🔨 Pump those brakes on Salem End!
In-Law Apartments Approved | The latest on Nobscot | Marian Purchased for a Community Center | Community Events | The Civic Week Ahead
Happy Indigenous People’s Day and Columbus Day, Framingham. (Special shout out to my Canadian friends: Happy Thanksgiving!)
Let’s take a moment to reflect on Framingham’s past: Framingham was built on the traditional land of the Nipmuc, Pawtucket and Massa-adchu-es-et people. The Nipmuc, meaning “fresh water people”, were the largest and latest people to settle in the area. They had three large villages: The Falls of the Sudbury River in Saxonville, near the mouth of Cochituate Brook, and the stretch of fertile land from Farm Pond to Lake Waushakum, which means “eel fishing places” due to its abundance of eel. Other village locations include Nobscot Mountain and Cowassock Brook.
On the east side of Farm Pond is one of their burial sites. Park Street Common in Downtown currently sits on the site and includes two stones honoring the sacred use of that land. One of the hearts, part of the “Many Cultures, One Heart” public art project sponsored by the Framingham Centre Cultural District, honors the Indigenous People who lived in the area around Cushing Park and Farm Pond.
Today, members of the Nipmuc Nation joined other community members on the banks of Farm Pond to celebrate and recognize this day.
Italian immigrants also made an impact on our community. Coming to Framingham in the 1890s, they settled in the neighborhoods of Coburnville and Tripoli. They worked on the railroad, trolley, reservoir, aqueduct projects of the day; and when those projects were finished moved to factory work, such as at Dennison Manufacturing. By the 1900s, they established two pillars of their community: Saint Tarcisius Catholic Church and the Christopher Columbus Society. Saint Tarcisius was a two story wooden building on Waverly Street dedicated on Christmas Day 1908. The Columbus Society built and dedicated Columbus Hall in 1911. While the neighborhoods have changed over time, the spirit of the Italian community lives on at La Cantina, Tripoli Barber Shop, Waverly Market, Framingham Baking Company and the Columbus Club.
May we never forget the people who lived here, made an impact and helped create who we are as a community. Framingham history is our story.
Have a comment or question? I’d love to hear from you. Email me at mkfeeney@gmail.com
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Pump Those Brakes on Salem End
Traffic, traffic: Driving in Framingham, one thing is clear: we have a lot of traffic congestion and people speed. And people especially speed down the old country roads that cross the city, like Salem End Road.
Slow down: Speeding on Salem End Road has been a topic of conversation for the last few months for the Traffic Commission. DPW installed temporary feedback signs on both sides of the street to help with calming measures. These signs made little impact on drivers’ speeds. The speed limit is 30 mph. As you can see from the chart below, a majority of drivers go above that limit. According to Traffic Commission stats, more than 85% of drivers speed, averaging 40 mph.
Pump those brakes: Chief Engineer and Vice Chair of the Traffic Commission Bill Sedewitz proposed two measures to slow traffic and increase safety on the road at their meeting on September 26. Due to the heavy traffic on Salem End, it makes some traffic calming measures, like speed humps, tough to install and manage.
All Way Stop at Salem End Road and Singletary Lane: Installed today are two temporary stop signs going both ways at Singletary. Sedewitz stated the all way stop is not to address speed, but it will have an impact because cars have to slow down. He also said that Singletary/Salem End is just short of the federal highway criteria for an all way stop.
Splitter island near Still Meadow Way: Cones were placed on Salem End to slow traffic. This is temporary. To get a better sense of what this would look like if made permanent, there are several of these islands on New York Avenue in the tech park.
Temporary measures for review: The Traffic Commission wanted to get these two projects in place before the winter. Both will be reviewed at an upcoming Traffic Commission meeting. If there are positive results from these two, then each will become permanent.
What is the Traffic Commission?: Established by the Framingham Charter in 2017, the Traffic Commission is a board of citizens and city officials focused on addressing the traffic concerns throughout Framingham. It is supposed to be citizen-driven to bring attention to the needs of residents and neighborhoods. You can reach out to the Commission via email: trafficcommission@framinghamma.gov
What do you think?: Should these new measures become permanent?
In-Law Apartments Approved
Make room for Grammy: Accessory dwelling units are now legal in Framingham.
The process: The Planning Board sent their draft of the ADU ordinance to the Council for their review and vote. After discussion and review by the Planning and Zoning Subcommittee, the Council voted 10-1, with District 1 Councilor Christine Long voting against, to approve the change to Framingham’s housing code.
What they said: “This is a complicated thing to do. For so long in Framingham, we have said that we just don’t want to take on complicated things. Town Meeting looked at it once, it wasn’t a good idea then. This community, this council and all of the members of our elected and appointed boards got together to fulfill the goal to allow for the freedom and flexibility for families to care for their loved ones” said Councilor Michael Cannon, who proposed the idea in 2018.
What is in the ADU ordinance? Here are the highlights:
Property owners wishing to build an in-law must apply for a special permit through the Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA);
Owner must occupy at least one of the dwelling units as their primary residence;
No ADU shall be held in separate ownership from the primary dwelling unit;
The ADU shall be limited to a maximum of 900 square feet or half the floor area of the principal dwelling, whichever is smaller;
The unit will be a complete, separate housekeeping unit containing sleeping, cooking, and sanitary facilities;
May not be occupied by more than two people nor have more than two bedrooms;
There shall be at least one off street parking space provided on the property for the occupants of the ADU in addition to the off-street parking requirements for the primary dwelling unit;
Designed to maintain the appearance, character and scale, as viewed from the street, of the primary dwelling unit.
What happens when the owner moves out of the house with an ADU?
