Join the Community Forum on ‘How to Improve Newton’s Village Centers: What the Village Center Overlay District is About’ on September 21

Posted on September 18, 2023 by Green Newton

Thursday, September 21 from 7-9pm. First Unitarian Universalist Society in Newton, Parish Hall (1326 Washington St.,West Newton).

Newton has plenty of high priced homes but is missing middle income housing. Fewer young people and families are able to live here, housing for low income families is insufficient to meet the need, and school enrollment is declining. Our local businesses are struggling to survive.

How can we incentivize the housing needed to serve generational needs, and allow our villages to evolve into thriving village centers? How can we be a welcoming community for everyone?

Come and learn about the Village Center Plan currently before the City Council. The three speakers will make brief presentations and questions will be moderated by Dwight Golann.

The panel of speakers includes:

  • Reverend Cheryl Kerr, Senior Minister at the United Parish of Auburndale. Cheryl is active in the city’s interfaith community and communications. Currently, she works with other local faith leadership to reorganize NICA (Newton Interfaith Clergy Alliance). Additionally, Cheryl has served as leadership for NICHE (Newton Interfaith Coalition for Housing Equity), a gathering of Newton residents who advocate for fair housing as a moral imperative.
  • Ann Huston, recently retired CEO of Opportunity Communities, founded to help local community development groups serve their communities. She chairs the Newton Affordable Housing Trust, is a member of the Newton Housing Partnership and teaches a class at Boston College on the state of affordable housing.
  • Deb Crossley, Newton City Councilor at-large, chairs the Zoning and Planning Committee, where the current village district proposal is under review and collecting our input. Deb is a working residential architect, and has led on such city issues as rehabilitating our water, sewer and storm water systems, advancing energy efficiency, solar, city building and roads projects, and zoning to achieve more affordable housing.