Local Politics
  1. Home
  2. US
  3. Massachusetts
  4. Newton
  5. Meetings

2026-09-08 - City Council Meeting

Summary

Built from the Council's posted Actions (the Council posts Actions rather than narrative minutes). The Clerk's Note on these Actions gives the same video link as the September 22 Actions, so the link may be a copy error.

  • All 24 councilors present.
  • Approved the four-unit Lexington Street special permit 24-0.
  • Accepted a National Grid regulator station grant of location 23-1 (Councilor Kelley opposed).
  • Accepted other committee recommendations 24-0 without discussion: a retaining wall permit and appointments to the Zoning Board of Appeals, Historical Commission, Newton Commonwealth Foundation, Health and Human Services Advisory Council and Design Review Committee.
  • Assigned public hearings for September 15 on three Land Use petitions and, by suspension of the rules, a September 9 hearing on an Eversource petition.

Lexington Street Four-Unit Residential Development

  • Docket 258-26: Land Use approved 8-0 and closed the hearing; Council approved 24-0. Councilor Block noted traffic concerns at Lexington Street and Wolcott Street and said safety precautions there would be the City's responsibility, not the developer's.

Utility Grants of Location

  • Docket 251-26, regulator station at Commonwealth Avenue and Washington Street: Public Facilities approved 2-1-1 (Councilor Leary opposed, Councilor Dahmubed abstained). Council accepted 23-1 (Councilor Kelley opposed).
  • Docket 283-26, Eversource pole on Moody Street: public hearing set for September 9 by suspension of the rules.

Retaining wall permit (accepted 24-0)

  • Docket 259-26: Land Use approved 8-0 and closed the hearing for retaining walls exceeding four feet at the rear of a property on Commonwealth Park West (Ward 2, SR2).

Appointments (accepted; Committee votes as recorded)

  • Zoning Board of Appeals, from Zoning & Planning (7-0 each): Dante Capasso (alternate, term to August 10, 2028), Sapir Ng and Christopher Markiewicz (terms to August 10, 2029). Newton Historical Commission: reappointment of Doug Cornelius (7-0).
  • Newton Commonwealth Foundation: Paul Levy (Programs & Services 5-0, term to June 30, 2029).
  • Health and Human Services Advisory Council (Programs & Services 5-0 each): Marc Grossman, Carolyn Bernstein and Janet Huettig (terms to January 1, 2029) and Linda Brenner (to January 1, 2028).
  • Design Review Committee, by Councilor Oliver (Public Facilities 4-0 each, terms to December 31, 2027): David Gillespie, Peter J. Barrer and Carol S. Schein (reappointments) and Stacy Roman (appointment).

Other

  • Docket 123-26, a petition to relocate a City drain easement on Rowe Street: Public Facilities held it 8-0 (hearing continued May 6, 2026), then approved the withdrawal without prejudice 4-0 and closed the hearing.
  • Public hearings assigned for September 15 (Land Use): façade ratio relief on Burdean Road (Docket 280-26) and Pierrepont Road (Docket 281-26), and a second front-setback parking stall on Ware Road (Docket 282-26).

Agenda

Items on Second Call and committee recommendations as listed in the Actions: Dockets 258-26; 259-26, 229-26 to 231-26, 241-26, 232-26 to 236-26, 123-26, 253-26 to 256-26; 251-26 (23-1); hearing assignments 280-26 to 282-26 and 283-26.

Sources

Video

Council meeting video, September 8, 2026 (as given in the Clerk's Note; identical to the September 22 link).