West Newton Village Area Plan| 2011 Duspmit
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WEST NEWTON VILLAGE AREA PLAN| 2011 DUSPMIT WEST NEWTON VILLAGE AREA PLAN MIT | Department of Urban Studies and Planning December 2011 DUSPMIT WEST NEWTON VILLAGE AREA PLAN Final Report 2011 Community Growth and Land Use Planning Practicum Students Seema Ghizala Adina Nikhil Nadkarni Justin Bates James Osborne Jaymes Dunsmore Anna Premo Ian Gray Janet Shih Vasudha Gupta Stephanie Shin Amy Jacobi Jonah Stern Marisa Lau Matthew Steyer Alpita Masurkar Richard Suarez Brendan McEwen Advisors Terry Szold, Adjunct Professor of Land Use Planning Annis Whitlow Sengupta, Instructor Jaymes Dunsmore, Teaching Assistant Book Production Editorial Team Graphics and Layout Team Amy Jacobi Jaymes Dunsmore Alpita Masurkar Janet Shih Brendan McEwen Anna Premo Stephanie Shin Prepared for the City of Newton Mayor Setti D. Warren Candace Havens, Director of Planning and Development Jennifer Molinsky, Chief Planner for Long Range Planning Amanda Stout, Senior Economic Development Planner © 2011 Massachusetts Institute of Technology Department of Urban Studies and Planning School of Architecture + Planning Massachusetts Institute of Technology Cambridge, MA ACKNOWLEDGMENTS West Newton Village Area Plan was developed by graduate students in the Community Growth and Land Use Planning Practicum at MIT. It presents a vision for the Village shared by its residents, business owners, visitors, and the City of Newton as a whole. However, this vision would not have been possible without the city offi- cials, the Planning and Development Department staff and the community members who generously volunteered their time, knowledge and ideas in every stage of this process. We learnt a lot from engaging with you and are grateful to all those who shared their experiences and expertise with us, which informed the course of this plan. We hope that our efforts will be useful to the City of Newton in making decisions that will inform the future development of West New- ton Village and spur conversations among community members about creating a West Newton Village that reflects their vision. We would especially like to thank the members of the West Newton com- munity and the City of Newton: Members of the West Newton Community Josephine McNeil, Executive Director, Citizens for Affordable Housing in Newton Development Organization (CAN-DO) John O’Hara, Owner, Paddy’s Pub Karl O’Hara, Owner, Paddy’s Pub Ted Tye, Managing Partner, National Development Miles Smith, Neighborhood Resident City of Newton Mayor Setti D. Warren Board of Aldermen Susan Albright Marcia T. Johnson R. Lisle Baker Cheryl Lappin Richard Blazar Scott F. Lennon Allan Ciccone, Jr. Stephen M. Linsky Deborah Crosssley Carleton P. Merrill Victoria L. Danberg John Rice John D. Freedman Anthony Salvucci Mitchell L. Fischman Amy Mah Sangiolo Ruthanne Fuller Sydra Schnipper Leonard J. Gentile Charles N. Shapiro Jay Harney Greer Tan Swiston Ted Hess-Mahan Brian E. Yates Department of Planning and Development Candace Havens, Director Jennifer Molinsky, Chief Planner for Long Range Planning Amanda Stout, Senior Economic Development Planner Alice Ingerson, Community Preservation Program Manager Trisha Guditz, Housing Program Manager David Koses, Transportation Planning Coordinator Seth Zeren, Chief Zoning Code Official Lastly, we would like to thank Professor Terry Szold and Instructor Annis Whitlow Sengupta for guiding us at every stage of developing this plan and reviewing our efforts that helped us improve upon our work and present a comprehensive vision for West Newton in the form of this report. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Building on West Newton’s historic character, its bucolic charm, their vehicles; the vision of area residents, business owners, and city officials and the goals outlined in the Newton Comprehensive Plan • Community and Economic Development – guidelines to (2007), we created a vision where West Newton Village is the encourage economic vitality in the Village, as well as housing social heart of the surrounding community. The vision is outlined opportunities for a diverse range of residents; and and described in detail in this plan. • Open Space and Environment – the use and creation of green Our plan fosters a vibrant environment where local businesses spaces and natural areas. and institutions thrive in the Village Core, providing the places where neighbors and visitors gather, shop, work and play. It This report first reviews existing conditions pertaining to each of supports housing affordability to preserve the diverse range these five themes in West Newton, analyzing both the strengths of households that already exist in the Village. It entails more of the community and the opportunities for improvement. intensive development nearer the