The newly formed Waban Area Council has put together an event for Thursday night, May 1, at 7:30 in the City Hall War Memorial and it’s got a mouthful of a name …
The ABCs of Zoning Relief for Housing Developments in Newton: A Residents’ Guide to How Developers get Permits and how the Community can have its Say
The biggest, hottest, most emotional issues in recent years seem to be real estate development projects – everything from individual tear-down houses to Riverside, Engine 6, Austin St, etc. Thursday’s night event is intended to be a primer for the general citizens on how the city’s regulatory process works for new development. They’ll be covering everything from 40B projects, to “friendly 40B”, to special permits and general zoning issues.
Rather than deal with the details of any specific ongoing projects, they’ll elucidate how the process works and where, when and how citizens can become involved and have a say for a given project.
The panelist will be:
Candace Havens, Director of Planning and Development
James Freas, Chief Planner, Long Range Planning
Alderman Marcia Johnson, Chair of Zoning & Planning Committee
Brooke Lipsitt, Zoning Board of Appeals
Kathy Winters, Moderator, Neighbor and Member of the Waban Area Council
Thanks for posting this alert Jerry.
We hope the public might come out and feel their time was well spent.
Kudos to all the panelists and councilors who worked to put this together.
I would like to offer some free advice to any Newton resident who has new construction going on near their home. Run…don’t walk to the Inspectional Services Dept at Newton City Hall and ask to see the file on the address that the new construction is taking place. Make photocopies of all the pages in the file at ISD for 20 cents per copy. Pay particular attention to the contractor’s license and worker’s comp insurance information so you can find out what insurance company is insuring the project. If your property is damaged in any manner as a result of the new construction you will be able to easily file a claim against the builder if you have their insurance information. If the information is not in the file as it should be per Mass State Law then contact Mayor Setti Warren as he should be made aware of this failing of the ISD to collect this very important information as they are required to do by the state.