If new owners want to keep the ADU: When ownership of the property changes, the new property owner shall notify the Building Commissioner and the Zoning Board of Appeals within 30 days, at which time the Building Commissioner shall conduct a determination of compliance. The new property owner must, within 30 days of the sale, submit an affidavit to the Building Commissioner shared to the ZBA file on the property stating that they will occupy one of the dwelling units on the premises as their primary residence.
If the new owners do not want the ADU: If an ADU is discontinued, the owner shall provide a notarized letter notifying the Building Commissioner and ZBA of removal of the kitchen facilities. Said unit shall be removed from the City’s ADU Inventory.
Collaborative and thoughtful process: Bringing ADUs to Framingham was no easy task, but the process worked exactly as it should - collaborative and thoughtful. The Planning Board, led by Chair Kristina Johnson, held hearings, worked in public on crafting the ordinance, took feedback and put together an ordinance that works for Framingham. The end result is better because of the hard work, input and focus on doing what is best for many of our residents. Major kudos to Chair Johnson for leading this effort and the Planning Board for their thoughtfulness, and the public who shared their stories, ideas and feedback.
The Latest on Potential Development in Nobscot
Time flies: A little over a year has passed since the first word of the possible Nobscot rezoning proposal. The petition to rezone was withdrawn a few months later.
Sounds of silence: Since the community meeting with the developers back in February of this year, not a word has been heard.
Mayor meets with developers: Councilor Adam Steiner asked Mayor Sisitsky if he has heard anything more about the rezoning and development. The Mayor told the Council he recently reached out to the developers to learn more about the project because “he wasn’t really familiar with what was being proposed. In order to give some recommendations or move this along one way or another, I reached out to them.”
Future unclear: The Mayor said he will sit down with Planning and Community Development Director Sarkis Sarkisian to discuss the proposal, and “come up with a recommendation on how the city should proceed.” Sisitsky also said he needs to look into what the amount of vote is required for approving a rezoning - is it 2/3 or majority?
“I’m basically trying to get more information on the project from the developers before I can make a recommendation to the city.”
“It won’t be pretty”: Councilor Long told the Mayor “Send them [the developers] a message there will be so much pushback on any kind of rezoning on that parcel. It won’t be funny. It won’t be pretty.”
The Mayor responded: “I think that is an unfortunate thing to say before there’s anything formally before any board to automatically say that rezoning is dead on arrival. That’s not a very good way to do business.”
Long responded that Nobscot Plaza took a decade of work to finalize, and the fruits of that work have yet to materialize nor does anyone know the impact of the apartments and commercial space being built. She said the commercial owners of the plaza project won’t be happy to see 27 acres rezoned next door.
Meanwhile, the neighbors: Driving around Nobscot, you might have seen lawn signs saying No to Nobscot Rezoning. The Future of Nobscot group is meeting on Saturday, October 21 from 10:30am - 12:00pm at the McAuliffe Library (746 Water Street). The group has invited the Mayor to attend, along with the Councilors.
Marian Purchased for a Community Center
Done Deal: Framingham purchased the Marian High School property for $3.35 million.
Coming soon: Since the summer there has been a lot of discussion around the need for a community center. The city issued an RFI for ideas and locations for where the center could be located. Invictus Forever, the educational non-profit that purchased the property back in 2021, was the only property owner who responded to the RFI. Invictus Forever bought the property for $2.6 million, but never opened due to the challenges of updating the building.
The heart of the community: The plan is to convert the former high school into a community center, with a gym and a 750-seat auditorium. Both the gym and auditorium already exist inside the school. A feasibility study will be done on the possibility of building a pool, and other uses. Representative Sousa obtained $25,000 for a study in this year’s state budget.
What’s next: The Mayor is appointing community members to a task force to develop the community center. Applications available soon.
Community Events
The Boys & Girls Club of Metrowest Annual October Gala & Auction
Support our local Boys and Girls Club next week at their annual gala. This event aims to raise critical funds to support the programming at the Club – including safe transportation, academic enrichment, healthy lifestyles, and character and leadership development. The Gala is at the Verve Hotel in Natick on October 19. There are still some tickets available: www.bgcmetrowest.org/gala.
If you can’t join in person, check out the online auction and support our kids.
Flu Shot Clinic
The Public Health Department is sponsoring a flu shot clinic this Saturday, October 14 from 9:00am - 3:00pm in Nevins Hall at the Memorial Building (150 Concord Street). Pre-registration is required. Click here to register or use the QR code in the image.
The Civic Week Ahead
Tuesday, October 10
1:30pm: Council on Aging Agenda
2:00pm: Housing Authority Agenda
3:00pm: Board of Library Trustees Program Advisory Subcommittee Agenda
4:00pm: School Committee Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Subcommittee Agenda
6:00pm: Council Finance Subcommittee Agenda
7:00pm: Women, Children, and Families Commission Agenda
7:00pm: Historic District Commission Agenda
7:00pm: Board of Health Agenda
Wednesday, October 11
Tonight the lights on the Memorial Building are blue and light in solidarity with Israel. Thank you to Sheryl Goldstein for sharing this photo. In a statement released over the weekend, the Mayor and First Lady stated: “We reject any form of terrorism against innocent civilians, and pray for peace and safety for all.”
See you next week,
Mary Kate
I'm hopeful the stop signs on Salem End/Singletary are made permanent. As someone who lives in that area, I usually end up going the long way around to avoid coming out to Salem End at all because of the obstructed view from the stone walls at the end of Singletary.
Singletary itself is also in need of some calming measures as people speed down the road and pass each other, despite the double yellow lines. With no sidewalks on the road, the trail entrance into Macomber and kids who fish off the bridge, there's not a lot of safety measures for pedestrians or even people who just follow the speed limit.