Newsletter Vol. 2, Week 42: Early Voting Begins Monday; Fire Hydrant Flushing; Levingston Cove; Two Years of Council Work

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This week’s newsletter goes over the early voting hours, fire hydrant flushing, the project approved for Levingston Cove at Crystal Lake, and a summary of my work and positions on more than a dozen issues before City Council this term.

Early voting and other info

Early voting in-person at City Hall for city (and area council) elections will be available next week, Mon-Fri Oct 25-29 from 8:30 AM to 5 PM and also Sat Oct 30 8:30 to Noon. (Saturday voting has to end early because election staff need time to prepare paperwork for Tuesday.)

There will NOT be Early Voting the day before the November 2 election. So if you aren’t able to vote before Noon on Saturday, then you should plan to vote on Tuesday November 2nd itself at your normal polling location. (If you are dropping off a mail-in ballot to a City Hall dropbox, you must do so before 8 PM on November 2nd. Any ballots received after that, including by mail, will not be counted.)

Some final campaign reminders...

While I have talked to about six hundred Ward 5 residents in-person this year during the course of my door-to-door campaigning, I haven’t been holding in-person events. But I will be making an appearance in-person at the Newton Gun Violence Prevention Collaborative back yard event for endorsed candidates on Friday, October 29th from 5 PM to 6:30 PM, weather permitting. (Zoom if raining.) RSVP for that event here.

And check out my League of Women Voters 2021 candidate summary here!

As I noted in my newsletter last week I am supporting several other candidates for office on the basis that I think we can collaborate effectively in government together. They are: City Councilors-at-Large and Council candidates-at-large Alison Leary, Andrea Kelley, Meryl Kessler, Deb Crossley, Andreae Downs, Vicki Danberg, and Alicia Bowman, as well as School Committee member Kathy Shields and candidate Shawn Fitzgibbons. I’m also supporting my Ward Councilor colleagues Maria Scibelli Greenberg of Ward 1 and Brenda Noel of Ward 6, but Ward 5 residents can’t vote in those races because they’re not citywide.

We don’t all agree on everything all of the time, but we have a solid working relationship, and I find that you can’t really get anything done in government by yourself. Teamwork makes the dream work, as they say...

Hydrant flushing

Recently a number of residents in various neighborhoods asked me why their tap water was showing up brown and why they had not been warned in advance. So, I checked in with the team at the Department of Public Works’ Water & Sewer tent at the Newton Centre Harvest Fair this past weekend to get the scoop!

Here’s what’s happening: The Fire Department (in conjunction with DPW) is going around the city checking and flushing fire hydrants ahead of winter to make sure that they are all functioning properly and will be easy to activate in the event of a fire. (As a reminder, during winter if hydrants become iced-up or snowed-over, a fire can quickly destroy an entire home before our incredible firefighters can get enough water going. This has happened recently in Newton, and we all need to remain vigilant about hydrant access all winter.)

Here’s why warning is limited: The Fire Department can set approximate parameters for which days or weeks they will be testing hydrants in which neighborhoods, but if they encounter a problem with a hydrant or if they get pulled away to emergency calls, the testing schedule can be delayed. Sometimes, they don’t know which streets they will be working on until a few minutes beforehand, which does not leave enough time to notify specific homes.

The bottom line is that the brown tap water is safe and short-lived, but you might need to let it run for a bit before you drink it or bathe with it. (And don’t run the washing machine until it clears, to avoid staining clothing.) We apologize in advance for any inconveniences, but this fire hydrant flushing work is very important for the safety of your homes this winter.

You can learn more in this memo on the City website and find staff contact information for follow-up questions.

Levingston Cove Project at Crystal Lake

Under the leadership of the Ward 6 Council delegation (Brenda Noel, Alicia Bowman, and Vicki Danberg), the City Council this week finally approved the use of Community Preservation Act funds to support the Levingston Cove project at Crystal Lake in Newton Centre.

This project at Levingston Cove seeks to control erosion of the waterfront, expand recreational fishing opportunities for the stocked fish in the lake, increase ADA accessibility for users, and modernize the site to current design and safety standards in an attractive way. There will be a platform with safety railings out over the water by a few feet, better clearance on the adjacent pathway for wheelchair users and pedestrians, and more stability for the shoreline. Modifications to the plan were made based on community feedback through an extensive process over several years. Some groups endorsed the plan and some groups did not.

A central set of objectives had to be followed with any design: “protect water quality, enhance aesthetics, protect wildlife habitat, ensure public safety, provide universal access and educate the public regarding the lake’s ecological condition.”

The final vote at City Council this week was unanimous, but not until after it was first delayed by one councilor for a couple weeks and then eight councilors unsuccessfully tried to send it back to committee.

Why was it so contentious getting to a final approval? In a letter to the City Council, Parks Commissioner Nicole Banks explained:

“It was only after we were presenting to the [Community Preservation Commission] that we began to receive sketches of alternative layouts, with no vetting of whether these sketches were feasible or met the design goals. This is the sketch that the Council was emailed by a member of the Friends of Crystal Lake. The professionals who designed [our] proposed project with the platform, among many other professionals, include registered landscape architects (RLA). We shared the resident-submitted sketch to our contracted design team. The resident who has an architecture background refuses to accept the opinions of our project RLAs and Public Buildings and Inspectional Services Department who all state unequivocally that the resident-submitted design requires fall protection (such as a safety railing). Such a railing would be necessary along the water’s edge of the pathway, and likely along the other side of the path where a retaining wall would be required. This does not begin to address the issue of sacrificing the universal accessibility of the proposed design with the fishing platform.”

I raised many of these concerns at a Newton Highlands Area Council meeting where this sketched-out “counter-proposal” was presented, and there were simply no satisfactory answers.

Had this gone back to committee, it would have been a death sentence for the project. Not only is the Council term about to end, but nothing could be done in committee to make changes anyway because we were only voting on the funding and other entities like the Community Preservation Commission, Conservation Commission, and the Commission on Disabilities had been responsible for voting on the design. Parks Commissioner Nicole Banks noted to the City Council that evaluating or attempting to propose any counter-design would have entailed:

“Going through the redesign process, essentially starting the whole project over, including new geotechnical work to accommodate a differently designed deck/platform/sitting area...Presenting before the Commission on Disability with a plan that will likely be inferior to the previously supported plan in terms of universal access… [and] Bringing the project back to the Conservation Commission for support with a plan that will likely require greater impact to [i.e. excavation of] the little permeable surface that currently exists, [which] may be problematic from the Conservation Commission’s perspective...”

Indeed, it seems to me likely that this counter-proposal was actually intended to end the project (and give up the earmarked funding) by offering the vague promise of “something better” that could never actually survive the approvals process. (It also gave some City Council candidates a way to differentiate themselves from the incumbents in the month leading up to the election.)

I bring all of this up not to rehash what I hope will be a soon-settled dispute, despite pending citizen appeals to state authorities, but simply because I received concerned emails from residents of Ward 5 who had seen a pamphlet at Crystal Lake denouncing our project at Levingston Cove as excessive and undemocratic and promoting an unworkable and infeasible alternative that did not meet basic safety and accessibility requirements of the 21st century. 

I want everyone to be assured of three things: We had a good process to get to this design (including turning feedback into design improvements), people were heard even if they did not ultimately get their way, and the project we ended up with will be a wonderful, beautiful, and modern amenity for Crystal Lake that we can all be proud of when it is completed.

On the issues this term...

If you need a refresher on what I’ve been working on during my first term on the City Council and what I hope to continue working on in the next term, here are some notes I put together on what I’ve been working on with my colleagues and some of the positions I’ve taken.

Infrastructure: Repairs

• We’re making progress faster than ever on street repaving projects like Chestnut Street and pothole fixes on smaller streets, but we all know there is much more to do to catch up. I see that as I walk around Ward 5 door to door, helping connect you to city staff to get pothole patches done or to find out long-term paving schedules.

• We also know that we’re continuing to struggle to get utility companies to coordinate their road work with ours so that they’re not digging up brand new roads, and we need to keep pressuring them to do better.

• Private Ways: Based on countless doorstep interviews and constituent emails, I believe we need to revisit and reform the ordinance on maintenance and acquisition of Private Way streets, which often have a free rider problem of one or two bad actor property owners or increased traffic from driving apps. Councilor Downs and I are working on some proposals for reforming Private Way streets as part of a comprehensive strategy for our transportation network.

Infrastructure: Road Safety

• The safety of pedestrians, cyclists, and vehicle occupants is paramount, and I support our Vision Zero goals of getting to a point where there are no deaths on our roads. We’re continuing to add crosswalks, bumpouts, speed tables, stop signs, new speed limits, and bike lanes, in key areas of concern for Ward 5 around our elementary schools, playgrounds, and village centers, and every day we’re adding more to the list and our master plans.

Pandemic Resources and Programs

• I championed emergency rental assistance and personally distributed information on it to Ward 5 renters. I’m also an enthusiastic proponent of Newton’s pandemic food assistance program, which I hope will be the starting point for permanent future social programs to address and end long-ignored poverty and hunger hidden just below the surface for too many families in Newton.

• I supported efforts to promote outdoor dining to aid restaurants, and I hope it will become a permanent feature of our social sphere in Newton.

• I voted for a temporary tax and fee reduction on restaurants and other businesses during their most acute crisis phase to try to preserve a healthy balance in our tax base for the future (by preventing widespread simultaneous closures in our commercial tax base).

Environment

• While we had some setbacks this term with some of our environmental efforts, we’re pushing for new electrification standards in new residential construction, so that legacy fossil fuel systems do not become stranded assets for homeowners in a decade. We know there’s not enough renewable capacity on line right now to meet all our society’s energy needs, but we need to begin to make the transition now so that residents aren’t stuck with technologies that don’t meet our climate action plans and future state/federal laws or regulations.

• I’ve been one of the Council’s most vocal opponents of the private natural gas utility this term, advocating against new construction of gas mains when the company refuses to repair existing mains that are approaching 1,000 leaks across the City of Newton. Their ad hoc “emergency” responses to leaks when they can no longer be ignored by the company also result in chaotic street excavations and shoddy repair work.

Parks, Recreation, Culture

• I’ve been committed to our parks funding and our recreational spaces, and I work closely with both our Parks Commissioner and our urban forestry team to build for the future and help you with park or tree problems in the here and now.

• I helped lead the fight to preserve Sunday hours at the library during the pandemic, so that we wouldn’t set a precedent with budget cuts.

• I’ve advocated vocally for Parks projects and renovations in Upper Falls at the Greenway and Braceland Playground.

Zoning Redesign and Housing Policy

• After putting a pause on residential zone redesign efforts, we’re focused now on village centers, which present both commercial reform opportunities and the possibility I’ve pushed for which is reforms to allow mid-sized 100% low-income housing tax credit projects like we’re promoting at the Armory, so that we get genuine affordability options in Newton near our shops and public transit. 

• I’ve also pushed for us to create a city housing trust to help facilitate financing and approval of affordable housing projects, for families and seniors, using Community Preservation funding and (hopefully with state reforms) small real estate transfer fees on certain luxury properties.

• We should also be considering allowing not just modest single-family but also more two- and three-family housing, especially conversions of existing historic homes, within walking distance of village centers and transit stations. Many parts of Ward 5 actually already have this, and it would not represent a major change here in the streetscape.

• Unfortunately there has been a tremendous amount of misinformation and confusion around our zoning redesign efforts, which are always going to present us with difficult balancing acts as a change here affects another element over there and residents have a wide range of competing preferences from preserving their surroundings to maximizing their home values before retirement. Sometimes when the city staff has prepared options for the City Council to look at and debate – such as the much-misrepresented single-family zoning issue – we haven’t even been able to debate them and say what elements are good or bad about the ideas because some people have jumped right to incorrectly telling everyone that we have already signed off on these ideas. I hope we will have a more productive process in the next term. We’ve nearly reached a consensus on the problems, but so far lack consensus on the solutions. That’s generating a lot of acrimony and mistrust for no good reason!

Historic Preservation

• As a 5th generation Newton resident, balancing our historic preservation with our community’s continual evolution is important to me. That’s why I’ve co-sponsored historic preservation efforts including stiffer penalties for egregious violations, while also seeking commonsense updates and reforms to our landmark and demolition ordinances that I felt would strengthen historic preservation while not creating a broken patchwork of ordinances. And when some ideas for reforms were floated that I didn’t agree with, I spoke up, and joined my colleagues in rejecting those changes.

• I also believe that one tool to preserve our existing historic housing stock would be to make certain kinds of renovations easier and more cost-effective for property owners, so that there is more of an incentive to modify the homes rather than tearing them down. Right now it’s so profitable on so many lots to do full rebuilds instead of modest additions that our demolition delay just puts a pause on the inevitable. We need to fix those market incentives in our policies to better align with our community goals.

Public Safety

• I supported commonsense reforms to police practice and accountability, and I have strongly advocated for moving non-police functions to other departments’ offices where the responsibilities fit more logically, like social workers for mental health, traffic engineers for road safety, inspectional services for leaf blowers, and more. I also want Newton to reorganize a combined Department of Public Safety encompassing Fire, Police, and (in-house) EMS services in a new way. This kind of transformation can’t happen overnight, but I will continue to work to build support for this shift in the public and among elected leaders in Newton.

Seniors

• I co-sponsored senior tax relief like the work-off program reform we just passed this month to raise the income eligibility cap, and I continue to push vocally in Committee for the creation of new programs to assist low-income Senior homeowners with maintenance cost burdens.

• I supported the construction of a new senior center in Newtonville on the existing site, maximizing the use of existing public assets without taking green space and being responsible with our precious time and resources to get this built.

• The Council voted this term to approve the use of Community Preservation dollars to help build hundreds of new units of senior living.

Disabilities

• I’ve been proud to vote for numerous disability access projects around the city and I continue to believe that disability access improvements in our public facilities and public streets make life better for everyone.

• I’ve worked alongside my fellow Councilors in support of state transit accessibility projects on both the Green Line and commuter rail.

• Playground access project moved ahead during the pandemic, and I requested updates for the Council on this progress at several points.

Gun control

• I’m proud to be endorsed by the Newton Gun Violence Prevention Collaborative this year for my work assisting the passage of restrictive new zoning for the firearms industry in Newton after a gun store was proposed to open here. We’ve made it exceptionally unlikely that another such business will try to open in Newton. I also joined many of my colleagues in rejecting a proposed total ban because pragmatically I believe that the current composition of the US Supreme Court is so overwhelmingly opposed to gun control that we risk losing all municipal gun control authority across the country. We need to be strategic and wait until a more favorable court composition to pick that battle.

Transparency & Communication

• Zoom meetings allowed us to get more residents into meetings, especially parents of young children and homebound seniors or people with disabilities.

• Zoom meetings brought committee meetings to NewTV for the first time

• We’ve rewired several rooms in City Hall to be able to continue providing hybrid meetings for residents, elected officials, and city staff after we return to City Hall.

• We’re currently working on developing an automated, searchable online docket system for Council business. (It has been slow to happen because most “off-the-shelf” software for this kind of functionality is designed for either much smaller Councils or much larger and better resourced major city governments, which means we will need a low-cost but custom software design.)

• I personally have published nearly 50 newsletters in this term alone!

I’m planning to talk in a future newsletter about Pensions and Other Post-Employment Benefits (OPEB), since I sit on the Finance Committee and it has come up in a couple recent debates, but I realized that was going to take more space to cover thoroughly. I will wrap up this week’s newsletter here instead and you can look forward to that topic, on which I will endeavor to present an interesting and less dry perspective than you might be used to, after having given it a great deal of thought in the past two years of my term in office.

And I will soon fill you in on all the work I did on post-Census City of Newton precincts, but the state is still completing its district work, and I don’t want to confuse any readers about their future precincts and polling locations just before an election that will still be using the old lines for one final time.

Newsletter Vol. 2, Week 41: Ward 5 debate, Countryside meeting, Senior tax reform, Driveways (fact vs fiction)

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Happy Friday, everyone. Don’t forget to get your seasonal flu shot. This week’s newsletter covers candidate debates and my endorsements of other campaigns, Countryside Elementary School redesign, a recap of Indigenous Peoples Day, an update on proposed reforms to the senior tax workoff program, some questions floating around about private parking, and more.

On Saturday morning (tomorrow), the Friends of Hemlock Gorge will be holding a Fall Cleanup Day to keep the park clean and beautiful for all. Stop by (with gloves) bright and early at Hamilton Place and fill a bag with trash! Afterward the group will provide lunch at the Stone Building.

Campaign updates & my endorsements

Today I’m finishing up my second trip around Ward 5, knocking nearly 1,200 doors and having spoken to over 500 voters in person again this year.

Earlier this month I recorded a 3 minute message on NewTV about why I'm seeking re-election to the Newton City Council on November 2 this year. https://vimeo.com/628193250 

The League of Women Voters Newton and NewTV also recently held a nonpartisan 45-minute Zoom debate for the Ward 5 Councilor race between me and my opponent. You can watch it here (opening statements begin at the 4 minute 30 second mark; closing statements at 41:30): 
https://vimeo.com/632183805 

I think at this point the differences speak for themselves, but I will also be debating my opponent again tomorrow in the Joint Area Councils Debate.

I have a few lawn signs left, but I’m nearly out. If you want one, sign up here.

Many voters ask me which candidates I’m supporting this year and how I make those determinations. For me, it’s pretty simple: Who do I believe I can work most effectively with when I’m doing my job as City Councilor? If I think I wouldn’t have a particularly productive working relationship with a candidate or incumbent, especially after having worked with them previously, then I’m unlikely to give them my support. So, here’s who I’m supporting in the contested races...

Citywide (all Newton voters can support these candidates): City Councilors and Council candidates Alison Leary, Andrea Kelley, Meryl Kessler, Deb Crossley, Andreae Downs, Vicki Danberg, and Alicia Bowman, as well as School Committee member Kathy Shields and candidate Shawn Fitzgibbons.

I’m also supporting my Ward Councilor colleagues Maria Scibelli Greenberg of Ward 1 and Brenda Noel of Ward 6, but Ward 5 residents can’t vote in those races because they’re not citywide.

And although I know people keep asking me who I’m supporting for Mayor, I decided earlier this year that I would remain neutral in that race, especially because so many of my own supporters are passionately divided on that question.

Recap of Indigenous Peoples Day

Newton held its first Indigenous Peoples Day celebrations and festivities earlier this week at Albemarle Field and it was a huge success. There were ceremonies representing various indigenous nations of the Americas, there was storytelling and dancing and cross-cultural activities, and best of all there were all kinds of wonderful foods from indigenous vendors. This was an incredible opportunity to reconnect Newton with its Native roots and to add a fresh dimension to a community already committed to multicultural education. I hope we will repeat it with similar success – and even bigger attendance – a year from now. You won’t want to miss it.

Countryside Elementary School Update

Many Ward 5 residents have children at (or soon to be attending) Countryside Elementary School, which is long overdue for reconstruction. The City of Newton will be holding a Project Community Meeting on developing the New Countryside plan at 6 PM on Wednesday 10/27 (Pre-Register on Zoom) to get input from residents as we progress into the design phases.

Senior tax workoff reform advances

I’ve been proud to co-sponsor a small but important senior tax reform effort at the City Council’s Committees on Programs & Services and Finance this term, and we’re close to approving it. Both committees have now voted unanimously to recommend the changes described below.

This program, authorized and regulated by the state, allows the City of Newton to cancel out a small portion of the property taxes of low-income seniors if they (or a designee in their place) volunteers a certain amount of hours to help the City with certain little tasks. (For example, volunteering at the Library.) The state program limits the total amount of taxes that can be canceled by this system and limits the individual amount per person, and the state also requires that the program be calculated on a minimum wage basis and not replace any employee’s job, but the City determines the maximum income for eligibility.

As it turns out, Newton had never raised the maximum income since the program’s inception nearly two decades ago, which meant some seniors were being denied the ability to participate in the volunteer tax workoff program. At the same time, Newton was budgeting each year for the maximum amount of tax relief in the program, while not actually hitting that target because of insufficient participation.

Our proposal raises the maximum income limit by $10,000 for each category of eligible senior or senior household. This is a substantial increase that could help keep existing participants in the program and allow new people to join it, but it won’t increase the annual budgetary demand, since this was already planned for each fiscal year. The increase is not quite as much as the rate of inflation over the period of the program, but we want to see first how many new participants join and then if need be we can adjust it upward again.

One point I want to emphasize is that we understand this is an example of a small “low-hanging fruit” policy change that won’t have a huge impact for most Newton seniors, but we do think it’s an easy step to take this term, which will be helpful for the people it does benefit. Next term, I’m hoping we will explore a range of more wide-ranging programs, such as aiding fixed-income, low-income seniors with home maintenance costs and other tax relief. But those are pretty likely to require more resources than this reform, which was essentially almost “free” for the city.

Driveway parking and the “silly season” of political cycles

There’s an old expression in politics that as we approach an election we arrive in “silly season” as political campaigns get desperate to pick up a few more votes, and it seems that we are already there now. Some of you might have received an email within the past week filled with misinformation claiming that the City Council is trying to ban people from parking in their own driveways. I think you all probably already know this is a very silly claim, but Councilors Andreae Downs and Deb Crossley released a quick explanation of the problem with this misinformation:

Let’s see if we can clear up these muddy zoning waters.

1. Any changes to any zoning in Newton are only applied to new construction, not existing.

2. Even in new construction, Council works with homeowners on work-arounds if their project can’t meet our zoning codes via the special permit process

3. This [claim about driveway bans] conflates several proposals that are under discussion—including removing a requirement to have parking on-site (i.e. parking optional, not required) and a proposal to prevent new driveways in the front yard.

