|
Table 1A: Newton's Proposed Ordinance Draft Process - 30
meetings in 2 years with 1 Proposed Full Ordinance Version and 0 Public
Hearings. 19 of the 30 meetings are on Article 3: Residence Districts. Article 3 has 3 versions (V1, V2, V3);
Articles 2 and 9 have 2 versions (V1,V2). Remaining ordinance articles have
only the initial 2018 V1 version.
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|
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Meeting Number and Date
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Event
and Links to Documentation. Zoning Ordinance Draft
Versions are in Red. Rezoning appears as Item
#76-18 (1/16/18 to 7/30/18), Item #518-18 (10/22/18 to 3/25/19), and Item
#88-20 (1/27/20 to current date) in City Council meetings. Most meetings
cited can also be viewed at NewTV.org (searched by "Zoning and Planning)
with the warning that the meetings are usually at least 3 hours long. Meeting
numbers are only assigned in table to
City Council or City Council Committee meetings where the Proposed New Ordinance draft is the topic.
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Rezoning
Draft Marketing Campaign Phase
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1/16/18
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#75-18
"Discussion relative to the Zoning Redesign Event Series" and
#76-18 "Discussion relative to the draft policy content outline of
Zoning Ordinance" are introduced at 1/16/18 City Council Meeting
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A: Pre-Draft Phase -
1/16/18 to 7/30/18
Based on the pattern-book data, Sasaki presents
form-based zoning with three house types, where house type footprint
specifications vary by district and have large dimensions, designed to
encompass 90% of existing houses. The process is gradual with only an updated
map draft planned for October 2018. Suddenly, however, beginning in July
2018, the Mayor's staff (planning, ISD, Law), without Sasaki,
"writes" the entire proposed zoning ordinance in a few months and
delivers a 232 page draft version in October 2018 to the Zoning and Planning
Committee. The "writing" process appears to rely heavily on the
pasting together of other zoning codes, especially the Somerville rezoning
draft code. The House
Type footprint specifications of the October 2018 release are much smaller
than the Sasaki suggested footprints, resulting in much higher
nonconformities for all of Newton's single-family and two-family homes.
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4/30/18
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Undocketed
Item Number: Special Meeting of ZAP and Land Use with Sasaki Presentation on
upcoming proposed zoning map, districts, building types.
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4/30/18 Planning
Agenda Memo
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4/30/18 Sasaki
Presentation
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| |
Presentation
at last public Zoning Redesign Event. House Type suggested specifications are
presented as Three House Types with Footprint Dimensions set by district.
Stated Next Steps are 1) Collect Feedback, 2) Council Meetings Ward-by-Ward. 3)
Define Next Draft Map October 2018. The
planned October 2018 Draft version of
the map becomes the October 2018 Version of the proposed comprehensive Zoning
Ordinance.
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5/10/18
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Presentation at last public Zoning Redesign
Event.
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6/11/18
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Planning
Department presents OUTLINE of Draft Zoning Ordinance. Outline has only 3
house building types for single/two-families. Campus/Recreation Districts not
mentioned. The meeting report states that "The
outline reflects work with the consultant, Sasaki Associates and the many
different ideas that have been discussed in public meetings and
Committee."
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6/11/18 Planning
Agenda Memo
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6/11/18 Planning
Memo #76-18
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6/11/18 ZAP
Meeting Report
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6/25/18
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#76-18;
Summary of 5/10/18 Zoning Redesign Event
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6/25/18 Planning
Agenda Memo (#76-18: pgs. 40-43)
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6/25/18 ZAP Memo
Report (pgs. 3, 63-67, Pow Pt(63-67) Report states that districts have been
selected.
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7/16/18
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#76-18:
Introduction to new Planning Consultant and Land Use Attorney Joel Russell
who will be helping to write new comprehensive ordinance.
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7/16/18 Planning
Agenda Memo (#76-18: pgs. 55-57)
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7/16/18 ZAP
Meeting Report (#76-18: pgs. 5-8,9-36, Pow Pt: 9-36)
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7/30/18
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Planning
Department presents Table of Contents for New Zoning ordinance, Zoning Map,
and Building Types include 4 house types.
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7/30/18 Planning Agenda Memo (pgs. 26-28)
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7/30/18 ZAP Meeting Report (pgs., Pow Pt:21-31)
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[1]
10/22/18
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#518-18
First Presentation of 10/19/2018 Draft by Planning Department to Zoning and
Planning (ZAP) Committee. Draft is 232 pages, includes 12 Articles, uses
highly modified form-based zoning, and is intended to replace the entire current ordinance.