Village Center, transitioning to Synthesizing our analysis, we present a vision of what West Newton smaller buildings and less active storefronts as streets approach can become. This vision is followed by detailed interventions to existing residential zones. We detail interventions to improve realize this vision, including implementation strategies. Finally, we walking and cycling conditions, and create the volume of note four “catalyst sites,” which include redevelopment concepts residences and businesses needed to support improved transit for specific parcels, as well as parking and circulation strategies options. that could be implemented in the nearer term to begin realizing the vision for West Newton. Our report is organized according to five themes: West Newton has a strong sense of community amongst its • Land Use – the uses and form of buildings and properties; residents and local businesses, and its built form presents many assets. This plan aims to make it an even more delightful, vibrant • Circulation – the way streets are organized to accommodate place. The vision now belongs to you. multiple modes of transportation, including pedestrians, bicycles, transit and automobiles; • Parking – where residents, visitors and employees would park TABLE OF CONTENTS PART ONE: ANALYSIS PART TWO: SYNTHESIS 1 CHAPTER ONE: ANALYSIS 4 CHAPTER FOUR: SYNTHESIS Analysis: Introduction...........................................14 Synthesis: Introduction....................................... 72 2 CHAPTER TWO: CONTEXT 5 CHAPTER FIVE: LAND USE 2.1 Geographic Context..............................................16 5.1 Vision.................................................................76 2.2 Demographic Context...........................................18 5.2 Methodolgy.........................................................77 2.3 Community Context..............................................19 5.3 Interventions.......................................................77 2.4 Historic Context..................................................21 2.5 Planning Context................................................ 22 6 CHAPTER SIX: CIRCULATION 6.1 Vision.................................................................100 3 CHAPTER THREE: EXISTING CONDITIONS 6.2 Interventions.......................................................101 3.1 Land Use............................................................24 7 CHAPTER SEVEN: PARKING 3.2 Circulation..........................................................38 3.3 Parking..............................................................54 7.1 Vision.................................................................112 3.4 Community & Economic Development.....................58 7.2 Interventions.......................................................112 3.5 Open Space & Environmental Design...................... 64 8 CHAPTER EIGHT: COMMUNITY AND 11 CHAPTER ELEVEN: NEXT STEPS ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT Next Steps...............................................................156 8.1 Vision............................................................. 120 8.2 Businesses...................................................... 121 PLANNING REFERENCES 8.3 Housing.......................................................... 125 Planning Documents References..................................162 9 CHAPTER NINE: OPEN SPACE AND APPENDICES ENVIRONMENTAL DESIGN Appendix A: Solar Design Guidelines............................i 9.1 Vision...............................................................126 Appendix B: Shared Use Template Agreement................iv 9.2 Interventions.....................................................126 Appendix C: Local Shared Use Parking Examples............viii 9.3 Conclusions.......................................................129 Appendix D: Current Business Mix............................... xiii 10 CHAPTER TEN: FOCUS AREAS Appendix E: Adaptive Reuse........................................xv 10.1 Vision..............................................................130 10.2 East Washington Street.......................................132 GLOSSARY: TAXONOMY OF PLACES 10.3 The East Gateway..............................................136 Taxonomy of Places...................................................xvii 10.4 The Village Center.............................................141 10.5 West Washington Street......................................148 The West Newton Village Area Plan is divided into two parts- Analysis and Synthesis. PART ONE: Part One analyzes the neighborhood context of West Newton Village (also referred to as “the Village” in this document) and is an effort to the understand the scope within which this plan ANALYSIS would evolve. This section then identifies some of the Village’s major opportunities and challenges