4. Front yard parking isn’t what folks in our neighborhoods are calling for. Most think it’s pretty ugly.

5. Our current zoning requires that every new home/unit have at least two parking spaces on site that are not within the setbacks. These can be garage or surface spots. There’s no ban – and none contemplated – on additional spaces in the setbacks.

6. Council has had NO discussions about prohibiting back yard parking. We have had setback or screening requirements since 1953.

Long story short: if you already have a driveway, you can still park there, even if it’s in the front yard. And the city will not and cannot make you tear out your existing driveway.

I hope that helps address any questions about the obviously ludicrous “driveway ban” email!

Sadly, we’re probably in for a lot more nonsense and silliness in the remaining few weeks until the November 2 election. Already we’ve seen another letter about zoning redesign re-circulating (as if it’s brand new) talking about a point of contention that came up well over a year ago and was effectively eliminated from consideration by the Council. I’ve gotten angry calls and emails from people who mistakenly believe this is still a pending idea, even though it was never seriously contemplated or debated!

I also heard that a new “dark money” Political Action Committee from outside Newton plans to run attack ads against certain candidates, likely including me. I’ll just have to trust the good judgment of Ward 5 voters not to be taken in by these tactics.

Newsletter Vol. 2, Week 40: Voting Information, New Housing, D Line Work, Indigenous Peoples Day Weekend, and more

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This week’s newsletter includes campaign trail updates, early and mail-in voting info, updates on two new housing developments, D Line work updates, and an Indigenous Peoples’ Day reminder for the Monday holiday.

Yesterday was a beautiful afternoon to knock on my 1000th Ward 5 door for the year! It has been great to have the opportunity to hear from residents directly on problems they need help with and then to be able to use my power in office to get them help quickly.

I also had a great day in Newton Upper Falls last Sunday at my campaign booth at the Village Day, talking to Ward 5 constituents. Many similar events were canceled the past year and a half due to the pandemic, but fortunately we were able to hold this one safely and without too much difficulty due to the timing and location! It was great to be able to assist Upper Falls residents with questions they had for me.

New Endorsements

I am honored once again to receive the endorsement of the Sierra Club of Massachusetts in my campaign for re-election to Newton City Council! We’ve got a lot of work to do in Newton to halt and rein in the out-of-control gas leak negligence by private utility companies and to bring an end to fossil fuel dependence in transportation, commercial, and residential settings.

I'm also gratified to be endorsed once again this year by Engine 6, our local housing advocacy organization. I keep thinking about how many units of low-income, middle-income, senior housing and more we've approved this term without much fanfare. We're moving in the right direction. But on the other hand, overwhelmingly the newly approved units of housing have been for “non-controversial” affordable housing projects (e.g. senior housing) and tended to be on the geographic margins of Newton. So, that’s a good reminder that we need to do more.

Finally, I'm pleased to receive the endorsement of the Newton Gun Violence Prevention Collaborative this year. This is a new organization that grew out of the policy debate in the city earlier this year around a proposed gun store. The organization pushed for a strict zoning ordinance and special permit supermajority requirement for any would-be firearms industry businesses, but they did not favor an outright ban due to the judicial risks such a strategy was likely to pose to the nationwide gun safety movement. They sent questionnaires to candidates and evaluated where they stood during the debate earlier this year and only endorsed candidates who had agreed with this strategic choice, which I did.

I am almost out of lawn signs for this year, but you can still request one here.

Early and Mail-in Voting Information

We haven’t officially held a final full City Council vote yet on our new municipal early voting program, but the likely dates and times (as selected by the Programs & Services Committee, on which I serve) are as follows:

Early Voting is expected to be held at City Hall, Mon-Fri, October 25-29, from 8:30 AM to 5 PM, and also Sat October 30, from 8:30 to Noon. (Saturday voting has to end early because election staff need time to prepare final administrative paperwork for Tuesday.) The full City Council will officially be voting on these recommendations on Oct 18, but we don't anticipate changes.

You can also vote by mail and avoid any in-person voting at all by applying with this form. But don’t wait much longer to apply because with the current ongoing postal delays you will want to allow plenty of time to get your mail ballot sent in (unless you use a secure drop-box outside City Hall, which is available until polls close on November 2.)

New Housing

On September 27, I attended the official ceremony handing over the Massachusetts Army National Guard Armory in Newton to the City of Newton for $1 to convert it to permanent, 100% low-income housing. We heard a history of Newton guardsmen through the generations. Responses to our request for proposals for affordable housing redevelopment in the building have been received and are now being evaluated. More on that when we have more to announce!

On October 7, I attended the groundbreaking ceremony for the Haywood House, a permanently deeply affordable housing development from the Newton Housing Authority named in honor of Rev. Howard Haywood of the Myrtle Baptist Church, the late civil rights and housing activist from our community. The project should be completed in December 2022.

Upcoming D Line Work Schedule

A reminder from the MBTA about more upcoming service disruptions related to finishing up their current improvement project on the D Line:

On the Green Line D Track and Signal Replacement Project, track inspections, trackwork items identified by those inspections, and cleanup activities will continue through the fall. Crews are also testing the new signals between Eliot and Brookline Hills stations. As a reminder, shuttle buses are scheduled to replace D Branch service between Riverside and Brookline Village on weeknights through October 21 beginning at 8:45 PM through the end of service. Visit the D Branch alerts page for the latest information about service changes.

Reminder of IPD Celebrations This Monday

Newton's first official Indigenous Peoples Day Ceremonial Celebration will be held on Monday. Here is the event information from the organizers:

Join your friends and neighbors on Monday, October 11 from 12-5pm at Albemarle Field in Newton for a family-oriented celebration of Indigenous culture, art, and history!

Indigenous Peoples Day Newton 2021 will spotlight and celebrate the music, dance, poetry, and the visual art of diverse Native artists that currently live in the Northeast. It will be an outdoor, daytime, family-oriented cultural and spiritual celebration that is open, accessible, and welcoming to all residents of Newton and neighboring towns.

The goal is to make concrete our city's recent recognition of Indigenous Peoples Day as an official city holiday. The intention is for this event to become a beloved annual event on our city's calendar.

Over 40 artists, performers, speakers, vendors, and community organizations will attend. Refreshments can be purchased from onsite food truck(s).  Spend the afternoon in celebration, ceremony, and support of the rich Indigenous traditions that are an enduring and vibrant facet of our community!

Newsletter Vol. 2, Week 38: Rat management, Infrastructure projects, Aqueduct fence, Library turns 30, Lawn Signs, and more

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This is my 45th constituent email newsletter of my first term! This week I’m covering the Beethoven Ave and Allen Ave street safety project, the Newton Free Library’s 30th Anniversary, Oak Hill Middle School’s completed expansion, the city’s efforts on the rat problem, a controversial (privately-erected) Cochituate Aqueduct fence, and two upcoming October events (Upper Falls Village Day and Indigenous Peoples Day).

Lawn signs reminder

A quick reminder that lawn signs are being distributed, and I do have an opponent running against me; so, if you would like to request one to support me, please fill out this form as soon as possible.

Beethoven and Allen street safety project update

Jenn Martin from Newton’s Safe Routes to School group has written up and distributed the following information about long-awaited traffic-calming infrastructure work on Beethoven Ave and Allen Ave currently in progress in Waban, and I am including it here:

As a refresher of the WHY behind these two traffic calming projects, when the new Zervas building was being designed there was understandable neighborhood concern about the increased enrollment (targeted to increase by almost 50%) leading to more cars on our streets, both of which are also heavily used by with kids walking and biking to school, by the many families and staff who park and walk the rest of the way to Zervas, and by those of us who walk, run, or bike around the neighborhood. Newton DPW Transportation assessed speeds on the two streets and found that, when incorporating in proximity to schools, parks and village centers, both Allen and Beethoven made the "top ten" in the City's 2017 Traffic Calming Evaluation and Prioritization process which qualified us for traffic calming attention. 

The speed limit on both Allen and Beethoven is 25 mph; the average observed speed that qualified us for these traffic calming safety improvements was 36 mph. If you are interested in why it is so important to drive slowly on our neighborhood and school streets, here is a good data-oriented article. 

Allen Ave will now have curb extensions and new crosswalks at both Pine Ridge and Plainfield. Both are already popular crossings to access Richardson Field and the busy Newton South and Oak Hill bus stops at Pine Ridge, and private school bus stops at Plainfield. The curb extensions or "bump outs" shorten the amount of time those on foot are in conflict with vehicles and make you more visible to drivers by bringing you out from the parked cars before you have to start crossing the street. The reduced driving lane width also slows drivers down as they pass through the curb extension areas. While the travel space between the curb extensions may feel small when you are driving, it is plenty wide (22' or two 11' travel lanes) for two vehicles to go through at once. Our Ward 5 City Councilors also docketed stop signs with Traffic Council which were approved, so Allen Ave now has a stop sign at Woodward and in the streets that T into Allen (Plainfield, Pine Ridge, Woodhaven and Avalon).

Beethoven Ave will now have a new raised intersection at Puritan and two new crosswalks there across Beethoven Ave as well as the now-raised crosswalk at the end of Puritan. Raising the intersection is a vertical deflection method of traffic calming that both slows vehicles and draws attention to this being an area to expect people may be walking. The Newton Fire Department was involved in the approval process for the raised intersection, one of the first in Newton.

Newton Free Library Turns 30!

As the 30-year-old on the City Council, I made sure to attend last weekend’s 30th Anniversary ceremony for our beloved central Newton Free Library. Three decades ago, when it was proposed, it was one of the most controversial proposals in city history, and now it is a city institution and one of the highest circulation libraries in Massachusetts.

The Newton Free Library has marked its 30th anniversary with a new sculpture honoring the 13 Villages of Newton, made by Nancy Schön, the sculptor of the Make Way For Ducklings sculpture in the Boston Public Garden, who had previously produced works for the Newton Free Library.

Oak Hill Addition Opens

On Wednesday morning, I stopped by Oak Hill Middle School for the ribbon-cutting of the new classroom space addition (and pollinator rain garden!), which the City Council and School Committee approved last year to handle upcoming enrollment capacity needs. It is already in use this semester, providing extra space for students to be more spread out during the pandemic. This super energy efficient project was built fast, on-time, and on-budget!

Rat Control

Rats have been a surging problem for communities all over eastern Massachusetts in recent years. Sometimes this is related to construction projects disturbing their underground spaces and sometimes there are a range of other factors. The City of Newton is (in addition to encouraging residents to do their part to mitigate things that attract and feed rats) introducing a number of new efforts to deal with this problem head-on. There was a wonderful presentation on this topic by city staff at the Programs & Services Committee meeting this week (and I then also delivered a version of it myself to the Upper Falls Area Council on Thursday, since Upper Falls has unfortunately been one of the big rat hotspots for several years now).

Some of these techniques are cutting-edge, including a very recently patented contraceptive bait system that prevents rats that drink from it from reproducing but does not poison them or any other animals (including other small animals or predators higher up the food chain). Some more aggressive, but also ecologically safe methods are being deployed on major rat burrows when they are located, such as at the Upper Falls Greenway.

The Inspectional Services team will be taking a much more proactive role on conferring with development companies and construction teams for containing any potential rat disturbance effects anticipated from any new demolition permits, not just special permits.

The administration and the City Council will be exploring options for codifying more expansive requirements on pest management planning for construction projects into our ordinances and special permit process soon. Our major developers already have certain requirements and trapping plans, but these need to be updated, especially now that more innovative options have become available. We’ve been in close communication with these companies so far, and some have been very responsive (which means we need to get the others to be equally responsive.)

If you spot rat activity in a Newton neighborhood, you can help us track those locations by reporting it on the City’s Rodent Control web app.

And please remember to do your part to discourage rats from taking up residence on or near your own residences and businesses by keeping grills clean, compost piles and trash bins covered, bird feeders inaccessible to anything but birds, clearing dropped fruit from trees, elevating woodpiles, and putting mesh across openings.

We will also be exploring putting together a financial assistance program to help residents with rat mitigation and control cost burdens if they need help with that. This is especially critical for seniors with older homes and fixed incomes, like many home maintenance challenges.

Cochituate Aqueduct Fence

Many residents have recently noticed (and contacted me about) a fence that appeared across the Cochituate Aqueduct path between Chestnut St and Woodward St in Waban on a privately-owned section. I also know it has been a hot topic on local social media groups. So, I wanted to give a brief summary of the situation in my newsletter.

Councilor Andreae Downs and I, along with City staff from various departments and offices, have been working on this situation all summer, before the fence was even installed. This trail has been in continuous use by the public since the 1840s. The City of Newton Law Department has looked over the various deed records and legal options at least 3 times now. The city has concluded that the homeowner does seem to have the legal right to put up this fence on that specific parcel, apparently due to some oversight long ago in obtaining public access rights.

We tried to talk it out first, but the fence went up. (The reason the homeowner chose to do this now: There has been more usage of that section of trail during the pandemic period and apparently some new users were not being very respectful to neighbors along the trail while using it.)

So, what happens next? Eminent domain is not a good solution here, unlike say Webster Woods, because of the unusual patchwork nature of which parts of the aqueduct trails crossing Newton are already public as opposed to still privately owned like this section. (And the general public probably does not have standing for independent legal action.)

But there is some encouraging news: The Waban Area Council held a community meeting earlier this month on the matter, including the homeowner and City COO Jonathan Yeo, giving everyone an opportunity to be heard and to talk ideas for resolving this amicably as a community.

The upshot of that meeting is that there is now an informal committee or working group with the homeowner, residents, and city officials (including me and Councilor Downs), and we all hope to reach some kind of resolution on the matter. We're now waiting to see what might come of that.

Councilor Downs has created a signup form specifically to receive informational updates on this as things proceed.

Looking ahead:

Upper Falls Village Day 10/3

The Upper Falls Village Day (hosted by the neighborhood Area Council) will be held this year on Sunday October 3, from 11 AM to 2 PM, at the Greenway next to the Depot cafe. At 1:30 there will be an event unveiling a plaque honoring the late City Councilor Brian Yates of Upper Falls.

Please come on down and check out all the exciting booths, activities, and food. I will have a pushcart there to be able to answer constituent questions on site and talk about my re-election campaign.

Indigenous Peoples Day 10/11

Newton's first official Indigenous Peoples Day Ceremonial Celebration will be held on Monday, October 11, at Albemarle Field. (Please note that this is the same day as the postponed Boston Marathon, and so certain traffic routes will be unavailable to get there. The Boston Athletic Association is one of the official sponsors of this event, as well, along with a whole range of non-profit and corporate sponsors from Newton and greater Boston.) 

Last year I was one of the City Council leaders working on changing the official City calendar to replace Columbus Day with this new holiday.

Here is the event information from the organizers:

Join your friends and neighbors on Monday, October 11 from 12-5pm at Albemarle Field in Newton for a family-oriented celebration of Indigenous culture, art, and history!

Indigenous Peoples Day Newton 2021 will spotlight and celebrate the music, dance, poetry, and the visual art of diverse Native artists that currently live in the Northeast. It will be an outdoor, daytime, family-oriented cultural and spiritual celebration that is open, accessible, and welcoming to all residents of Newton and neighboring towns.

The goal is to make concrete our city's recent recognition of Indigenous Peoples Day as an official city holiday. The intention is for this event to become a beloved annual event on our city's calendar.

Over 40 artists, performers, speakers, vendors, and community organizations will attend. Refreshments can be purchased from onsite food truck(s).  Spend the afternoon in celebration, ceremony, and support of the rich Indigenous traditions that are an enduring and vibrant facet of our community!

Newsletter Vol. 2, Week 36: Weekend Events, Upcoming Election Calendar, Infrastructure, and more

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I’m back with another newsletter after about a month where there was not much to report. (Shanah tovah to all who celebrated this week! And I hope everyone had a good Labor Day.)

Today’s newsletter covers various events this weekend, looks at the election calendar ahead for voter information, reminds interested people to request lawn signs now, provides updates on recent City Council business and improvements on Allen Ave, and more.

Earlier this morning I joined other Newton City Councilors, Mayor Fuller, the Newton Police Department, Newton’s Veterans Services director, and other residents at the memorial flagpole of the former L'Aroma Cafe in West Newton. Retired owner Haleema Salie spoke on the 20th Anniversary of her daughter's death on American Airlines Flight 11. Mrs. Salie noted that at the memorial service in 2001, the final remark by the person who gave the service for her daughter was that we should honor and remember those lost by doing good deeds and acting with kindness toward others. 

There will also be a small ceremony this evening at 6 PM at the Newton 9-11 Memorial at the Newton Fire Department headquarters.

September 14 Voting Reminder

Don’t forget – if you have not done so already – to vote this coming Tuesday (9/14) in the Newton Mayoral Preliminary election. (There are no other contested elections on that ballot. All other races will be decided in November.) If you are not planning on voting at your normal polling station because you have an absentee ballot at home, those ballots must be received to a secure City Hall dropbox before the close of polls at 8 PM. Ballots sent through the actual mail and received after Tuesday will not count. You can also vote absentee “over the counter” in person at the Clerk's office on Monday until noon.

The regular polling stations on Tuesday will continue to have special pandemic precautions to minimize the risk of contagion inside. Vaccinated and masked voters and poll workers should be quite safe.

If you plan to vote by mail in the November 2 general election, you should make sure to apply now to receive your ballot early enough to return it with ample time. Or, there will be in-person early voting opportunities as well, but these have not been set yet. (Presumably the week beforehand.)

Shawn Fitzgibbons campaign event tomorrow

Tomorrow, Sunday Sept 12, I will be joining Councilor Alicia Bowman and other City Councilors to host a candidate meet-and-greet for our friend and School Committee Candidate Shawn Fitzgibbons of Ward 6. The 4 PM event will be a hybrid event with an outdoor in-person component and a zoom option for those unable to attend in-person events. I hope you will join us by RSVPing here.

I’ve known Shawn for almost eight years now, and I think he’s the clear choice to fill this open seat in a challenging period for our school system. I believe he will stand with not only our Newton students and parents, but also with the school system employees of every kind, who keep things running and support our youngest community members each day. Some years back, Shawn was an early voice rallying support for our Newton Public Schools custodians, when there was a proposal to outsource their jobs to private contractors instead of keeping familiar, reliable faces present for Newton kids. That’s the kind of character Shawn has shown.

Campaign update and reminders

Lawn signs will start to appear widely within the week. If you would like to request one to support my re-election, please fill out this form as soon as possible!

As of yesterday, I am now heading back out on the streets of Ward 5 once again, after making the rounds earlier this year in the late spring and summer, to make myself available to residents to help solve their local challenges, whether it’s a pothole or something much larger. You can always feel free to email or call me, rather than waiting for me to reach your home.

I’m also still continuing to raise money for my re-election campaign, as there have been fewer face-to-face opportunities this year to meet residents, and so I’ll have to continue relying heavily on mail-based communications to get my message out. Any amount you can donate helps! 

(And I really appreciate the more than 300 donations I’ve received so far this term, totalling about $16,000. I put about a third of that toward constituent communications earlier this year and last year to keep Ward 5 residents apprised of major issues.)

Report on City Council business

The City Council met again this week after several weeks off, and we have a few updates for you: 

- Without controversy in the end, we moved forward with approvals for the revised Riverside development plan, maintaining levels of affordable housing proposed, while swapping out hotel and office space for lucrative Life Sciences laboratory space and somewhat reducing the number of market-rate residential units. This should result in an even better project than we initially approved last year and we hope one more economically resilient to wider commercial market cycles. And the change in proposed uses should reduce the traffic impact, too.

- We finally hired a new permanent City Clerk / Clerk of the Council. Our choice in the end, after publicly interviewing and deliberating with three great finalists, was Carol Moore, most recently Clerk of a community in Washington state. She brings a wide range of skills, experience, and staff management from a long career in public service in various states, and we’re excited to have her join us.

- We also learned that contrary to previous reports based on unfinished preliminary Census data, the growing population of Newton actually remained relatively balanced geographically from 10 years ago, when the final data was received. The upshot of this is that while there will be some changes in specific precinct lines within some of the eight wards of Newton, we no longer anticipate major changes to the ward lines themselves. There will be a few small adjustments of a block here or there, but we now do not expect dramatic realignments of ward lines as first predicted from the incomplete data.

Allen Ave bumpouts

Have you driven or walked on Allen Avenue Waban recently and noticed some construction work at key intersections? As promised, the City of Newton is delivering on long-awaited safety features to reduce traffic speeds near Zervas Elementary School. The recent work on that street has been to install bumpouts to create pinch points that slow through-traffic. Thanks to everyone who kept up the energy on this effort.

New NARAL municipal pledge

Longtime supporters might recall that in my first campaign in 2016, for a different office, I received the endorsement of NARAL Pro-Choice Massachusetts due to my strong support for abortion rights. The organization does not typically endorse at the municipal level in Massachusetts, but they have been working this year to raise more attention to the local angle on it.

While some voters might assume there is no local component to the current struggle for abortion access rights and reproductive freedom broadly, especially in Massachusetts, there are in fact regions of Massachusetts that are extremely far from those services. I happen to believe that these services should be freely available basically everywhere and that municipalities should not restrict against abortion healthcare providers. We have also seen in recent years, particularly with the current US Supreme Court, that we can never assume the status quo situation will remain intact, and therefore even a community like Newton might be called upon to take local action to protect these rights.

To that end, although it might seem right now like a remote matter, I took NARAL Pro-Choice Massachusetts’s City Champions pledge. Like several other Newton City Councilors, I’m proud to be a part of their inaugural class of City Champions. Newton residents can count on me to remain an unapologetic supporter of reproductive freedom, as I have always vocally been.

As your City Councilor, if it becomes a matter of local concern, I will work locally to protect every person’s right to access the full range of reproductive health options, including preventing unintended pregnancy, bearing healthy children, and choosing safe, legal abortion. 