Planning Department also releases Planning Memo and ZAP posts Proposed Draft
schedule with full 12 article Proposed Ordinance Public Hearing scheduled for
9/23/19. Planning Department also releases a memo (link below) stating that
the ZBA should take over M.G.L. 40A §6 rulings from the Land Use Committee, because "the new
ordinance significantly reduces the instances of nonconformity," a claim that is proven 100% false by the Pattern Book
data. Planning Memo also states that "The
existing Zoning Ordinance ties the maximum size of a building to the size of
the lot, most directly by using the Floor Area Ratio (FAR) tool. The proposed
ordinance separately regulates lot size and building size, and the standards
for both are derived from the existing built characteristics of the City and
its neighborhoods." Separating building size
regulation from lot size, while also abolishing minimum lot size, is
something no one else in the country appears to be doing, including
Somerville.
|
B: Draft Data Marketing Campaign -
10/22/18 to 3/25/19
Planning Department markets rezoning as coming
from Pattern Book and Special Permit
data, but then data is shown not to support proposed ordinance. Specifically,
Build-out Analysis shows that proposed new ordinance increases possible house
sizes, so House Type dimensions are adjusted. Then Special Permit Data
analysis showing that FAR increases Special Permits is found to have
inaccurate data.
|
|
10/19/2018 Draft Zoning
Ordinance V1
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10/22/18
Planning Agenda Memo (#518-18: pg.
73-82)
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10/22/18 ZAP Report (#518-18: pgs. 23-47: PowPt:
23-47)
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[2]
11/26/18
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#518-18 Discussion of Article 3: Single
Residence Districts
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11/26/18
Planning Agenda Memo (518-18: pg. 145-152)
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11/26/18 ZAP
Report (#518-18: pg. 125-185: PowPt: pgs. 125-185)
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[3]
12/6/18
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Overview
of Proposed Zoning and Washington Street presented by Planning Department to
City Council.
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[4]
12/10/18
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#518-18:
Brief Continued Discussion of Article 3: Single Residence Districts
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12/10/18
Planning Agenda Memo (#518-18: pg. 111-115)
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12/10/18 ZAP
Report (#518-18: pg. 11-12)
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[5]
1/14/19
|
#518-18:
Discussion of Article 4: Village Districts
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|
1/14/19 Agenda
Memo (#518-18: pg. 220-227)
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1/14/19 Agenda
Memo (#518-18: pg. 9-12, 63-85 PowPt: 63-85)
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[6]
1/28/19
|
#518-18:
Brief Continued Discussion of Article 4: Village Districts
Discussion of Articles 5,6,7: Single Purpose Districts
|
|
1/28/19 Planning
Department Memo (518-18: pg. 32-40)
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1/28/19 ZAP
Report (#518-18: pg. 14-17, 42-57, PowPt: pgs. 42-57)
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[7]
2/25/19
|
#518-18:
Discussion of All Districts plus Build-Out Analysis: Formal New Draft is not
issued but some dimensional standards are "adjusted" to decrease
teardowns in Build-out Analysis because the rezoning's original proposed
dimensional standards were found to INCREASE rather than DECREASE teardowns.
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|
2/25/19 Planning
Department Memo (#518-18: pgs. 20-28)
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|
2/25/19 ZAP
Report Including Build-Out Analysis and Dimensional Standard Adjustments
(#518-18: pgs. 2-63, PowPt pgs. 11-62)
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[8]
3/11/2019
|
#518-18:
Discussion of Articles 10&11: Development Review Process. Planning
presents discussion of problems with current process, including Table
showing "Annual Number of Special
Permit Applications" as a function of year. Some City Councilors
questioned the numbers used in Special Permit frequency and type analysis.
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|
3/11/19 Planning
Agenda Memo (518-18: pgs. 26-32)
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3/11/19 ZAP
Meeting Report (#518-18: pgs. 6-10, 16-32, PowPt pgs. 16-32)
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|
3/15/19
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Mayor
Fuller Suspends Rezoning Effort until 2020
|
[9]
3/25/19
|
#518-18:
Planning Department acknowledges and explains errors in Special Permit Data
presented at 3/11/19 Meeting and presents revised rezoning schedule. Plan is
to suspend meetings in 2019, present a second draft in January 2020 with
passage vote planned at the end of 2020.
