The week ahead: City will consider three new mixed-use overlay districts

The City Council will consider three applications from corporate landholders asking Waltham to create mixed-use overlay districts in the city’s zoning maps.

At its meeting this week, the council will open up joint public hearings on the three proposals in collaboration with the Board of Survey and Planning.

All of the proposals ask the city to overlay land currently zoned for commercial or industrial use with mixed innovation and residential redevelopment districts. These zoning districts will allow the developers to renovate current office spaces to fulfill purposes like multifamily housing, restaurants and commercial recreation facilities, research laboratories, and medical facilities after obtaining a special permit from the City Council. They would also allow municipal buildings in the new mixed-use districts by-right. 

One of the districts is proposed along part of Winter Street on land held by BP Bay Colony LLP and BXP Waltham Woods LLP, one on Jones Street on land held by Stony Brook Associates LLP, and one at 1265 Main St. held by 1265 Main Street LLC.

Mixed-use development zones have come up previously as a topic of conversation for the City Council and other municipal bodies in relation to Waltham’s ongoing city-wide rezoning effort.

Historical Commission

The Waltham Historical Commission is a seven-member board charged with preserving and overseeing Waltham’s historic buildings and properties. 

This week the commission will hold a demolition delay hearing for a residence at 18 Hagar St. and will discuss Waltham Land Trust water barrels at the Wellington House. It will meet at 7 p.m., Monday, Dec. 8, over Zoom. The passcode for the Zoom meeting can be found on the commission’s page within the city site.

City Council 

In other business, the City Council will discuss two special resolutions: one from Ward 7 Councilor Paul S. Katz requesting the city’s departments work together to update Waltham’s website and remove outdated content by January 31, 2026, and one by Councilor-at-Large Colleen Bradley-MacArthur asking city councilors to hear a presentation from the Waltham Cultural Council.

The City Council will also address a request from Mayor Jeannette A. McCarthy to go into executive session, which will not be open to the public, about “strategy regarding security personnel,” according to the docket.

It will additionally forward three other requests from McCarthy the mayor for committee deliberation next week: the a request to appropriation of $50,000 to create a golf course at the former Fernald State School on Trapelo Road, the acceptance of a a $5,000 donation from the Bird Precision Charitable Foundation to the Council on Aging, and the acceptance of a $250 donation from Connors and Connors LLP to maintain holiday lights on the Waltham Common.

The council will also take its final vote on recommendations from its committee meetings last week, including two public hearings and multiple street opening and business permits.

Zoning Board of Appeals

The ZBA is a five-person board charged with reviewing new and existing buildings that may violate the city’s zoning code. 

The board has the power to grant project-specific variances to the code, overrule judgments made by the building inspector and grant specific types of special permits.

This week the board will hear a request from Gann Academy for a variance to construct a gazebo on its grounds and will discuss ongoing litigation with the housing nonprofit Walnut Street Center in executive session. It will meet at 7 p.m., Tuesday, Dec. 9, at the Arthur Clark Government Center.

Parks-Recreation Board

The Parks-Recration Board is an eight-person board that oversees the city’s public recreational spaces and programming. It will meet on Wednesday, Nov. 12 at 5:30 p.m. at the Waltham Recreation Department at 510 Moody St.

Library Board of Trustees and Building Committee

The Board of Library Trustees is a five-person board appointed by the mayor and charged with establishing policies for the Waltham Public Library. 

This week, it is holding a joint meeting with the Library Building Committee — a specially- convened group including city officials who are consulting on the upcoming WPL redesign — before its regular monthly meeting.

The Building Committee will meet at 1 p.m. this Thursday, Dec. 11, to discuss timeline and design updates, and the Board of Trustees will continue into its regular meeting immediately after, at 2 p.m.

Both meetings will be held in person at the Trustees Room of the Waltham Public Library. Members of the public can also attend the Building Committee meeting over Zoom, and connection details can be found in the committee’s agenda.

Waltham Cultural Council

The Waltham Cultural Council is a part of the Massachusetts Cultural Council local council program. It allocates funds for arts, sciences and humanities projects and events focusing on Waltham’s cultural diversity and local history.

The WCC will hold the last of its grant review meetings for this year’s grant cycle at 7 p.m. on Thursday via Zoom.