I believe there are plenty of ways for city leaders to protect and expand reproductive freedom. Ensuring that the people of Newton continue to have access to the full spectrum of reproductive health care options is critical. As a NARAL MA City Champion, voters can count on me to fight for the seven policy positions articulated in the pledge.

Newsletter Vol. 2, Week 31: Aug 10 Hearing on Athletic Fields Planning (and other updates)

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Happy Friday! I hope everyone had a great first week of August! This week’s newsletter covers a few small updates on the upcoming election calendar, the City Clerk hiring process, and an upcoming public hearing on funding the planning phase of a multi-year capital improvement project for some of Newton’s athletic fields sites.

As I continue campaigning for my re-election to the City Council, I am happy to announce new endorsements from city officials and Ward 5 community members. This week, City Council Vice President Rick Lipof joined his Ward 8 colleagues David Kalis and Holly Ryan in publicly supporting me in this race. Councilors Lipof and Kalis have both noted that they don’t always agree with me on certain issues, but they appreciate the hard work I’ve been putting in, and they respect the thoughtful questions I bring to committee meetings. I’m glad to have earned their confidence. I now have the endorsements of 12 of the other 23 City Councilors.

If you would like to publicly show your support and help with my re-election, please request a Humphrey lawn sign to be delivered after the mid-September preliminary through this form. (You can also add your name as an endorser if you want!)

Update on election season calendar

In last week’s newsletter, I included updates about set city election dates for the fall. Since then, the Ward 1 race will no longer be holding a preliminary vote after one candidate decided to withdraw from that race before the deadline. This leaves only the citywide mayoral preliminary election on September 14.

Village Days: This year, neither Waban nor Newton Highlands will be holding Village Days. There had been some discussion of holding them this fall since the normal season was ruled out, but they are both officially off the table now. The Upper Falls Area Council is (for the moment at least) still planning to hold a Village Day at the usual point: October 3. I can’t speak to the status of other Village Days outside of Ward 5.

Please also be sure to join me and ten other City Council candidates on Wednesday, August 18 at 5:30 p.m. via Zoom for a “Conversation on Disabilities.” During the event, we will share our priorities for this coming term, including making Newton a better community for people living with a disability. Register at this link!

Public Meetings for City Clerk Hiring Process

The Programs & Services Committee will be holding public interviews and then public deliberation, respectively, on August 17 (5:15 PM) and August 25 (7 PM), for the final 3 candidates for a new City Clerk/Clerk of the Council. These will be held virtually on Zoom and open for viewing to everyone who is interested.

Upcoming: August 10 CPC Public Hearing on Athletic Fields Capital Improvements Planning

The Parks & Recreation Commission is embarking on planning a capital improvements 5-year program for athletic fields that could potentially be nearly $10 million in scale. Many of these facilities are in desperate need of improvements, and they represent a growing fiscal threat over the long term, not only by their mounting costs if not fixed soon, but also because of their negative effects on the attractiveness of the city to potential and existing residents. 

But the planning phase comes first and will be funded with Community Preservation Act Recreation category funds – if the Community Preservation Commission votes to approve that planning proposal, subject to a public hearing on August 10.

By way of background, the City is about to hire design consultants to complete the work necessary, including site analysis, feasibility studies, design development plans, landscape plans, construction documents, cost estimates, and construction observation for field improvement projects at up to six possible locations.

These locations are the following (and include one set of school fields in-district for Ward 5 students and one public park in Ward 5 itself):

 1) Russ Halloran Sports & Recreation Complex at Albemarle (256 Albemarle Road, Newtonville)

 2) McGrath Park (1600 Washington Street, West Newton)

 3) Burr School Fields (171 Pine Street, Auburndale) - in cooperation with NPS

 4) Brown/Oak Hill Middle School Fields (130 Wheeler Road, Oak Hill)

 5) Forte Park (235 California St, Nonantum)

 6) Upper Falls Playground/Braceland Park (1146 Chestnut St, Newton Upper Falls)

These are all very worthy projects! However, only the first four are being considered for the first 3 years of the 5-year plan. If members of the public wish to make their priorities known, they should attend the August 10 public hearing at the CPC and speak to these points.

On July 23, 2021 a Full Proposal was submitted for public hearing review on August 10, 2021. Submitted materials also include the cover letter from Commissioner Banks and the Supplemental Capital Improvement Plan for FY22-FY26.

You can also follow along with this project on the dedicated webpage for it.

Newsletter Vol. 2, Week 30: Fall Election Schedule; Redrawing Precincts; Pettee Sq; Affordable Housing; and Much More

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It’s already the end of July! This week’s newsletter covers the following topics: The upcoming 2021 election calendar and vote-by-mail, updates from my re-election campaign and an upcoming Disability Policy event, a discussion of revising precinct lines in Newton, two possible changes in local affordable housing policy, and other local updates.

The city preliminary election contest has been set! On September 14, 2021, voters will be able to cast their ballots for the offices of Mayor and Ward Councilor for Ward 1 (Nonantum/Newton Corner), in both cases to reduce the number of candidates in each race from 3 to 2 for the November election.

Beyond September, there will be contested elections in the following races, which voters will be able to vote on in the November general election:

• Ward Councilors for Ward 2, Ward 3, Ward 5, & Ward 6 (voted only in those wards)

• Councilors-at-Large (voted citywide) for Ward 1, Ward 3, Ward 5, & Ward 6

• School Committee (voted citywide) for Wards 6 & 7. FYI: The open seats in Wards 1, 2, & 8 ended up with only 1 candidate each.

Yesterday, the state officially extended vote-by-mail opportunities for municipal elections through the end of the year (unless a municipality opts out for some reason). Any Newton voter will thus be able to vote-by-mail in the September preliminary and November general elections this year, but you will have to request that a ballot be sent to you. Neither ballots nor applications for ballots will be automatically mailed to everyone. In-person voting would still be happening as well, with continued special covid-19 precautions. Some precincts changed locations multiple times in the past two years due to the pandemic or building renovations, and you should check yours again before you go to vote.

I am not sure yet when the vote-by-mail ballot applications will be available for the September preliminary or when they will be due, since this change just happened and the candidate withdrawal deadline has not yet passed to finalize the ballot completely, but I will include that information in a newsletter when it becomes available.

Campaign Trail Update

This year, I am honored to once again have the endorsement of the Massachusetts Nurses Association for my re-election campaign, which represents Newton's school nurses and many Ward 5 residents.

I am also grateful, as I noted in a recent newsletter, to have the endorsement of former Ward 5 Councilor John Rice as I seek re-election. Councilor Rice was known in office for his responsiveness to constituent service questions, a tradition I have worked hard to maintain during my first term in office.

Last weekend, I also finished my first round of door knocking around Ward 5! Since the end of May, I have visited over 800 homes, reaching out to about 2,000 voters to see how they're doing and whether I can help with city issues. People were generally home about 50% of the time! Overwhelmingly, voters I spoke to over the past 2 months seem happy with the work that I'm doing. I feel confident I can serve them well again in a second term.

The good news this week now that the candidate filing deadline has passed: I don't have a preliminary election in September (although there will be one for Mayor and in Ward 1, as noted earlier). But: I do have an opponent in November, and she has made clear that she completely opposes my agenda. If you support local environmental action and making Newton a community for everyone, and if you appreciate my tireless constituent services work, I hope you will support me for re-election to a second term.

If you would like to request a Humphrey re-election lawn sign to be delivered after the mid-September preliminary, please use this form.

New Precincts Next Year

Every 10 years, the Ward and Precinct lines are redrawn after the US Census. They are being redrawn this year, but would not take effect before the 2021 municipal elections. Given my past experience knocking doors in every corner of Newton and my participation in the University of Delaware Geography Department program, I have been appointed by Council President Susan Albright to a small working group, along with Councilors Maria Greenberg (Ward 1), Brenda Noel (Ward 6), and Becky Grossman (Ward 7). We are also joined by city staff from the Elections office and our Geographic Information System (GIS) planner.

The state has given us some preliminary data and an initial suggested map, but we will be receiving finalized data in a few weeks, at which point the working group will work with our city GIS planner to move around the US Census blocks of population until the eight wards are balanced and the precincts are balanced. While we hope to minimize disruptions or weird boundaries, sometimes it is unavoidable given the state requirements for how the boundaries are defined and how the population balancing works. (For example, one isolated side of a street might end up in a different precinct due to the state rules on boundaries.) That being said, a key goal for me will be to try to keep the neighborhoods as coherent as possible within wards or precincts and to avoid strange gerrymandering whenever we can.

While there was an initial suggested map that made significant changes to Wards 1, 2, 4, 5, and 7, we were given some latitude by the state to revise some of those changes once the final data comes in. They generate suggestions with a semi-automated program that doesn’t know anything about Newton, and we have to then apply our own local understanding of neighborhood geography and communities to the revision process.

The full City Council will vote to approve a final map in a couple months. We are making sure to solicit input from all Councilors during the revision process to try to catch any potential problems before the map is completed. And we will be keeping an eye on where current office holders and registered candidates live so that we don’t accidentally or unfairly move someone into a different Ward, which sometimes happened in the past.

Pettee Sq update

Last week, I sat in on the beginning of the Public Facilities Committee meeting to hear the “#290-21 Request for public way improvements at Pettee Square” discussion and vote.

City staff joined the committee to discuss their official request for the infrastructure and traffic safety changes at the intersection of Oak St & Chestnut St in Newton Upper Falls as designed in the recent study funded by the MassWorks state grant. The main component will be a raised-table intersection there and a raised road crossing for the Greenway path.

I spoke in favor of the proposal, giving my thoughts on how this proposal is simultaneously a safety project and an economic revitalization project for the Upper Falls Village Center by making this a safely walkable area for customers, Greenway walkers, and just residents socializing. People will be able to walk back and forth between the restaurants, the Depot cafe, and various picnic tables and gathering spots. These all already exist, but connecting them more safely for foot traffic will help generate both business and recreation.

The committee ultimately voted 6-0 in support of the raised intersection proposed for Oak St & Chestnut St.

Update on proposed Ward 5 coffee drive-throughs

After the City Council’s Land Use Committee hearing held on July 13, the proposal for a drive-through Starbucks on the westbound side of Route 9 between Woodward St and Dickerman Rd was withdrawn. As explained in my last newsletter, those who attended the hearing held reservations about the impacts opening a drive-through would have on local traffic patterns. Others felt it conflicted with our city’s walkability aims and environmental goals.

A second Land Use Committee hearing was held on Tuesday for the proposal of a drive-through Dunkin’ on Route 9 eastbound in Ward 5. I have similar concerns with that location, although it has somewhat different traffic pattern implications. The Committee did not vote on the issue during the hearing, seeking further revisions and discussion between the petitioners, city planners, and outside peer reviewers, but the committee did take public comment, which was very useful. You can continue to weigh in by emailing the City Council.

Disability Policy event August 18th 

This week marked the 31st anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act. On Wednesday August 18th, 2021, at 5:30 PM on Zoom, Emma Applbaum, Nathan Persampieri, Jean Weinberg, Jennifer Nash, Don Bronstein, and Eileen Sandberg invite you to join them for a “Conversation on Disabilities.” Nine City Councilors running for re-election (including me) and first-time candidate Meryl Kessler will share their priorities for this coming term, including making Newton a better community for people living with a disability. Also joining the discussion will be current Newton School Committee member Kathy Shields and candidates Shawn Fitzgibbons & Rajeev Parlikar. The registration link for this event is: https://forms.gle/Qo3djVZhkN5AxNKn7 

Beacon St bike lanes progress

Since just before the lockdown in March 2020, your six City Councilors for Wards 5 & 6 were in discussions with the Planning Department about painting additional bike lane access along Beacon St from the edge of Waban at Washington St to Newton Centre (with some short gaps where we have not figured out how to make bike lanes work yet without more major road changes). We held a community listening session with a great turnout last June. This month you might have noticed the new Beacon St bike lanes finally appeared in Waban Square and elsewhere.

Emergency Utilities & Rental Assistance 

Now that the moratorium has been lifted for utilities and eviction, you or someone you know might need help keeping utilities on. Please know that the City of Newton’s Cousens Fund may be able to assist with a deposit to the utility company or landlord to prevent a shut off or eviction. The trustees are prepared to process these requests quickly to avoid undue hardship. Do not hesitate to contact director Kathy Laufer with any questions or referrals. The Horace Cousens Industrial Fund is a charitable trust, established in 1930, which gives financial grants to Newton residents who are faced with a temporary but severe financial problem. You can apply for assistance with this form: https://www.newtonma.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/41413/637412214085900000 

If you need help catching up on back rent, Metro Housing Boston is providing relief on that front, and the organization CAN-DO is helping Newton residents navigate the application process for that aid.

If you are a renter and owe back rent there is funding available from the state to pay your back rent. You can apply for the funding from Metro Housing Boston at bit.ly/Rentrelief. It is an online application. There are certain documents that are necessary to complete the application.  The three documents needed for your application to be considered complete are: A picture ID; Proof of income or evidence of loss of income; Evidence of need – statement from landlord; proof of crisis.

CAN-DO, has recruited a team of volunteers to assist anyone who would like help in applying. On Saturday, August 7th from 10 am to 3 pm at Brigham House, 20 Hartford Street, Newton Highlands, there will be in-person appointments to receive help on your application process. If you would like help, please contact CAN-DO at info@newtoncan-do.org or call 617-527-5071 and leave a message stating you would like help. Please include your name and contact information including a phone number. You will receive a call back to schedule an appointment.

Affordable Housing Trust?

On Monday, the Zoning & Planning Committee held a meeting to discuss a proposed Affordable Housing Trust for Newton.

As currently proposed, the Trust would have the authority to acquire land but would likely be helping to fund outside affordable housing project construction, not building projects directly. It would be made up of seven trustees: the Mayor, a Councilor appointed by the Council President, a Community Preservation Commission member, and four Mayoral appointees (confirmed by the Council) from a variety of Newton backgrounds and with policy experience in affordable housing development.

It would receive funding from a diverse set of sources, possibly including from Community Preservation Act (CPA) funds, inclusionary zoning payments, negotiated developer fees, payments from special bylaws/ordinances, and private donations. (We also hope the state will eventually allow local municipalities to adopt a real estate transfer fee as another funding source.)

Unlike the Community Preservation Commission, the Trust would be able to spend money studying possible affordable housing development opportunities ahead of time, as opposed to just reacting to funding requests on a case by case basis. It would also have an application process with clear review requirements and procedures for projects requesting funds, based on established program guidelines and the City’s affordable housing goals.

This means the Trust, and by extension the City, could move faster to seize on opportunities in the market as they arise. However, the Trust would still not be able to unilaterally approve projects. The normal approval process would still apply (either City Council Special Permit or ZBA 40B review), but it would kick-start processes faster.

To read the full memorandum about the proposed Affordable Housing Trust, click here.

Local preference debate continues

During the same Zoning and Planning Committee meeting on Monday, the Committee also took up discussion of Local Preference policy changes.

Local Preference is a policy prioritizing affordable housing for local residents in the lottery for newly available units. Currently, the policy provides a preference for already-Newton-based housing applicants for up to 70% of the Inclusionary Units (i.e. legally-required affordable apartment units in housing developments).

The Planning Department is recommending that the city lower this percentage to some number between 35% and 50%. At the moment, the Council has not reached a consensus on an exact number.

Read the full text of the possible amendment here.

You can read my more detailed examination of the reasons why this policy change is being considered in a newsletter I sent out in April.

Traffic Council Action on Allen Ave

Earlier this year, in an effort to improve traffic flow and road safety, Councilor Andreae Downs and I requested the installation of new stop signs at five new Waban locations close together: Allen Ave southbound at Woodward St; Pine Ridge Rd eastbound at Allen Ave; Plainfield St eastbound at Allen Ave; Avalon Rd eastbound at Allen Ave; and Woodhaven Rd eastbound at Allen Ave. The request was approved this month by the Traffic Council on a 5-0 vote but may be appealed through the close of business on August 11. Other safety improvements on Allen Ave are slated for construction later this summer.

Newsletter Vol. 2, Week 28: New Senior Center progress; Low-income services and Senior tax relief; Route 9 drive-throughs? Targeted break-ins?

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This will be a longer newsletter because it was a busy week, but I think there’s something for everyone. I have included a brief campaign update; a Linda Plaut Festival recap; a July 12 City Council meeting note; a detailed update on some critically important Programs & Services agenda items (including a Senior Center update); a public safety advisory; a Waban Square Village Vision Kit Walk opportunity; a review of newly filed docket items; and more.

Campaign update

We’ve reached the middle of this rather damp July and I’ve gotten through my first round of door-knocking in Ward 5 Precincts 2, 3, and 4 covering Waban and part of Newton Highlands, and I am now knocking doors in Newton Upper Falls. 

This has been an invaluable way to find out specific neighborhood concerns and to alert city staff about problems. As usual, I recommend people file a report through the City’s 311 computer system whenever possible, but I understand that sometimes it’s easier to remember an ongoing issue when I happen to stop by and ask.

I will have an opponent challenging me for re-election this fall, according to paperwork filed with both the City of Newton and the state campaign finance system. I welcome your support as residents to continue my work in serving Ward 5 in a second term, so that we can continue building on what I’ve begun and not start over from square one. I would particularly appreciate people accepting campaign lawn signs for me, probably starting in mid-September.

In addition to half the City Council endorsing me for re-election so far, I’m gratified to have the support this year of my immediate predecessor John Rice. That’s a big vote of confidence in the work I’ve been doing to try to fill his shoes!

Linda Plaut Festival recap

Newton Community Pride last weekend hosted the annual Linda Plaut Festival of the Arts. They note that, “over 1,000 people gathered at 20 live and free performances for the 6th annual Linda Plaut Newton Festival of the Arts. It was a fabulous rain free weekend celebrating a diverse group of Newton musicians & genres of music. We look forward to building on the success of this year’s festival to bring you even more musical entertainment next year. Thank you to all who participated.”

I stopped by one of the early musical performances at the Suzuki School of Newton in Waban Square.

Keep an eye out across Newton soon for NCP to once again deliver painted pianos for public use to various village centers.

Little improvements here and there

Earlier this term, a resident noted to me that the Do Not Enter signage at the intersection of Beethoven Ave and Beacon St had a lot of confusing written exemptions and in fact did not actually aim to deny entry more than 90% of the time. That resident suggested the city should look into deploying electronic signs instead, which would only activate during the necessary hours of the day. I passed this idea on to city staff, and they reviewed the matter, and you can now check out the results with the electronic signs installed and operational.

If you have similar ideas for little improvements that would make things better in a part of the city you regularly pass by or live near, let me know, and I’m happy to look into it further to see if it makes sense to change.

July 12 City Council meeting note

A proposed total zoning ban on the firearms industry in Newton (as opposed to our previously passed significant restrictions and supermajority special permit approvals process) was affirmatively denied by a vote of 21-3 after extensive debate. It would have required a supermajority vote in the other direction to pass. Very few Councilors felt comfortable advancing a ban via zoning while the US Supreme Court has a pro-gun supermajority of justices. (That is my concern certainly.) Another attempt to pass a total ban by simple-majority vote on a regular ordinance, as opposed to a zoning measure, will apparently be considered, but it also seems unlikely to pass for the same reason.

Route 9 Drive-throughs in Ward 5?

On Tuesday 7/13, the City Council’s Land Use Committee held a public hearing on the first of two proposed coffee drive-through locations on Route 9 in Ward 5. This week’s hearing was for a drive-through-only Starbucks on the westbound side of Route 9 between Woodward St and Dickerman Rd. There’s already a long stretch of fairly complicated traffic patterns for residential areas on both sides of the MBTA tracks.

Everyone from the neighborhood who spoke at the public hearing on Zoom expressed a lot of important concerns, and I share most of those reservations, as I stated during the meeting along with my colleague Councilor Andreae Downs, who emphasized the inconsistency of a drive-through with our walkable development goals and our climate action planning. (In fact, most of the Land Use Committee also expressed very strong opposition.)

An upcoming public hearing will be about a drive-through proposal by Dunkin Donuts on the eastbound side of Route 9 at their existing location just past Elliot St and the CVS. I believe it will be at the 6 PM Land Use Committee meeting on Tuesday July 27.

To my knowledge, there are no drive-through food or beverage establishments currently operating or approved anywhere in Newton.

Programs & Services Meetings Recap

The City Council’s Programs & Services Committee met twice this week, on Monday 7/12 and Wednesday 7/14.

On Monday, we had a great Zoom discussion with Rabbi Leigh of Ward 5, a new appointee to the Commission on Disability, who is himself profoundly deaf, about how disability access advocacy benefits all residents, regardless of whether or not they have a disability. We were also reminded to be more diligent about ensuring that automated closed-captioning is turned on at the beginning of our Zoom meetings, and we have been doing so in the other meetings held this week.

On Wednesday we began by meeting jointly with the Public Facilities Committee to hear the latest staff recommendations on the new Senior Center at the existing Newtonville location.

We held straw votes for Councilors to express a preference for moving forward with a new construction design vs a more expensive and limiting renovation/addition design. The new design option received 6-0 support in Programs & Services and 6-0 support in Public Facilities. No Councilor of any committee, including others sitting in on the meeting, spoke against it.

This should mean the city is now basically ready to move ahead with the project.

Two key points were emphasized during the presentation and are in the written report available online since last month:

"Based on the overwhelming feedback in support of the proposed new construction option, and in light of the substantial shortcomings of the renovation/addition option, the Working Group is formally recommending that the existing Senior Center located at 345 Walnut Street in Newtonville be demolished and that a new facility be constructed in its place."