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|
3/25/19 Planning
Agenda Memo(#518-18 pgs. 21-40)
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3/25/19 ZAP
Meeting Report (#518-18 pgs. 3-4)
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3/25/19 to
1/13/20
|
ZAP
Meetings on Rezoning are suspended. Both leaders of the rezoning effort, the Deputy Director of Planning and
Development (James Freas), and the Long Range Planner/Zoning Specialist
(Rachel Nadkarni), leave the Newton Government. Jennifer Caira becomes the
new Deputy Director of Planning & Development and Zachery LeMel becomes
the new Chief of Long Range Planning , with Mr. LeMel being hired by Newton
in November 2019, and Ms. Ciara being promoted from within the Planning
Department, also in November 2019. Mr. LeMel and Ms. Caira are new leaders of
the rezoning effort.
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Rezoning
Suspended
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[10]
1/13/20
|
Newton
Rezoning is reintroduced as undocketed item and a target vote date of the end
of 2021, rather than end of 2020. Planning Memo is issued with a bibliography
of 90+ Links to "historical documents" backing up the need for
rezoning. There is no link to a document of City Council discussion or vote
to discard FAR in favor of Form-Based zoning, because that event did not
occur. There is also no link to document describing 1/28/19 ZAP discussion of
the 100' buildings being allowed in
Campus/Institutional Districts even though that event did occur and would be
of interest to many Newton residents.
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C: Draft History Marketing Campaign -
1/13/20 to 6/15/20
Dozens of
"Historical Documents" are repeatedly referenced to market rezoning
as the culmination of years of work. This strategy includes truncating statements in FAR Working Group
report to imply a rejection of FAR that was never made. This phase also
includes long Planning Department power-point presentations at ZAP meetings
that simply reiterate the distributed written documentation, while using up
the entire meeting time. Dissenting opinions or questions about why FAR is
being rejected or why all homes will be nonconforming or why attached houses
are now only allowed in one tiny district
- are all ignored. Data is never used. By right multi-unit conversion
is also never discussed until 6/15/20 meeting when it appears as question by
the Planning Department. By the next 6/29/20 meeting, however, multi-unit
conversion and two-family by right will emerge as the entire reason for the
rezoning, aided by the Boston Globe.
The Pattern Book Consultant Sasaki's
GIS data shows that nonconformity rises from 54% to 94% for Newton's
Single-Family population, even though the new ordinance was supposed to
decrease nonconformity.
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|
1/13/2020
Planning Agenda (Undocketed Item, pgs. 2-15)
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1/13/2020 Zap
Report (Zoning is undocketed item: pgs. 10-25, PowPt: 10-35)
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[11]
1/27/20
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Newton
Rezoning is reintroduced as item #88-20 with continued reliance on
"historical documents" rather than data to justify proposed new
zoning. This approach includes truncating quotes from the FAR Work Group to
justify abandoning FAR - an editing that gives the quotes a meaning that the
full quotes do not.
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|
1/27/20 Planning
Agenda Memo containing truncated FAR Working Group memo quotes (#88-20: pgs.
5-13)
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1/27/20 ZAP
Meeting Report (#88-20: pgs. 7-8,27-49, PowPt: 27-49)
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|
05/2010 FAR
Working Group Report misquoted in 1/27/20 Planning Agenda Memo
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[12]
2/10/20
|
#88-20
Schedule and Summary of Issues
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|
2/10/20 Planning
Agenda Memo Containing Rezoning Ordinance Schedule with Article 3 scheduled
to conclude June/2020 (#88-20, pgs. 1-5)
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|
2/10/20
Councilor Baker Letter
|
|
2/10/20 ZAP
Meeting Report (#88-20: pgs. 2-28: PowPt:13-28
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[13]
2/24/20
|
#88-20
Overview of entire Rezoning Ordinance including Guide to Reading the
Ordinance and summary of past issues
|
|
2/24/20 Planning
Agenda Memo (#88-20:pgs. 8-21)
|
|
2/24/20 ZAP
Meeting Report (#88-20, pgs. 3-6, 12-39, PowPt: 12-39)
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[14]
3/9/20
|
#88-20
Article 3 Residence Districts
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|
2/28/20 Draft Zoning Ordinance
V2 - Article 3 Only
|
|
3/9/20 Planning
Agenda Memo (#88-20: pgs. 3-4)
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|
3/9/20 Zap
Meeting Report (#88-20: pgs. 1-5, 8-49, PowPt: 8-49)
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[15]
3/23/20
|
#88-20
Article 3 Residence Districts with Focus on Building Types and Tear Downs
|
|
3/23/20 Planning
Agenda Memo
|
|
3/13/20 Planning
Memo on Building Types (#88-20: pgs. 1-6)
|
|
3/20/20 Draft Zoning Ordinance
V2 of Article 2:General Standards and Article 9: Use Regulations.
