more than the number of required parking spaces. Please find the plans on line and attend this important meeting. Hearing the presentation will help you formulate questions and thoughts for this meeting and for conversations with your councilors and your neighborhood groups. If you cannot attend, please be assured that all attempts will be made for you and your group to find out about the plans and be heard. Write to us at info@sustainablewatertown.org.http://www.watertown-ma.gov/DocumentCenter/View/15604

SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 27, 10-4 FAIRE ON THE SQUARE, SALTONSTALL PARK, MAIN STREET. 15th Anniversary of the Faire.

TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 30 PUBLIC SAFETY MEETING ABOUT LIQUOR LICENSES. TOWN HALL, 7-9PM.

~~~~~~~

The standards we have to work with should only be used as a baseline and not as a device to prevent excellence from being created. Above all, even at the risk of being perceived as doctrinaire, we must take a formal stand against the adoption of rules that perpetuate mediocre development outcomes. There must be a willingness to test standards in relation to their impact on the form of communities and place making.
A key goal of any planning effort is to create places that are sustainable and well-designed, places where optimal quality and efficiency in the provision and arrangement of urban amenities and services are attained. However, place making today stands in poor relationship to civic processes and urban design. It has been crowded into a bureaucratic task of rule writing, standards formation, and code enforcement. Such roles rob the urban planning profession of its central goal: to foster democratic civic processes and outcomes whereby communities retain their local character, make the most of the existing conditions of the built and natural environment, and create developments that are sensitive and sensible to their immediate surroundings. Eran Ben-Joseph The Code of the City: Standards and the Hidden Language of Place Making, 2005.

Send us your thoughts.
We hope that you are enjoying this gorgeous weather and change of seasons, but will make time to participate in the major development meetings scheduled for this month. As always, if you cannot attend, please look at the plans, write to us for information, convene your neighborhood groups, and send emails, or call your Councilors and Board members.

Again, we are trying to update the lists, so bear with us as we slowly make headway. Could you volunteer to help? There are many ideas for projects that need you!

Thanks for all you do,
Sustainable Watertown
info@sustainablewatertown.org

December 2014 Update

Only local conditions and physical context should provide the threshold for the formulation of standards and codes. Regulations should be place-based, emphasize details, and be buttressed by public approval. As more communities wrestle with problems due to uncontrolled growth, environmental pollution, and failures of the existing infrastructure, they are likely to take a stronger interest in their local power. Thus the possibility for communities to establish their own initiatives for localized place-based standards can be realized. .....[I]f regulations are too inflexible to allow for innovation, then perhaps we must work to see that they are changed. Above all, planners and designers must take formal stands against the adoption of rules that perpetuate mediocre development outcomes. There should be a willingness to test standards, not only in relation to preventing harm or preserving property value, but in relation to their impact on the physical form of communities. ....[T]hough standards will continue to exert their influence on the shaping of our towns and cities, we must not allow them to prevent excellence and innovation in our quest for better places.
Eran Ben-Joseph, The Code of the City: Standards and the Hidden Language of Place Making, 2005, p.xxi.

Dear Sustainable Watertown,

THE SECOND DESIGN STANDARDS AND GUIDELINES MEETING was eye-opening and inspirational for many. We look forward to a creative and productive process with the design of Greystar at the Pirolli site and the development of design standards from which to support excellence in development for the new growth in Watertown. Thank you to consultant and architect planner, David Gamble who lives in Watertown.

Your good sense and good will are much needed to support excellence in development in this holiday season. The Pleasant Street Corridor Districtdiscussion is postponed until the January Planning Board meeting. Your comments to the Planning Department and the Planning Board are still needed and welcome on these development issues, particularly the following:
This Wednesday, December 10 the CVS proposal will go before the Planning Board. Please consider supporting neighbors and members of Sustainable Watertown who are opposed to the present design. The crux of the problem is the outsized big box-type CVS at the Arlington Street end of the lively and successful Coolidge Square shopping district with it's local, independent and small businesses. The scale of the CVS is mismatched to the diverse and walkable area we now treasure. Those zoning principles about which we have written, Frontage Limitation and Transparency, have been overlooked in the plan. The proposed CVS would wrap around the corner from the Mt Auburn Grill replacing the brick office, gas station and the Elks taking more than a fair share of street frontage. And, 20% of the windows will be covered with the typical advertising of CVS stores that permits display and shelving for products inside. It is a dead streetscape which could be vibrant with a variety of smaller retail shops utilizing the excess frontage which CVSs usually cover over. We would like to encourage shoppers to return to a unique and interesting retail scene scaled to match the existing experience with a well-established sense of place.

••If you would like to read the informative Petition of some East End neighborsand sign it please go to:http://sustainablewatertown.com/sites/default/files/CVS_Petition.pdf. Please drop offall signatures at Doug & Stephanie Orifice's, 238 Arlington Street before the Wednesday meeting.