"Where feasible, historically significant elements on and within the existing building will be protected, salvaged, restored, and installed in a manner that respects their significance and pays tribute to the rich history of the existing building." (That includes stained-glass.)

On behalf of a constituent I asked for a recap on the latest parking plans for a new construction design of the senior center. There will be at least 75 parking spots either on-site or within immediate walking distance and a parking plan to help local businesses.

Our Committee took up a couple additional important matters. We are requesting the state legislature authorize Newton to make a 99-year nominal lease for the former Armory Property, where we are seeking to develop all low-income housing, so that any project developer would be eligible for federal Low-Income Housing Tax Credits. (These credits are actually a complex federal subsidy in practice, but they have some special conditions.)

We will be also recommending our ordinances be amended to increase the income limits for participation in the Senior Tax Work-off Program to adjust for wage and price inflation. We've been coming in well under our FY cap budgeted toward this program so we can afford this adjustment.

Additionally, we voted (at the request of the Clerk’s Office) to move two polling places (one in Ward 3 long-term and one in Ward 8 temporarily). Contact your Councilors from those wards if you need the specifics.

Finally on Wednesday, Programs & Services again took up #40-20 "Discussion with Department Heads regarding supportive services...for economically disadvantaged persons in Newton, including immigrants, seniors, disabled individuals and families with adult disabled children." 

My questions for department heads (to consider and get back to us on) included:

- What is the future of the bagged meals program introduced during the pandemic? Can we make it an ongoing priority to permanently end hunger for children, parents, seniors, young adults, and all residents in Newton?

- Was there a handoff of Newton's emergency rental assistance recipients when the recent local program ended? (Yes, the Planning Department stayed in communication with recipients, and people still in need were handed off to Metro Boston for a new program.) I also asked us again to think about developing a permanent "crisis rental assistance" backstop program.

- How did the 2020 Census go in Newton? Did we face similar challenges or under-counts as some other communities faced? Were our immigrant communities in need of federal resources fully enumerated?

- What expansions in low-income disability services are we considering?

Targeted break-ins?

Last month when I was knocking doors and talking to a supporter who is Asian-American, she mentioned to me that there was a rumor going around about a third round of break-ins, this time all targeting Asian-American households. I encouraged her to bring this concern to the Mayor’s office and the Police Department, in case this was helpful information to potential investigations or to ascertain whether additional steps related to Hate Crimes prevention and response needed to be taken beyond typical response to a break-in.

This week, Mayor Fuller confirmed in a newsletter to the community that “The Newton Police Department is advising our residents that beginning last month, through this past Sunday, there were in total 5 residential housebreaks in the city. During the investigation into those housebreaks, important commonalities became apparent to our detectives…all break ins occurred during the daytime, on a weekend, with no one home, and with all victims being of Asian descent.”

Two of these homes were in Ward 5. Surveillance cameras captured partial images of the face of a single suspect at two homes, fairly widely dispersed.

It is not clear at this time whether this noteworthy similarity in the targets this time is due to racial animus or some other linking factor (such as someone who might know all the target families through a shared organization and determined when the homes might be unoccupied). The Newton Police encourages residents to let them know when a house will be unattended for more than 5 days, so patrols can swing by periodically to keep an eye on things.

The Newton Police Department also released its public advisory in Chinese. Please email me if you need me to forward you a copy for someone you know. I have requested that it be made available on the NPD website as well as soon as possible.

I want to emphasize once again that Newton remains an extremely safe community with very low incidences of crime, and it is likely that the recent break-ins will subside as economic conditions improve following the instability and high unemployment of the pandemic period. Crimes of opportunity by people we know are difficult to prevent and crimes of economic desperation are only deterred through improvements in the macroeconomy and social safety nets.

Waban Square Village Vision Kit Walk

The group Engine 6 is coordinating a village center walking tour in Waban on Wednesday August 25, from 5:30-7pm, to engage residents in the Tool Kit visioning process developed by Nevena Pilipovic-Wenger, as part of Village Centers Community Engagement. Meet up at 5:30 pm at the benches across from Starbucks, with comfortable shoes, water, or whatever you need. (A well-charged mobile phone or something to write with will be helpful to respond to Tool Kit questions or your inspirations along the way.)

You are also encouraged to spread the word to others now, so they will Save-the-Date to join the walk. If there are enough people present, the group will split up into smaller sections.

Engine 6 is also hosting vision kit walks in other village centers too, if you are interested in one of those instead of Waban Square. (If I get dates for other ones in Ward 5, I will try to put them in future newsletters.)

Docket review

I try to include information on newly filed City Council docket items that I find noteworthy for Ward 5 or which I co-sponsored. This week there happen to be five!

#267-21 Request for a discussion on rodent control in Newton - COUNCILORS ALBRIGHT, KELLEY, LEARY, BOWMAN, CROSSLEY, GROSSMAN, HUMPHREY, LAREDO, LIPOF, LUCAS, MALAKIE, OLIVER, RYAN, DANBERG AND WRIGHT requesting a discussion regarding rodent activity control related to construction activities and the creation [or update] of an ordinance that would require a pest control management plan for any application to obtain a building permit which includes demolition and/or excavation on public or private property.

#271-21 Request for a discussion on School Bus Transportation - COUNCILORS BOWMAN, CROSSLEY, DANBERG, DOWNS, GREENBERG, GROSSMAN, HUMPHREY, KALIS, KELLEY, KRINTZMAN, LAREDO, LUCAS, MARKIEWICZ, NOEL, NORTON, OLIVER, RYAN, LEARY AND WRIGHT requesting a discussion with the Newton Public Schools to review the school bus transportation program including expenses and fees charged to students and upcoming bus contract and as part of a comprehensive school transportation strategy.

#275-21 Request for Home Rule Petition to require electricity [i.e. not fossil fuels] in new or rehabilitated buildings - CHAIR OF THE PUBLIC FACILITIES COMMITTEE requesting a Home Rule Petition for special legislation to allow the City of Newton to enact an ordinance that requires new and substantially remodeled or rehabilitated buildings to use electricity instead of fossil fuels for heating and cooling systems and hot water appliances and for hot water by electricity or thermal solar.

#272-21 Request for quarterly updates on Task Force recommendation progress - COUNCILORS NORTON, ALBRIGHT, WRIGHT, LUCAS, KALIS, GREENBERG, BOWMAN, HUMPHREY, LAREDO, KRINTZMAN, DOWNS, AND LIPOF requesting quarterly updates from the Mayor and Police Chief to the Police Reform Task Force and Public Safety and Transportation Committee on the progress toward implementing Task Force recommendations.

#290-21 Request for public way improvements at Pettee Square - HER HONOR THE MAYOR requesting approval of the public way improvements at Pettee Square at the intersection of Chestnut Street and Oak Street as part of the Pettee Square streetscape enhancements in accordance with City Ordinance 26-51. Intersection improvements include pedestrian, bicycle and vehicular safety in keeping with the city’s complete streets initiative.

Newsletter Vol. 2, Week 26: Emergency aid money, Paving, Village Center Zoning, and more

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Have a good 4th of July Holiday Weekend! (And enjoy the return of regular daytime T service on the Green Line after today!)

This week’s newsletter covers emergency housing assistance, Chestnut St paving progress, zoning redesign reminders, and American Rescue Plan federal dollars discussions.

And don’t forget to check out this handy Village 14 blog post explaining the new on-demand shuttle service NewMo 2.0 (launching on July 6 next week), which will be open to all residents, visitors, and workers in Newton who want to get to (or from) one of eight designated service stops or areas, for $2.

In my door-knocking rounds started just before Memorial Day Weekend, I have now knocked more than half the doors I plan to knock before the end of July, despite the recent weather challenges, and I have already finished knocking in Precincts 2 and 4 to check in on residents. I will next be starting on Precinct 3 and then (last but not least) Upper Falls in Precinct 1. As always, let me know at any time if I can help you with something.

If you want me to schedule office hours near you some time in July, let me know. Last weekend I did joint office hours in Newton Highlands with Councilor Brenda Noel.

And here are some photos of the Martin Conservation Area “Poetry Path” opening ceremony last weekend in Newton Upper Falls.

A reminder about housing assistance

Don’t forget to spread the word: There are programs that can help community members in the Greater Boston region who are at risk of losing their home due to COVID-19 employment loss. These programs – the Residential Assistance for Families in Transition, Emergency Rental and Mortgage Assistance, and the Emergency Rental Assistance Program – “provide eligible households up to $10,000 or up to 15 months of rental arrears to help people with low incomes stay housed or move into their next home,” according to Metro Housing Boston. 

To be eligible, the household income must be no more than 80% of the area median income. Citizenship or immigration status has no impact on most of this funding eligibility. Funds can be used either for remaining in current housing, moving to new housing, or a variety of other housing options. 

Visit bit.ly/Rentrelief for more information on eligibility and applying.

Chestnut St Paving Progress Report

The base layer of the recycled paving has been laid from Route 9 to Beacon St and is now curing for a few weeks. But it’s a pretty smooth ride now even in the interim. Next comes the restoration of manhole covers and such, and then the top layer of paving. Crosswalks and other striping will be restored after that has cured, too. As always, thank you for your patience so we can do this right the first time.

Zoning Redesign Vision Kit Reminder

The Planning Department sends another reminder: Tell us what values should guide village center zoning updates through pictures and stories - either through the mobile Vision Kit or one you can print or use on your computer. This is a self-guided tour of a village center of your choice, with a set of prompts that asks you to reflect on what is currently there as well as what you would want to see in the future. See what Newtonians have already sent us, including observations and ideas from Newton North High School’s Sustainability Class!

Spanish, Russian, and Chinese versions are also available.

If you want me to come do a village center vision kit with you in Waban, Upper Falls, or Newton Highlands, let me know and I will try to find a time that works.

ARPA Funding Use Discussions

On Monday of this week, Mayor Fuller kicked off her small-group listening sessions with City Councilors on ideas for one-time expenditures with ARPA emergency federal dollars. Her office is empowered under the federal legislation to make the final decisions on that spending, subject to the federal restrictions and rules.

I submitted 4 ideas for one-time ARPA uses:

- a non-police first responder pilot program

- a pilot expansion of Newton’s municipal internet to serve certain equity populations such as isolated seniors and people with disabilities (especially in affordable housing) and NPS students

- a feasibility study for a municipal bank

- a one-time test grant (following the lead of other municipalities) provided to low-income housing tax credit developers who have to stack several up-front financing sources to be able to build 100% affordable projects

I am also curious to explore our Fire Chief's longstanding suggestion that we bring the outsourced ambulance services in-house to the Fire Department. Previously the transition cost was a huge hurdle to a program he believes would be financially self-sustaining once operational; so ARPA might be an opportunity. This was an item in my 2019 campaign platform, along with the municipal internet and municipal banking items mentioned above.

Now that the Councilors have had their opportunity to weigh in, it’s time for members of the public to submit their ideas. On Thursday July 8, from 6-8 pm, Mayor Fuller will hold a Community Listening Session on Zoom to hear your ideas for one-time ARPA expenditures. If you need info on how to sign up, just email me back, and I will connect you. (I don’t include Zoom info in my newsletters directly because of the “zoom-bombing” risks.)

Newsletter Vol. 2, Week 25: Office Hours This Saturday, Poetry Path Sunday

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One of the shortest weekly newsletter editions yet! But I have a few brief, time-sensitive  updates on my constituent office hours, a new public outdoor leisure spot in Upper Falls, the first Ward 5 cannabis store opening, Chestnut St road work, gun control, and more.

Office hours

Tomorrow morning (Saturday), I will be hosting joint office hours with Ward 6 Ward Councilor Brenda Noel in Newton Highlands at Rodney Barker Square (corner of Lincoln St & Hartford St) from 9 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. Come meet us and discuss your top city issues or neighborhood concerns! We hope to see you there!

If you aren’t a Newton Highlands resident, you can still drop by to chat with us, but I would also be happy to schedule a separate session for you. Additionally, I am continuing my door-knocking around Ward 5 to check in with people where they are, and I’ve already stopped by about 400 homes so far.

Martin Poetry Path

The “Martin Conservation Area Poetry Path” is opening in Upper Falls this Sunday, June 27 at 11 a.m. with a ceremony. Poems written by neighbors of all ages will be displayed along the path that goes through this small patch of Newton Conservation Land donated by Edna Martin. Second graders from Mason-Rice Elementary School have also painted rocks that will be placed along the trail. There will also be readings from a few featured poets!

A reminder to conserve water this year

This week, I received a rain barrel via the team at the Department of Public Works that I purchased as part of Green Newton’s discounted barrel initiative! The barrels are meant to help reduce water bills by conserving water. 

Using rain barrels is just one way to conserve water, but I encourage residents to work on water conservation this year through other methods such as using less intensive landscaping and implementing bioswales or rain gardens – natural plant and rock landscaping techniques that reduce uncontrolled water runoff. 

Though this barrel sale was a limited-time initiative, I hope that we can do this again soon for other residents, now that we'll have so many testimonials from the initial round of buyers.

Cannabis store opens next month on Elliot St

Along with several other City Councilors, this week I toured the retail cannabis store opening next month in Ward 5 on Elliot St near Route 9. It’s called “Redi” and it was approved by the City Council during the previous term, before I was elected. 

The management offered us this tour before it opens (and in fact before it’s stocked with anything) to be able to answer any lingering questions from members of the public and to provide reassurance that this will basically be a normal business in our community, albeit with strict regulations of course. It was an interesting tour, and I agree that it will blend in pretty quickly. In fact, my main takeaway was that this facility basically looks like an ordinary pharmacy like you might find attached to a doctor’s office, but with some Silicon Valley startup aesthetics.

If you are a Newton resident and still have questions for the management of this establishment, please let me know, and I will pass them along. In my experience, this particular group has been some of the most responsive to the public’s concerns and open to dialogue. But I am still expecting that this business will be relatively low-profile after the initial novelty wears off.

Chestnut St update

The road work on Chestnut St continues next week, but we are in the final stretch for the Route 9 to Beacon St project, as the “cold-in-place recycling” paving treatment (described in the newsletter linked there) moves forward – weather permitting as always. If the weather does cooperate, the current hope is to be wrapping up around July 19. Trash and recycling pickup should remain on a normal schedule during this final phase.

Gun control update

A public hearing was held on Monday by the Zoning & Planning Committee regarding a total ban of the firearms industry. Though some other Councilors support this ban, I have explained in my newsletters published on May 28 and May 14 why I oppose this proposal from a strategic standpoint. Very few people attended this public hearing compared to the one held on the strict regulatory approach, and very few of those who attended spoke in support of a total ban.

Newsletter Vol. 2, Week 24: FY22 Budget Passes Before Midnight; Happy Juneteenth Weekend

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Happy holiday weekend, Ward 5! This week’s newsletter covers the passage of the FY22 budget and Capital Improvement Plan last night, along with a description of the 13 non-binding budget resolutions considered by the City Council and explanations of how we voted and why.

Today is the first day in history where we observe Juneteenth (celebrated on June 19) as a federally-recognized holiday, though the City of Newton already had it on our calendar and it was designated a state holiday last year.

Juneteenth commemorates the end of slavery in the United States. It marks the date when Maj. Gen. Gordon Granger informed enslaved people in Galveston, Texas that they were free. He delivered the announcement on June 19, 1865, two-and-a-half years after the Emancipation Proclamation had been signed, after arriving with federal troops to enforce the Proclamation in former secessionist territory a few weeks after the Civil War ended.

Celebrate the day in Newton this weekend at Hyde Playground with music, performances, ice cream, and food!

As we approach the end of another school year in Newton, residents should know that Newton’s Grab & Go meal program for students and adults will continue with free meals through the summer.

According to the latest data from Mayor Fuller’s newsletter, the program, begun in the early days of the pandemic last March, has provided 458,180 meals through the end of May.

Newton residents can pick up 3 days’ worth of bagged breakfasts and lunches from two locations on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from 10 AM to noon. The pickup locations are Newton North High School, 457 Walnut Street at the Theater Entrance, and Newton South High School, 140 Brandeis Road at the Wheeler Entrance.

FY22 Budget Recap

On Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday, the Newton City Council convened in the Committee of the Whole to continue reviewing and debating the proposed FY22 budget and capital improvement plan, which we had been doing for several weeks in smaller committee meetings with the Department heads.

We came very close to having to go into next week on deliberation of the FY22 budget/CIP, but we went out of Committee of the Whole with a favorable recommendation on the full budget/CIP around 11:45 PM last night. The full Council approved them unanimously a few minutes before midnight. Mayor Fuller addressed us briefly over Zoom at that point. 

It should also be noted that additional off-budget funding will be allocated soon from emergency federal American Rescue Plan Act funds.

The rest of this week’s newsletter is my analysis of the non-binding budget resolutions considered this year in the City Council’s Committee of the Whole. 

I worked on drafting budgets resolutions #2, 3, 4, 5, and 10 and circulated them to other Councilors to take the lead. (Thank you Councilors Ryan, Bowman, Noel, and Leary.) These are marked with an asterisk. Budget resolution #4 was requested by a Ward 5 resident from the “Safe Routes to School” group (SRTS), and resolutions #2, 3, and 10 were requested by the police reform-and-reallocation group “Defund NPD” (DNPD)

Budget Resolution #1

Inspectional Services Department

Resolution regarding additional staff for ISD

Submitted by Councilors Krintzman, Laredo, Downs, Baker, Albright, Bowman, Greenberg, Noel, Leary, Malakie, Oliver, Grossman, Lipof, Wright, Danberg, Crossley

Requesting that additional resources be made available to the Inspectional Services Department for an additional full-time position for enforcement of zoning code, special permit requirements, and other violations under the purview of ISD, and other related matters.

The resolution passed on a voice vote. This is a fairly routine request each year that would not have added any new responsibilities, just another inspector. The Administration typically rejects this resolution, as they ended up doing this year.

*Budget Resolution #2 (DNPD)

Health & Human Services Department

Resolution regarding non-police first responder pilot program

Submitted by Councilors Ryan, Humphrey, Bowman, Wright, Danberg, Krintzman, Greenberg, Leary 

Requesting that Newton should pilot a non-police community first responder program to deal with calls for help that involve social and wellness issues. (This was amended slightly as noted below.)

The resolution passed on a vote of 22-0-2.

During the debate, we added some friendly amendments including consultation with the Chief of Police as part of developing this non-police pilot program and a request for an interim report on the status of such a program by no later than Jan 1 2022 (end of term).

The Administration reiterated instead its intention to run mental health emergency response teams through the Police Department, rather than piloting a non-police program.

I re-emphasized that the request in this budget resolution was for a non-police first responder program to be piloted, not for a request for police crisis teams or mental health court diversion programs or additional support services (although pre-emptive programs are always helpful).

*Budget Resolution #3 (DNPD)

Inspectional Services Department

Resolution regarding additional ISD staff for quality-of-life ordinances

Submitted by Councilors Ryan, Humphrey, Downs, Bowman, Greenberg, Noel, Wright, Danberg, Markiewicz, Leary

Inspectional Services should be provided with full-time field staff for new roles in providing enforcement of quality of life ordinances such as noise violations, construction work site regulation, and sidewalk snow clearance in commercial areas; this change would reduce the burden on Newton Police to perform such roles.

The resolution passed 18-1-5. Amended twice before being passed (because some Councilors did not agree with our initial suggestion that Inspectional Services could have some ombudsman type role in neighborly resolution of certain disputes), the resolution sought to recommend shifting certain police functions to Inspectional Services (and expanding the balance of their role on shared functions) to avoid an armed response to minor quality-of-life complaints. 

The Administration responded that they continue to believe that police have a role in these functions and that they do not want to expand the typical hours of ISD jurisdiction, a major source of deferring these issues onto police.

*Budget Resolution #4 (SRTS)

Planning Department

Resolution regarding additional staff to promote walkability/bikeability

Submitted by Councilors Bowman, Humphrey, Downs, Greenberg, Ryan, Danberg, Leary 

Requesting that Newton increase full-time staff specializing in transportation to facilitate walking and biking to schools, to promote walkability, bikeability, accessibility, safety, and climate action goals equitably.

The resolution passed 10-6-7.

This resolution is about having a dedicated staff member (perhaps part-time) coordinating walking/biking safely specifically to schools (as opposed to broader walking/biking safety around the City addressed in resolution #7).

The Administration declined to revise the FY22 budget to fund this coordinator staff position. 

*Budget Resolution #5

School Department

Resolution regarding bus fee reduction/elimination

Submitted by Councilors Noel, Bowman, Krintzman, Kalis, Humphrey, Laredo, Greenberg, Leary, Grossman, Ryan, Lipof, Markiewicz, Wright, Danberg, Crossley 

Resolved: That the sense of the Council is that Newton’s school bus pass fees should be eliminated or significantly reduced to promote equity, advance our climate action goals, and reduce congestion in Newton.

School bus fees were implemented when I was in middle school and I've been fighting against them ever since. The resolution passed 23-0-1.

The Administration rejected the request to eliminate or significantly reduce the school bus pass fees, citing the need for the nearly $500k in revenue and they left it at that. They also argued that any decision on bus pass fees lies with the School Committee.

There was some pretty vehement frustration expressed by Councilors on the final night of deliberation in reply to the Administration’s written response on the school bus pass fees. An eleventh hour non-binding resolution (#14) seeking school bus pass fee revenue replacement was offered. The vote was a deadlock at 12-12, and so we moved on.

I voted no because we already had sent a non-binding resolution on this issue, and so the second resolution on the matter would have pointlessly delayed us into next week with no change in outcome. (I am also skeptical of using one-time federal emergency dollars or free cash to replace ongoing operating expenses.)