|
|
3/23/20 ZAP
Meeting Report (#88-20: pgs. 3-8, 16-100, PowPt: pgs. 18-100)
pages 16 & 17 contain letters
from City Councilors Wright and Baker
|
[16]
4/13/20
|
#88-20
Article 3 Residence Districts - Building Types Continued
|
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4/13/20 Planning
Agenda Memo
|
|
4/3/20 Planning
Memo on #88-20
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|
4/10/20 Letter
from Councilor Baker on #88-20
|
|
4/13/20 ZAP
Meeting Report (#88-20: pgs5-11,43-45,43-110: PowPt:46-110)
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[17]
4/27/20
|
#88-20
Article 3 Residence Districts - Garages, Driveways, Building Components. At
this meeting, ZAP also votes on the
goals of the rezoning:
1. Housing: A zoning code more responsive to a demand
for housing that serves a range of incomes. Promote sustainable community
development patterns. 2. Sustainability: Environmental stewardship, fiscal
strength and meeting community needs, 3. Context: Preserve and protect what
we like in our neighborhoods. Encourage new development to fit in the context
of our neighborhoods and villages.
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|
4/27/20 Planning
Agenda Memo
|
|
4/17/20 Planning
Memo #88-20
|
|
4/24/20
Questions from Councilor Baker
|
|
4/27/20 ZAP
Meeting Report (#88-20: pgs.1-8, 10-61: PowPt: 11-61)
Stated goals (above) are on page 8.
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[18]
5/19/20
|
#88-20
Article 3 Residence Districts - Garages, Driveways, Building Components
|
|
5/19/20 Planning
Agenda Memo
|
|
5/19/20 ZAP
Meeting Report (#88-20: pgs. 7-10,78-160, PowPt: 78-160)
|
[19]
6/1/20
|
#88-20
Article 3 Residence Districts - Schedule and
Building Components
|
|
6/1/20 Planning
Agenda Memo
|
|
6/1/20 ZAP
Meeting Report (#88-20, pgs. 1-71: PowPt: 13-71)
|
[20]
6/15/20
|
#88-20
Article 3 Residence Districts - Alternative Lot/Building
Configurations/Parking. Includes Multi-Unit Conversion. Both current zoning
and proposed zoning V2 allow single-family multi-unit conversion with a
special permit and with size/age limits on building or lot. At this meeting, the Planning Department
first questioned ZAP if multi-unit
conversion should be made by right and if more House Types should be eligible
for conversion.
|
|
6/15/20 Planning
Agenda Memo
|
|
6/05/20 Planning
Memo #88-20
|
|
6/15/20
Councilor Wrights Comments
|
|
6/15/20 ZAP
Meeting Report pgs. 10-47
|
[21]
6/29/20
|
#88-20:
Planning Department issues memo stating that
"Multi-unit conversion (sec. 3.5.2) is a regulation that can help
achieve the Committee’s goals of increasing housing opportunity and diversity
while preserving and protecting what is desirable in Newton’s neighborhoods.
To better achieve these goals there appeared to be consensus that staff
should explore a) allowing multi-unit conversion in more building types and
b) not requiring a Special Permit for all multi-unit conversions. Finally,
there appeared to be consensus that 100% affordable or sustainably designed
multi-unit conversion projects should be incentivized." The memo also states that "Over
many years, building from the 2007 Comprehensive Plan, the City Council has
consistently affirmed goals and guiding principles for Newton’s zoning to
better increase housing opportunity and diversity especially near public
transportation and village centers," before
asking if Single-Family-Only zoning should be abolished within which
specified distances of Mass Transit. Memo also helpfully explains that
"This does not mean single-family homes would be prohibited. Rather, the
zoning district would allow a mixture of residential building types that
include single-family and multi-family housing types."
