The week ahead: Packed ZBA meeting to address Totten Pond, Watch Factory housing

The Zoning Board of Appeals this week will hear from the developer of a potential apartment building at 455 Totten Pond Road on how to solve sewer and sidewalk capacity programs around the proposed development.

The board has been considering the project since March 2025. It anticipated closing the public hearing last month, before a potential sewer capacity issue on a Totten Pond Road sewer line threw a wrench in the works.

At its last meeting, the city’s legal team asked the developer to propose a cost-splitting strategy with another proposed development in the neighborhood to replace the sewer line, put in sidewalks along Totten Pond Road for new pedestrians, and increase the number of units in the building priced for low-income residents.

This meeting will also see the introduction of a proposed 140-unit addition to the Watch Factory Lofts apartment complex on a site parking lot that is currently mostly vacant.

Below is a chronological rundown of other city meetings scheduled this week. Note that Waltham’s City Council is not scheduled to meet again until April 6.

Zoning Board of Appeals

The ZBA has the power to grant project-specific variances to the city’s zoning 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, it will also hear the new case of a private lot owner to build a two-story home with below-average setbacks on South Street.

The board will meet at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Mar. 31 at the Arthur Clark Government Center.

Ambulance Committee

The Ambulance Service Review Committee is a committee made up of leadership from Waltham’s emergency response department, Wires Department, City Council and local hospitals, as well as other unaffiliated community members. 

It is responsible for reviewing the effectiveness of ambulance service in the city, formally addressing complaints about ambulance services, and evaluating and discussing first-aid-related community education programs.

The committee will meet at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, April 1, in the Council Chamber at City Hall.

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 petition from a resident to repave a portion of the private way Fir Avenue. The plan has drawn objections from residents over communications and the potential impacts of the project. In March, the board postponed further discussion of the project to this month’s meeting.

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