Ahead of Monday’s scheduled vote, Newton Mayor Ruthanne Fuller is offering her strongest endorsement yet of the Northland project, including it’s transportation plan, the Globe’s John Hilliard reports
“Bottom line, I think this development is right-sized and surrounded with a transportation plan that makes this work for people who live nearby and for people who will come here to live and work and play,” Fuller said.
In my opinion, the failure of Newton’s elected “leaders” to recognize the real issues and opportunities associated with the Northland project have led us to what will be viewed as historic disaster. And that harsh prediction is coming from someone who has supported many large projects in Newton including Chestnut Hill Square, Austin Street and Washington Square.
The Northland proposal cut the wrong way from the very beginning when city “leaders” bit hard on shuttle buses and a sprinkler park rather than focusing on affordable housing and a fair impact mitigation plan for public schools.
If things go as they now appear, Northland will receive an extraordinarily valuable Special Permit without even meeting the housing affordability standard that would apply to a far less profitable 40b development. Northland should be required to offer 30% of the housing units at the affordable standard.
The $1.5m Northland ponied up for Countryside School is pennies on the dollar compared to the true educational costs associated with their development. Northland should be required to provide 15K sf of onsite educational space to Newton Public Schools.
I don’t get to use the term “historic disaster” very often when it comes to Newton. But if approved, that is exactly what this version of the Northland plan will prove to be.
I said it in more details in an earlier post, but will repeat the highlights here. I have no confidence that the transportation improvements we all know are needed in the years ahead can possibly keep pace as anticipated large scale development further overwhelms the carrying capacity of our already fragile and overly stressed systems. I Wish I was wrong about this, but I don’t think I am.
@Bob Burke: I wanted to hold off on responding until you would have completed your online communications fast, which sounds like a wonderful idea. (Can I nominate some potential fasters? :) )
Now that you’re back, or when you return, I’m wondering which elements of Northland’s very extensive TDM you don’t have “confidence” in? I’m asking because it’s multi-pronged, developed and modified over many months and was thoroughly vetted by an independent peer review team. And, really, just saying you don’t like it, isn’t surprising coming from Bluepint or Jim, but I’m sure your analysis would be more considered.
All the details are specified in the board order.
Shuttle buses??? LOL
Anyone remember NEXUS?
Sprinkler park??? ROFL
How long will that fad last?
@Jim – Nexus was poorly planned and not very useful. I think something that focuses on getting people to transit points, especially ones that don’t have much (if any) all day parking and runs more frequently is more likely to succeed. For example, I live an easy walk from a D line stop but the one for my office is too long a walk. If there were a shuttle from it to someplace close to my office, I’d switch to taking T to work.
I won’t be able to respond to any comments on my response to this post. In three minutes, Joanne and I will be signing off of all electronic communications equipment for 24 hours. We’re not Jewish, but we are trying to do a variation of the 24 hours sunset to sunset quiet contemplative sabbath period that many of our Jewish friends incorporate into their weekly routine of prayer and quiet contemplation. So, we are about to block Trump, Northland and other such disturbances from our minds for 24 hours. I Hope this will become a regular routine.
Meredith, I recall not only did plans go into Nexus, but that there were successive plans when each previous plan for routes failed.
The Northland departure point — then along the more than overwhelmingly trafficked Needham St. — to only one destination, Newton Highlands T, is even more deficient than Nexus which had several routes and numerous destination stops in Newton.
Sure, the Northland Needham St. shuttle bus will serve a few or those just heading to the N.H. T (and BTW further clogging Needham St. with the new shuttle buses), but the vast majority will not be on those buses.
My curiosity is which will last longer upon Northland’s completion, the oh so trendy sprinkler park (mommy mommy let’s drive down the Needham St. parking lot to the no place to change into bathing suits concrete structure with water sprays), or, the mostly empty revenue losing shuttle buses further backing up traffic on Needham Street’s one lane?
Jim: alhough Northland’s shuttle plan has changed to free shuttles every ten minutes to the Highlands, the reasons Nexus failed were discussed here.
Also Jim. I’d bet you a nickle you’ve never read the board order that includes all the requirements placed on Northland regarding transportation. If you did you’d know there are penalties incurred if Northland doesn’t meet its traffic mandates.
@Mike Striar how much affordable housing will there be at Northland?
Greg,
Having read the V14 thread you cite and link, that is no disposition or certainly full or final on the reasons NEXUS failed.