|
D: Draft Crisis
Marketing Campaign -
6/29/20 to the Present
Discussion of Article 3 had been scheduled to
conclude at the end of June. Instead, on 6/29/20, after 20 ZAP meetings on
the rezoning, the Planning Department suddenly suggests abolishing Single
Residence zones near transit and making multi-unit conversions by right,
instead of by Special Permit. On 7/9/20, ZAP's meeting report asserts that
reduced nonconformity is no longer the goal of the rezoning - and the new
goal is to solve the housing supply
and diversity crisis. Then, on 8/7/20, the Planning Department releases a new
Draft of Article 3 with a clear specification of by right multi-unit housing
and an ambiguous specification of by right two-family housing in all
residence districts. In addition, the 8/7/20 Article 3 Draft deletes Section
3.1.1.D changing Special Permit Granting Authority from the City Council to
the Mayor-appointed Planning Board for lots with up to 20 residential units.
This is replaced by a recommendation to consider the SPGA "later"
under Article 11.
The Crisis Marketing Approach is accompanied by monthly Boston Globe
articles/editorials reporting that 1) Newton is all single-family housing
instead of half single-family housing, 2) The new multifamily rezoning effort
has been going on for years rather than since 6/29/20, 3) Zoning has
historically been used to foster economic inequality. The Boston Globe is owned by John Henry,
who, as of 11/5/20, ranks 299th out of
the 400th richest Americans with a net worth of 2.8B, according to Forbes.
|
|
6/29/20 Planning
Agenda Memo
|
|
Greenline-Newton
Transit-Analysis
|
|
MBTA-Bus-Newton-Transit-Analysis
|
|
MBTA-Express-Bus-Newton-Transit-Analysis
|
|
6/29/20 ZAP
Report Memo (#88-20, pgs. 1-36: PowPt:9-36 )
|
[22]
7/9/20
|
#88-20:
Presentation by Builders and Architects on Article 3. The Zoning and Planning
Committee Report also asserts that reducing nonconformities is not the goal
of the rezoning. "Reducing nonconformities should
not be the main issue in zoning redesign when there are so many more
important ones and even some advantages to nonconformities. These advantages
include greater diversity and variety of style. Rather than reducing nonconformities,
the issues most brought up by constituents are housing diversity,
affordability, and sustainability." This is a
complete Animal-Farm-Style reversal from the initial goals of the rezoning.
|
|
7/9/20 Planning
Agenda Memo (#88-20: pgs. 1-3)
|
|
7/2/20 Planning
Memo on #88-20 (pgs.1-2)
|
|
7/9/20 ZAP
Report (pgs. 1-40: PowPt: 8-40)
Revised opinion on nonconformity unimportance pgs. 7.
|
[23]
7/16/20
|
#88-20:
Continued Presentation by Builders and Architects on Article 3. Newton
Architect Marc Hershman, a member of the group of architects advising the
Planning Department on the rezoning and also a member of the original 2007
Zoning Reform Group, spoke at length about the unsuitability of Form-Based
Zoning for Newton. ZAP Committee member and City Council President Susan
Albright suggested that this wasn't the time at tonight's meeting to debate
the merits of form-based zoning, but that discussion should occur later, but
this very fundamental discussion about the use of form-based zoning vs. FAR
has NEVER occurred. Instead, Mr.
Hershman was put in the group of dissenting architect advisors on the
rezoning who were exiled from the advisory group - as documented in a 9/30/20
letter from that group, cited below.
Furthermore, the importance of form-based zoning as a topic would be
completely overshadowed before the next ZAP meeting by the Planning
Department's 8/7/20 draft of greatly expanded multi-unit housing for all of
Newton. Mr. Hershman's "form-based concerns" and Councilor
Albright's "time concerns" can be heard beginning at the 2:22 time
mark on the NewTV.org recording at
https://newtv.org/recent-video/107-committee-meetings-and-public-hearings/6322-zoning-and-planning-committee-july-16-2020
|
|
7/16/20 Planning
Agenda Memo
|
|
7/10/20 Planning
Memo #88-20
|
|
7/16/20 ZAP
Meeting Report (#88-20: pgs. 1-77,Pow
PT: 10-77)
|
|
7/23/20
|
Boston
Globe Publishes Story "In Newton, proposal would
end single-family only zoning in large swaths of city"
|
[24]
8/13/20
|
#88-20:
New Article 3 Draft is released including surprise multi-unit conversions by
right and two-family housing (ambiguously) by right for all of Newton. The
Planning Department also issues a list
of questions that the ZAP Committee members are supposed to ask at the ZAP
Meeting.