••An excellent letter on the subject (and the Pleasant Street Corridor District as well) from Councilor Aaron Dushku is at: Facebook.com/aarondushku4you.
••The Planning Department Staff Report on CVS is at: http://www.watertown-ma.gov/DocumentCenter/View/15953
••The site plan: http://www.watertown-ma.gov/DocumentCenter/View/15716
••East End neighbors surveyed people about how they use Coolidge Square and made recommendations: Janet Jameson and Deborah Peterson wrote about the need to reduce the negative impact of a corporate chain store in a village environment; Coolidge Square is valued as a village center and it seems important to preserve and enhance its village qualities as a Watertown asset; There is a need for traffic intervention beyond those sited in the traffic study and for pedestrian infrastructure; There is unmet need for restaurants and a variety of retail specialty shops, eg ice cream, book, gift, craft stores.
The office development at 65 Grove Street is also scheduled to be heard Wednesday at the Planning Board. The proposal at 65 looks to be a creative, flexible, and modern renovation of an old brick building. However, consider the very large tarmac outdoor parking despite a garage with more spaces than are required. Perhaps, instead of about 50 spaces on an impervious surface in the courtyard, visitors could park inside and enter the office building via a gorgeous green park that could be enjoyed by employees and residents alike. It could be a green amenity to attract tenants and neighbors with only a few visitors allowed to park beside the building. When and if there is a need for more parking, the numbers could be discussed by the Planning Department.
••The 65 Grove Street site plans may be viewed at:
http://www.watertown-ma.gov/DocumentCenter/View/15889.
Again, your comments are important BEFORE the hearing at the Planning Board. Please address comments to the Planning Department and Planning Board c/o imarchesano@watertown-ma.gov. Please slao send a copy tosmagoon@watertown-ma.gov.

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 9, TOWN COUNCIL MEETING. 7:15. TOWN COUNCIL CHAMBERS. The agenda will include report about the social services position and how the year went.

ATTENTION: WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 10, PLANNING BOARD MEETING, 7-9, Town Hall:
1) CVS at Mt Auburn and Arlington Streets at the edge of Coolidge Square.
2) Redesign of a building at 65 Grove Street for offices.
See above for action items and links to plans and comments. Send your comments to imarchesano@watertown-ma.gov.

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 11, HISTORICAL COMMISSION, 7PM Lower Hearing Room. On the docket are discussions of house demolitions to increase the number of housing units and inviting a Somerville planner to talk about measuring and preserving neighborhood character.

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 17, ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS. 7-9PM. TOWN HALL. Please check the website for agenda next week. Items will depend on the Planning Board decisions this week.

Sustainable Watertown would like to stimulate more discussion about development issues among our supporters in time to influence the planning and zoning process. We are going to start a FACEBOOK PAGE. Would you like tolearn more about planning and zoning concepts? Would you like to discover andexchange information about some of the new ideas about traffic and parking, mixed use developments, artist live-work spaces, public art, streetscapes, etc, etc?When we are on line we'll let you know and hope that you will LIKE us so that you'll get breaking news and be able to join the conversation. Any other ideas?info@sustainablewatertown.org.

Note: We are still trying to update the lists and learn the finer points of MailChimp, so bear with us as we slowly make headway. Could you volunteer to help? There are many other ideas for special projects that need you!

~~Come brainstorm with us about Sustainable Watertown and future prospects the last Monday of each month. Next meeting January 26, 7-8:30 PM. Library.
~~Now would be a good time to pick a date for neighborhood groups to meet in January. Mention it when you see your neighbors at the holidays.

Please consider a donation, large, or small, to the WATERTOWN FOOD PANTRY before the holidays. WFP, 31 Marshall Street, or drop off a check at the Senior Center.

Thanks for all you do,
with best wishes for happy holidays and a creative and productive new year.
Sustainable Watertown
info@sustainablewatertown.org

Neighbors Have Requests for Proposed Athenahealth Project

Here’s a letter from a group of members about the Arsenal Overlay Development District. Note: the 50 ft height of any garage comments on the current height regulation limitation which is being debated on the Zoning Board. It does not mean that a 50 ft height on any garage is wanted.

From the letter:

We appreciate the Town Council’s delay on the vote for AthenaHealth’s proposal for changes to the AODD. We are assuming they have realized, like we have, that we need more details from them in order to make an informed decision. Any changes to the AODD should be considered with the future in mind: how will these changes affect Watertown’s ability to control what happens on that property while AthenaHealth owns it, as well as after they have gone. We hope AthenaHealth stays for the long term and works with the town in good faith, but businesses come and go, so we shouldn’t give away our rights to some determination on that property.

