The week ahead: Waltham Public Schools invites parents to district conference, solicits parent feedback

Waltham Public Schools Superintendent Marisa Mendonsa has invited parents to the district’s seventh annual Parenting Awareness Conference on Saturday, Mar. 7.

WHS Chief Family and Community Engagement Officer Raymond Porch said the conference will focus on safety and special education. It will be held at the Waltham High School and will include workshops, resource tables and opportunities for parents to provide feedback on their children’s experiences at school.

Parents and caregivers will also have the opportunity on Monday evening to weigh in on a controversial reduction in WHS students’ curriculum hours, according to a Facebook post from School Committee member Debbie Coleman. The School Committee has been discussing this policy at its meetings over the past month.

City Council committees

This week, the City Council’s Ordinances and Rules Committee is slated to review draft ordinances from the Law Department concerning the city’s surveillance technology use and dog grooming businesses; the mixed-use zoning overlay districts it has been discussing since December; and a request for a special permit for a hotel at 220 Moody St.

The Finance Committee will meet to discuss budgeting items for the school district, as well as requests from the Mayor’s Office including traffic improvement funding, new equipment for city offices and funds to plan the restoration of the Farwell Street Bridge.

The Committee of the Whole will meet at 8 p.m. and the Licences and Franchises committee will meet immediately before it to discuss a special permit application for a temporary dock on the Charles River and a used car sales license renewal.

The City Council’s committees will meet on Monday, Mar. 2, beginning at 7:45 p.m.

Bay Colony zoning meeting

Real estate company BXP Inc., which has petitioned the City Council for zoning amendments to allow it to build housing on two properties in western Waltham, plans to hold a neighborhood meeting to discuss Bay Colony, a mixed-use development it has proposed on Winter Street.

The meeting was postponed from last week due to the snow, and is now scheduled for 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Mar. 3, at 1000 Winter 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.

This week it will hear the case of a private landowner who is petitioning the board to allow a single-story addition to their house that would cause their house to cover more of the property than city zoning permits. 

The board will also discuss a time extension for its 2022 decision to grant a variance for a lab space project at 460 Totten Pond Road and will meet in executive session about an ongoing legal case over its decision to uphold a series of cease-and-desist letters from Building Inspector Brian Bower classifying nine houses rented to groups of students as “lodging houses.”

The board will meet at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Mar. 3, at the Arthur Clark Government Center.

Parks-Recreation Board

The Parks-Recreation Board is an eight-person board that oversees the city’s public recreational spaces and programming. This week, it plans to elect the board’s chairperson and vice chairperson positions and schedule meetings for 2026–27.

It will meet on Wednesday, Mar. 4, at 5:30 p.m. at the Waltham Recreation Department at 510 Moody St.

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 revisit a public hearing on the repair and repaving of Fir Avenue.

The board will meet at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Mar. 4, in the auditorium of the Clark Government Center.

School Committee

The Waltham School Committee, an elected six-member committee chaired by Mayor Jeannette A. McCarthy, makes policy and oversight decisions for the Waltham Public Schools.

The committee will meet at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Mar. 4, in the James J. Cannon Lecture Hall at 617 Lexington St.

The committee this week will discuss WHS’s Program of Studies and hear an update from the school’s quiz bowl team.

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 meet at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Mar. 5 via Zoom.