Andreae Downs for Ward 5 City Councilor At-Large
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April update: zoning in

4/26/2019

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In this update, I want to share some of the insights that the February build-out analysis gave Council on the second draft of Zoning Redesign, which I summarized earlier.  

Redesign delayed
Build-out analysis
    What we learned
    Additional questions
40B news
Good to know
Office Hours
Also in April  

Redesign delayed
ouncil will be taking more time on the zoning redraft for the whole city—it just became increasingly clear to the Zoning and Planning Committee chair, Susan Albright, and the Planning Department that we could not complete this work before the end of the year.  

While this will mean slightly more focus on the vision and planning for Washington Street, the Redesign work will continue.   A quick recap of the goals of this work: Match the city as it is (currently 85% of residences are non-conforming) Reduce tear-downs Advance goals like responding to climate change and housing diversity and affordability  

Build-out analysis
The build-out analysis (read the full report here looked at the maximum amount of square footage (bulk) that could be allowed under the February (2019) version of the draft zoning code, as well as the maximum number of units. Remember, these are unlikely scenarios: Under our 60-year-old zoning, in the neighborhoods, Newton owners are allowed to build 2,000 more units than have been built today, and have created only about half as much total bulk as is allowed in residences.*  

What we learned
It appears that the current Newton trend is to buy 2 family homes and convert them to single-families (data is still coming in). Two-thirds of Newton’s 1 & 2-family homes were built before 1941 (first adoption of the current neighborhood zoning)

What makes a tear-down?—As we currently understand--for the most part--properties will only be bought on spec and torn down if the replacement home can be at least 3,800 sf (including a 2-3 car garage) and resold for at least 2.4x the price of the original property. To put that in perspective, look at the dimensions of your own house. 

The good news-much of the city becomes much more tear down resistant under the February version. Homes built under this code will be smaller and cover less of the lot than is now allowed.

Additional questions Council still has to determine:

* Whether to place emphasis on number of units (which if pushed lower could create larger individual apartments) or size of units (which if pushed lower increases the number)

*Whether to insist that buildings include off-street parking in neighborhoods near village centers

*Whether to allow larger lots to be split into smaller ones, and how many/what size

*Whether to retain single-family zoning or allow splitting small “house B” type residences to contain two units  

40B news
Council was informed early February that city calculations determined Newton has moved even further from meeting the “safe harbor” for 40B—the anti-snob-zoning provision that allows multi family housing that meets a 20 or 25% minimum of units affordable to low and moderate income households.

Each municipality in Massachusetts needs to either have more than 10% of units deemed affordable by the Department of Housing and Community Development OR 1.5% of developable land occupied by affordable units.

Until Newton reaches either goal, developers can build housing projects that meet the 40B requirements and ignore most of Newton’s zoning rules. Both the numerator and the denominator in both these calculations change regularly as housing is built or as units are no longer deemed eligible for classification as “affordable.”  

Good to know
According to Newton’s Economic Development Director, the cafeteria at the UMass Amherst/Boston campus (former Mt. Ida) is open to the public. The Amherst cafeteria was voted best on-campus dining in the US, so it might be worth a try!

You can now text 911 from your cell phone anywhere in Massachusetts. While it’s recommended to call if you can, it’s good to know you can text if you can’t. Remember to give as much information—particularly the nature of the emergency and where it is.  

Office Hours
I will be at L’Aroma April 6, 10-11:30am. Come join me!  

Other April Dates
April brings Park Serve Day/Charles River Cleanup (4/27)--I will be helping out at Hemlock Gorge, the city treasure in Upper Falls. Cleanup starts at 10 am. Those of you wishing to honor former Councilor Brian Yates--the Friends of Hemlock Gorge is one of two charities to which he wished donations to go.

The next day is Newton Serves, when Newton neighbors pitch in to beautify the Garden City. Join me on the Quinobequin! Details here (meet us at the corner of Radcliffe Rd).

Hope to see you in the parks this month!



*Want to see all the zoning redesign documents? Link is here.