Read the entire Watertown News Letter to the Editor

Watertown residents lobby for better MBTA services

Sustainable Watertown's Task Force on Public Transit was mentioned in a Boston Globe article. The article discusses how bus service is not meeting the needs of the community amid concerns that things will get worse as more people move to town. Read the Boston Globe article.

AODD Ordinance Amendment

Dear Town Councilors,

Please accept the following comment and recommendation about the proposed amendment to the AODD provisions of the Zoning Ordinance.

Praise: I look forward to realization of what I understand Athenahealth’s vision to be: an active corporate campus that invites community presence through on-site retail, recreation and cultural offerings, and that is respectful of the existing and evolving adjacent neighborhoods and the wider Town. I am excited to live nearby. Based on Athenahealth’s corporate success and the few personnel I’ve met, I have hope that this vision will be creatively and professionally executed, and Watertown residents will be proud to host the Athenahealth headquarters.

Criticism: If I lived on North Beacon opposite the Arsenal, I would fear that allowing a 90’ high garage as of right would be too much of an imposition on the quality of my neighborhood. By allowing a 90’ high garage of right, the proposed new AODD ordinance requires residents to visualize in 3D something that isn’t designed, and to have sufficient faith in Athenahealth and the Watertown permitting process to believe that a 90’ height will be designed wisely, to minimize the visual impact of the new garage. The proposed AODD amendment does not appear to address residents’ concerns. The legitimate fears of the neighborhood could be addressed by having a tighter baseline control – that is, making the 79’ height the “of right” height limit — but allow the Planning Board to give a height bonus by special permit under certain reasonable conditions.

Revision: In plain language, the AODD could be changed to say that a project does not have a right to a 90’ high garage but may be given permission to go to 90’ by a special permit only if the project creates open space equal to the bonus parking garage area allowed by the 90’ height, has a green roof (not parking) at the 90’ level, and, most importantly, the Planning Board affirmatively finds that the height will not adversely affect the residential neighborhoods*.

To that end, the proposed amendment should be revised by changing section 5.12(e)(2) as follows: in the first sentence, delete from the words, “except that the maximum height…” to the end of the sentence. Insert the following: “By special permit, the Planning Board may allow the maximum height for a new structure used for structured parking (except to the extent other uses are allowed or required pursuant to Section 5.12(e)(4) [Setbacks]) to be up to 90 feet, provided that (i) such additional height will not adversely affect the residential neighborhoods to the west and south of the AODD, (ii) such additional height enables public vegetated open space within the AODD to be increased by an area not less than the gross floor area to be created by allowing such increased height, and such additional gross floor area is necessary to comply with the provisions of this Section 5.12(f) [Parking Requirements], and (iii) the top level of such structure shall not be used for parking, i.e., shall be a “green” roof over the top level of parking or the roof of occupied space.”

This change does not forbid or allow a 90’ high garage, but it take consideration of such height out of the abstract and focus it on a specific design when and if a specific proposal is in a special permit application. It may be that athenahealth determines the 90’ height is not needed either because they are allowed to reduce required parking enough, or for some other reason. It may be that athenahealth’s architect will be able to design a 90’ high garage structure that is acceptable to most neighbors.

Thank you for considering this suggestion. Please let me know if you have any questions about this proposal.

Jonathan Bockian
165 Irving Street
Watertown, MA 02472

*Note that it is necessary to require the finding about no adverse effect, because if the special permit granting authority is the Planning Board, not the ZBA, zoning ordinance section 9.05(b), which requires the same finding for ordinary dimensional special permits, would not apply to this special permit. Alternatively, the permit granting authority should be the ZBA.

July 2014 Update

Dear Neighborhood Network,

TONIGHT, July 8, 6:30PM, Library,
CCG, the Concerned Citizens Group, is sponsoring a COMMUNITY MEETING, Visioning Community Connections. There will be a film and discussion on how to create successful public spaces.
Visioning will focus on the Arsenal Street Corridor.
There will also be discussion about goals for the zoning petition for a temporary moratorium.

We hope that you can attend. The recent community meetings about Arsenal and Pleasant Streets have been most informative as have Planning Board and Zoning meetings. Our goals are the same for both areas—excellence in development for Watertown. We must prepare ourselves if we want our Public Comment to have meaning.

Wednesday, July 9, PLANNING BOARD, 7PM, Council Chambers. Agenda includes the proposed hotel site at Saab, replacing a Non- Conforming (auto repair) with another Non-Conforming use (auto dealership with accessory auto service) in Central Business District.
In addition, Inclusionary Zoning of Affordable Housing will increase requirements from 10% to 12.5%.