Until such time as the school bus program is moved out of the Schools budget and into some other department, it is under the jurisdiction of the School Committee, not the City Council, and we can only make our position known, not take action to change the policy.

I know that can be a little bit “inside baseball” in terms of the details of the budget process under the City Charter, but I don’t think we should be misleading the public on what our actual authority is. We made our position clear in Budget Resolution 5, and I look forward to continuing to work with the Mayor and the School Committee to see if we can gradually reduce and ultimately eliminate school bus pass fees. But we did not have the authority to change it ourselves.

Budget Resolution #6

Planning Department

Resolution regarding increase in funds for conservation projects and maintenance

Submitted by Councilors Albright, Laredo, Greenberg, Downs, Baker, Leary, Bowman, Kelley, Humphrey, Grossman, Lipof, Wright, Danberg, Krintzman, Crossley

Change the line for Capital projects under Conservation (Account No. 0111471-5841000 – Grounds Improvement) to allow funds to be used for capital and/or maintenance projects. Currently the fund is only $25,000 which is insufficient.  The City Council resolves to add $30,000 to these funds to total $55,000 - which would include physical projects as well as maintenance. Among the projects this increase would support are increasing accessibility, creating new trails, creating trail markings in existing trails, ridding grounds of invasive plant material and adding native and pollinator species. This should be an annual appropriation which would reflect our residents' priority on maintaining and enhancing our open space.

The resolution passed unanimously.

The Administration offered up an even better counter-offer, increasing the FY2022 Conservation Grounds Improvement funding from $25,000 to a total of $50,000! We confirmed this revision to the budget. This was the only revision made in response to a resolution this year.

Budget Resolution #7

Planning Department

Resolution regarding a Bike, Pedestrian and Accessibility Plan

Submitted by Councilors Bowman, Downs, Noel, Leary, Albright, Humphrey, Grossman, Ryan, Lipof, Wright, Danberg, Krintzman, Greenberg, Crossley

Fund the development of a comprehensive bike, pedestrian, and accessibility plan in support of the Climate Action Plan’s goal to shift vehicle trips to biking and walking trips which also supports Safe Routes to School, economic development, accessibility, and the Open Space Plan. 

The resolution passed on a voice vote with only one abstention.

The Administration responded: "We are currently evaluating strategies on how best to move forward in developing the Plan and look forward to discussing the approach and the funding with the City Council this fall."

Budget Resolution #8

Parks & Recreation and Culture

Resolution regarding improvement of the city’s athletic fields

Proposed by Councilors Oliver, Laredo, Norton, Lipof, Wright, Grossman, Markiewicz, Greenberg

Requesting increased funding for large-scale projects to improve Newton’s multi-purpose athletic fields. Further requesting that the city provide a plan to the Council no later than 8/31/2021 inclusive of, but not limited to, permit fee increases, timelines and budgets for the replacement of end-of-life properties as well as rapid upgrades to the properties listed on the CIP for both the short- and long-term. 

The resolution passed 13-0-10.

The resolution had been completely re-written shortly before the meeting; so, I abstained since I did not have sufficient time to compare the new text to work already in progress by Parks, Rec, & Culture for their upcoming master plan for site renovations – and the sponsor confirmed that this resolution was only for the full-sized “multi-purpose” rectangular fields, which leaves out other sports. I have consistently supported additional funding for these fields during this term, but I support a comprehensive and proportional approach. I’m looking forward to the PRC Department Master Plan next month.

Budget Resolution #9

Parks & Recreation and Culture

Resolution to move up Gath Pool renovation

Proposed by Councilors Lucas, Oliver, Gentile, Greenberg, Wright 

Asking that the Administration move up the complete renovation of the Gath Pool to FY22.  

The resolution failed to pass on a 10-12-2 vote. I voted no. I'm a huge fan of the Gath Pool and the work is urgent, but we just approved funding for a feasibility study. Planning work will need to happen before a renovation or reconstruction, and I simply don't think construction could realistically start by the end of FY22.

*Budget Resolution #10 (DNPD)

Public Works

Resolution to create civilian flagger program under Public Works

Proposed by Councilors Leary, Humphrey, Greenberg, Wright, Downs, Bowman 

Resolved that the City of Newton would be better served with the flexibility to engage a civilian construction detail flagger program under the Department of Public Works and that the necessary negotiations should be made to enable this change. Further resolved: that the crossing guard program could be strengthened by integrating it into a civilian detail flagger program.   

The resolution passed 23-0-1. This was a non-binding resolution giving the sense of the Council being in favor of a civilian (i.e. non-police) work-detail flagger program (and integration of crossing guards to try to round out their job portfolio and thus attract more candidates). 

This change would require collective bargaining with the police union, which we understand.

The Administration replied that, in addition to the bargaining hurdle, “It is not the expectation of the Administration that this work will be transferred to the Department of Public Works; if the City moves forward with supplemental non-sworn personnel, we expect to do so through the supervision of the Newton Police Department.”

Budget Resolution #11

Public Works

Resolution to fund Sustainable Materials Management position

Proposed by Councilors Leary, Greenberg, Downs, Bowman, Crossley

During the Covid crisis a part time position was cut in the Sustainable Materials Management (SMM) budget, and it has not been restored in the current budget. The City has seen a 17% increase in the recently negotiated hauling contract. The increase in costs is certain to continue with both hauling and disposal contracts. Funding this position will better enable the Director of SMM and the Waste Diversion Coordinator to focus on policies and programs to increase waste diversion and reduce costs to the City. In addition, the SMM program has an important role in helping to expand and develop Statewide EPR programs, which can help shift costs from municipalities resulting in significant savings. 

The resolution passed 21-0-3. It aimed to restore a part-time position cut during the pandemic austerity budget. We hope it will help reduce fines/fees in our hauling & disposal contracts.

The Administration declined to restore this position.

Budget Resolution #12

Parks, Recreation and Culture

Resolution for addition investment in tree maintenance

Proposed by Councilor Norton, Malakie, Greenberg, Wright 

Requesting additional $250,000 to Parks, Recreation and Culture for investment in tree planting and maintenance to avoid loss of tree canopy while City Shade Tree Master Plan is drafted. 

The resolution passed 15-0-9. I abstained. The view of the Administration is that we aren't done preparing an upcoming master plan to determine new staffing levels and needs for tree canopy maintenance – and without adding more staff, they can't use extra funding, beyond what they had already added, even on an interim basis.

Budget Resolution #13

Planning Department

Resolution regarding discrimination in rental housing

Proposed by Councilors Malakie, Norton, Greenberg, Wright 

Requesting that Newton establish a "matched pair" testing program to determine the extent of, and discourage, discrimination in rental housing in Newton, as was found in the 2020 study "Qualified Renters Need Not Apply: Race and Voucher Discrimination in the Metro Boston Rental Housing Market" that included but did not break out data for Newton.

The resolution passed 15-4-5. I voted no, although I obviously want Newton to combat rental discrimination. The resolution was at best redundant to existing department work and at worst a trojan horse against its purported objectives that I could not support. (The lead sponsor has previously stated in Council that she does not agree with the federal Fair Housing Discrimination definitions.)

The response from the Administration confirms this work was already getting under way before this resolution was offered: “The Administration is committed to understanding the extent of and discouraging discrimination in rental housing in Newton. The City’s recently completed FY2021-2025 WestMetro HOME Consortium Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing Choice includes a specific recommendation to identify and address discriminatory actions in the private real estate market by hiring a qualified consultant ‘to conduct fair housing testing in each Consortium community to allow for statistically significant data.’ The Consortium is in the process of developing a Request for Proposals to hire a consultant to implement a Consortium-wide fair housing testing strategy over a two-year period and has allocated $100,000 of WestMetro HOME Consortium dollars to pay for this program.”

Newsletter Vol. 2, Week 23: Chestnut St - The Final Countdown! (And other Ward 5 updates)

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Today’s newsletter covers a big update on the Chestnut St project for next week, MBTA work reminders, what I’ve been working on since last Friday, and some City Council updates.

This week I went to Newton City Hall and turned in 75 signatures, more than the required 50, to qualify for the November 2021 ballot as a candidate for re-election. I am excited for the opportunity to continue serving the people of Ward 5 as your Councilor and am looking forward to getting to talk to more of you again as I continue to knock doors throughout the summer!

One quick note via Waban Area Council this week: The Waban Improvement Society will not be hosting a Waban Village Day in 2021. The scheduling logistics as events resume normality on a compressed schedule did not make it feasible.

On Saturday, I was honored to be part of Troop 209's Eagle Court of Honor ceremony for 7 new Eagles Scouts (4 from Ward 5), including two Scouts who are among the first young women in the country to earn the rank of Eagle since the Boy Scouts integrated. This gender integration, like the earlier LGBTQ integration, is something I’ve been seeking since I was in Scouts earning the Eagle rank myself. These young women can be incredibly proud to be trailblazers for the organization, and as Eagle Scouts they are now part of our lifelong network of connections and helping hands. They're going to do great things.

Major MBTA & Chestnut St project updates for the coming week

As a reminder, the Green Line Transformation Project Team will start working on the D Line today around the clock--weekdays, weeknights, and weekends--for a total of 18 days to accelerate the construction and ultimately reduce the duration of impacts to riders and neighbors. 

The work will take place for 24 hours a day as follows:

• From the end of regular train service on Friday, June 11 (tonight) to the beginning of regular train service on Monday, June 21

• From the end of regular train service on Wednesday, June 23 to the beginning of regular train service in Saturday, July 3

The city is also scheduling a Cold-in-Place Recycling treatment on Chestnut St, expected to begin on June 17, 2021 and continue for approximately four weeks (but not every day during this time frame). Cold-in-Place Recycling – considered a somewhat less wasteful reclamation approach than traditional paving – means that the existing pavement will be ground up in place for reuse before new material will be installed. Throughout the process, parking restrictions will be in effect when the contractor is working, but trash and recycling will be pick-up as usual. Work and schedules are subject to change when weather and other conditions arise.

Door-knocking update

This week, I continued knocking doors in Ward 5 to hear from residents on how they are doing during the pandemic and what I can help them with in their neighborhoods. I got to about 115 doors and spoke to about 75 people this week.

Knocking doors in Precinct 2, mostly around Woodward St and Elliot St this time, I spoke to residents of all ages on issues like senior living, bike lanes, and walkability in Newton. As expected, road repair remains a top concern for people this year.

While Councilors always encourage you to report specific dangerous potholes to the Department of Public Works via the city’s online 311 system for a quick response, we all know that some stretches of road can get to be more hole than road, and sometimes I can help navigate the system when that happens.

On Brewster Road, as I noticed firsthand and many residents pointed out to me independently of each other this week, the road condition had deteriorated faster than the Department of Public Works had expected since last year, and I could see major potholes every few feet during my canvassing. 

So, I reached out to the Department via email and their crew came out this week to mark and temporarily patch the street until it can be properly repaved, hopefully next year. 

Each year, there is a citywide road maintenance plan updated with road levels of use and levels of damage, and the DPW is working as fast as possible to keep up with these needs, including using the new federal ARPA money to help.

One other advantage that I have in doing all my walking around side streets on foot is that I can actually let residents know relative to other roads how their own road is doing in terms of wear-and-tear. Sometimes I’ve just been to a road that is actually in much worse shape than yours!

Countryside Elementary School project update

The Programs & Services Committee joined the Public Facilities Committee on Wednesday to authorize the City of Newton to move forward with the “feasibility phase” for Countryside Elementary School.

The City plans to spend no more than $1,250,000 on a full-scale feasibility study (and likely design) for rebuilding the school, about 40 percent of which should be reimbursed by the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA). The non-reimbursed portion is expected to be funded with American Rescue Plan Act federal funds via the "lost revenue makeup" provision. More information on the feasibility phase can be found in a letter from the Mayor on page 20 in the 6/9/21 Public Facilities Agenda.

The current feasibility phase will explore issues such as the programming needs for a new facility, geo-environmental and geotechnical aspects, archaeological/historical conditions, a site survey, traffic planning, and schematic design. There are also sensitive wetlands to consider in the planning of the facility. 

Transitioning our energy

As readers of this newsletter might know, my top issue remains environmentalism and climate action. Like many of our neighboring communities, our municipal government is interested in accelerating the urgently-needed transition to a cleaner energy infrastructure to our private commercial and residential buildings, especially newly built or renovated ones.

The Public Facilities Committee this week continued its consideration of (and preparation of a public hearing on June 23 for) item #294-20, “Discussion to require or encourage the use of efficient electric technology: requesting a discussion with the Sustainability Team to consider creating an ordinance [and home rule petition to the state legislature] that may require and/or encourage the use of efficient electric technology for heating, cooling, hot water, cooking and other appliances in new and substantially renovated buildings.”

The Committee intends to “cast a wide net” to reach out to as many different interested constituencies as possible ahead of the public hearing process. They will not be voting on the draft ordinance on the same night as the public hearing, to ensure that they can incorporate refinements and revisions suggested from the public before a committee vote or a full City Council vote. If the Council approved a draft ordinance and home rule petition, these would then be referred to the state government for approval before it could take effect.

We hope to hear from you on June 23rd.

Docket review

Historic preservation in our community is a popular topic with many of my constituents, and unfortunately sometimes even our landmarked buildings have been improperly renovated. This week, I signed on as a co-sponsor of a Wards 5- and 8-led docket item for an ordinance requiring a report on building conditions prior to renovations on landmarked buildings. (While the issue is a problem everywhere in the city, there have been some high-profile incidents in those two wards recently. Our colleagues in Ward 6, working on some new potential landmarked homes, joined us.)

#220-21 Requesting an ordinance to require a report on building conditions prior to renovations on landmarked building(s) COUNCILORS CROSSLEY, DOWNS, HUMPHREY, LIPOF, KALIS, KELLEY, BOWMAN, DANBERG, NOEL AND RYAN requesting an ordinance requiring, that prior to ISD issuing a permit for renovations to a landmarked building or buildings within historic districts, that a petitioner must have adequately documented existing conditions of the building including its exterior architectural features, by a licensed architect or building professional to the satisfaction of the governing historic commission or district commission. The written order of conditions from the governing commission approving renovations to such a building or structure will be based upon and evaluated against adherence to these documents.

Newsletter Vol. 2, Week 22: Planning for our parks; Major gun control vote passes

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Hello Ward 5! Stay cool this weekend. This week’s newsletter is brief, with an alert about Parks, Recreation, & Culture project-planning and an update on the Council’s official vote earlier this week on strict regulation of the firearms industry in Newton.

Looking for something to check out for free around your neighborhood this weekend? Newton Community Pride has been setting up art installations around the city in their new “Newton Out Doors” art initiative. The project includes 25 upcycled wooden doors that have been decorated by local and regional artists placed around the village centers, and is meant to encourage enjoyment of art and promote city walkability. Come see the installations in Ward 5 at the Waban Community Library or at the Upper Falls Greenway, among other great locations!

Door-knocking update

This week, I knocked on my first 100 doors this year in Ward 5 to hear people’s top local issues or find out if there’s anything in the neighborhood I can help out with. As I continue door knocking throughout the summer, I hope to hear from all of you about your top issues. As always, you can email me at any time if you haven’t had a chance yet to see me in person.

And, If you are interested in supporting my re-election campaign, you can sign up here.

Parks, Recreation, & Culture long-term planning

Currently, the Parks, Recreation, & Culture Department is putting together a 5-10 year master plan for fields and playgrounds around Newton in need of renovation. This plan will include some initial requests starting in July of this year for Community Preservation Act funding for the first couple years of projects.

If you have specific parks, fields, playgrounds, or other public recreational facilities that you want to advocate for, please don’t hesitate to let me know by email. I will likely be prioritizing sites located either in Ward 5 or in other wards but used heavily by Ward 5 residents/students.

Specifically, I am presently looking closely at the Braceland playground, athletic fields, and dog park complex in Newton Upper Falls, which is very long overdue for an overhaul. Today I submitted a recommendation to the Parks & Rec Commission and our Parks Commissioner to make this a high priority after consulting with folks in Newton Upper Falls and other frequent users of the site.

Final outcome on gun zoning regulations

The City Council finally passed a regulatory proposal regarding zoning and special permit regulations on the firearms industry by a vote of 23-1 during a special meeting on Wednesday night. (This will prevent the opening of the store nearing completion on Washington St in Newtonville.)

During the meeting, three minor amendments were added to clarify the special permit process and access for minors, while two amendments proposing to add excessive buffering restrictions to the proposed zoning map were rejected. A third amendment was voted down because it could have overstepped the constitutional and state rights of duly licensed and accompanied minors. (If it turns out later that this interpretation was incorrect, it can be fixed easily.)

Some proposed amendments were also withdrawn, such as an amendment to ban firing ranges in the city.

The main item for the night created a zoning map of a few small potential locations for firearms uses in business districts with appropriate buffering around sensitive uses and created a Special Permit approval process with standard criteria (including a public health rule) and industry-specific requirements. Approval of a proposed firearms business would require a two-thirds majority by the City Council to find that all of these criteria were met.

Mayor Fuller signed the new regulations from the Council on Thursday.

Some Councilors still want to take up consideration of a total ban. I’ve previously explained why I do not think this is strategically a good idea in newsletters published last week and on May 14. But I am quite confident that we are extremely unlikely to have a gun store open in Newton given the new regulatory framework passed this week.

Newsletter Vol. 2, Week 21: Updates on Guns, Zoning, Christina St bridge, MBTA

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Before everyone heads off for Memorial Day Weekend, I have a few short updates from the City Council, the Mayor, and from Ward 5 on the following topics: upcoming events, vaccination opportunities, gun store regulations, zoning redesign focus groups, the Christina St bridge study, and MBTA D Line track work.

Door-knocking report: Now that I’m fully vaccinated, I stopped by about 40 homes today in the Newton Highlands part of Ward 5 south of Route 9 – to check in again with people I spoke to in 2019 to see how they are doing through all of this pandemic situation and to ask if I can help out with anything. I’ve already sent off several emails to city departments requesting assistance with various resident inquiries. If you have questions for your area, don’t hesitate to let me know.

As a reminder, the City’s annual Pride Flag-raising event next is Tuesday: Per the Mayor’s newsletter, “Celebrate LGBTQ+ Pride Month at our Pride Flag Raising Ceremony on Tuesday, June 1 at 6:00 p.m. at City Hall. We will be honoring LGBTQ+ healthcare workers from Newton-Wellesley Hospital and the cofounders of Sunbow Zine...” Anyone is welcome to attend.

Vaccination update from the Mayor’s newsletter:

Still not vaccinated? Newton Health and Human Services is holding a free walk-in COVID-19 vaccine clinic with the one-dose Johnson and Johnson vaccine.

When: Wednesday, June 2

Time: 10:00 a.m. - Noon

Where: Newton City Hall (1000 Commonwealth Ave), check in at Room 107A

No appointment necessary, anyone 18 and older is welcome 

If you are having difficulties getting to a vaccine appointment, please call the Newton Health and Human Services Department for assistance.

Gun store update

The City Council has scheduled a special meeting for the evening of Wednesday June 2 to attempt again to pass a strict zoning regulation and special permit process for firearms businesses in Newton, after one Councilor blocked it procedurally at the last meeting, without letting us work on final amendments. The existing planned store is on the verge of opening if the zone change is not passed before it does. They have turned in their building permit application at this point and it is now in the processing queue.

The reason for the delay at the last meeting was to try to force consideration of a total, blanket ban on the firearms industry. Our Law Department has repeatedly advised us that – unlike a total ban – it would be more legally defensible in the courts to simply pass a zoning code that allows such a gun store in theory but in buffered locations that are either inconvenient to the industry or unlikely to find favorable free market reactions from commercial landlords, as well as to adopt a special permit process that includes the same community public health requirements as other special permit applicants in other industries must meet. If the applicant cannot muster the support of two-thirds of the City Council, then it will be rejected, but not for any special reason specific to the industry. All of these things would mean that a gun store is extremely unlikely in the marketplace and politically, but definitely still permissible in theory, which should be constitutionally compliant. It would still be one of the strictest regulatory environments in the nation.

Some Councilors and some residents have said we should “take a stand” against the gun lobby and try to fight for a total ban, even if it risks a legal challenge bankrolled by that same lobby, with an uncertain fate before the US courts. They tell us that there are no precedents so far suggesting that a total ban is unconstitutional, and so we should have no fear of negative rulings under the law.

In my generation, including among many young progressive lawyers, there is a popular slogan about the courts, which is roughly as follows: "the law is fake because everything is political." The idea that there is some kind of abstract, undeniable Truth in the law or even in past precedents is naïveté of the highest order. The only thing that matters in this discussion is our evaluation as rational adults who have paid attention to the past three decades of trends in the US courts and especially the US Supreme Court is what is likely to happen, not as a matter of law, but as a matter of possible choices by the nine political actors of the US Supreme Court, who now skew heavily in one direction on gun issues. It is a wholly irrelevant fiction to point to a lack of precedents. 

This court could strike down all abortion rights or environmental protections this term if they want to. They could strike down all gun control if they want to. There is no reason to expect anything better. And there is no higher truth of law preventing them from doing so. They can do anything they want, without limit. For that reason, we need to make a rational hedge here and take defensive actions that not only protect Newton's rights to regulate firearms, but also protect the entire rest of the nation from a negative ruling that we brought on.

The strict regulation approach with zoning rules and a fair special permit process with a 2/3rds supermajority affirmative approval requirement is more than sufficient to achieve our community's objectives on gun stores. 

So, let us be honest about what the proposed total ban is really about for certain City Councilors promoting it. Sadly, it is about good old fashioned “playing politics,” trying to make some of us on the City Council look weaker on this issue because we support strict regulations with very high barriers, instead of supporting a total ban, even when the outcome is likely to be the same (no gun store). They've seized on a gun control wedge to try to persuade voters that we aren't all in agreement on gun control in Newton because they believe it will help them unseat some of us in the November elections and restore their control of the City Council.

