One of the top concerns we’ve read on this blog and heard in public meetings leading up to last week’s 17-7 Northland approval, came from residents worried about what the project’s impact would be on Newton’s school population (despite an independent demographer report that suggests the school impact from Northland’s 800 apartments would be negligible.)
To those folks I say: Well then, you certainly should be concerned if Right Size Newton is successful gathering the signatures to overturn Northland because we could end up with a much larger school population increase.
Here’s how:
Under the state’s 40B law, rather than building 800 approved apartments, Northland could potentially build over 1,800 apartments (640 units on each of the site’s three parcels). And there would be nothing the city or Right Size can do to stop a 40B, the law is designed to bypass any zoning rules.
But that’s not all: Under 40B, ten percent of all units in any development must be three bedrooms.
In Northland’s just approved project only five percent of the units are three bedrooms or a total of 4o units.
But what happens if voters overturn the Northland vote and the developer chooses to build under 40B instead?
Well ten percent of each 640 unit parcel would result in a mandatory 64 three bedrooms. And since this 23 acre project is really three parcels, by law, they could build as or as many as 193 three bedrooms. I think everyone can agree that the more bedrooms, the more attractive these units will be to families with kids.
And under 40B, we’d likely also lose $10 million in traffic mitigation, free shuttles, free T passes for residents, parks, school building funds and other community give-backs that Northland and the city have thoughtfully negotiated over years of deliberations.
And those are number that should make anyone worried about our school population very nervous.
Am I the only person who likes the idea of increases in school populations? Having more young families in town renews our vibrancy as a community. It will be a sad day when we would celebrate a reduction in this figure or adopt policies directed to discourage this growth.
I agree with Paul. One of the things I’ve worried about is how as the single family property values rise, more of those families either come in later or send their kids to private school. And most of my neighbors are in their forever homes. Our street has had very few new kids since the last major property rise.
But in terms of Northland, I think a major project can overwhelm a particular school, so some level of angst/study/worry/nashing of teeth/pulling of hair is warranted.
Although Greg, I do think it is unlikely that the full size 40B would be requested, and I doubt you’d have 3 40Bs. But that’s just a guess. That’s the gamble.
Greg,
So I guess you and everyone else who has relevance and authority to further negotiate a deal with slight modifications to the current Northland Project are going to make NO endeavor. As you know I have repeatedly and repeatedly gone to you and anyone to step in and endeavor to work out a deal to satisfy both the developer and Right Side. It CAN be done. But there are no takers. So all you’re left with is making points against 40b in endeavor to dissuade the referendum voters. But it does look like that’s an uphill battle likely to fail.
So at the end of the day, since people in your position want all or nothing, and refuse to push for further negotiations, Newton will be ending up with gargantuan 40b’s with NO associated improvements for the City.
It can be avoided, but no one with authority will listen. They think the City Council vote precludes further negotiation. They’re wrong; and it’s not overstatement to call this a tragedy both for Newton and it’s residents.
BTW, this reminds me of the tragedy which befell Newton Corner some 35 years ago when after official action rejecting building heights originally sought by developer in connection with residential construction, and there was no endeavor to negotiate, Newton Corner was left with the cold bleak unfriendly, and financially plagued Cahner’s Building in lieu of a revitalized and vibrant human friendly Newton Corner.
@Paul: I’m with you 100% on wanting and needing to provide homes for young families and future generations.
My comment is really directed at those who oppose this project based on school crowding. As I’ve said before, Right Size is playing a risky game.
But I also think we should worry about losing the many beneficial amenities that are part of the just approved plan, including the many transportation management tools, eight parks and significant sustainability measures.
Signing the petition is a very big role of the dice.
Jim…seriously, do you actually speak with any authority from anyone? Like does Right Size support your very vocal efforts?