And if circumstances reveal that the Northland shuttle bus is a failure in achieving the reported objective, it WILL NOT be continued — unless the shuttle bus were written into a recordable interest encumbering the property which it is not. A permitée can always seek revision in its permit if its terms no longer make sense.
Thanks for answering my question Jim. You owe me a nickle. Yes, you have no idea what the Northland TDM requirements or penalties are so you’re just going to make up your own as it suits your narrative.
Have a great evening
Greg, are you suggesting permits or terms of approval, including “penalties” can’t be revised down the road? Especially with changed circumstances or findings?
I’d suggest you do some legal research.
The fact that the “no banks” condition in the Washington Place special permit did not even survive the construction period, does not inspire confidence.
@Greg ,.. re “penalties incurred if Northland does not meet its traffic mandates”.
OK, Lets assume Northland doesn’t meet its mandates, and there is snarl after snarl up and down Needham Street and the surrounding neighborhood.
So then they pay the city a bundle of money.
How does money paid to the city treasury solve traffic problems ?
How does the affected citizenry, regularly stuck in traffic, or emergency vehicles slowed and not reaching a dire situation in a timely fashion, benefit from monies paid to the city ? Lower taxes? More time with their families? Less fuel burned sitting in their cars?
“Penalties incurred”, are not an answer to out of scale development !
@Blue: Clearly you don’t know the details of the Northland transit program that you object to either.
If you did, you’d know that the penalties aren’t a fine, it’s a requirement that Northland invests millions more on mitigation until the traffic counts hit the required level.
Really folks, if you understand the plan I’m happy to discuss it but if you’re just going make assumptions to meet your narrative, I have some shopping to do.
@Greg
What happens once Northland is built and they are unsuccessful fixing traffic?
What happens in 20 or so years where the mitigation funds are a drop in the ocean?
What happens when Riverside comes online too, and people waiting to board the green line at the highlands can’t even get on, will they even bother with shuttle? How would Northland fix that?
@Simon:
What happens when we continue to block or cut back on the creation of multi-family housing and young families, millennials and others are forced to move further from jobs, clogging our roads and warming our planet, which leads to devastating floods, brutally hot summers and other extreme climate swings?
What happens to our residents who’ve lived in Newton for decades and raised families here, but can no longer stay in their multi-floored homes and can’t find a place to live in their city that has essential amenities like an elevator?
What happens when employers decide they can’t stay or locate in Newton because groups like Right Sized Newton block the housing that will help them attract employees to work here?
Or, I suppose, what happens if Northland decides to build a 40B instead and we have all the problems you outlined in your comment but none of the mitigation remedies that have been vetted by the independent peer review traffic experts?
Greg. Simon, Blue et al.,
There’s a simple solution to the problem of enforceability of these transportation requirements — which Northland should be able to agree to if they are being honest and forthright.
That is, simply determine a present dollar value to all these obligations, and the City assess that amount against Northland and puts the money into a separate city account. It can provide for extending payments over time assessed against Northland, secured by an ebcumbrance on the property. And let the City of Newton determine what it wants vis a vis traffic mitigation or transportation, which can be revised by the City depending upon any changing circumstances.
Everything, including projected future obligations (which after all boil down to money) can be calculated to a present day value. If Northland agrees that means it is being honest and forthright about their beliefs and intentions re the future. If Northland balks at this, it means they are figuring they’ll be in a position to escape or reduce those obligations down the road.
This both solves that problem and gives Newton the flexibility it will need down the road, and it avoids future hassle with Northland if there is disagreement.
Case closed.
Jim: Let me guess, still haven’t read the board order, right?
Greg,
I HAVE read the order and re the offsite vehicular transportation part — which is what I’m referring to, i.e. any bus shuttles (not offsite physical traffic improvement). There’s a loophole wide enough for a Mack Truck! Northland can submit changes in the transportation plan when new vertical building permits are issued and on in the future showing new factors — in any event long after the initial special permit was issued. (Who’s got the leverage and where is any resolution over future difference set out — or is the intent to keep the Newton Solicitor’s office busy?)
As I said, just have Northland give the present value of ALL (not just some of) the money to be committed for that shuttle transportation up front (or amortized over years secured as an encumbrance on the property) leaving it to the Newton traffic department to decide what it deems needed and wants — rather than give ALL the leverage to Northland once it has the initial permit.
Time and time again, Fuller is willing to throw Upper Falls under the bus so she can associate her name to less than 20% affordable housing….while sitting in her Chestnut Hill home, far from the chaos that will be Needham Street.