In doing so, they don't care what the consequences of this short-term thinking might be, up to and including a US Supreme Court ruling striking down local firearms industry regulation of any kind nationwide. All 24 of us Councilors and the Mayor's Administration are working to protect Newton from the firearms industry. It’s simply untrue to suggest that some subset of us are not as serious or committed to it, just because we believe a total ban is a dangerous strategy for achieving our goals.

Zoning Redesign: Understanding Focus Groups

Some residents (and Councilors) have recently been asking for clarification on the “equitable focus groups” for community feedback on possible changes to zoning in Newton’s Village Centers, and I thought I should take a moment to help explain that for anyone who is confused.

These focus groups are in addition to (not instead of) more general feedback opportunities and they are targeted more narrowly at the following groups of people (who can sign up here):

• Black, Indigenous, and People of Color

• younger person (15-35)

• renters

• people with disabilities

• LGBTQ+

• Members of the creative community

• older adults (65+)

There are two basic reasons for conducting these narrower focus group sessions. First, they are intended to round out the demographics of those attending the general meetings to ensure that we have something closer to a representative sampling of Newtonians. Older white, straight homeowners are well-represented in general community meetings already, but some other categories are not as well-represented compared to the real demographics of the city.

Second, some of these constituencies have distinctive interests in the zoning of village centers. One obvious example would be how the built environment affects people with varying types or categories of disabilities.

One example you might not be aware of – depending on your own background or where else you have lived – would be how commercial zoning and land use policy has affected the LGBTQ community in recent years in the Boston area. Many gay bars in previously lower-rent commercial districts have been closed over the past decade due to unsustainable market pressures and lack of programs to help protect them, even after decades of operation. Many predominantly gay residential neighborhoods in numerous American cities have also disappeared over recent decades, due to market pressures and lack of protections.

Another similar example would be the huge pressure in rent costs on artistic districts, places that had art studios for many years in large concentrations. You’ll notice “members of the creative community” was a focus group category, too.

So, it’s important to understand that the Planning Department is organizing these specialized focus groups because there are some aspects of our community zoning and land use policies that affect certain sub-communities within our community differently from how they affect everyone else, and we want to hear from them on those specific points, which might be outside the time constraints of a general meeting.

Christina St bridge study update

On May 26, I attended the virtual Christina St Pedestrian/Multi-Use Bridge Feasibility Study Community Engagement Meeting, hosted by the Planning Department. If you were unable to attend (or wish to submit community feedback), you can check out the presentation and find the contact information for this project on this city webpage.

This bridge, currently inaccessible from the Newton side of the Charles River, has been an important pedestrian access route to nearby DCR lands and various businesses for many nearby residents, especially those maintaining religious practices in the vicinity.

The feasibility study scope will be to assess 3 scenarios (and develop concept plans for each):

1) Rehab the bridge

2) Build a new bridge on the same site

3) Build a different bridge nearby instead

Here’s what has happened so far: Record plans were collected, a field survey was conducted, and the bridge has been inspected including below the water. An online survey to the public got hundreds of responses.

Some piles on the upstream side of the bridge are completely broken and detached above the waterline from the sections driven into the riverbed. Some of the other piles are also deteriorating. The current bridge (which is closed off on the Christina St end) is not believed to be in imminent danger of collapse, despite the broken piles. There are various things they could do to repair the piles as part of a bridge rehab, without even needing to drive new piles.

By contrast with the broken piles, the upper superstructure of the bridge is in relatively fair condition and could be rehabilitated for preservation.

The scenarios for a bridge rehab (10 ft or 14 ft wide) would include demolishing the existing "safety walk" and safety railing to instead put in a new, wider deck on the superstructure. The new deck could be timber or paved.

The scenarios for a new bridge (either on site or nearby) would cross the entire river in a single span with no piers/piles. There is a similar example on the Watertown riverwalk. It would probably have a 14 ft wide deck, concrete or timber.

A new bridge "nearby" would probably be right next to the existing bridge, on the downstream (west) side, to keep options open to connect to further future bike paths on properties owned by Northland on the Christina St side of Needham St.

There was a question from the audience about other, more stationary recreational bridge uses like fishing and nature-watching or photography. The consultants advised that a wider deck would fit these easily next to cyclists or pedestrians, while a narrower deck might not.

The Price Center will have final sign-off on any plan due to the need for an access easement across the end of their parking lot. So, there might be some unusual safety measures as part of this project because their clients have special safety needs.

MBTA track work acceleration in June

The following info comes from the MBTA’s Green Line Transformation project team:

Starting after the end of regular service on Friday, June 11, crews will work around the clock—weekdays, weeknights and weekends— for a total of 18 days to accelerate the construction and ultimately reduce the duration of impacts to our riders and neighbors. The work will take place for 24 hours a day as follows:

• From the end of regular train service on Friday, June 11 to the beginning of regular train service on Monday, June 21

• From the end of regular train service on Wednesday, June 23 to the beginning of regular train service on Saturday, July 3

During the accelerated work, the noisiest track replacement is anticipated to be concentrated in the Reservoir area and the Riverside area. However, crews will be working all along the project corridor (between Riverside and Beaconsfield) on catenary pole installations, welding of previously installed new rail, and signal replacement, some of which can generate noise. In addition, crews will be moving equipment on and off the tracks in various locations. Please check the Work Locations section on the project website for the latest anticipated work locations.

Work to take place includes:

• Replacement of 9 units of special trackwork (switches and turnouts) where trains switch tracks

• Replacement of track, including timber ties and rail

• Installation of state-of-the-art signal equipment

The MBTA Maintenance Department’s contractor will also take this opportunity to complete vegetation maintenance work on the D Branch.

Newsletter Vol. 2, Week 20: Budget & capital review for schools, public works, police; Tax reforms?

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Happy Friday, Ward 5! I hope you are all enjoying this weather. I am already counting down the hours until I can start my post-vaccine door-knocking across Ward 5 next week. In 2019, I had more than 2,500 conversations on doorsteps, after my four trips around Ward 5 on foot, for an equivalent of more than 8,100 doors knocked. And I can’t wait to get back out there again as I seek re-election.

This week’s newsletter includes further updates on city budgeting and spending, looking at the Mayor’s proposed FY22 budget and allocation of ARPA funding. At the end of the newsletter I have also included the five new or recent docket items I sponsored or co-filed to the Newton City Council docket, including tax and election reform proposals.

One other quick update: The City Council met on Monday to debate proposed regulations on the firearms store. Unfortunately, no consensus was reached on how to proceed, and debate on the pending proposal for strict zoning and a special permit approval process was blocked from further discussion until the next full City Council meeting in June.

Programs & Services 5/19 update

The Programs & Services Committee met on Wednesday to discuss setting a date for potential preliminary fall municipal elections, as well as to discuss the use and application of federal ARPA funds in Newton.

The Committee set the date of any potential municipal fall preliminary election to Tuesday, September 14, which does not change the July 27 deadline for candidates to gather signatures to be on the ballot.

Our discussion this week about allocation by the Mayor of emergency federal ARPA funding in the city was geared toward hearing from the Planning Department on the recently announced plans for "a targeted community needs assessment focused on our most financially vulnerable residents to help us design and implement effective support programs."

I asked how comprehensive the needs assessment for support programs will be and was really encouraged to hear from our Director of Planning that the needs assessment will not be limited to people affected by the pandemic or to considerations of limited emergency funding. The assessment will be designed to look comprehensively at the socio-economic challenges faced by the most vulnerable Newton residents, including pre-pandemic.

(In the meantime of course we will be using some of the money to extend emergency aid to those households and individuals already receiving assistance since the start of the pandemic.)

FY22 Budget Review

This week, the City Council began its department-by-department review of the proposed FY22 budget and capital improvements plan from Mayor Fuller. We have authority to vote yes, no, or reduce line items, but not the authority to add money to anything proposed.

Below are some of the most important points regarding the proposed budget allocations throughout different city sectors. Click the text of each heading for access to the Mayor’s full proposals.

Capital Improvements

The latest capital improvement plan proposes increased investments throughout the city to schools, transportation, community spaces and more. It proposes increased investments in the Transportation Network Improvement Program (i.e. roads maintenance) and restarting the Library Children’s Room Expansion project and Newton Early Childhood Program, which were put on hold in 2020. 

The capital improvement plan also includes restarting the program to design and develop a new school building for the Lincoln-Eliot Elementary School, which was also put on hold last year. The Massachusetts School Building Authority has accepted the Countryside Elementary School into their Eligibility Phase for the Core Program, the first stage of their school funding program. The Franklin Elementary School project will likely not be funded by the MSBA, but it will be jump-started with ARPA funds.

Other projects include updating athletic fields, mechanical upgrades to the police headquarters, citywide vehicle improvements, and changes to the water infrastructure system and pipelines.

Education

While the Education Department budget is reviewed and voted on by the School Committee (the City Council only approves the final figure), we on the City Council do have oversight on school-related funding from other departments (for example, school nurses are under the Health Department); so, we take the opportunity each year to talk to the Superintendent, other school officials, and the School Committee including the Mayor about the proposed budget for the Newton Public Schools.

The superintendent identified the systemic challenge for this coming fiscal year as follows:

“To build upon the innovative work and any lessons we have learned over the past year, while supporting the academic and social and emotional needs of our students, and returning to the school structures and routines we so cherish.”

For specifics on that, I would refer you to the School Committee’s deliberations or you can watch our own meeting.

I asked what we can be doing to support the Newton Public Schools and the School Committee from the City Council side. It was emphasized to us as always that helping to reach a unified vision and voice on school buildings projects is critical, particularly given the state role in approving some of the funding for these projects. I agree and look forward to that, especially in Ward 5 with projects like the new Countryside Elementary School.

Department of Public Works

There are many exciting things we could talk about across the city in the DPW budget and report, but as the Ward Councilor for Ward 5, I just want to make note of some specific recent progress in our ward:

• construction of Agawam Rd drainage and paving project to try to end the semi-permanent “lake” (giant puddle) after every rainstorm

• Traffic Calming designs completed for Beethoven Ave, Allen Ave (construction scheduled for Summer 2021)

• Cleaned and lined 4,500 linear ft of Chestnut St water main last year, with more to come north of Beacon St (and we’re nearing the end of the new paving and new sidewalks part of the project south of Beacon St)

• Needham St corridor improvements project under way in conjunction with MassDOT

Police

I talked in broad terms in my last email newsletter about the Newton Police Department budget, but we met with the Mayor and her team and our outgoing Interim Chief this week to go over it in more detail.

Last week, I made this observation: “My hope is that this year's Newton Police Department budget … signals a transitional period with a new incoming chief and the recent Reform Task Force recommendations and that we might see some deeper inter-departmental reorganizations ahead. I still fundamentally believe that we need to partition out the functions of the department.”

Some interesting points from the budget document itself suggest that this impression of a transitional document might be a fair assessment of the administration’s and new chief’s objectives this year:

“we will continue to explore opportunities to shift responsibilities from the Police Department to other City Departments when we can provide services more effectively and/or efficiently. Thus, some of our work related to policing will mean doing more and doing better with work in other Departments.”

The budget document poses some examples of questions that our community is asking with regard to the departmental responsibilities:

‐ Should Newton Police officers respond when a neighbor is concerned about a loud leaf blower in the summer and needs a quick response, or to a plow driver pushing snow from the condo complex next door into their driveway during the winter?

‐ Who should quickly respond when a dog is running in a park where it should be leashed?

‐ Can instances like those above potentially become opportunities for officers to engage community members?

‐ What actions can we take to proactively decrease the number of times these types of potentially contentious issues arise? Can we improve our ordinances and practices to diminish the calls in the first place?

‐ How do we make preferred changes with the help of the multiple unions that are involved?

(The budget report emphasizes that many of these answers likely require bargaining with the police unions). The document continues:

In the meantime, we are taking several concrete steps.

‐ We are working closely with City Councilors to make our leaf blower ordinance more enforceable. There are a number of thoughtful proposals, ranging from holding companies, not just operators, responsible for violations; notifying homeowners when there is a violation on their property; fining property owners for repeated violations on their property; and requiring commercial landscapers to register with the city and certify awareness of the leaf blower ordinance. (Please know that leaf blower violations accounted for 1.5% of police calls last year in Newton.)

‐ We may want to explore adding another seasonal officer in the Newton Police Department to provide animal control services.

‐ We are adding funding for a pilot of a part‐time seasonal employee in Inspectional Services for April‐May and September‐October to increase code enforcement (including, hopefully, the proposed new leaf blower registration requirement). All ISD inspectors will also in June‐August, when [gas] leaf blowers are disallowed, enforce the leaf blower ban during their routine inspection travels.

‐ We are working with the police unions on adding more types of personnel to do flagging/detail work.

I would encourage us to think even bigger than those questions in the future. 

Health and social work functions belong in the health department, school functions belong to the schools, traffic (design, enforcement, flagging, crossing guard, parking) functions probably belong in Public Works, landscaper relationships belong in Inspectional Services, parks safety belongs to Parks & Rec, even general neighborhood presence of routine patrols should probably be rethought and moved. 

If it's not about solving a crime, it doesn't belong in the Police Department. And even then we have to admit that property crimes are driven by the economy and interpersonal crimes are driven by social factors, and neither of those are within the control of a local police department to affect. 

This should be a small, unarmed criminal justice department in a community like ours, not an ever-expanding one.

There were, however, some significant proposals for the Police Department this year, both in and outside of the FY22 budget.

Outside of the budget, the Mayor is requesting to make a one-time appropriation of $300,000 from free cash to establish a non-lapsing fund for Police Department Best Practices/ Training.

Examples of new or best practice trainings that might be funded from this account include (among others):

1. Bias-free policing: "The goal is to ensure everyone is trained to identify explicit bias and recognize patterns that indicate implicit bias. This training will include not only race and ethnicity but will also incorporate cultural competency, gender and age bias, hate crimes, sexual violence and misconduct, as well as issues related to our LGBTQ+ community and people with disabilities."

2. De‐Escalation, Mental Health Crisis Intervention, Appropriate Use of Force and Peer Intervention (Active Bystandership for Law Enforcement)

NPD is also potentially going to begin the process of negotiating a pilot program for body cameras for the first time. And there will be a new emphasis on data collection, analysis, and disclosure on police interactions with the public. (Additionally, more data on traffic crash incidents police are called to could soon become available, in hopes of better helping the city redesign streets for safety. Likewise, hate crimes data disclosure might be reviewed too.)

Another big NPD spending focus this year is upgrading facilities in disrepair and outmoded technologies. In the Capital Improvement Plan, nearly $5 million (including federal ARPA funds) is pointed in that direction over the next four years at the moment. But as Councilor Bowman observed during the meeting, we should be extremely careful about what we choose to spend one-time federal emergency dollars on, as opposed to financing/bonding these capital projects over a longer period, which would spread out the costs, drawing them from long-term revenues. 

(Under federal terms of ARPA emergency money, the Mayor has full control of how those funds are spent within guidelines, and the City Council only has an unofficial advisory role at the discretion of the Mayor.)

Docket Review

Here is a roundup of five new or recent items I sponsored or co-filed to the docket of the Newton City Council. They cover senior tax reform, election reform, further firearms regulations, and a resolution supporting a modest real estate transfer fee local option.

#120-21 Request for Ordinance Amendments to Sec. 27-21 of the Newton Ordinances (the senior citizen tax work-off program)

COUNCILORS MALAKIE, DOWNS, HUMPHREY, NORTON, WRIGHT, LIPOF, GREENBERG, LAREDO, GENTILE, BOWMAN AND RYAN requesting that Sec. 27-21 of Newton Ordinances be amended to increase the income limits for participation in the Senior Tax Work-off Program to adjust for wage and price inflation.

#184-21 Request for a review and update of election ordinances in Newton

COUNCILOR HUMPHREY requesting a review and update to the ordinances governing the operation and conduct of elections in Newton, including but not limited to:

(1) Elimination of certain restrictions regarding political signage on private property, except for safety reasons, and updating regulation of signage on public property, partially to comply with more recent case law

(2) Requiring candidates themselves or a designee signing on their behalf to pull papers to seek municipal office

#195-21 Resolution to the Massachusetts General Court in support of real estate transfer fee local option

COUNCILORS HUMPHREY, MARKIEWICZ, MALAKIE, LIPOF, WRIGHT, CROSSLEY, NOEL, OLIVER, DOWNS, BOWMAN, NORTON, AND LUCAS offering a resolution to the Massachusetts General Court giving the sense of the Newton City Council that Newton and all other municipalities in the Commonwealth should be empowered to consider setting and implementing a reasonable local real estate transaction fee in appropriate circumstances, as proposed in S. 868 and H. 1377, to generate revenues for creating and preserving affordable housing.

#188-21 Request for Ordinance Amendment to place Limitations on Firearms Business Licenses

COUNCILORS KRINTZMAN, DANBERG, DOWNS, KALIS, LAREDO, CROSSLEY, WRIGHT, NOEL, BOWMAN, HUMPHREY, GROSSMAN, LIPOF AND MARKIEWICZ requesting an ordinance that would limit [to one] the number of licenses to firearms dealers, gunsmithing and/or firing range licenses that may be awarded.

#197-21 Request for Ordinance Amendment to prohibit firearms within any public building

COUNCILORS NORTON, GENTILE, KALIS, DANBERG, LAREDO, HUMPHREY, MALAKIE, GREENBERG, KRINTZMAN, DOWNS, LUCAS, BOWMAN, CROSSLEY, OLIVER, MARKIEWICZ, NOEL, WRIGHT, LIPOF AND GROSSMAN requesting amendments to the City of Newton Ordinances to prohibit the carrying of firearms in any building owned and under the control of the City of Newton. This ordinance shall not apply to law enforcement officers and/or any building owned by the City and operated as public housing. The proposed ordinance includes amendments to Chapter 17 Sec. 22-23 to include a fine of three hundred dollars ($300.00), pursuant to the authority granted by G.L. c. 40, section 21D.

Newsletter Vol. 2, Week 19: FY22 Newton Budget, Gun Store Regulation, and more

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Happy Friday, Ward 5! Included in this newsletter are my initial highlights from the Mayor’s proposal for the next budget, as well as some updates about the proposed firearms industry regulations, which I know many of you have been waiting for more information on. Additionally, this newsletter gives some brief updates on Finance Committee work and Village Center Zoning Redesign community engagement.

If you are a voter in Ward 5 (but only Ward 5!), please consider signing up to be one of the 50-75 people to sign my re-election nomination forms. The forms need to be physically signed, so I would contact you to set up a time to get your signature, or drop off a form at your house. Your signature puts my name on the ballot in November. (If you missed my re-election announcement video last week, check it out.)

Today, I received my second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, so I plan to begin knocking on doors again in two weeks to check on how residents are doing and provide updates on what the City Council has been working on!

Make sure to sign up to get your vaccine, if you have not already! Children aged 12-15 are now eligible for the Pfizer vaccine as well.

Mayor’s FY22 Budget

Mayor Ruthanne Fuller addressed the City Council on Wednesday night to present her proposed FY22 budget for our consideration and approval (apart from the Schools budget details, which are voted on by the School Committee). As a reminder, the Council does not have the power under the city charter to add money to any line items – only to reduce or eliminate lines and to vote “yes” or “no” on the departmental budgets and the overall budget.

The proposed FY22 budget grows Newton’s budget by 5%. The theme this year, as stated by Mayor Fuller, is a budget “to support the vulnerable, to recover and reopen, and to make critical investments in Newton’s future.”

Beyond the operating budget proposals, the capital improvements plan this year emphasizes investments in our roads, sidewalks, parking lots, athletic fields, school buildings, and more.

Key departments

We will take a close look at all of the departmental operating budget changes in our City Council committees as each department head comes to present to us on the changes. Some changes represent policy changes or personnel shifts, but in some cases (such as a big change on paper in the Public Buildings and Public Works budgets), increases or reductions merely represent a transfer of something between departments and not an actual policy change or new initiative.

Some of the largest proposed budget increases include a 15% increase to the Planning department to “support our land use and planning efforts with more resources,” and a 13% increase to the Parks, Recreation, & Culture department (particularly for forestry and athletic fields). The Department of Public Works will receive 6% more on paper, with a practical net increase that is even greater if we exclude a function being moved to Public Buildings.

There would also be a 4% budget increase for schools and – one point I know will be of interest to many in the public – the FY22 budget proposes a slight increase (3%) in the Newton Police Department budget over the final FY21 proposed budget passed last year. But the police budget remains smaller in overall dollar terms than it was the FY20 police budget, and the changes this year primarily reflect vehicle replacements that we deferred last year.

My hope is that this year's Newton Police Department budget – with relatively minimal funding increases this time (and no additional personnel numbers) – signals a transitional period with a new incoming chief and the recent Reform Task Force recommendations and that we might see some deeper inter-departmental reorganizations ahead. I still fundamentally believe that we need to partition out the functions of the department.

Critically, as noted above, the City of Newton’s "quality of life" departments that residents care a lot about because of their daily impact – like Parks, Recreation, & Culture; our Library; and our Department of Public Works – received greater proportional increases than the police budget (and in some cases greater absolute increases). 

Last year, we received hundreds of emails from the public expressing concern that the Newton Free Library (unlike police) was facing significant defunding under the budget revisions made in light of the pandemic, and some of these cuts were reversed before passage of the final budget last year.

In absolute terms, Newton Police would get about $670k more in the proposed FY22 budget (again, heavily reflecting vehicles budget lines). Parks, Recreation, & Culture would get about $854k more, the Library about $208k more, and DPW nearly $2.1 million more!

