The Issues page includes information about key issues and projects in Watertown. I invite you to comment on any item you find interesting.

Watertown Square Area Plan Approved and Watertown Square Zoning Amendments In the last Update I provided a long explanation of the key components of the Watertown Square Area Plan (Plan), the extensive community input via emails and in-person statements, and my reflections on what I learned from the public meetings of the City Council and the Planning Board.  On Thursday, July 16 the Council and the Board voted to accept the Plan.  The Plan was approved with a few amendments including one I made to allow of an additional story for developments with 50% or more affordable units at or below 65% Area Median Income (AMI).  You can find the final Plan here.  The next step is for the City to present to state officials zoning that meets the requirements of the MBTA Communities Act. This process again involves joint meetings of the City Council and Planning to review, amend, and approval the proposed Watertown Square Zoning Amendments (Amendments) prepared by City officials. The Amendments for the four new districts, WSQ 1, 2, 3 and the Neighborhood Mixed Use (NMU ), are extensive and also resulted in a rewrite of various sections of the existing Zoning Code.  Below are key points from the general summary of the Amendments.1) Replaces the Central Business District with the four new districts that employ “form-based zoning” designed to produce streets, sidewalks, sites, and buildings to promote a vibrant Watertown Square. 2) Three of the four Watertown Square Districts (WSQ 1,2,and 3) vary by building mass, with higher maximum heights in the downtown core, while the fourth district, NMU, is a transition to lower heights near residential neighborhoods. 3) The proposed zoning continues to require inclusionary zoning for market rate developments, while making it easier to develop housing with deeper affordability. 4) An overlay district identifies the area where multifamily housing is allowed “by right” with site plan review.  This will allow Watertown to comply with the MBTA Communities Act, which needs to be in place by December 31, 2024.   As mentioned, the Amendments have triggered changes in the existing Zoning Code.  A few examples include -1) Consolidating the present ten criteria, in place for many years, to six criteria required for a site plan review and a subsequent site plan view permit. 2) The consolidation of existing sustainability requirements and the introduction of new requirements and guidelines. 3) Deleting restrictions on redevelopment of municipal land that would hinder the reuse of municipal parking lots. 4) Amendments that would allow accessory dwelling units (ADU) in order to comply with a new state law. For a complete list of the Amendments please go here.The City Council and the Planning Board has met twice, on October 16 and October 24, to discuss the Amendments. You can view the meetings on WCATV.   Additional meetings are scheduled for Tuesday, October 29 and Wednesday, October 30.     A related issue was whether it would be necessary for the City to establish a Redevelopment Authority to facilitate the development of City-owned property, in this case the public lot behind CVS.  At a recent meeting of the Committee on Economic Development and Planning the City Manager announced that this would not be necessary as the City Council was given the power to act as an Redevelopment Authority.  However, it order to do this, the City Council must be presented with a plan for development of city-owned property.  Manager Proakis indicated that the administration would propose such a plan.