I appreciate that your trying to help, but your big idea is to eliminate the shuttle, and shrink the project. But the shuttle has lots of folks who bargained for it, the size of the project has been under discussion for years. This isn’t a game of Jenga. You can’t just pull a major aspect of the negotiated settlement and expect that it still stays standing. To say nothing of the basic real estate realities of the special permit, the financing likely be contingent on the special permit and a set number of units, and a host of other issues. It took years to build this. You take away a major negotiated point, it loses structural integrity.
Northland went through the full process. It isn’t Greg’s fault or the City’s fault if a referendum passes. Folks who sign and vote should be aware of the consequences. They own it.
Fig,
I’m not at all blaming Greg if/when the referendum passes. If anything, I’d fault Greg (and other civic leaders) for not speaking up and seeking a resolution to AVOID the referendum.
So what, the size of the project has been bargained for years with a shuttle? So we should die on the hill of the shuttle? Just adjust the size of the project to reduce traffic to the same extent the shuttle was supposedly to reduce the traffic. The developer is freed from funding the shuttles and can apply that savings in expense to some reduction of the project and its attendant profit and revenue.
Don’t forget – Northland also includes groundbreaking environmental benefits that would be a leader for other projects around the state and country to follow.
I can assure you that a 40B would make that proposition unlikely.
Actually, my criticism of Northland is that it does NOT include more 3-bedroom units. I have long thought the low number of 3-bdrm units is a stealth move against renters’ children in Newton Public Schools, an opinion that Greg’s comments reinforce. Why in the world are renters’ children less appropriate in public schools? Their parents pay taxes via rent–and the vast majority of all these units in all these developments are market price, so these renters are definitely covering the property taxes of their landlords as well as giving them a profit. The anti-children, anti-renters attitude is not only hateful but also short-sighted, as it’s younger people who are less likely to have the money to buy, even if they’re working full time. Communities that don’t have young people die.
I LOVE how everyone is freaking out because signatures are being collected for a referendum.
All of a sudden everyone who thought they were smarter than the average Newtonian, can make wherever decision they wanted on behalf of the city, and calling doubters NIMBY, is begging for citizens not the sign the referendum, and using the same tactics that earned “Right Sizers” the “fear mongering” label.
Democracy is awesome!!!!
Greg, speaking for NO ONE other than myself…..
My beef with this project has been more about lack of balance than “800” as a stand alone metric. If schools had the money to support a higher number of kids…the more the merrier. The more kids we can educate the better. But how much education are they getting if classrooms are over crowded and programs are underfunded.
If traffic mitigation of more than a couple of shuttle busses and transponders on tenants’ cars to measure trips, I’d be in complete support of 800.
Putting the 800 first, and hoping everything will work out is not a viable strategy. Putting the cart before the horse has never worked.
@Matt Lai: I was hoping you would address the main claim in this post, i.e., the issue of a 40B project potentially producing more kids in schools than the approved proposal.
@Newtoner, it’s not a black and white question.
Don’t have time on a Saturday night to research Greg’s findings (but perhaps tomorrow… Patriots game isn’t until 4;30), but “potential” is not definitive.
But I stand by the statement above… so long as the resources are there for reasonable sized classes, and properly funded programs (i.e. the arts), then the more the merrier. Education is how we future proof our economy.
$1.5m for Countryside is a nice start but NOT ENOUGH. What about Brown and NSHH??
Actually Matt. It’s entirely black and white. Move forward as negotiated and you know exactly what you’ll get and what Northland is required to do.
Take the other path and risk something you may regret.
@Matt Lai: You have been the unofficial spokesperson for Right Size on this forum. You are one of the most outspoken opponents of the project. You started a petition against it. I am amazed to hear that you still “need to research” the consequences of a 40B Northland project. Are you serious?
That’s the thing, I don’t like “exactly what (we’ll) get”. Traffic mitigation is lacking. $1.5m for Countryside is not enough.
40b could be better, but even if it wasn’t…. this issue has shifted from logic to emotion.