A couple of electric busses will not solve the traffic problem. Northland will end up paying as a result….and what will our Mayor do? Divert the funds to her pet project du jour, whether it be NewCal or Webster Woods, while Upper Falls is left having to live with dense (er) traffic, over crowded classrooms and $40 entrees (yes, this will hurt The Baltimore, Jean & Lee’s and Dunn Gaherin’s in the long run also). The latest in a growing and alarming trend of over-gentrification and development.
https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2019/11/30/boston-chinatown-poised-before-precipice/u0Ugzw7Dha8d8Yjg4NRL9K/story.html
Matt,
Yes, “chaos that will be Needham Street”.
(What are our City leaders thinking???)
@ Greg R’s advice I have taken a cursory look at the 45 page Special Permit ( draft ), application for City Council approval this Monday night .
WOW!!!!!
It appears to me that Northland has assembled a huge laundry list of Architects, Consultants , Lawyers, etc etc. to impress our leaders into drinking the cool-ade. They have a huge investment here in what also appears to be a vast pie in the sky Scheme, divesting themselves of much responsibility when and if things go wrong.
The Planning Department is called upon to review and approve of myriad proposals, dumping ultimately on the city, responsibility for much of what might go wrong here. Are THEY really up to this ???!!!
And Inspectional Services will have to sign off on code complexities that I wonder if they have the sophistication to be dealing with. ??? Let’s watch for early retirements, resignations etc from this department!
And the City Council is approving this ??!!! And the Mayor ??!!!
Oh Boy,.. what are we getting into here???? This is a trans Atlantic crossing in a small, ill prepared vessel, and shipping lanes are few and far between.
Good Luck !!!!
And ,.. how complicated does it get when Northland exercises it’s right to Condo-minimize units and ownership becomes diversified. Just think of the legal maze / mess that might arise!
@Matt Lai – I think you’re barking up the wrong tree. It’s the City Council that will either approve/not approve Northland’s Special Permit, not the mayor.
Blueprint,
Yes, Northland’s lawyers have done an extraordinarily exceptional job FOR NORTHLAND. Where were Newton’s lawyers???
Having had been a (federal- US Dept of Interior) government lawyer for many years and working on such or similar documents, I wouldn’t let that pass first draft.
But if something like this scheme WAS/IS intended by our city leaders, I more than agree with your WOW!!!
@Jerry Reilly, I’m not barking up the wrong tree. This post is about Fuller’s endorsement of the Northland project, effectively turning a blind eye to the concerns of that residents of Upper Falls.
@Greg Reibman. The 24 hour sunset to sunset quiet time away from all electronic communications devices was wonderfully refreshing and uplifting. We are looking forward to repeating it next week and beyond. As a result,however, I did not see your request for comment on the Board Order until a few hours back. I wasn’t commenting on the shuttle itself, but on the fact that one of its primary goals is to load more commuters onto the already stressed and breakdown prone Riverside Line. I see this problem in terms of a larger regional problem that will affect not just Newton, but many other municipalities as well.
1. I’ve just thumbed through several documents I reviewed over the past several months including the City’s Climate Action Plan, the Massachusetts Energy and Climate Plan for 2020″, and several MBTA planning documents, particularly — “Focus 40-The 2040 Investment Plan for the MBTA.
2. The MBTA’s Focus 40 Plan is comprehensive, ambitious and an easy read. I’m almost certain most of the regional specific strategies they put forward will ultimately be completed. I only question the timeline for many of them which I think are overly optimistic.
3. The MBTA is now engaged in the most comprehensive and far reaching improvement and modernization program since Boston Mayor James Michael Curley’s massive Depression Era construction program extended the T’s subway, trolley and bus service from the Boston downtown to virtually every part of the City and beyond. The time challenge here is that the system that Mayor Curley created is essentially the same one we have here now.
4. Northland, by itself, won’t cause the D Line to go under, but the steady drip drip of added commuters from aggressive and stepped up new development across the 4 branches of the Green Line is almost certain to cause service and reliability disruptions during a long period between the time that much if not most of this new development is constructed and the time that the phased transit improvements are in place.
5. I’ve talked with several of the T drivers, usually when I’m coming home from Boston rather than when I’m going in. They are excited about many of the current and planned improvements, but stress that the entire Green Line is never going to be a particularly good fit because you essentially have four overly stressed lines funneling into one tunnel between Kenmore and North Station.