Update on the Climate and Energy Plan, New Grants, Committee Meeting & More  Good news about the City’s Sustainability Team.  Ms. Mia Kania was recently hired as the City’s Sustainability Planner and Ms. Fangxue Zheng was hired as the our Energy Advocate.  They will join Katie Swan, the City’s Environmental Planner/Conservation Agent, as members of the Sustainability Team under the direction of Laurel Schwab, the Sustainability Project Manager.  The Team now includes four full time employees responsible for the implementation of the Climate and Energy Plan (Plan).  In related news the City recently received three grants.  The City was awarded a $976,270 Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness (MVP) Action Grant. This is a continuation of the City’s Community Greening Program (Program) which was launched in 2021.  The new grant will allow an expansion of the Program and its goal to “use nature-based solutions to create climate resilient neighborhoods and actively engage residents in the process.”  The two-year grant will address the three major impacts from climate change – extreme storms, urban flooding, and extreme heat – that Watertown faces.  To learn more about the grant, its goals, and the timeline for implementation of key milestones, contact Laurel Schwab at lschwab@watertown-ma.gov.  A new grant will pay for the operations of the City’s Blue Bike program.  The City was awarded a Shared Streets and Spaces Funding Grant from the Massachusetts Department of Transportation.  To learn more about the grant and the new locations of bike stations contact Zeke Mermell at zmermell@watertown-ma.gov. Also, the City was awarded a grant of $78,788 from the State as part of Governor Healy’s $3 million grant program to help Transportation Management Associations.  The City of Watertown and the Watertown Transportation Management Association (WTMA) will use the funds to increase oversight of and compliance with the City’s Transportation Management Demand Ordinance (Ordinance).  This is a very important grant as the oversight of the TMA Plans developed by commercial and residential developers has been lax due to staff shortage and the absence of a Senior Transportation Planner.  Again, for more information about the grant and the requirements of the Ordinance please reach out to Zeke Mermell.    Save the Date! The Committee on Climate and Energy will hold a meeting on Monday, November 18 at 5:30 PM in the City Council Chambers to discuss the implementation of the City’s Climate and Energy Plan.  In addition to an overall update on the progress to achieve the Plan’s goals, we will focus on the Transportation and Mobility Plan Element.  This will be a hybrid meeting and will be live on WCATV.  You can see the full Plan in detail here. Coming soon!  The City Council and the Committee on Climate and Energy is looking forward to receiving from the Administration three ordinances that are proposed in the Plan – the Building Emission Reduction and Disclosure Ordinance (BERDO), the Recycling Ordinance, and the Tree Ordinance.  Stay tuned for public discussions of these important Action Items in the Plan.  Finally, if you haven’t seen it, may I recommend that the you contact Laurel Schwab and ask to be put on the email list to receive the Resilient Watertown Newsletter.  It comes out every two months and provides information about what the Sustainability Team is doing.

Affordable Housing – Willow Park, United Methodist Church, Rental Assistance Needs and HAW Policy Briefing In the last Update I shared the good news that the Watertown Housing Authority (WHA) and Boston-based non-profit developer, Preservation of Affordable Housing (POAH) had entered into an agreement for the redevelopment of WHA’s Willow Park Development in the East End.  Today I can share more good news about this project.  Recently POAH purchased a nearby home that allowed it to increase the number of NEW affordable units from 65 to 78 as well as add additional parking. These will be the first time affordable units will be created in Watertown in many years.  POAH also recently petitioned the Watertown Housing Trust (Trust) for a $400,000 grant for pre-construction costs.  On Tuesday, October 15 the Trust approved the request.  POAH will be submitting a proposal to the Community Preservation Committee for additional financing from the Community Preservation Fund.  The project continues to have strong support from the existing tenants, from the City, and members of the neighborhood. Efforts to convert the Watertown site of the Belmont-Watertown United Methodist Church into affordable housing  took a step forward with a decision by the Trust to request a Feasibility Study from its consultant.  The study included 4 options with affordable units for seniors ranging from 40 units to 51 units.  All options took into consideration that the Church is located in an Historical District and would need approval of the Historical District Commission.  The options also included significant community space.  The Trust decided to share the conceptual designs with non-profit housing developers in the area to see if one or more would be interested and able to develop the site.  As of this writing, I have not heard if any developer has responded.The results of the Direct Rental Assistance Program (Program) funded through a American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) grant of $212,500 to Metro West Collaborative Development (Metro West)  in cooperation with the City dramatically demonstrations the challenge many renters in Watertown are facing. Metro West announced the Program on October 7 and stopped taking application on October 18 “due to the overwhelming response”.  They received 178 applications and were able to help only 100 families or individuals. Clearly there is a need for further rental assistance programs.   There has been quite a bit of discussion about increasing affordable housing in Watertown, particularly in the Watertown Square area via the Watertown Square Area Plan and the subsequent Watertown Square Zoning Amendments (see above).  Housing for All Watertown has written a very useful Policy Brief on what Watertown can do to increase affordable housing.  Drawing on data and examples from other cities, the Brief details specific bonuses a community can provide developers through zoning regulations that would make it easier for developers to build more affordable housing.  You can read the brief here.

