Council Approves Lexington Street Housing Permit

Select Board · Meeting of September 8, 2026

Newton City Council approved a special permit for a four-unit housing project at 395 Lexington Street, 24-0, after a councilor flagged traffic-safety concerns at a nearby intersection. Councillor Block, who voted for the permit in committee and again on the floor, said vehicles leaving the Auburndale Square-area site would enter "a very busy intersection, presumably without any signalization," and argued fixing it "is a city responsibility," not the developer's. Councillor Kelly, reporting for the Land Use Committee, said the project met multi-residence transition standards after an 8-0 committee vote.

The council also approved, on a bundled first-call roll call, a $1.9 million Community Preservation Act grant to the Newton Affordable Housing Trust and a $623,130.15 bond-proceeds transfer, both 4-0 in committee. A National Grid utility petition passed 23-1, with Kelly casting the lone no vote.

In the full story:

• Who Was There
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• The complete report — 2,541 words

Source: the Select Board meeting of September 8, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.

Checked against the record: before publication this article was automatically compared with the meeting transcript.