And meetings for the Comprehensive Plan will be discussed. Pleasant Street Corridor http://www.watertown-
ma.gov/DocumentCenter/View/15006 is Continued. I believe that it will not be discussed tonight, since the draft is getting further input, but cannot get confirmation. See the full agenda: http://www.watertown-ma.gov/ArchiveCenter/ViewFile/Item/2443

Thursday, July 10, GREENOUGH BOULEVARD REDESIGN, 6:30-8:30PM, Shady Hill School auditorium, 56 Coolidge Ave, Cambridge. The Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) with funding from the Solomon Foundation will present up to date plans for the redesign of Greenough Boulevard roadway and bike/community path along the river. http://www.solomonfoundation.org/pages/projects/her.html This is a great opportunity to learn and be heard on the details of what promises to be a fabulous improvement. The newest data on traffic calming and recreational use will be presented and your questions answered. I’m wondering if it would be possible to place the bike path next to the walking path instead of in the road with the cars. Seems too dangerous and not family friendly. If you have questions, concerns or comments:
Email: dcr.updates@state.ma.us, entering “Greenough” in the subject line.
Write: Department of Conservation and Recreation, Office of Public Outreach, 251
Causeway Street, Suite 600, Boston, MA 02114
Comment period: March 6th to March 31st (this was on the original flyer)
Note: Public comments submitted to DCR by email or letter will be posted on the DCR website in their entirety, and
no content, including personal information, will be redacted.

Monday, July 14, Economic Development Subcommittee of the Council meeting with Planning Board for Review and Recommendation of Comprehensive Plan Draft, 7-9PM, Council Chambers, Public invited. This is the appropriate place for your comments on details of the Comprehensive Plan unless you submit them to the Planning Department and Council in advance. You may write to the Planning Board via imarchesano@watertown-ma.gov. July 21 is the only other date listed at this time to go through the entire document. Be there and participate. Steve Corbett, chair, Susan Falkoff, and Vinnie Piccirelli are the Councilors on the Ec Dev Subcommittee. The Comp Plan, as you know, will provide the vision which will guide implementation zoning changes and policies of the Planning Department and Planning and Zoning Boards. Your attendance at this meeting is important. The organization and topics of these meetings are as yet unpublicized.

Wednesday, July 16, Zoning Board of Appeals, 7PM, Council Chambers, ADDITIONAL PUBLIC HEARING at a SPECIAL MEETING ON 202-204 ARSENAL STREET, Special permit/site plan review. This is a continuation of the June 25 ZBA meeting. At that meeting a petition was presented requesting a temporary moratorium, long enough only that a master plan could be considered for the Arsenal Street Corridor. This property at 202 Arsenal Street is part of a 16 acre parcel. CCG and other members of neighborhood groups hope for a vision connecting the entire area to the surrounding communities and the Square at one end and the historic sites at the other. (See meeting tonight). Any and all comments should be submitted to the Planning Department and the ZBA via the Planning office ASAP. This ZBA decision is related to the Council decisions on the petition for a Moratorium July 22. Timing is all.

Monday, July 21, Economic Development and Planning Board review and recommendation of Comprehensive Plan, 7-9PM, Council Chambers. Second subcommittee meeting to go over the Draft Comp Plan to make corrections and additions. Very important. This is the vision for the town that will guide the Planning Department and our Boards in the future and the implementation of zoning regulations.

Tuesday, July 22, 6PM, Town Council special Meeting on Petition for a Temporary Moratorium on Arsenal Street. Council Chambers. The Town Council will discuss the Petition for a temporary Moratorium and may vote the petitioners' request up, or down. Let the Councilors know your thinking.

Wednesday, July 23, Joint Subcommittee on Rules, Economic Development, and Public Safety, 7-9PM to discuss additional liquor licenses. Third Floor Conference Room, Town Hall.

Wednesday, July 23, Zoning Board of Appeals, 7PM. Council Chambers. The agenda for this meeting is not posted yet, but the Special Meeting July 16 was scheduled to not interfere with regular business before the Board.

Other Notices:

Watertown community Gardens is hiring a part-time project coordinator for the Live Well Watertown program. This is an interesting position and opportunity to continue to make Watertown a great place. Application deadline is July 16. LWW@WatertownGardens.org

Watertown Summer Concerts at Saltonstall Park. July 10 Pabon Salsa, 6:30-8PM. Dine al fresco and relax with friends and neighbors. Take your lawn chairs and blankets and picnics. Every Thursday through August 14. Rain venue at the Library. http://www.watertown-ma.gov/DocumentCenter/View/15148.

Tri-City Trail gets $1.6 m upgrade in Watertown. Charles River Road improvements planned by DCR with help of Watertown organizations.. http://watertown.wickedlocal.com/article/20140702/NEWS/140709164?Start=1

Thanks for all you do. Volunteers always welcome. Neighborhood meetings encouraged—we have maps.
Barbara Ruskin
Sustainable Watertown
Neighborhood Network facilitator

Sustainable Watertown

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