Central Street and Turner Street in the Newtonville Historic District
Newton is a distinctive
community for a variety of reasons, from its unique neighborhood
identities to its cultural diversity and abundant historic areas.
It's also under a lot of pressure from rising real estate prices,
a lack of undeveloped land, and ever-increasing traffic. Maintaining
and
protecting
Newton's
unique character takes a lot of hard work.
COMMUNITY
PRESERVATION ACT - Newton has made some very real progress in
recent years, using the Community Preservation Act, which
provides a
pool of funds to be used for projects in affordable housing, open
space, and historic preservation. Already a significant number of
proposals have been funded by the Community
Preservation Commission.
HISTORIC
DISTRICTS - Chestnut
Hill and Newton
Upper Falls already had Historic Districts,
and new ones were established in Newtonville and
Auburndale in
recent years. Marcia was deeply involved in working to establish
the new districts, and has been a staunch supporter of historic preservation
in Newton.
INCLUSIONARY
ZONING - Major changes were made to the Inclusionary
Zoning Ordinance, providing significant new incentives to developers
to include affordable units in any new development. The ordinance
was approved by
the Board of Aldermen and provides another valuable
tool to help increase affordable housing in Newton.
POTENTIAL
ZONING TOOLS - From large multi-unit projects to teardowns, McMansions
and Rear Lot Subdivisions, Newton faces continuing pressure from
new
real
estate development in a city with little if any undeveloped land.
We need to develop new 'tools in the toolbox' that open new ways
to
help preserve the unique character of neighborhoods while
allowing reasonable development. Overlay Districts and Design
Review Guidelines are just two promising approaches that may
help - serious work is underway.