|
|
8/13/20 Planning
Agenda Memo
|
|
7/31/20 Planning
Memo
|
|
8/4/20 Councilor Crossley Letter
|
|
8/7/20 Draft Zoning Ordinance V3
- Article 3 Only
|
|
8/11/20 Planning
Memo "Guiding Questions to Review Article 3 – Residence Districts"
|
|
8/12/20 Letter
From Councilors Wright, Baker documenting errors in V3.
|
|
8/13/20 ZAP
Report (#88-20: pgs. 2-49, PowPt: pgs.
11-49)
|
|
8/21/20
|
A
week after the release of the controversial new draft containing the by right
multi-unit language and the ambiguous by right two-family by language, ZAP
Chair Deborah Crossley cancels the next (8/31/20) ZAP meeting in favor of private one-one
sessions between the City Councilors and the Planning Department. This might
have been done because the City Councilors failed to follow the prescribed
list of questions that they were given by the Planning Department for the
8/13/20 meeting. Some City Councilors
write letters to the Newton Law Department and the Massachusetts Secretary of
State to see if this action is in violation of Open Meeting Laws. The private
one-in-one meetings do not occur and the ZAP meetings resume on 9/14/20.
|
|
ZAP Chair
Crossley's 8/21/20 Cancellation Notice of 8/31/20 ZAP Meeting in favor of
one-in-one meetings between Planning and City Councilors.
|
|
8/23/20
|
Boston
Globe Publishes Editorial "Tear Down this Paper Wall Newton"
linking lack of multi-unit housing with systemic racism.
|
[25]
9/14/20
|
#88-20:
ZAP Chair Crossley restarts the ZAP meetings, by instructing the members to
follow the previously issued list of questions that the ZAP Committee members
were supposed to ask to guide the discussion. Councilors Albright, Baker,
Bowman, Laredo, Wright Respond with written comments. Baker, Laredo, Wright
are critical and still ask basic questions about whether the dimensional
standards decrease large houses. why FAR is being rejected in favor of
Form-based zoning, and whether it is appropriate that the Planning
Department, rather than the City Council, is suggesting such major changes.
Councilor Wright also feels that the new version 3 will increase teardowns
and supplies a quantitative analysis to back this up. Councilor Bauman is
more positive, but wants to know if the nonconformity rate will be high.
Councilor Albright now thinks that decreasing
nonconformity is a red herring.
|
|
9/14/20 Planning
Agenda Memo
|
|
9/9/20 memo from
Chair Crossley instructing ZAP members to use the questions provided at the
last 8/13/20 meeting.
|
|
Albright Letter
|
|
Baker Letter
|
|
Bowman Letter
|
|
Laredo Letter
|
|
Wright Letter
|
|
Wright analysis
of how Version 3 allows larger homes to be built.
|
|
9/14/20 Planning Agenda with
Revised Article 3: Residence Districts - V3.2 - addition of minimum House
Type Widths from V3
|
|
9/14/20 ZAP
Meeting Report (#88-20: pgs. 2-35, Pow Pt: pgs. 11-35)
|
|
9/30/20
|
Letter
from a builder and six architects who had previously been advising the
Planning Department, but who are now being excluded.[The letter signers
include Mr. Hershman from the 7/16/20 ZAP Meeting.] The letter is highly critical of both the
content and process of the rezoning as follows: "Form-based
zoning imposes a highly prescriptive approach to housing design and has been
adopted predominantly in dense urban communities like Somerville. It is
clearly ill suited to communities like Newton with a very diverse housing
stock and varied lot sizes" and "We believe that based on the
evidence we and others have presented, the proposed zoning plan disregards
many of the original goals of the City Council for updating the city’s zoning
code. As the proposal has evolved, it has become increasingly clear that it
is being driven by ideology and not an evidence-based approach to updating
and improving the city’s land use policies. The lack of objective
quantitative analysis of issues with current zoning by the Planning
Department is unacceptable in a city which touts its high standards for
transparency and professionalism."
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9/30/20 Letter
from a builder and six architects.
