Lucas/Oliver and Multi-Family Zoning By Right
At this point, there should be little debate that single-family-only zoning is a form of systemic racial bias. I’m not going to re-litigate the point here. Read The Color of Law, by Richard Rothstein or watch Rothstein talk to folks in Newton about housing and...
Save Nonantum’s Impact
I’m not sure whether to be outraged or heartened by the Save Nonantum attack ad on Bryan Barash that’s appeared on Village 14 and, one presumes, other online media. Also, I was wrong. So very wrong.Takeaways from the U-CHAN Candidates Forum on Affordable Housing — Ward 1
If you haven’t had a chance, I urge you to watch the Ward 1 Candidate Forum hosted by Uniting Citizens for Housing Affordability in Newton (U-CHAN). The forum was, to use U-CHAN’s words, “primarily focused on affordable housing for the most vulnerable and housing insecure families.” Like the Ward 2 U-CHAN forum, the Ward 1 forum was quite revealing, but along different dimensions. Click through for the video and some takeaways.Takeaways from the U-CHAN Candidates Forum on Affordable Housing — Ward 2
If you haven’t had a chance, I urge you to watch the Ward 2 Candidate Forum hosted by Uniting Citizens for Housing Affordability in Newton (U-CHAN). The forum was, to use U-CHAN’s words, “primarily focused on affordable housing for the most vulnerable and housing insecure families.” And, it was terrifically revealing. Click through for the video and some takeaways.Haven’t I seen these guys before?
Fun fact, both Tarik Lucas and Bryan Barash ran for City Council in November, but not against each other. Which means they’ve both appeared at taped debates or forums, just not the same ones. Click through for links to some of our coverage of those debates.Getting Save Nonantum right
The Save Nonantum story seems to be fairly straightforward. It’s a pointed attack on the twenty-two members of the City Council who voted to rename Columbus Day Indigenous Peoples Day. And, it’s a seemingly exaggerated and vague, if possibly sincere,...Tearing the wall down, on paper anyway
Remember the Globe editorial calling on the City of Newton to tear down the paper wall of exclusionary zoning?Turns out that, a few weeks ago, the mayor’s planning staff took the necessary next step: they revised Article 3 of the the draft zoning ordinance to allow some significant form of multi-family housing on every lot in Newton..
Fourth District Announcement: Galvin asks court to let count continue
Updated headline According to WHDH, Secretary of State Bill Galvin has asked a state court to allow municipalities in the Fourth Congressional District to complete their counts of outstanding ballots. Apparently, not all cities and towns have counted all of the...
On Auchincloss, leadership, and ally-ship
I had two thoughts upon receiving this Jake Auchincloss mailer. Auchincloss should never have sent it. And, his very language is argument that he should have sat this race out. As the image shows, Auchincloss makes a very specific claim. Among the candidates in the...Multi-family homes — what the new draft zoning ordinance actually does
The Newton Planning Department published a new proposed draft zoning ordinance and, if you care about the environment and want to create more housing choices in Newton, it’s a big step forward. Among other things, the new draft language allows the conversion of...
The Green Line is the new red line
In this season of reckoning with racial injustice, it seems there’s a growing movement to make our zoning more inclusive … within a short walk of the T.