Federal relief dollars

Unusual this year will be the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds from the federal government. The city should be receiving $63 million, which must be incurred or used by December 2024. These are best viewed as one-time funds for one-time investments (And they are clearly delineated within the budget documents to differentiate them from non-emergency funding sources). The uses are also constrained: Public health, revenue replacement for revenues lost specifically due to the pandemic, and economic recovery from pandemic damage.

$2.5 million will be used to reverse funding cuts to the paving program made last year, and $4.6 million will be put toward replacing lost revenues during the pandemic like the meals and hotels taxes.

The Mayor emphasized an equity focus on the use of these federal funds: “We will invest the funds using the lens of equity, ensuring all geographic areas of Newton, all ages, all races, all ethnicities, and all people are supported while we help those hurt by the pandemic.”

Here are some additional specifics on how the Mayor intends to use these federal funds:

• Providing more on-ramps to the road to financial self-sufficiency for Newton residents at all different life stages. We will start with a targeted community needs assessment focused on our most financially vulnerable residents to help us design and implement effective support programs.

• Finding more ways to support the mental health of all our residents with partnerships, education and services.

• Improving the facilities, especially for training, at Newton Police Headquarters as training is the foundation by which NPD ensures that officers and employees provide fair, just, respectful, safe and effective policing.

• Expanding our work on roads and sidewalks, pedestrian and bicyclist accommodations, trees and athletic fields, playgrounds, and arts, culture and community efforts.

On Thursday in her email newsletter, Mayor Fuller also added this great announcement about support for our most vulnerable: “The City will allocate [via 13 organizations] a total of $449,083 in federal FY2022 Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds and Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG) funds to support vital services for our low- and moderate-income Newton residents and those experiencing or at-risk of homelessness in the Brookline-Newton-Waltham-Watertown area.”

(Newton is in charge of distributing these federal funds to the communities mentioned, not just to our own residents.)

One miscellaneous note of general interest: This year’s proposed budget “does not increase our Water, Sewer and Stormwater rates this fiscal year for our residents and other property owners.” This should be welcome news to some.

You can watch and read the Mayor’s full speech online here.

Finance Committee update

The Finance Committee met on Monday night (5/10) to discuss city hall tech upgrades and reforms to the dog license fees and fines and to leaf blower fines (and a registration fee), among other things.

The Finance Committee voted 6-2 to reverse the reform proposal set forth by the Programs & Services Committee last month to end Newton Police enforcement authority on leaf blower misuse. 

There is finally a likely compromise on this issue, as the Mayor announced during her budget speech the creation of a new seasonal Inspectional Services field position in the spring and fall to monitor landscaping contractors and help guide them into compliance with the new contractor registration system and other general regulations. Police will still need to help out with much of the enforcement, but we hope these proactive steps by Inspectional Services will significantly reduce the need for field enforcement. 

I believe the members of the Programs & Services Committee (of which I am also one) plan to accept this compromise on leaf blower enforcement on Monday, when the full Council votes on the overall reform package, including the new contractor registration system and shifting the burden of violations away from the individual equipment operators who typically don’t control what equipment they’re given to use.

The Finance Committee also unanimously voted to support the Programs & Services Committee’s recommendations on changes to fees and fines for the two dog licenses and violations. (As noted in last week’s newsletter, we will be circling back to work on other important dog ordinance reforms later this term.)

The Finance Committee also approved a $1 million transfer to the Rainy Day fund, equaling 5% of the FY22 budget, consistent with the City’s target ratio over the past five years. While I continue to have big picture concerns on (potentially too much) money being set aside annually for various investment accounts instead of being applied to current year programs & services (or to long-term capital projects), 5% to the Rainy Day fund is a necessary compromise with the credit ratings agencies.

Village Center Zoning Redesign Community Engagement

I’m passing along a message this afternoon from our Planning Department’s Community Engagement staffer about community opportunities starting next week (with additional, narrower focus groups to follow):

We’re trying to learn as much as we can about Newtonians’ visions for their village centers to inform our future zoning decisions. Want to be heard? Ways you can participate will include a Vision Kit* to explore your village center(s), an interactive survey*, and Focus Groups for equitable participation. Sign up for a Community Engagement Info Session on Thursday, May 20, from 6:00 – 7:00 p.m. here and fill out this Focus Group Interest form here if you identify as a renter, younger person (age 15-35), BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and People of Color), someone with a disability, LGBTQ+, of the creative community, and older adults (65+). Learn more at newtonma.gov/zoningredesign.  *The Vision Kit and survey will be available online by May 20th.

I’m especially looking forward to hearing from some of our younger families and teens about what kind of housing opportunities, local businesses, and village center streetscapes they’re hoping to see in Newton in the future.

Gun stores regulation update after public hearing

The Zoning & Planning Committee held an hours-long public hearing on Monday to hear from residents and then held an extra virtual meeting on Thursday night to continue working on zoning regulation for firearms businesses. Ultimately, the committee recommended to the full City Council approval of a set of strict regulations on the possible locations of firearms businesses (see my last newsletter for a wide list of sensitive location categories and proposed buffers), the special permit conditions to approve them, and the conditions for operation if approved. More on this in a moment.

Our Law Department reiterated their view on Thursday that a strict regulation approach to the authorization of firearms businesses is a better approach than an outright ban, which some Councilors have floated – not because there’s no risk of litigation, but rather because the danger in the potential (or perhaps even likely) outcomes is much more serious for a total ban being rejected than merely losing in court. 

Why is that? If a conservative federal court issues a wide-ranging opinion striking down a ban, they might well say that all local ordinances regulating firearms sales anywhere in the country are unconstitutional. The risk here isn't just to us, but also to potentially the entire rest of the country for any municipalities where local regulations on gun stores currently exist.

So, what is the approach we are pursuing if not a total ban? Strict regulation includes zone restrictions, substantial buffers from sensitive uses, and a set of standardized non-waivable requirements for operation, but also a special permit review process requiring 2/3rds of the Council to approve any given site, with further criteria for approval. 

As with any special permit petitions in Newton – which is to say without even adding specific industry-related criteria – one of the special permit requirements will be a finding that “the location and operating characteristics of the proposed use promotes and will not be detrimental to the public health, safety, and welfare of the neighborhood and the City.”

I will leave it to your imaginations as residents on how the City Councilors are likely to evaluate this particular special permit criterion when considering a proposal. For my part, I can imagine that we will be seeing a lot more candidate questionnaires asking us how we would be likely to vote on such a special permit request.

(This is also to say nothing of the market incentives commercial landlords in the approved areas might now feel against accepting a proposed tenant in the firearms industry for their properties.)

Councilor Krintzman has also offered a proposed restriction to limit any such businesses to one in the entire city, if one were actually to be approved through the special permit process. I agree with this idea.

One concern raised in the public hearing was that the likely locations allowable between the zones and buffers are at the borders of Newton and could potentially adversely harm people or sensitive uses just across the city borders. The Planning Department explained to us that if we want to add external buffers beyond our borders (which are not currently reciprocated by our neighbors), then we would need to vote for far less restrictive buffer zones within our own municipality around sensitive uses (e.g. 500 feet instead of 1000 feet), in order to free up allowable areas not near Newton’s borders. (Alternatively, we could merely consider cross-border proximities in the City Council during special permit evaluations on a case-by-case basis.)

The full City Council will consider and presumably vote on the final proposal this coming Monday evening. I intend to vote in favor of the regulations.

Newsletter Vol. 2, Week 18: Guns hearing Monday, new Police Chief, Green Line upgrades, dog licenses, affordable housing

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On Tuesday, I officially announced my re-election bid. I hope to have your support this fall for a second term as your Ward Councilor. You can register here to be one of 50-75 people to sign my nomination papers if you live in Ward 5, as well as sign up for other ways to help my campaign, and I will get in touch with you to follow up.

I have already amassed more than 40 endorsements from community members, including from City Council President Susan Albright and 7 other City Councilors so far. You can add your name to this list at the same form linked above.

School Committee Vice Chair and Member-at-Large for Ward 5 Emily Prenner has joined that list today as well. She has, along with Councilors Crossley, Downs, and me, been part of a dedicated team of four Ward 5 representatives this term, working in close concert to serve your interests.

This past weekend, I participated in Newton SERVES helping prune and clean up the Upper Falls Greenway. (And the previous weekend I participated in the Hemlock Gorge cleanup.)

I also joined State Representative Ruth Balser at the virtual monthly meeting of the Friends of Hemlock Gorge this week. She reported confirmation that “MassDOT will be improving the [double] intersection of Ellis Street/Quinobequin Road/Route 9 to improve the safety and access for pedestrians and bikers between the Charles River Reservation and Hemlock Gorge.”

Technology & public access upgrades for the Council?

NewTV has announced a plan (arriving September) to install technologies such as TVs, cameras, and microphones throughout various meeting rooms in City Hall (not just the main Council chamber) that would be integrated with computers running Zoom (or similar) to allow for “hybrid connectivity” meetings. The project would make remote participation for constituents, officials, and employees possible during in-person meetings, enhance the overall audio and video coverage of meetings, and allow more meetings to be distributed on cable channels and on-demand/streaming platforms.

Meanwhile, the Council Rules Subcommittee (on which I serve) is continuing to review our rules of proceedings to make Council and committee meetings more understandable and efficient for the general public following along.

Another update on gun store regulations

The City Council’s Zoning & Planning Committee met last week to talk about emergency zoning reform to regulate the firearms industry in Newton. As noted in previous newsletters, the city is restricted by the state and federal government on what changes we can make, although some members of the public continue to debate reasonably how far those restrictions actually go.

I would expect the final draft of allowable locations (and only by special permit approval of 2/3rds of the City Council) to be fairly strict. We have not yet settled on those locations, if you have heard any that concern you. There is a narrowing-down process happening. 

Per a Planning Department memo yesterday: Needham St and Wells Ave will not be included in further consideration for potential zone locations for firearms industry businesses in Newton because they fall fully within proposed buffer zones. Buffer zones under the latest proposal would be 150 feet from lots with residents or 1000 feet from k-12 schools, all childcare uses, religious uses, parks and playgrounds, colleges and universities, and nursing homes. Various distances and other potential sensitive uses were analyzed. (See the latest map here.)

Moreover, it should be noted that creating a zoning plan for this use does not mean a business is guaranteed to open, due to the special permit permit process.

Councilors had the opportunity last week to weigh in on suggested components for the draft, so that we can all look at a more complete draft (and hold a public hearing) on Monday May 10 at 7 PM.

By state law we effectively can’t debate legislative text between meetings, if you were wondering why we didn’t have a finished product already on the table last week. We are moving as quickly as possible within the law, and no store opened before we filed the local legislation and announced a public hearing, so any new store would be subject to the new regulations. 

Dog ordinance reforms continue

The Programs & Services Committee met on Wednesday night to take up dog ordinances reform, among other issues. 

The committee recommended a rising system of fines for off-leash violations, with repeated offenses being fined more. The committee also recommended a $10 increase to the two annual dog license types, which would go towards the cost of waste disposal bins throughout the city. Finally, we decided we would request the Dog Ordinances Working Group debate and make a recommendation on whether off-leash dog registrations should require dogs to be spayed and neutered.

Police Chief confirmation hearing

On Thursday evening, the City Council met virtually under the direction of Public Safety & Transportation Committee Chair Andreae Downs of Ward 5 to hold a confirmation hearing for the Mayor's nominee for Newton's new permanent Chief of Police. The Mayor gave an introduction on the current moment, the hiring process, and Chief John Carmichael (currently Chief of Walpole PD) as her nominee. We had a very wide-ranging discussion with Chief Carmichael, and I think perhaps all but two Councilors spoke.

Many questions centered on his philosophy on policing in the current climate (and given the history of policing), how he plans to approach the department as an outsider (especially in light of long-term morale problems), what role police should play on mental health crises and non-criminal matters from citations to traffic details, addressing bias, and so on. I focused my questions on the need for civilian control and oversight and moving us away from the notion that police represent some kind of last line of defense against total lawlessness and chaos. I also look forward to meeting with the new Chief again soon to talk in greater depth about some of the controversies of the past year.

There remained some wide disagreements among City Councilors speaking last night on the question of police budgeting. Some Councilors feel that police need more money for more training and technologies, but some of us feel that the public (and public safety) would be better served by partitioning the police department and redistributing the budget to go with those reallocated functions. Additionally, as one Councilor observed, when budgets get cut during tough fiscal times, the public expects to see every department pitch in on those reductions and not to see continual defunding of our parks, schools, roads, etc while the police budget continues to grow. In lean times, extra police funding is coming at the expense of our other departments who are losing out on funding, and the employees of those departments have been much less inclined to take proposed cuts as personal attacks, even though they definitely feel the pinch and it hurts their morale too.

To close out this section: Chief Carmichael noted that he had no reason to leave Walpole and loves working there, but he had felt compelled professionally to take on the ambitious challenge of taking forward and implementing the reforms the community is asking for in Newton, as recommended by the Police Reform Task Force and others. Policing needs to adapt, and he feels like he can play a part in that, especially after some of the reforms he has advanced in Walpole.

Green Line Accessibility updates

Last Thursday, I sat in virtually on the MBTA’s community webinar discussing its plans for D Line station accessibility improvements in and near Newton. The Newton stations under discussion were Waban, Eliot, and Chestnut Hill. (Newton Highlands is a separate already ongoing project.) After improvements, the D Line will be the first Green Line branch where every station is fully accessible.

The most important changes for the stations would be an adjustment to platform heights to allow for level-boarding of wheelchairs/strollers with no ramps or operator assistance. The platforms would first be 8 inches, an interim upgrade that would still require ramps, until they would be raised to 14 inches, becoming fully accessible. (They are taking the upgrades in stages to phase out equipment that can’t tolerate the fully raised platform height and replace it with newer, more accessible, higher-capacity trains.) There would also be accessible pathways and second exit pathways from each platform, as well as increased lighting levels.

The MBTA GLT team will be soliciting community feedback through late 2021 on the accessibility projects for these four D Line stations. Their detailed presentation can be found here.

Specifically for the Eliot station, the MBTA is planning to remove the unused/disconnected stair and pier on the other side of Route 9 and renovate pedestrian access from the station to Route 9. Your City Councilors will continue to provide feedback and suggestions on how best to do that.

The MBTA is hoping to be able to minimize service disruption during these station accessibility projects by having minimal weekend service replacement and regular weekday service. There were some comments from the public frustrated about nighttime construction work noise that they felt the MBTA has not done enough to mitigate.

The estimated construction start time is Fall/Winter 2022.

1149-1151 Walnut St Project Passed at City Council

After well over a year of community meetings and City Council negotiations to make appropriate revisions and make the project better, the full City Council this week approved by a vote of 20-4 a proposed four-story mixed-use development consisting of ground floor retail space and rental apartment building 48 feet in height, containing 25 units and 23 underground parking stalls, located basically across the street from the Newton Highlands Green Line Station. Car-free residents will be provided with T passes for the first several years.

As required under Newton’s “inclusionary zoning ordinance,” five of the 25 units (20%) will be reserved as affordable apartments assigned through the lottery system: four lower-income (for applicants below 80% of area median income) and one middle income (for applicants 80-110% of area median income).

Details from a Planning Department memo:

“The subject site is comprised of two parcels, 1149 and 1151 Walnut Street, located along the west side of Walnut Street just north of Lincoln Street. The combined two-lot site [currently] consists of 13,200 square feet improved with two multi-tenanted single-story commercial buildings built in the early 1900s with parking in the front and rear.

The petitioner proposes to demolish the existing buildings and construct, as now designed, a 25-unit, four-story, 26,300 square foot mixed-use building with 23 at-grade parking stalls on the assembled site. In order to construct the proposed project, the petitioner is seeking to have the subject parcels rezoned from Business 2 (BU2) to Mixed Use 4 (MU4). As designed, several aspects of the project would also require a special permit under MU4 zoning district requirements.” 

(As a reminder, a special permit allows for certain things by Council approval within designated areas. As such, anything covered by a special permit is not a “variance” because it is an intended, pre-defined usage of a zone type, but with an additional layer of review by the City Council.)

There were some debates in the Council about lot line setbacks and slight increases in shadows in deep winter, but only four Councilors (Baker, Gentile, Lucas, and Malakie) ultimately voted against the special permit (and everyone voted for the zone change). Most Councilors felt this was a good project for a village center across from a light rail station – and a helpful idea of how to rezone and expand our village centers as part of comprehensive zoning redesign. I would not be surprised to see the zoning expand further beyond this lot as part of that process.

Improvements on housing in revised Riverside proposal

As noted in my newsletter on April 2, “there is a request by Mark Development to change their previously approved special permit proposal from last year ... at the Riverside Green Line station to eliminate the planned hotel and some housing in favor of a Life Sciences facility. Part of the reasoning for the request is because hotel and traditional office space is seen as being on a different trajectory after the pandemic compared to Life Sciences.” 

At the time, I observed that “Market-rate housing units would be reduced from 582 to 550 because the Life Sciences facility would be larger than the canceled hotel, requiring some of the residential square footage to be removed.” As part of that overall change on the housing numbers as submitted in March, “There would also be… slightly fewer affordable units ... than previously approved” and I remarked that “I would like us to explore retaining the number of lower-income units previously approved...”

I was not alone in that goal among City Councilors, and I have some good news to report back now. The request to revise the Riverside Station development project has been amended to address that point. Under the latest proposal, there would be no reduction in the number of low-income housing units compared to the plan approved last year. This was a key point for me in considering the requested revision.

The Riverside Station revision on the table now is for 44 units reserved for lottery-selected residents at or below 50% of regional area median income, 44 units between 50% & 80% of AMI, totaling 88 lower-income units (16% of the project overall), as well as 23 units between 80% & 110% of AMI as middle-income units (4% of all units).

The Riverside proposal approved last year included 88 units of lower-income housing in the tiers below 80% & below 50% of AMI; this would remain the same in the new plan. Last year's approved plan had 15 middle-income units (80-110% AMI); it would now be 23. That represents a total rise of 103 to 111.

Here's why I'm seeking re-election this year!

[VIDEO VERSION]

I'm Bill Humphrey, Ward Councilor for Ward 5 in Newton. My first year in office has been very different from the one I expected, as I know the past year has been for all of you.

Our community has met the incredible challenges of a global pandemic, acting together even as we were kept apart – to help each other stay safe, stay whole, and stay housed. I have been proud to stand with you all in this time of unprecedented pressure and enormous loss.

We were called upon to shoulder a great collective responsibility to one another, and we continue to be, even as we see a light ahead at last.

This past year, I heard from you every day, even when we could not meet in person, and I communicated with you regularly in return.

I’m proud of the work I’ve done on your behalf in committee and before the full Council. I've brought a valuable new perspective to the City Council that has informed how decisions in our community are made during this uniquely challenging time.

We have continued each month to tackle environmental and housing questions, and we remain committed to investing in city programs and services for seniors, youth, and families – even as we undertook the unforeseen pandemic responses and engaged in debates on policing.

Serving you in this term has been an incredible honor, and today I ask for your support this fall for a second term, so I can continue to serve you on the City Council and keep forging ahead on all that we have begun this year.

In the coming recovery period, we’ll be at a crossroads of enormous potential and opportunity to become the community for everyone that I know we can be. We must take the path of bold actions and commit ourselves firmly to building a brighter future together. I hope you will stand with me once again in this effort.

What should policing in Newton look like?

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This week I am focusing my newsletter solely on a comprehensive examination of police reform in Newton. Next week, I will be back to more week-to-week updates on gun store regulation, the Riverside affordable housing revisions, Green Line Accessibility, and a development on Walnut St in Newton Highlands.

***

I wanted to take some time this week finally to discuss in some depth the recommendations of the Newton Police Reform Task Force released several weeks ago, as well as cover some dissenting viewpoints. (A new nominee for Newton Police Chief has also been named since then, subject to City Council approval, but I will leave that for a future newsletter.)

The Reform Task Force convened after the June 2020 protests nationally and in Newton that prompted a political battle in the City Council over the Newton Police budget. The task force issued their report with recommendations in March 2021. Its members included a former judge, two criminal defense attorneys, a person who helps with social reintegration after court interactions, a recently retired Newton Police sergeant, a specialist in police misconduct, two members of Myrtle Baptist Church (including a 2019 graduate of the Newton schools), a member of the Mayor’s Administration, a former federal prosecutor, and a deputy superintendent of the Cambridge Police, a social worker. They were assisted in their work by the consulting firm Strategy Matters of Dorchester.

Department Summary from the Task Force Report

“The City of Newton established its police department in 1873, operating with seven patrolmen. Today, the department is responsible for a range of city services, including crime prevention and response, animal control, parking and traffic enforcement, pedestrian and cyclist safety, and enforcing local ordinances. These services are provided by a team composed of 149 full-time sworn officers, and 35 full-time and 54 part-time civilian personnel. The department is led by Interim Chief Howard Mintz, who, along with six Captains and 11 Lieutenants, oversees eight bureaus (Dispatch and Information Technology, Patrol, Investigations, Traffic, Community Services, Special Operations and Support Services), and two offices (Executive and Internal Affairs). The department also works in close collaboration with a police prosecutor and a social worker.”

Recommendations of the Task Force

Below I pull out, quote, or summarize the elements that I felt were most notable for my readers...

I. Improve Relationships Between the Newton Community and the Newton Police Department Through the Creation of the Newton Police Committee (NPC). (The NPC should be composed of Newton community members and function both as a vehicle for collaboration, and civilian oversight.)

• A diverse, five-member civilian committee with no current law enforcement or law enforcement family members, but one retired NPD officer.

• Appointed by the Mayor (subject to Council approval) in staggered three-year terms with the possibility of a second term.