Life-Science Development in Watertown It is hard to know what the future of life-science development in Massachusetts, and particularly in Watertown, will be. News articles point to a glut in available space where supply is outpacing demand.  In Watertown there are a number of developments that have been built but do not have tenants and there is a million square foot of available space.* At the State of the City meeting in September, City Manager Proakis noted that there are 11 lab buildings permitted yet not under construction.  At the same time, some developers are moving forward anticipating that the slow down is only temporary and the demand for space will ramp up in the future.  Boylston Properties is proposing a development, 300 Forge, on a section of the Home Depot parking lot that will be six stories and have 175,000 sq. ft. of available space for life-science companies.  If you missed the in-person community meeting on Wednesday, October 23 there will be a remote meeting on Monday, November 4 from 6:00 PM to 7:30 PM via https://bit.ly/ay-mp-amendment.  Alexandria Real Estate Equities (ARE) is another company that is betting on a rebound.  They recently held a second community meeting and went in front of the Planning Board on October 9 seeking approval of Phase 1 of their Watertown Mail Transformation Project.   We know that development results in new growth in our tax base. New development also provides much needed linkage fees that is used to build affordable housing.  Development is one of the reasons why Watertown has built two new elementary schools and renovated a third while building a new high school at the same time significantly expanding hiring.  It is hard to forecast what will happen even with the Boylston and Alexandria projects, but City Manager Proakis has made it clear as he develops the Fiscal Year 2026 budget that he is not banking on the same level of new growth in the immediate future. *Recently the 66 Galen Street development concluded a deal with a company that will rent more than half of their available space.

Health and Human Services Assessment and a New Director and DepartmentIt is with great joy and a bit of personal satisfaction that I announce that the Health and Human Services Assessment (Assessment) is in its final draft!  After two community meetings, dozens of individual interviews and 8 focus groups with veterans, members of the Commission on Disability, social service providers in Watertown, members of Project Literacy, clinicians, leaders of community based organizations and City department heads, Health Management Associates (HMA) has delivered its final draft report and recommendations to the City Manager.  I and others have advocated for such an study before City Manager Proakis came on board two years ago.  Here are HMA’s nine recommendations and suggested timeline for implementation: 1) Create a Watertown Human Services Director Position and a new Human Services Department – January 2025 2) Establish a Watertown Health and Human Services Cabinet – January 2025 3) Improve Digital Front-Door Awareness and Access to Watertown’s Health and Human Services – March 2025 – June 2026 4) Establish a Physical Front Door to Watertown’s Health and Human Services – January -March 2025 5) Establish Deeper Relationships with CBOs of Key Programs and Services – July 2025 – ongoing 6) Improve Access to Food Supports – July 2025 – ongoing      – Relocate the Food Pantry – November 2025 7) Establish a Comprehensive DEI Strategy – December 2025 – June 2026       – Create a DEI Director Position – July 2026 8) Establish a Language Access Program – November 2024 9) Develop a Health Promotion and Wellness Strategic Plan – July 2025 – June 2026 On Monday, October 21, HMA and the City held one final community meeting to discuss the Assessment, which you can read here. There was strong support for the recommendations from those attending which included 6 city councilors.  There was also a suggestion from a resident to create and staff an affordable housing division within the new Department.   Once the City Manager receives the final Assessment he will submit it to the City Council.  I anticipate that the City Council President will refer the Assessment to the Committee on Human Services which I chair and serve on with Councilors Bays and Gannon.  The Committee will hold a public meeting and report back to the full City Council.   You can read the Assessment here.