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MARCH UPDATE: Climate change & the Councilor

4/1/2019

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In this update, I outline how my city legislative priorities are tied to Climate Change
  1. Parking
  2. Zoning
  3. Connectivity
  4. Solar initiatives
  5. Office Hours
 
  1. Parking
If you have read some of my earlier posts, you know that I’m passionate about parking. Parking:
  • makes housing and commerce more expensive,
  • distorts the look and walkability of village centers and
  • creates heat islands.
But one of the least-appreciated effects of ample, cheap parking is that it induces driving. Your choice to drive rather than use another mode for short trips is affected by three things:
  1. Whether there’s a car in your driveway
  2. The amount of cheap, available parking at your destination
  3. How comfortable (i.e. safe & pleasant) your trip is via transit, foot, or bike
Even item [c] is essentially about parking. Too much parking makes your trip windswept and unpleasant—or if it is structured, it can mean an ugly blank wall or unnecessarily tall, monolithic buildings along your walk.
 
In Massachusetts, the rough estimate is that 40% of current emissions (and climbing!) is transportation – which, if you’ve been reading your congestion reporting, is driving cars.
 
Cruising for parking also creates emissions—which is why I and colleagues have docketed an item to allow the City to charge the lowest price necessaryto free up public, metered spaces. In some cases, this will raise the meter price, in some it will lower the meter price. City staff will assess the effectiveness of the price change every six months. If it needs further adjustment, and if they can remove time limits (I hear you, Newton Centre!), they will.
 
Surface parking lots also contribute to heat island effect. But in many cases, they are required by our Zoning Code, which is why I support removing parking minimums in the Zoning Redesign. Because we want developers to produce the least amount of parking necessary to create a successful development, not some arbitrary number in a 1950s-era “parking handbook.”
 
  1. Zoning
Of course, if all of your destinations are far from where you live, driving is essential. That’s why getting Zoning Redesign right is so critical to advancing Newton’s climate goals. The draft we have before us moves the needle—some would say not enough—to adding housing and commerce near transit. Newton and the rest of the communities within 128 need to add enough housing that is affordable to our employees (both public and private—our firefighters, police officers, teachers, city staff, nurses, etc.). Otherwise, expect to see more parking lots instead of parks or homes near schools, etc.
 
  1. Connectivity
I have joined other councilors and the mayor in advocating for better transit service, better stations and bus stops and more frequency of trains and buses to serve Newton. The City has some areas we can control around transit:
  • make buses faster by giving them signal priority (red lights that turn green when a bus approaches).
  • move stops to the far side of signals.
  • add bus shelters. (fun fact—not having a shelter is one of the most-cited reasons to not take the bus)
  • But where the City has the most leverage is in adding pedestrian connections (bike connections, too) to stops. That means sidewalks, safe crossings, but also off-road connections like the Upper Falls Greenway. I’ve been working
    • to ensure that the Greenway connects to and under Rt. 9 at Winchester Street, and
    • to get a bridge and connection to Needham on the Greenway spur.
    • I support completing the bike network (and have filed a docket item to advance it), and
    • connecting the parks near Riverside to the station site. Talk about a pleasant walk to the train!
 
  1. Solar Initiatives
If you have read this far, you have probably guessed that I support all the installations in the Solar Phase III proposed by the mayor. We can quibble about aesthetics. But the number of trees to be removed or relocated has been reduced to just a few. The cut trees will be replaced and then some within the same neighborhood. No tree trimming is necessary for the realigned installations. And we will see our electricity production increase to about 40% of municipal and school electricity use. Of course, most of Newton’s energy use is in the private sector (mostly residential), but at least the municipal fossil fuel budget can be reduced, and set an example for the rest of us.
 
  1. Office Hours
I’m always happy to chat in more depth at my office hours.
  • Saturday, March 16. 9:30 -11:00 am at Central in Newton Centre. Am sharing with Councilor Noel, so the joint will be hopping!
  • Saturday April 6th 10-11:30 am at L'Aroma in West Newton
All the best--
​Andreae

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