RSN has “reached out” to the City and Northland in the form of public presentations, comments and concerns. Want to squash the referendum? The City and Northland should invite Right Size to a sit down.
Perhaps as the head of the Newton Needham Chamber, you can broker that?
I didn’t mean for my comment about school population to suggest that I support a referendum. I don’t.
I did mean it to suggest that I think objections to this development based on concerns about enrollment at one school or another are misplaced. For one thing, the additions we are talking about fall well within the range of the normal ebb and flow of school population. For another, if one school were projected to get overcrowded, we can redistrict certain neighborhoods, a pretty regular practice in school districts everywhere.
If I hear one more person refer to the demographer’s report, I will scream. Not really, but it’s very frustrating that people continue to buy the idea that enrollment is going to tank without questioning the quality of the report (very poor).
The schools were at capacity in 2005 when the increase of 1500 students began and totally overwhelmed every school. The loss of 79 students in 23 schools (.5%) is noise.
More importantly, twelve elementary schools need to be rebuilt in order to provide for a 21st century education. The schools are in very poor condition and that problem has nothing to do with the developments. Young children shouldn’t be in school buildings with mold, asbestos, and rodents.
@Matt Lai – Did Right Size sit down with Northland and the City before last week’s vote? If so, what was Right Size looking for and what was the result?
I agree with Paul’s idea that bringing more families into the schools is overall good. It can add diversity, new blood, and gives more kids the chance to get a Newton education. However, I don’t think that the infrastructure to bring more kids is in place right now. Like Jane said, many of the schools are in rough shape. Rats, holes in the building, mold, etc. Let’s fix things like that and make sure the buildings can fit more classes. Or maybe a new school needs to be added.
I know what the demographer said, blah blag blah. But these things can be wrong, so let’s have a plan just in case there’s a boom of new families.
@Jerry – don’t know if a sit down took place. If it did, it would come as a surprise, but I’ll ask around, as it would be the first.
You’ve asked on numerous occasions Jerry, “What does Right Size want?” How about this…. “a seat at the table!”
TO MY KNOWLEDGE, members of RSN have had one-offs with various Councilors, and have been granted to ability to present at various Land Use Meetings. Yet over (2) years, no direct outreach from the Mayor, nor Northland, nor an invitation to with down with both.
RSN has been unfairly branded as fear mongering NIMBYs (especially here on V14) and never really taken seriously in this process. This is why there’s a petition for referendum.
Ok, so who specificallyshould they invite? Who represents RightSize with this development, and is in a position to “negotiate” on behalf of the group? Jim claims to be that person, but isn’t listed on their board of directors. It looks like RightSize Riverside was a separate, specific committee of the LFIA, separate from RightSize Newton – is there a similar entity for this project?
It isn’t the 40B project that I am concerned about, it is putting 800 plus apartments into any ONE spot in Newton that I have concerns about the schools. Between Northland and Riverside Newton is adding apartments at an alarming rate.
Have you seen Brown Middle School during lunch? It is CROWDED and the LINE for purchasing lunch/milk is long. My kid doesn’t want to stand in line for 15 minutes and have ten minutes to eat, so I pack a lunch and drink for her every day.
My son, who is a senior at south, never had a class in elementary school of less than 25 kids. NEVER. He was in a boom year. There was no additional space for another classroom. Three classrooms of 25 kids.
Northland and Riverside will both be slated for Brown and South. Are the buildings ready for this? Are the staffing levels ready?
Will Countryside have the “temporary” module classrooms replaced with a permanent addition? These are questions that need to be answered.
And, I don’t believe the studies that these developments won’t add to the school population as the consultants have said, because my kids have been in the schools since Avalon on Needham Street opened, and there has been a large impact on Brown and South, including busses and the cafeteria.
“[T]he school impact from Northland’s 800 apartments would be negligible . . .”
You mean the **net** impact of the new units to the school system – after accounting for background attrition – would be negligible. Stay credible, Regional Chamber President.