Proposed zoning change gets more supporters than detractors at hearing

A proposal to rezone swaths of west Waltham so two developers could build 1,850 new housing units garnered support from multiple residents at a City Council hearing on Monday.

The rezoning request also faced criticism from a few neighbors who argued the proposals should do more to address concerns from immediate abutters.

BXP Inc., which owns land at the Bay Colony on Winter Street and along Jones Road, and 1265 Main Street LLC, which owns the former Polaroid campus at 1265 Main St., are seeking to create Residential Commercial Industrial Limited Overlay Districts, or RCIs, over their parcels to allow for residential development. The companies plan to build a total of1,850 units of housing across the three lots, although the 1265 Main St. plan leaves room for future growth. 

Fourteen people attending the May 11 hearing stood in favor of rezoning the Bay Colony and Jones Road parcels, and 11 stood to support 1265 Main St. 

Nick Pavone, the business manager of Laborers’ Union Local 560, endorsed the proposed construction, calling it an opportunity for well-paying union jobs and affordable housing. “Our goal is that the people who build and support this community can also afford to live and raise their families here,” he said.

Five other audience members said they believe the developments would make housing in the city more affordable. One of them, Tim Riley, added he would prefer the city have a simpler code that made it easier for smaller developers to build housing instead of having to change zoning to accommodate large companies.

The Bay Colony development, which has immediate residential neighbors on multiple sides, was the only rezoning proposal that met with direct resistance at Monday’s public hearing. 

Five residents stood in opposition to it, some of them echoing concerns about the proximity between BXP’s proposed housing and their own lot lines. BXP committed after recent neighborhood meetings to a 100-ft setback from one of its lot lines, but at Monday’s hearing neighbors asked for a 200-foot setback that more closely resembles current buildings’ boundaries and larger setbacks on other sides of the property.

Brian Charville of the Ferris Development Group, whose 1432 Main St. property abuts the proposed Jones Road district, called the proposed district’s boundaries arbitrary and said the council should redraw them to include similar lots in the area. He said he plans to petition for 1432 Main St.’s inclusion in the RCI.

Timeline for rezoning

The developers told city leaders they’re seeking approval for the proposed RCIs in advance of a state construction project. 

Kier Evans, BXP vice president of development, said BXP and 1265 Main Street LLC are contributing to a state project to build a new road called Green Street that will run parallel to Jones Road to mitigate traffic congestion. The road will extend south from Route 117 to Route 20. 

Officials from BXP and 1265 Main Street said they want the city to approve the rezoning before the work on Green Street starts.

According to Evans, the state plans to rebuild the Route 117 bridge after the Green Street project is complete, around 2030, and is looking to create a highway onramp near 1265 Main St. after the Route 117 bridge is rebuilt. Additionally, BXP has signed a memorandum of understanding with the state to explore a Jones Road multimodal transit station, which would replace the Kendal Green stop in Weston on the MBTA’s Fitchburg commuter rail line.

The Board of Survey and Planning was scheduled to hold a special hearing on the developments on May 14. The City Council’s Ordinances and Rules Committee will discuss the rezoning proposal review it commissioned from contractor CommunityScale at its next meeting on Monday, May 18.