• Regular quarterly meetings plus additional meetings as needed.

• Jurisdiction and authority:

  • The NPC should have subpoena power

  • “Provide for citizen participation in reviewing complaints made by the public (Newton residents and non-Newton residents) about the conduct of Newton Police Officers”

  • “Provide a mechanism by which internal complaints – those filed by officers and employees of the Newton Police Department itself – relating to misconduct or malfeasance on the part of NPD personnel may receive a neutral and independent review outside the chain of command, with protections against retaliation for reporting misconduct”

  • “Conduct periodic audits of matters of ongoing community interest, including use of force data and the demographics of persons stopped or arrested by NPD officers”

  • “Review police procedures and policies and make recommendations to the chief of police on policy modifications or initiatives”

  • Establish online & telephone reporting of alleged misconduct, including anonymous reporting

  • Investigation of matters not covered by a recently-created state-level decertification review process

  • Publication of an annual report of investigations and findings/resolution

  • Review of use of force incidents, de-escalation of situations, discharge of weapons, vehicle pursuits, racial incidents, racially abusive language or conduct, and more

  • Making ongoing recommendations in writing for policy changes by the department that must be answered in writing within 45 days by the Chief

II. Ensure Racial, Ethnic, and Gender Diversity Among Police Personnel and Leadership by Leaving the Civil Service System.

III. Ensure that the Police Department Understands and Meets Community Safety Needs

IV. Support a Healthy, Inclusive Culture Within the Police Department Through a Culture Change Initiative Emphasizing a Customer Service Orientation and a Guardian Mindset Among Police Personnel

[I strongly disagree with the recommendation to view the Police Department through a customer service lens or to encourage police to view themselves that way. Citizens are not customers. Not all of life is a customer service interaction.]

V. Refine the Scope of Policing by Developing Alternative Response Strategies for Community Concerns.

• Objective 1: D​evelop non-police response strategies to address emergency behavioral health and social service needs of Newton communities.

  • “Proposed strategy: Collaborate with other municipalities to create a regional, multidisciplinary, community team able to respond to crisis situations with complex causal factors. The model should include several key features:

    • advanced training for dispatch to appropriately triage behavioral health and social service calls,

    • a regional network of mobile clinical staff and medical first responders able to initiate contact,

    • assess, de-escalate, and provide transport for people who are intoxicated, mentally ill, or require a means of connecting with a range of other social services (e.g, DV shelter, homeless shelter, substance misuse or behavioral health treatment, etc.).”

  • “The Task Force has offered some general recommendations for the types of structures that might be put in place to modify the current response to behavioral health crises. These recommendations are based on excellent community-response models that have been very successfully implemented in cities across the country. One great example is the CAHOOTS (Crisis Assistance Helping Out on the Streets) model, which was created in Eugene and Springfield, Oregon in 1988. The combined population of these cities is approximately 200,000, and they represent one of the highest homelessness rates in the country. In early years, 5%-8% of calls were successfully diverted away from police; in 2017 CAHOOTS answered 17% of the Eugene police department call volume. The CAHOOTS model costs Eugene and Springfield approximately $800,000 annually. In the early years of implementation, funding was provided through the police department. Now, it is funded entirely by the city through the city budget and supplemental public and private grants. There is also a bill currently before the US Congress, the CAHOOTS Act, which will require that Medicare pays 95% for the first three years of implementation of the CAHOOTS model in cities or towns that choose to implement. While it may be difficult to implement this model within Newton alone, it might be feasible for a collaborative of cities to pool resources, for example, some combination of Newton, Wellesley, Weston, Needham, Waltham, Brookline, and Watertown.”

• Objective 2: D​evelop non-police response strategies for City ordinance violations and “nuisance complaints.”

  • “Proposed strategy:​ Create capacity for municipal alternatives to police response to City ordinance violations (e.g., leaf blowers, barking or off-leash dogs, Crystal Lake, mask mandate, etc.), snow removal, sidewalk access, and potentially other “community nuisances.” Potential alternatives include expanding capacity at other City departments, creating neighborhood response teams, or developing new code enforcement functions within City government.”

  • “Many of the functions police are expected to play in their communities are outside the scope of both their mission and their training. In light of this, it seems reasonable to look for ways to redistribute the responsibility. [...] Another way to support this effort is to shift responsibility for enforcement of at least some city ordinances away from the police department and to other parts of the municipal government. [...] The Task Force recognizes that implementation of this recommendation, among others set forth in this report, could have potentially significant financial implications for the City of Newton. How to balance the goals of police reform against the city’s other pressing needs at this moment of municipal budgetary constraint is a matter committed to the city’s elected representatives.”

• Objective 3:​ Eliminate or reduce ordinance violation and nuisance calls to 911 dispatch (in favor of more 311 reporting)

• Objective 4:​ Proactively support police and community partners in distinguishing behavioral health crises from threats to community safety.

[I am deeply skeptical of the proposed “voluntary registry of vulnerable persons” and very concerned about the implications of such a registry – as well as its potential effectiveness compared to a wholly different approach to police interactions with crisis situations so that people are treated fairly, safely, and appropriately whether or not they are on some kind of registry.]

Official dissenting statement from one task force member

Task Force member Achille Vann Ricca wrote a page and a half dissenting statement included as a counterpoint to the official report, included in an appendix near the end:

“...these recommendations acknowledge the existence and history of systemic racism, and then provide solutions that do not adequately address them. I'm afraid that if Newton does not go beyond these recommendations, future endeavors with similar goals will be undermined. At a time when other cities around the country are adopting more decisive measures against systemic racism and policing, I urge Newton not to fall behind the curve of progress because we believe ourselves to be ‘progressive enough.’”

Counter-report from the Defund NPD organization

The community organization “Defund NPD,” formed last year to oppose the budgetary defunding of other city departments that has occurred to support the almost-continual expansion of the Newton Police budget, issued a counter-report to the task force report, on the basis that the task force did not go far enough in its analysis or recommendations.

If you’re not familiar with why the organization is called “Defund NPD,” they explain that in the opening of their opposition report: Newton is “over-funding policing at the expense of life-affirming services that help us realize our rights and meet our needs. While our society’s erroneous reliance on policing disproportionately impacts people of color, it dehumanizes us all and puts us all at risk.”

They argue that “police reforms aiming to ‘fix’ policing--including by hiring more officers of color, providing more training, or improving police-community relations--simply do not result in improved public safety. We need to think about the problem -- and therefore the solution -- from a wholly different perspective. We believe that by shifting our concept of ‘public safety’ from policing individual instances of state-defined ‘crime’ to focusing on eliminating the broad range of systemic social problems that cause suffering and vulnerability, our community will be safer for everybody.”

As is typically the case from the organization, Defund NPD does not make a case for a slash-and-burn approach to the funding question, but rather makes a thoughtful, detailed case for reducing funding to the police in stages, while shifting that funding into other departments to realign the city government with a more well-rounded approach to governing and securing our community.

The group calls this approach a “decrease [in] the footprint of policing” in favor of “a fully-funded community care infrastructure.” They also call in their counter-report for greater police accountability to the community, stronger civil governance over the police, and a demilitarization of police.

Their philosophy is articulated as follows: “Ultimately, we would like to make Newton so safe that p​olicing and police become obsolete.​ Until then, everything that can be done by civilian ​city and community-based organizations​ should be moved out of the police department.” 

As an interim stage of transforming policing in Newton, they argue for a leaner, more focused department geared only toward violent crime, while all other matters are shifted into other departments (to “civilian first responders” or to civil administrators for non-emergencies). They seek for police-civilian interactions in the field to be reduced to a minimum to avoid dangerous escalations of situations.

Here are some specific recommendations from the Defund NPD counter-report that many residents of Newton might find interesting or compelling, whether or not they feel they share the views of the organization:

• “We recommend reassigning administrative and disturbance-related complaints to other city departments. These non-criminal, non-violent calls for help do not require police and police don’t want to do these jobs.” [I believe this point is basically consistent with the task force report, in fact.]

• “We recommend removing police from schools. Police in schools have no positive impact on school safety overall and undermine safety, especially for students of color, students with disabilities, and LGBTQ+ youth. Funding for police in schools takes resources away from much-needed guidance and restorative justice services.”

• “We recommend building a community responder system outside the Police Department that would mobilize 24/7 community response teams to address the wide range of community needs that police cannot effectively address, including mental health crises, needs of the unhoused, substance abuse issues and domestic violence problems.” [This is also similar to one of the task force recommendations and both cite CAHOOTS as a possible model.]

• “We recommend transitioning to a civilian flagger system and away from a police monopoly on construction details.” [Similarly, the group calls for minimizing police involvement in traffic enforcement by improving physical road design for safety and utilizing technological solutions.]

• “We recommend that public money saved by decreasing the footprint of policing be allocated to services that help us realize our rights and meet our needs.”

• “We recommend that the City of Newton build up public and community services to address the United States’ historic under-funding of human rights including the right to safety, housing, food, healthcare and education as well as to address social problems.”

• “We recommend that Newton establish a Department of Human Rights and Wellbeing to ensure that Newtonians realize our human rights to affordable housing, fair pay for work, quality healthcare, equitable education, etc.”

• “We recommend that the City of Newton fund no-cost community education programs in restorative/transformative justice and crisis response (including overdose prevention training), among other subjects, in order to empower community members to support neighbors, understand social issues, and create an environment in which community members seek and have access to help before harm is caused.”

Some other observations from the counter-report:

• “Defund NPD’s b​udget analysis​ showed that Newton has the 6th highest police budget per capita and the highest overall police budget compared to 23 representative cities based on criteria of proximity to Boston, total population, and crime rates, and is the 5th highest per capita spender. By defunding the police to the median per capita police spending, we would free up $4,069,136 to spend on life-affirming public safety initiatives. This represents almost double the 10% cut to police spending that Defund NPD called for in the FY2021 budget cycle.”

• “Currently, nearly every complaint, disturbance or need for help is delegated to the police. As a result, police officers are given too many tasks, many of which should not be under their purview or that could lead to better public safety outcomes if guns were not introduced to the situation (and often at a lower cost to the city).”

• “Newton’s Interim Police Chief Howard Mintz r​ecently said​ that ‘quite a bit less’ than 10% of what Newton police do is crime fighting. This is borne out by data released by the Newton Police Department showing that only 14.8% of 2019 incidents were “potential criminal matters,” and [in fact] the largest group of those are [in reality, non-criminal ordinance] violations including leaf-blower complaints. Other non-violent incidents include neighbor complaints, keeping the peace and drunkenness.” [Which is to say, that after excluding all those matters that are not actually criminal, less than 10% remains.]

***

I hope that readers of this newsletter find the recommendations of these two reports to be useful information and that you will share with the City Council and the Mayor which elements you find persuasive and worth pursuing. I look forward to hearing your feedback.

And I would close with this observation, especially in light of recent property crimes that have many residents on edge: There has only ever been one meaningful solution to petty property crime and that is to establish a society and economy with enough opportunity, equality, justice, and above-survival resource distribution to everyone that theft is unnecessary to anyone.

It is never policing that secures the safety of our communities, but rather the broader condition of the economy and the level of safety nets we build to catch people who are struggling. Those safety nets have grown thinner with every passing decade as their funding has been stripped away, while police budgets have consistently ballooned. The lack of funding invested in every other aspect of American communities is directly related to the plentiful funding granted to police instead.

Newsletter Vol. 2, Week 16: Gun store update, Countryside progress, Gas leak economics, Local Preference debate

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Hello Ward 5! In today’s newsletter, I’m covering updates on Countryside, dog ordinances, remote participation in meetings after the pandemic, the gun store, gas leaks economics, and a debate on the Local Preference component of our Inclusionary Zoning Ordinance. 

Reminder: The Friends of Hemlock Gorge’s annual spring cleanup is tomorrow (Saturday) morning! Volunteers should meet at Hamilton Place, rain or shine, between 9:30 and 10 a.m. See you there!

Earlier this week, I was invited to tour a backyard hive of honeybees in Ward 5, as a group of citizens and city leaders continue to discuss and debate safe, appropriate, and ecologically-sound regulation of local hobbyist beekeeping in Newton. It was very cool to experience this in person!

I have a number of constituents who already care for hives on their property, and I think that’s a wonderful hobby, but it’s in a bit of a gray area right now, and we want neighbors to feel comfortable. We also don’t want to be disruptive to the local ecology (especially to native, wild bee species).

We will probably end up with something along the lines of the current regulations for keeping a small number of pet chickens in the backyard for non-agricultural purposes, but it remains to be seen.

Gun store update

In my newsletter last week, I noted the recent controversy about a gun store attempting to open in Newton, to significant public backlash. The Zoning and Planning committee will begin deliberating on drafting an ordinance regarding firearms businesses in Newton on Monday, April 26. There is also set to be a public hearing on May 10.

No vote has yet been taken on a draft for an ordinance, but a Firearms Zoning Amendment was filed to the docket this week. The proposal requests to amend Chapter 30 of the Newton Zoning Ordinance to establish regulations for a gun establishment. Some of the proposals include amending the sections about Allowed and Restricted Uses to regulate the usage of land, structures, and buildings for the operation of gun retail and ranges. It also proposes to restrict these uses to Business 4, Mixed Use 1, Manufacturing, and Light Manufacturing Districts only. (We might restrict it even more narrowly as we move ahead in deliberations.) The City Council would need to grant special permits for these establishments by a 2/3rd vote, and the proposal also asks to establish minimum standards and criteria for the granting of such special permits. That likely represents a significant hurdle for potential firearms businesses.

The city now has a full FAQ webpage about the Firearms Zoning Amendment and the gun store seeking to open on Washington St in Newtonville.

Countryside update

Exciting news for many of our Ward 5 families on the much-needed rebuilding of Countryside! As you might have seen from the Mayor’s newsletter, on April 14, the Massachusetts School Building Authority voted to invite Countryside Elementary School into their funding process. The City and Newton Public Schools had identified Countryside as one of the top priority schools in the City needing improvements. 

The Mayor explained that the next steps will be to establish a School Building Committee, including community representatives, to begin a public participation process and to develop a website for the project.

Programs & Services Committee work: Dogs; remote meetings

The Programs & Services Committee met virtually on April 21 to once again discuss dog ordinances as well as remote participation in meetings after the end of the COVID-19 emergency.

There will be a review soon of possible changes to off-leash dog ordinances, specifically with an eye toward increasing the fees required by dog walking companies, requiring background checks of dog walkers, and requesting regulations for dog walking and dog daycare companies to assure the appropriate care for dogs.

This week we were discussing another possible change: slightly increasing the fines for failure to license a dog or violation of leash regulations. Revenues from these increases would go to support dog-related services like city-installed dog waste bins.

I also suggested that we consider at a future meeting an automatic enrollment and billing process for dog licenses, similar to excise tax billing, rather than just mailing reminders to lapsed license-holders, since many unlicensed dogs in Newton are actually just lapsed licenses.

The vote on these dog ordinances was held for legal-procedural reasons this week, but we think we are making progress.

Regarding participation in City Council meetings, some remote participation was already allowed by the state in non-emergency circumstances, but this option had not been exercised pre-pandemic. The Rules Subcommittee of Programs & Services will consider rules within the City Council on how to make the permanent state-mandated/regulated remote participation work in practice.

State law still requires in-person participation by the elected or appointed officials unless it is "unreasonably difficult" to attend. However that is not well defined – other than encouraging in-person attendance whenever possible. We might add some rules to encourage early notification of planned in-person or non-in-person attendance by members to the presiding officer, whenever possible, so that we don’t have to cancel meetings for quorum reasons.

Some elected members would still always need to attend in person because there is a state requirement for a physical quorum that must be held in the room (even if other participants are present remotely). And our general sense was that members should try to be there in person after the pandemic whenever possible, but that we will be relatively liberal about remote participation, since we certainly don’t want members to be forced to attend while ill or if they have a family emergency.

We also recognize that some members might have ongoing medical or physical reasons that make in-person participation difficult on a regular basis and we want to accommodate that in the same way we won’t be expecting a member in a wheelchair to stand during an in-person meeting.

The Open Meeting Law and other state rules also only govern elected members and appointed commissioners, so the Council could (and we feel should) make it possible for staff members and the general public to attend meetings virtually after the pandemic without restrictions.

Gas mains: Replace or repair?

Frequently, the Newton City Council is asked to vote to approve grants of location for replacement natural gas mains by private utility companies. Sometimes these requests are in areas with no leaks and sometimes they are in areas with many leaks. But are gas main replacement projects always the appropriate solution compared to repair projects?

I observed this week in the City Council while voting in protest against a gas main replacement project in my own ward that it’s counterintuitively more profitable for the gas company (and its shareholders) to do a replacement project, even when a repair project would be more appropriate – and I don’t think that’s the right move for our neighborhoods. A councilor asked me for an explanation of the financial point I was making, and I thought it might be useful for Ward 5 constituents to receive that explanation as well.

Gas leak repairs, as opposed to new (replacement) gas mains, cost about $3,000 to $5,000 per leak, but the company has to absorb the cost of the repair. Pipe replacement costs $1.2-1.8 million per mile, which would be much more expensive except that the Gas System Enhancement Program (GSEP) allows the company to charge the cost to the ratepayers, among other financial advantages. 

Replacement projects also inherently represent a deeper, longer investment in continued natural gas infrastructure when we should be moving away from it, whereas gas leak repairs represent temporary safety fixes that can tide us over until our community gets off of natural gas. 

Of course, if some pipes are so degraded that they're like swiss cheese, pipeline replacement may be the only option, but all leak-prone pipelines should be considered for repair before deciding on complete replacement. That's the kind of question that needs to be asked well before a final vote by the City Council. (Unfortunately I always have a conflicting committee meeting when these gas main items come before Public Facilities, and so I have only occasionally been able to press the company’s representatives on the point about whether a proposal is for safety or for profits, masqueraded as safety improvements.)

The gas company is also consistently unprepared in committee meetings and late in submitting materials to the full Council, which is frustrating for being able to evaluate the merits of a gas project in a timely manner before a vote.

Reconsidering Local Preference in affordable housing

The City Council’s Zoning & Planning Committee (ZAP) last week took up a review of and possible amendment to the Local Preference component of our Inclusionary Zoning Ordinance. It currently provides for a preference for local applicants for up to 70% of the Inclusionary Units – i.e. legally-required affordable apartment units in housing developments – in the tenant applicant lotteries to lease those units.

Local Preference is actually defined in state law more broadly than you might think, which makes it more complicated to evaluate. The state categories include:

1.) Current residents: A household in which one or more members is living in the city or town at the time of application.

2.) Municipal Employees: Employees of the municipality, such as teachers, janitors, firefighters, police officers, librarians, or town hall employees.

3.) Employees of Local Businesses: Employees of businesses located in the municipality.

4.) Households with children attending the locality’s schools, such as METCO students. 

Last week at ZAP, the city’s consultant presented her analysis of the data on the demographic breakdown of tenants (local vs non-local, White vs non-White) applying to and receiving those units in three developments as case studies: Hancock Estates, 28 Austin St. and Trio (Washington Place).

Some of the questions the consultant urged the City Council to consider about our Local Preference policies are: What does Newton want to accomplish with a local preference policy, if one is retained? Does our current policy meet the City’s expectations? What are the advantages, disadvantages, and unintended consequences? And, how do the costs compare to the benefits?

As noted in the docket item currently before the City Council, various groups including the Fair Housing Committee and the Newton Housing Partnership have questioned whether the percentage of Local Preference set aside for current Newton residents should be lowered, with a specific, stated goal of increasing racial diversity in Newton. But there are also other considerations such as whether Local Preference might be useful in helping city employees, METCO families, or local workers be able to afford to move to Newton, a community they already have a strong connection to. In many cases, that might not be in conflict with the diversity objective. The question then becomes whether or not these goals are actually being served by the Local Preference policy, or if it isn’t working for those objectives either.

Some groups in Newton have taken a firm position that the preference should be reduced or even abolished. Other peer communities have recently undertaken similar studies or simply moved ahead with a policy change.

Some takeaways from the local preference study

The review of the three Newton case studies found that, overall, White, non-Hispanic local households had benefited the most from Newton’s local preference policy. This is based on the fact that selection rates were higher for White applications in each development than for applicants of color. When split into local and non-local households, White applicants were favored in local households, while selection rates were higher for applicants of color (highest for Asian households) in non-local households.

Regarding applications for affordable units, Newton’s lotteries unsurprisingly receive far more applications than there are units available: 1,157 applicants vs 61 units in the case studies. Some 73% of the applicants were non-local applicants, vying for just 30% of the units available to non-local applicants.

In the consultant’s case studies, local applicants were significantly more likely to be selected by lottery and then successfully complete the leasing process than non-local applicants, reflecting both the larger number of units set aside for local applicants and the larger pool of non-local applicants for a much smaller number of units. (14% of local applicants and 2% of non-local applicants moved into a unit.)

Moreover, it is not just a concern that local preference sets aside for 70% of affordable units in a project. This, on its face, means local applicants have more units they qualify for that are unavailable to non-local applicants, but also it must be emphasized that the local applicants who don’t win the lottery for the units reserved for local preference can also apply for the 30% of generally available (non-locally-reserved) affordable units, which puts them in further competition with non-local applicants, compounding the problem.

One other finding from the case studies: The proportion of local White, non-Hispanic tenants in the affordable units of the developments is also greater than this population’s share of the applicant pool.

The City Council will need to keep reviewing the data and debate what to do about the findings, especially in light of the question posed to us about what our policy objectives really are.

Additionally, while the review has so far focused on racial demographics, we might need additional information on whether or not the Local Preference policy is having any effect (or could be revised in some way) to help the other categories (mentioned above) of people who do not live in Newton but work here or attend school here.