Newton City Council - November 3, 2025

Meeting Date: November 03, 2025 Governing Body: Newton City Council Type of Meeting: Regular Meeting Attendees: Councilor Marc C. Laredo, Councilor Richard A. Lipof, Councilor Alison M. Leary, Councilor Leonard J. Gentile, Councilor David A. Kalis, Councilor Victoria L. Danberg, Councilor Bill Humphrey, Councilor David Micley, Councilor Andrea W. Kelley, Councilor Pamela Wright, Councilor John Oliver, Councilor Randy Block, Councilor Stephen Farrell, Councilor Alan Lobovits, Councilor Maria Scibelli Greenberg, Councilor Andreae Downs, Councilor Joshua Krintzman, Councilor Tarik J. Lucas, Councilor Susan Albright, Councilor Rena Getz, Councilor Julia Malakie, Councilor Rebecca Walker Grossman. (Councilors Humphrey, Micley, and Krintzman participated remotely. Councilor Baker was not present in the chamber.)

Executive Summary

The Newton City Council convened for a regular meeting on November 3, 2025. The meeting began with a moment of silence for the late Mayor Seti Warren. Key actions included the approval of several land use requests, appointments to the Council on Aging, and home rule petitions related to fine enforcement. Several significant items, including the Walk, Roll, and Bike Network Plan, the Newton Highlands Area Plan, and amendments to the Inclusionary Zoning Ordinance, were postponed to the November 17th meeting due to the upcoming election. The Council also addressed procedural matters, including the referral of a parking fines item to the Finance Committee.

Pledge of Allegiance

Councilor Farrell led the Pledge of Allegiance.

Moment of Silence

A moment of silence was observed in memory of the late Mayor Seti Warren.

Land Use Committee Report

Councilor Andrea W. Kelley, Chair of the Land Use Committee, presented the report.

• October 21st Meeting:
  • Docket Item 260-25: Request to allow a retaining wall exceeding four feet in height at 82-84 East Side Parkway.
    • Outcome: Approved 7-0.
  • Docket Item 305-25: Request to exceed Floor Area Ratio (FAR) at 136 Gordon Road.
    • Outcome: Approved 8-0.
  • Docket Item 306-25: Request to rezone Farwell Street to multi-resident.
    • Outcome: Held.
  • Docket Item 307-25: (Details not specified in transcript, but noted as held).
• October 28th Meeting:
  • Docket Item 309-24: Request to allow an extension of a non-conforming multi-family dwelling at 64-66 Dalby Street.
    • Outcome: Approved 8-0.
  • Docket Item 310-25: Request to allow a retaining wall exceeding four feet in height at 121 Hartman Road.
    • Outcome: Approved 7-1.
  • Docket Item 311-25: Request to further increase nonconforming FAR at 156 Highland Street.
    • Outcome: Approved 7-0.
• Public Hearings Assigned:
  • November 18th: Public hearing for Docket Items 336-25 and 335-25 (found on page 257 of the agenda).

Zoning and Planning Committee Report

Councilor John Oliver, Vice Chair of the Zoning and Planning Committee, presented the report.

• October 27th Meeting:
  • Docket Item 316-25: Community Preservation Committee (CPC) recommendations to appropriate $1,997,000 in Community Preservation Act (CPA) historic resource funding for the West Newton Cinema.
    • Outcome: Approved 8-0. (Note: This item still needs to go to the Finance Committee.)
  • Docket Item 45-24: (Details not specified in transcript).
    • Outcome: No action necessary.
  • Docket Item 24-24: (Found on page 250 of the agenda).
    • Outcome: Voted 8-0, no action necessary.

Programs and Services Committee Report

Councilor Bill Humphrey, Vice Chair of the Programs and Services Committee, presented the report.

• October 22, 2025 Meeting:
  • Docket Item 284-25: Appointment of Lakshmi Rao to the Council on Aging.
    • Outcome: Approved 5-0.
  • Docket Item 288-25: Appointment of Gloria Mastricola Gavris to the Council on Aging.
    • Outcome: Approved 5-0.
  • Docket Item 290-25: Appointment of Sam Tacheff to the Council on Aging.
    • Outcome: Approved 5-0.
  • Docket Item 295-25: Request for a home rule petition allowing for the possibility of liens as a mechanism for certain types of fine enforcements.
    • Outcome: Approved 5-0.
  • Docket Item 301-25: Request for a home rule petition, following the model of Boston, to increase penalties for certain violations up to $2,000.
    • Outcome: Approved 5-0.
• Upcoming Committee Work: The committee is working on overall rules cleanup, a potential change to the mechanism of items being released from committee, and a draft proposed code of conduct.
• Late Filed Item:
  • Motion: Councilor Krintzman requested a suspension of the rules to allow consideration of late filed Docket Item 327-25, "Creation of the Older Adult Services Gift Account."
    • Outcome: Suspension of rules approved by voice vote (Ayes have it).

Public Safety and Transportation Committee Report

Councilor Rebecca Walker Grossman, Chair of the Public Safety and Transportation Committee, presented the report.