Watertown Citizens for Better ParkingThere is a new community organization in Watertown – Watertown Citizens for Better Parking – which is building community support for eliminating the present Winter Parking Ban (Ban).  You may remember that after receiving many emails from folks who wanted to eliminate the Ban, I organized two zoom meetings to discuss the issue.  While I received a couple of responses in favor of keeping the Ban, there was overwhelming support for eliminating it.  Following those meetings a group of residents continued to meet and eventually formed Watertown Citizens for Better Parking.  They have initiated a Citizen Petition to place the issue in front of the City Council.  While a Citizen Petition only requires 150 signatures, the group is well on its way to its goal of collecting 1,000 signatures.  Please visit the group’s website at https://sites.google.com/view/betterparkingwatertown where you can view a video explaining the benefits of removing the Ban and download and sign the Petition. (A Citizen Petition cannot be signed online.)  Before you return your signed Petition to 12 Upland Road, you are also encouraged to circulate it among your neighbors, family, and colleagues. If you have questions, please send an email to betterparkingwatertown@gmail.com.

News from City Hall  More Citizen Voices on the Traffic Commission  I have long thought that one of the most powerful commissions in City government is the Traffic Commission (Commission).  The Commission decides on everything from where a stop sign might go to how residents’ concerns about cut through traffic are addressed.  Until recently the Commission included 5 representatives of City government – Police, Fire, Public Works, Community Development and Planning, and the City Engineer, as well as two residents.  I am happy to say that the City Council supported a recommendation from the City Manager to amend the ordinance that establishes the Commission, its members, and its responsibility.  Now the Commission will include “Four residents of the City, representing a broad range of road users including pedestrians, transit users, bicyclists and commercial users appointed by the City Manager and confirmed the the City Council…”.   No Fines for Violations of the Residential Ice and Snow Removal Ordinance In January the City Council passed the Residential Ice and Snow Removal Ordinance (Ordinance) that was to go into effect in the 2024-2025 winter season.  In preparation of the implementation, the City developed a robust outreach and educational effort that included FAQs and graphic visuals that explained the requirements of the Ordinance.  As outlined in a memo to the City Council, the City Manager has determined that due to the lack of substantial snow fall in the 2023-2024 season much of the outreach and educational efforts were not realized.  Therefore, he will not institute the fines associated with the Ordinance this coming winter, though the Ordinance will be enforcement and warnings will be issued.  New Traffic Specialist Program at the Watertown Police Department The City of Watertown will establish a new Traffic Specialist Program (Program) at the Watertown Police Department (WPD).  The ongoing commercial and residential construction and the major road repairs that Watertown is presently experiencing and the knowledge that it will only increase, for example with the Mt. Auburn Street reconstruction, presents the WPD with a serious public safety challenge.  In short, WPD can’t fill the many requests for traffic details.  In a recent memo to City Manager Proakis, Police Chief Hanrahan noted that in a recent three month period there was a demand for over 1,850 traffic details.  The combined efforts of full-time WPD officers, Special Watertown Police Officers, and Out-of-Town police officers covered less than half of the requested details.  Enter the Watertown Traffic Specialist Program!  Individuals will be hired as Watertown Traffic Specialist (Specialist) to cover many of the traffic detail requests.  They will be trained by the WPD and their compensation will come from the vendors who require traffic details.  A Specialists will also be required to cover four crossing guard posts once a month.  Look for more details about the Program and how to apply in the coming weeks.  New Faces at City Hall  Welcome Maurice Myrie as the City’s new Chief Technology Officer.  Mr. Myrie, who began work on October 28, arrives with 12 years experience as a chief information/technology officer.  He was the CIO at the Worcester County Sheriff’s Office for 10 years and most recently worked for the Town of Duxbury.  Ms. Shannon Kelleher has joined the Procurement Department as our new Financial Specialist.  She has served in the Capital Projects Department at Brandeis University prior to joining the Watertown staff.  Other new folks who have come on board since the last Update include – Mark Lang as our Management and Grants Specialist, Andrew Booras as the Associate Assessor, Deanna Earle as a new Health Officer, and Patrick Rice as our new Staff Engineer.  Finally, a very big congratulations to Ernie Thebado on his appointment as the new Recreation Director!  Ernie has served as the Assistant Recreation Director for many years and brings a wealth of experience and insight that will benefit all users of the Recreation Department’s numerous and varied programs.  Call for Volunteers for the Pride Committee The Watertown Pride Committee is seeking enthusiastic and dedicated residents to join the team responsible for planning and  executing the premiere event that celebrates and supports our LGBTQ+ community.  The Pride Committee is responsible for organizing events, activities, and initiatives that promote inclusivity, diversity, and equality within our community.  For more information, responsibilities, and requirements, please visit  https://www.watertown-ma.gov/1415/Pride-Committee.

