New zoning amendment would restrict retaining walls
Everyone has seen them: Mammoth new houses on lots meant for smaller homes, with everything held up by retaining walls so large they could ward [...]
New website can tell you if your property qualifies for an accessory dwelling unit
Accessory dwelling units—detached cottage structures and attached “in-law apartment” additions—are often cited as an antidote to Newton’s housing shortage. But Newton’s rules regarding ADUs are [...]
Mayor says Newton on track for Safe Harbor status in 2024
More than 50 years after Massachusetts set an affordable housing inventory threshold for cities and towns via Chapter 40B, Newton is almost at that goal [...]
Newton’s Village Center rezoning passed: What does it all mean?
The City Council passed the Village Center Overlay District rezoning plan last week, but not before a slew of amendments were adopted, many of which [...]
City Council passes scaled-down Village Center rezoning plan
It is done. For now. Newton’s City Council approved the Village Center Overlay District proposal—or, at least, a chopped up, scaled down version of it—Monday [...]
Newton City Council Removes Six Villages From Proposed Zoning Ordinance
Newton City Council finalized more amendments to the Village Center Overlay District (VCOD), including the removal of six villages from the plan, in a special [...]
Border Street becomes a bargaining chip, is back in rezoning plan
The hope of up-zoning Border Street has risen and dissipated—much like the water that briefly engulfs it after a heavy rain—and on Wednesday night that [...]
Group gears up for referendum on village center rezoning before Council votes
Newton’s City Council hasn’t voted on the Village Center Overlay District proposal yet, but there’s already a plan for a referendum to repeal it. Right [...]
How an old pipe makes new problems for Border Street rezoning effort
Scott Scarpato has been trying to get Newton to fix a pipe under Border Street—where he owns Automatic Laundry and a few other properties—for years [...]
STILL NOT THERE: Newton City Council ends another debate without a zoning vote
A City Council vote on the Village Center Overlay District rezoning plan will have to wait until the last of the Thanksgiving leftovers are gone. [...]
City Council discusses, but doesn’t vote on, village center rezoning
After more than three hours of debate over parking, building size, front and rear setbacks, open space requirements and a whole lot more, Newton’s City [...]
On eve of potential Council vote, Fuller calls for scaled-down rezoning
As the Newton City Council prepared to discuss and potentially vote on the Village CenterOverlay District proposal, Mayor Ruthanne Fuller sent out an email modifying [...]
What do the election results mean for the Village Center Overlay District plan?
This week's election saw three incumbents lose their seats—at-large councilors Deb Crossley and Alicia Bowman and Ward 8 Councilor Holly Ryan—and all three supported the [...]
City presents Village Center Overlay District 3.0 and here’s what’s changed
The Newton Zoning and Planning Committee presented its latest iteration of the Village Center Overlay District re-zoning plan, which they’re calling “VCOD 3.0,” on Tuesday [...]
Village Center Overlay District 3.0 public hearing to be Tuesday, Sept. 26
Confused about what updates have been made to the Village Center Overlay District proposal? You’re not alone. And on Tuesday, Sept. 26, at 7 p.m., [...]