The week ahead: City Council seeks to purchase Crescent Street lot for public riverside access
In a resolution for the Waltham City Council this week, the city’s South Side councilors have requested that the city purchase a lot at 67 Crescent St. to improve public access to the Charles River.
The Community Preservation Committee has already recommended this purchase, and City Council approved it in 2008. That approval expired before the city completed the purchase. The resolution argues that since then the property has been “a blight” on the South Side.
The council will discuss the resolution at its Feb. 9 meeting.
Below is a chronological rundown of other city meetings scheduled this week.
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 discuss a development prospectus for Home Depot at 100 First Ave. and a new tour brochure for Waltham’s historic Mill Village.
It will meet on Monday, Feb. 9, at 7 p.m. over Zoom. The passcode for the Zoom meeting can be found on the commission’s page.
City Council
In other business, City Council will discuss two special permit hearings it opened in January. The Ordinances and Rules Committee last week voted to approve one of the special permits, for the approval of a Jersey Mike’s on Lexington Street; the other, for a hotel on Moody Street, is restarting its public hearing as requested by the committee.
The council will also vote on whether to amend its own regulations to move its deadline for preparing the city’s legislative budget to March so that it can wait for federal consumer price index information.
It will also receive some requests from Mayor Jeannette A. McCarthy that will likely be discussed in committees next week, including a request to allocate $2.5 million for the city’s deficit before the next budget cycle; to fund opening expenses for the skating rink; to pay for tech updates for the City Clerk’s office; to accept a grant for the Council on Aging; and to purchase emergency services equipment.
City Council will meet on Monday at 7:30 p.m.
Housing Authority
The Waltham Housing Authority works to provide affordable housing options for Waltham residents who face barriers to housing.
This week, it plans to go over financial and maintenance information at its monthly meeting. The meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, Feb. 10 at 4:30 p.m over Zoom and in person at 110 Pond St.
Zoning Board of Appeals
The ZBA is a five-person board charged with reviewing new and existing buildings that might 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, including the comprehensive residential permits outlined by the state’s Chapter 40B statute.
This week will see a return to the public hearing for a Chapter 40B development at 455 Totten Pond Road. The project has been in front of the ZBA for nearly a year, and its development team has said that they plan to present a draft of their proposed language for the special permit at this hearing.
The ZBA is also hearing another case presented by landowner Paul Yu who is requesting a reduced parking requirement in order to convert upper-floor offices of a building at 719-723 Main St. into apartments.
The board will meet at 7 p.m. on Tuesday at the Arthur Clark Government Center.
Board of Survey and Planning
The Board of Survey and Planning regulates public and private ways and makes decisions on the status and boundaries of lots in the city.
This week it will discuss a special permit for a gas station at 962 Main St. The permit, which it has been discussing since January 2025, would allow the station to continue using four driveways that are larger than permitted by the zoning code.
It will also continue discussions about repaving Fir Avenue and multi-use zoning overlay districts in the west of Waltham. It will consider an approval not required plan for a property at 564 Main St. and a request to widen a driveway at the 71 Second Ave. Costco.
The board will meet at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 11 in the auditorium of the Clark Government Center.
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If I’m not mistaken this will be the first city-owned public access to the Charles River! Many thanks to Councillors Harris and Logan for reviving this opportunity.
“City Council approved it in 2008. That approval expired before the city completed the purchase. ”
Do we get to know why the purchase wasn’t completed?
Is this going back to the CPC or is it now to be paid for from general funds?
Will we be paying a 2026 price for the land now instead of the price agreed eighteen years ago.
Will the land become parkland protected by statute, or a CPA purchase protected by a conservation restriction, or will it remain vulnerable to being repurposed to serve some other needs voiced by a future city administration.