Time for another totally unscientific poll.
The recent post about tear-down houses generated more comments than any post in recent memory. Do you think Newton zoning laws need changing? If so, which way should they be changed?
[polldaddy poll=7732091]
It’s not a question of too much or two little. The question is whether it’s the right kind of development or not, and is it in the right places.
Current zoning is obviously causing too much development, primarily, because developers, by current Floor Area Ratios are able to build outsized homes for the properties they are exploiting. Sadly there is a market for these behemoths. I say sadly because they inevitably take up most of the property they are built on, which leaves much less space and daylight between themselves and their neighbors, the front yards become parking lots in front of resultant street facing 2 car garage door openings ( ‘snout houses’ ), trees and landscaping are invariably cut down, green space is lost, longer shadows are cast on adjacent properties and gardens, and house to house privacy is seriously compromised.
I speak from recent, current experience. I live on a corner lot and I have 4 new houses finished within the past 3 years, and 2 more (2 families ) currently under agreement for demolition and replacement, ALL within 60 feet or less of my property. Where there was but 1 child in Newtons schools, from all of these houses, there will soon be 12 if each house / apartment sends but 2. The motive of all of these developers is a quick buck and current FAR zoning is their vehicle / mechanism.
The character and image of my neighborhood and the city is changing and it’s not for the better!
Zoning and sometimes the courts regulate building development. Low interest rates and an abundance of credit also aid this current wave of growth. For the past 10 years eastern MA has experienced an economic boom. The result is a great need for new housing. Newton isn’t the only community facing this change. Everywhere we see the same growth.
Colleen,
Yes indeed, like a metastatic cancer.
I agree with mgwa; the poll doesn’t ask the right questions. To preserve the character of our neighborhoods, FAR zoning needs to be tightened and the Tree Ordinance needs to be strengthened. And as a community, we need to look at parking regulations that encourage public transportation use to decrease the horrible traffic problems that we face on our roads.
NHC Member, it sounds like it’s not just the FAR in your case but the actual zoning allowing two-families? The snout houses you describe are atrocious, but I wonder if that isn’t a way for the developer to get around setback rules for parking?
The original zoning for any of these properties has not changed. The zoning is mixed MR1 and SR2. Setback rules for parking seem to have been ignored. One house has only 18 feet from garage to side walk.
! That house , right next door, on a 6177 sf lot is being advertised as having 4300sf of living space. Thats an FAR of .70 ! Go figure ???? Where is Inspectional Services head at ?? It has been built to within 7-1/2′ of its side yards and 20 feet of the rear yard . It’s not clear where the new owners kids , if there will be any, ( in this 4 bedroom house ) might play . Probably in my yard. It is clear that they would be going to school at Zervas, which is already so crowded that it is being torn down.
I agree with mgwa’s comment. The local neighborhood should have some input as to what is built. That needs to be balanced against the individual owner’s objectives.
And as was discussed in the thread “McMorrow: The problem isn’t too many school kids, the problem is not enough taxpayers”, what we need is for more of the new units to be the right size for and affordable to young single workers and the elderly and T-accessible. That would increase taxes while decreasing the burden on schools, plus help recruit workers in growth industries to the Boston area.
I moved here to be in a suburb with some space around and a real yard, but close and convenient to the cities (Boston and Cambridge). Newton seems to be changing to become more like the denser cities and it seems to be destroying its ambiance. character, appearance – call it what you will. More units will also make traffic – which is already bad – worse.
Our current zoning laws have resulted in Newton’s development being focused on gaudy McMansion teardowns, ground floor retail chains and 40B housing development. Meanwhile, employers in innovative industries like TripAdvisor, EMC and Eagle Investment Systems have moved their headquarters to other cities and towns.
I watched this happen in the town I grew up in beginning in the 80s. It completely changed the character of many neighborhoods which are now almost completely without green space. Don’t let this happen to Newton!
The zoning laws should reflect a better proportion of house to lot size. Lot line set backs should be greater. Get rid the “max the lot” mentality. Higher rate of property tax should kick in for houses >5,000 SF.