Wakefield Town Council Notes -- October 7, 2024

Here is a brief summary of what we covered at our Town Council meeting on Monday, October 7:

• The Council reviewed the MBTA Communities plan that will be on the Town Meeting warrant next month, and referred the proposal to the Planning Board for a public hearing. The proposed bylaw would allow for the by-right development of three-story multi-family buildings with ground floor retail on a limited portion of North Avenue near Wakefield station, and two-story multi-family buildings on one block of Albion Street and a small stretch of Main Street near Greenwood Station. In addition, the proposed bylaw re-zones portions of Foundry Street, Foster Street, Lake Street, and Audubon Road with existing multi-family housing developments to meet the zoning criteria of the MBTA Communities Act, even though the presence of the existing complexes in these areas means that the possibility of further housing development is remote. While the Councilors expressed varying opinions on the specifics of the proposal, all agreed on the importance of passing it at Town Meeting since failing to do so by December 31, 2024 would end Wakefield's eligibility for more than 20 different state grant programs. Over the last 2-3 years, Wakefield has received $4.4 million from these programs to support staffing and curriculum development at the Wakefield Public Schools, road and sidewalk repairs throughout town, downtown enhancements, other infrastructure projects.

• The Town Council approved a liquor license transfer for Caporale's Fine Wine and Spirits on Broadway, and a second-hand dealer license for Timeless Fine Jewelry on Albion Street.

• We appointed Jhalak Patel as the student representative to the Human Rights Commission, and Rebecca Nuernberger to the Environmental Sustainability Committee.

• We approved a proclamation declaring October 20 as Community Media Day in Wakefield, in recognition of the excellent work that Wakefield Community Access TV does to bring community events and educational programming to everyone in Wakefield.

Our next meeting will be on Monday, October 21 at 7:00 PM on WCAT and Zoom. Please join us!