Government

Watertown Community Preservation Plan Released, Committee Wants Public’s Reactions

By |

A shot of the cover of the Community Preservation Committee’s Draft Five Year Plan, released in late April. Watertown has several million dollars to spend on projects to acquire land for open space and outdoor recreation, create affordable housing and preserve the Town’s historic structures and resources. The Committee that will make recommendations on how to spend the money recently released a draft of the plan that will guide which projects will get funded. Last week, the Community Preservation Committee made the draft of a five-year plan available for the public to read (see it here). The Committee wants to know what Watertown residents think about the plan, and will host a meeting on May 20 at 7 p.m. to gather input.

Around Town

Public Invited to Help Create Principles for Watertown’s Community Preservation Process

By |

The Community Preservation Committee is determined not to let the COVID-19 pandemic slow progress toward awarding the first set of projects, but before that can happen they have some work to do and are seeking the public’s help to do so. The next step is a Webinar on Tuesday, June 30 from 6-7 p.m., which is being held in lieu of the second public forum. (See more information about the webinar and how to register below). In January, the group had a public forum to hear what types of projects residents want to see the Community Preservation funds used on. They also did an online survey and held focus groups in March just before for the shutdown, and had planned a second public forum in April but that had to be cancelled, said Lanae Handy, the Community Preservation Coordinator.

Affordable Housing

Watertown Given Protection from 40B Projects by Using Little Used Method

By |

The Town of Watertown has some protection from having dense residential projects allowed under the Chapter 40B law after being certified by the state that the Town meets a rarely used qualification. Under Chapter 40B, communities in Massachusetts have to meet certain level of affordable housing or else they must allow the construction of housing projects with 25 percent affordable housing. Watertown currently requires 15 percent of units to be affordable new apartment complexes. To qualify to avoid a Chapter 40B project, communities can get “Safe Harbor” by having 10 percent or more of its housing units sold or rented at affordable rates. Some communities have met that criteria, but Watertown does not (it has just over 7 percent).

Around Town

Community Preservation Committee Invites Public to Interactive Forum

By |

The Community Preservation Committee invites the public to find out more about the Community Preservation Act during an interactive public forum. Attendees can share their ideas to help the CPC plan to spend the CPA funds on affordable housing, open space/recreation, and historic preservation. The event will be held Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2020 from 7-9 p.m. at Tufts Health Plan, in the Mt. Auburn Rooms North & South, 705 Mt.

Government

Newly Elected Councilors At-Large Talk About Their Priorities for the Next Term

By |

Watertown Town Hall

The winners of the big race in the 2019 Watertown Election, the Council At-Large seats, can now look forward to what they would like to do over their next two years on the Council. The four winners, Anthony Donato, Tony Palomba, Caroline Bays and John Gannon, each talked about issues they would like to make a priority. Tony Palomba got the second most votes in the election, and returns for a sixth term on the Council. He said that his level of community engagement and his work to help those most in need appealed to voters. Palomba said he would like to “Continue to move the needle on creating affordable housing in Watertown.”

40B Project

Watertown Asserts It Has Met Affordable Housing Goals, Can Prevent 40B Projects

By |

Watertown officials believe they have found a seldom used way to meet the state’s affordable housing requirements, which would mean developers could not build high-density residential projects without having to go through the town’s normal zoning rules. The state law made to encourage the creation of affordable housing, often called Chapter 40B or just 40B, requires towns with less than 10 percent of its housing units that are officially designated as affordable units to allow projects with 20 percent or more affordable units to be approved in a streamlined process. Meeting the requirement is known as reaching “safe harbor.” Watertown has not reached the 10 percent threshold. There is, however, a second method to reach safe harbor, which is having 1.5 percent or more of a community’s land devoted to affordable housing.

Government

Watertown Looking into Creating Rental Assistance Program

By |

Watertown Town Hall

Watertown officials will be exploring how the Town may create a rental assistance fund to help people who need help with security deposits in order to afford an apartment or other rental housing. The proposal came from the the Council’s Human Services subcommittee, which met more than a dozen times over the past year to look for ways to increase the amount of affordable housing in Watertown. The Council approved the recommendation to ask the Planning Department to draft a proposal for tenant-based rental assistance program, or programs, including how it could be appropriately funded and staffed. Councilor Tony Palomba, who chaired the Human Services Committee, said that Waltham has a rental assistance program. “The program is very successful in Waltham, and I am sure it will be successful in Watertown.”

40B Project

Developer Eyeing Spot on Major Watertown Intersection for 40B Housing Project

By |

An image from Google Maps showing the proposed site of a 113 unit 40B housing project at the corner of Coolidge Hill Road and Arlington Street. A developer has started the process to build a Chapter 40B residential project on a major intersection in East Watertown. Under the state law to encourage the building of affordable housing, 40B projects do not have to comply with many local zoning rules. The project is proposed for 19 Coolidge Hill Road, on the former E.H. Hinds Atlantic Plant property. The proposal, according to information submitted to the MassHousing Partnership (which oversees 40B projects), would have 113 rental units on the 0.9 acre lot, and would have 28 affordable units.