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[26]
10/1/20
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#88-20:
The Planning Department answers ZAP questions from 9/14/20 meeting and
presents revised 9/24/20 Draft of Article 3 sections on Garages.
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10/1/20 Planning Agenda Memo
with 9/24/20 revised garage ordinances in Article 3 V3.3 (pgs. 16-27)
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10/1/20 ZAP
Report with Planning PowerPoint (pgs. 11-33)
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In response to
9/30/20 exiled architects views, Councilors Baker, Laredo, and Wright write a
letter on 10/5/20 which is posted to the 10/5/20 meeting report with the
request that the letter be responded to at the next 10/15/20 ZAP Meeting. The
letter asks for three items: 1. The Zoning and Planning Committee should hear dissenting
views directly from a group of local architects who recently wrote that they
have been excluded from the group advising the Planning Department about its
zoning proposals. 2. The Zoning and Planning Committee should be advised by
the Law Department how homes which might become nonconforming under the
proposed new zoning can be protected or find relief if changes need to be
made. 3. The Zoning and Planning Committee should have an opportunity to
discuss the current Planning Department proposals, including whether
alternatives involving our current zoning code should be considered.
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[27]
10/15/20
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#88-20:
Article 3 - Residence Districts. Alternate Lot and Building Configurations
and Rezoning Calendar.
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10/9/20 Memo
From ZAP Chair Deb Crossley which offers "Mythbusting" to dispel
the "Hearsay" of the exiled architects' 9/30/20 letter documenting
their firsthand experiences with the Newton Planning Department
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10/15/20 Planning Agenda Memo
with 10/8/20 Revised Rear/Alternative Lot Config Ordinances - Article 3 V3.4
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10/9/20 Planning
Memo #88-20
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10/15/20
Planning Presentation #88-20 (Pow Pt: pgs. 1-37)
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10/15/20 ZAP
Meeting Report (#88-20: pgs. 2-12)
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Two of the items in the 10/1/20
Baker/Laredo/Wright letter APPEAR to be partially addressed by the Planning
Department in the revised calendar which schedules an entire 11/9/20 meeting
on nonconformity and an entire 11/5/20 meeting on the Building Professional's
comments on the Dimensional Standards. On the biggest issue , however, the
Councilors' request that there be an opportunity to discuss alternatives to
the Planning Department Building Type Framework, ZAP chair dismissed this
possibility completely. Her justification is that once ZAP voted on the
4/27/20 goals (above) that the Planning Department had worked hard to achieve
these goals and so their approach should be used. Councilor Crossley's
pronouncement is at odds with the fact that the Planning Department had
introduced their modified form based-approach 18 months(10/22/18) before the
goals were voted on (4/27/20). This important exchange between Councilor
Baker and Councilor Crossley can be heard at the 3:12:00 time mark on the
newtv.org meeting video at
https://newtv.org/recent-video/107-committee-meetings-and-public-hearings/6449-zoning-and-planning-committee-october-15-2020.
The important exchange is not
contained in the meeting report - and the scheduled 11/9/20 meeting on
nonconformity and the 11/5/20 meeting with the building professionals on the
Building Type Dimensional Standards DO NOT OCCUR.
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10/22/20
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Boston
Globe Publishes Story "Newton takes aim at its history of single-family
zoning"
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[28]
10/26/20
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#88-20:
Article 3 - Garage Ordinance. Excluded Architects from 9/30/20 letter are
invited back to give presentation on garage ordinance. They give the
presentation but also write another letter in which they "again
express our discomfort a the pace, purpose, and conduct of the process as
managed by your Committee, and expedited by the Planning
Department."
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10/26/20 Letter
from excluded Builder and Architects
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10/26/20
Planning Agenda Memo (#88-20 on pgs. 123-130)
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10/26/20 ZAP
Meeting Report (#88-20 pgs. 5-34, Pow Pt: 11-34)
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[29]
11/5/20
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#88-20:
Article 3 - Garage Ordinance. Scheduled meeting on nonconformity does not
occur.
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11/5/20 Planning
Agenda Memo
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11/5/20 ZAP
Report with Planning PowerPoint pgs. 20 to 81
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[30]
11/9/20
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#88-20:
Community Engagement Plan: Scheduled meeting with Building Professionals on
Dimensional Standards does not occur.
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11/6/20 Planning
memo on Rezoning Community Engagement
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11/9/20 ZAP
Meeting Report with ZAP Power Point (pgs. 27-32)
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