SHOUT OUT to the Watertown Public Arts and Culture Committee and The Resident Advisory Committee The Watertown Public Arts and Cultural Committee (PACC) may be a relatively new addition to the City’s many volunteer committees and commissions, but it sure is one of the most productive and collaborative.  In addition to its own initiatives such as the Community Sculpture Walk and Edible Watertown, it collaborates with city departments and other organizations to sponsor other events such as the River of Light and Arts Walk. The members of the Committee are Dawn Evans Scaltreto, Matthew Hanna, Roberta Miller, Erin Webb, Swati Biswas, Archy LaSalle (Chair), Barbara Epstein, Jason Wilson and Sally Young.  They are supported by Liz Helfer, the City’s Public Arts and Culture Planner.  A particularly unusual offering is the PACC’s “Visitor Guidelines” which welcomes folks to attend its monthly meetings.  Please take a moment and learn more about the PACC and sign up for its Watertown Arts Bulletin by visiting its webpage at https://www.watertown-ma.gov/614/Public-Arts-and-Culture-Committee.One of the major changes to the Watertown City Charter was the creation of a Residents’ Advisory Committee (RAC) whose charge is to “assists with recruitment, evaluation, and selection of candidates for appointment to the City’s volunteer Boards, Commissions, and Committees” and to “work with the City Manager to establish policies and practices to actively encourage a diverse pool of applicants, recognizing the importance of diversity in appointments, including, but not limited to, gender identity, sexual orientation, race, and ethnicity.” This is no easy task, but the members of the RAC – J. Elizabeth Cremens (Chair), Kathryn J. Madden, Sam Ling, Theophilus Offei (Vice Chair), and Thomas J. Tracy – have proven they are up to the task.  With the assistance of JoAnna Hand from the Manager’s Office, the RAC meets regularly to interview candidates and make recommendations to the City Manager.  Check out more about the RAC at its webpage at https://www.watertown-ma.gov/1012/Residents-Advisory-Committee.

Take Out Your Calendar!Celebrating Disability Awareness: Voices & Perspectives – Saturday, November 2, 2:30 – 4:30 PM Watertown Free Public Library. Four community members with disabilities will speak about their experiences.  At the end of the event, there will be time to visit with local disability organizations to learn more about their available resources. The event is hosted by World in Watertown, Watertown Free Public Library, and Watertown Commission on Disability. CART services and ASL interpretation will be provided. Community Meeting on Victory Field 2 – Wednesday, November 6, 6:30 – 7:30 PM Lowell  School Cafeteria at 123 Lowell Avenue. Victory Field’s construction drawings are 75% complete!  Come to get an update on the progress and connect directly with the Design Team to learn more about the project. Watertown Senior Services 2024 Senior Health Fair – Thursday, November 14, 12 noon – 3:00 PM Hibernian Hall. Watertown’s Department of Senior Services and the Watertown Council on Aging are pleased to announce the Annual 2024 Senior Health Fair featuring informative presentations on prevention and valuable health and wellness community supports and services. Meet the Human Rights Commission – Tuesday, December 10 at the Watertown Free Public Library. The time of the event isTBD. Join World in Watertown for a reception with the newly appointed Human Rights Commissioners, who will introduce themselves and discuss their vision for the community.  There will be plenty of time for questions!