Newton City Councilors should listen before they leap

This is not a trick.

Your twice weekly Charles River Chamber newsletter is dropping one day early so I can remind you that ticket sales close at noon today for tomorrow’s Fall Business Breakfast at the Newton Marriott.

Steve Gross, from the Life Is Good Playmaker Project will certainly be a treat. And we’re honoring Darryl Settles for his inspirational work in our region.

The main attraction will be you and more than 400 business and civic leaders from across our region all of whom will probably have eaten too many Reese's Peanut Butter Cups the night before.

See you tomorrow and happy Halloween.

New portal connects employers with skilled workers

This week the Healey-Driscoll administration launched a new  new online job platform.

The portal aims to serve as a matchmaker for employers and job seekers in the life science, health and human services, clean energy, technology, cyber security and advance manufacturing sectors.

The MassTalent website includes separate sections for employers to list high skilled jobs and for job hunters with the ability to filter by job category, location and remote opportunities.  

There’s no charge to create an account, or participate. It’s part of the Massachusetts Workforce Agenda, under Secretary of Labor and Workforce Development Lauren Jones.

Needham in risk of losing millions

A misguided effort to overturn the MBTA Communities Law plan that was approved by Needham Town Meeting last week could result in the town losing access to millions in state and federal funding.

If the NIMBY’s referendum succeeds, Needham could lose grants for rebuilding the  Pollard and Mitchell schools, Green Communities grants, road improvements, and others.  

In addition, Congressman Jake Auchincloss has said communities in his district that don’t comply with the MBTA Communities Act will not be eligible for community project funding through his office.

Peter O’Neil at the Needham Observer has a good explainer, and also notes the odd fact that none of signature collectors or organizers were willing to speak to a reporter. (Organizers’ names don’t appear on their website either.)

Dozens of  Needham businesses — representing virtually every segment of our local economy and thousands of employees — support the plan that was approved last week.

If you live in Needham, please do not sign the petition.

If you know anyone who lives in Needham, please also ask them not to sign it.

Watertown pursues affordable housing upgrade

The production of market-rate housing can only do so much to stem the affordability crisis in Massachusetts.

We also need to build more affordable public housing.

On that front, Watertown has made some progress with its planned 40B redevelopment of the public housing property at Willow Park.

The Watertown Housing Authority project aims to replace 60 existing affordable units while creating 78 new deed-restricted affordable units. How is such affordability achievable? Part of the answer is nonprofit developers like POAH, who specialize in these projects and have taken up this one.

Today’s grab bag

• Mary Pat Dauria, the affable owner of Abbott Frozen Custard in Needham for 17 years has sold her beloved Great Plain Ave. business. (Needham Observer)
• Waltham’s Mighty Squirrel Brewing is planning to open a taproom and kitchen at Arsenal Yards in Watertown. The 4,000-foot space will include a full food menu and outdoor patio. (Boston Restaurant Talk)
• Tomorrow is the last day to participate in the Retailers Association of Massachusetts confidential survey to understand small business challenges. Massachusetts retailers are invited to complete the 10-minute survey.
• Newton Neighbors are hosting the Bruce Hugh Wilson Giving Thanks Gift Card Drive to help local families in need enjoy holiday meals.
• La Colaborativa’s Fall Job Fair 2024 on Nov. 7 from 12:30 to 4:30 p.m. in Chelsea, invites businesses to connect with job seekers. Free participation includes interview rooms and application support; contact Clara Dilernia at clarad@la-colaborativa.org.
• The Watertown Public Arts and Culture Committee (PACC) has selected three finalists to design a mural honoring Armenian-American artist Arshile Gorky. The mural will be located along the Watertown-Cambridge Greenway and is set to be unveiled in 2025

Newton City Councilors should listen before they leap

Finally, the Newton City Council’s Zoning & Planning Committee signaled Monday that it is ready to approve a proposed BERDO ordinance that would require owners of commercial properties of at least 20,000 SF to report and eventually reduce fossil fuel use or be subject to fines.

The committee also appeared ready to include multi-family buildings larger than 20,000 SF to the ordinance, even after Mayor Ruthanne Fuller requested residential be decided next year.

Here’s the problem with that: Multi-family properties were not in the ordinance when the committee held its only public meeting this year on the proposal.  Since it wasn’t in the draft, there hasn’t been any real discussion about the potential impact the regulations might have on housing prices, or supply — concerns that recently led Cambridge to remove residential from a similar ordinance.  

“We have a climate crisis. We also have a housing crisis. We have an affordability crisis. And we have a housing shortage crisis. We do not know the implications of [BERDO] on those [last] two issues.” I told the committee Monday.

Maybe adding residential is the right thing to do. But shouldn’t the council discuss what BERDO would do to rents and housing supply first?

We’ve requested that the committee provide property owners and other members of the public with an opportunity to be heard before any final vote.

We hope they agree.

That’s what you need to know for today, unless you need to know about the biggest man on campus….any campus.

Fall back on Sunday. Hope to see you at the Marriott tomorrow!

Greg Reibman (he, him)

President & CEO

Charles River Regional Chamber

617.244.1688

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