City Council opens new commercial development hearings for new year

The City Council on Monday will reopen a hearing from November about plans to build a hotel on a long-vacant lot at 220 Moody St.

The petitioner in November requested a delay in opening the hearing so newly elected City Council members could be present for the entire permit-review process.

The petitioner is requesting a special permit to construct a building with a higher-than-permitted floor area, which will house the hotel, a performance space, a restaurant and an owner’s apartment. 

This special permit is the project’s first stop before the City Council, although it has already obtained approval from other city boards for its traffic and conservation plans and on plans to demolish the current buildings on the lot.

The City Council at its Monday night meeting will also open another public hearing for a special permit for a branch of sub shop chain Jersey Mike’s. The hearing is the business’s first appearance before the City Council, although it has already had its traffic and conservation plans reviewed by other city commissions. Jersey Mike’s plans to open in the Wal-Lex Shopping Center at 864 Lexington St. at the site of the former Wal-Lex Cleaners.

City Council

In other business, the City Council will consider going into executive session for a real estate matter at the request of Mayor Jeannette A. McCarthy. 

It will also send a number of items to its committees, which will be formally announced before its first committee meetings on Jan. 20, including numerous other requests from the mayor and one request to renew a used car license for Waltham Auto Tow Inc.

McCarthy is requesting loan authorizations of $771,600 in design funding for a new Consolidated Public Works Department headquarters at the former Fernald State School and of $5.1 million for the proposed Koutoujian Playground at the former Woerd Avenue Dump, which will require environmental mitigation.

She is also requesting the council accept a $183,432 grant from Eversource Energy for streetlights on public roadways as well as a gift of historical Waltham memorabilia from the 1800s and another of 300 toys as a part of the Marine Toys For Tots program.

The City Council will meet Monday, Jan. 12, at 7:30 p.m.

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 public hearing about the demolition of a property at 79 Cherry St. and will discuss plans for a new educational brochure on the history of the Boston Manufacturing Company Mill Village.

It will meet at 7 p.m. Monday, Jan. 12, over Zoom. The passcode for the Zoom meeting can be found on the commission’s page within the city website.

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 discuss its 2026 budget and contract modernization at its monthly meeting. It will meet at its 110 Pond St. office on Tuesday, Jan. 13, at 4:30 p.m.

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 it will hear updates about a Chapter 40B project originally proposed for Winter Street last July. The project has received some pushback from neighbors. Although abutters to the north of the proposed site have expressed that the project’s developer has collaborated with them on solutions, the developer is still negotiating with other neighbors about how to mitigate the building’s traffic and privacy impact on the neighborhood.

At its last meeting ZBA chair John Sergi said he anticipated the board would authorize the developer to begin drafting a final permit decision with the city’s Law Department at this upcoming meeting.

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

Traffic Commission

The Traffic Commission meets monthly to discuss matters before the Traffic Engineering Department about improving the streets and infrastructure of the city.

This week the commission is scheduled to discuss potential regulations changes necessary to install upgraded electric vehicle chargers in city parking lots as well as an annual update on the MBTA’s Better Bus Project.

It will hear traffic analysis for two prospective development projects — four residential units at 20 Williams St. and a renovation at a 962 Main St. gas station that includes a Four Seasons Market — along with requests for two road races. It will also hear a new request from Bentley University for a crosswalk on Linden Street and revisit a request for a Rapid Response Flashing Beacon at Wellington Street.

The commission will meet Thursday, Jan. 15, at 10 a.m. in the Council Chambers at City Hall.