• Report begins on page 253.
• Docket Item 281-25: (Details not specified in transcript).
  • Outcome: Needs to go to Finance Committee; not properly before the Council.
• Docket Item 364-24: Discussion and possible ordinance change on the categories and levels of parking fines.
  • Outcome: Voted 7-0, no action necessary.

Public Facilities Committee Report

Councilor Susan Albright, Chair of the Public Facilities Committee, presented the report.

• October 22nd Meeting:
  • Docket Item 280-25: Councilor Albright and Getz requesting a discussion on stormwater infrastructure and planning for its future.
    • Outcome: Voted no action necessary.
• October 29th Meeting:
  • (One item voted on, but it is on second call).
• Public Hearings Assigned:
  • November 5th: Eversource Petition of Grant of Location in the Armory and Washington Street.
  • November 19th: Petition for temporary repairs to Hamlet Street.
• Late Filed Item:
  • Motion: Councilor Albright requested a suspension of the rules for late filed Docket Item 338-25, "Authorization to grant an easement to Enstar Electrical Company doing business as Eversource at the West Newton Armory for access to electrical equipment."
    • Outcome: Suspension of rules approved by voice vote (Ayes have it).

Finance Committee Report

Councilor Leonard J. Gentile, Chair of the Finance Committee, stated there was no report.

• Late Filed Items:
  • Motion: Councilor Gentile requested a suspension of the rules to accept two late filed items: Docket Item 327-25 and Docket Item 334-25 (found on page 260 of the agenda).
    • Outcome: Suspension of rules approved by voice vote (Ayes have it).
• Public Hearing Scheduled:
  • November 17th: Public hearing for Docket Item 321-25 (found on page 258 of the agenda).

Real Property Reuse Committee Report

Councilor Tarik J. Lucas, Vice Chair of the Real Property Reuse Committee, stated there was no report.

Roll Call Vote on Committee Reports

A roll call vote was taken on the presented committee reports.

• Councilor Albright: Aye

• Councilor Baker: (Absent)

• Councilor Bixby: (Absent)

• Councilor Block: (Absent)

• Councilor Danberg: (Absent)

• Councilor Downs: Aye

• Councilor Farrell: Aye

• Councilor Gentile: Aye

• Councilor Getz: Aye

• Councilor Greenberg: Aye

• Councilor Grossman: Aye

• Councilor Humphrey: Aye

• Councilor Kalis: Aye

• Councilor Kelley: Aye

• Councilor Krintzman: Aye

• Councilor Leary: Aye

• Councilor Lipof: Aye

• Councilor Lobovits: Aye

• Councilor Lucas: Aye

• Councilor Malakie: Aye

• Councilor Micley: Aye

• Councilor Oliver: Aye

• Councilor Wright: Aye

• President Laredo: Aye, with the exception of 311-25, for which I'm recused.

• Outcome: The vote was 21-0, with the exception on Docket Item 311-25, which passed 20-0-1 (President Laredo recused).

Second Call Items

Public Facilities Committee

• Docket Item 267-25: The Walk, Roll, and Bike Network Plan.
  • Summary: Councilor Albright provided a brief summary of the plan, highlighting its six guiding goals: enhance safety and comfort, connect people to key destinations, build out a core network, manage speeds for safety, advance accessibility for all, and encourage active travel. The committee had previously voted 8-0 to approve the plan.
  • Motion: Councilor Malakie moved to postpone the item to the next meeting (November 17th).
  • Second: Councilor Oliver.
  • Outcome: Postponement approved by voice vote (Ayes have it).
• Docket Item 317-25: The Newton Highlands Area Plan.
  • Summary: Councilor Albright explained that this plan, under development for approximately three years, sought a sense of the committee regarding moving forward to final design.
  • Motion: Councilor Albright moved to postpone the item to the next meeting (November 17th).
  • Second: Councilor Lobovits.
  • Outcome: Postponement approved by voice vote (Ayes have it).

Zoning and Planning Committee

• Docket Item 44-24: Requesting re-evaluation and possible amendments to the Inclusionary Zoning (IZ) Ordinance.
  • Summary: Councilor Oliver described this as a substantial item with several proposed modifications, including increasing the threshold for new developments to substitute payments in lieu of units up to 19 units.
  • Motion: Councilor Oliver moved to postpone the item to the next meeting (November 17th).
  • Second: Councilor Lucas.
  • Outcome: Postponement approved by voice vote (Ayes have it).

Public Safety and Transportation Committee

• Docket Item 365-24: Discussion and possible ordinance change on residential parking programs and fee structures.
  • Summary: Councilor Grossman explained that this item was placed on second call by the committee while awaiting a sentence from the law department, which has now been received. She noted a procedural abnormality: the item, which recommends a change to a program fee, was not properly referred to the Finance Committee. The committee voted to refer it to the Finance Committee.
  • Outcome: No vote was required on this item at this time.

Adjournment

• Motion: Councilor Farrell moved to adjourn.
• Outcome: The meeting adjourned at 7:24 p.m.