Select Board To Review Johnson Property Interim-Use Matrix Wednesday
NATICK — Crews began lowering the Charles River in South Natick this week to prepare for removal of the dam there, while Town Hall previews a busy Select Board session Wednesday covering the Johnson property's future and the Main Street Improvement Project.
TOWN HALL
The Select Board meets Wednesday, July 8, with two significant items on the agenda. Town officials will present an "interim uses" matrix for the Johnson property, a structured framework of inputs meant to guide decisions on what happens at the site in the near term, according to a News Flash release. The same meeting will also feature continued discussion of the Main Street Improvement Project, with officials specifically inviting public input on the ongoing plan.
Separately, the town flagged a regional affordable housing opportunity at Modera Weston, a new 172-unit rental development at 751-761 Boston Post Road in neighboring Weston. Forty-three of those units will be reserved for households earning up to 80 percent of the area median income, per the town's announcement.
ELSEWHERE IN THE NEWS
"Charles River water level is lowered to allow for Natick dam removal," according to MetroWest Daily News. Crews are drawing down the river by roughly a foot per day in South Natick as construction crews prepare to begin removing the dam there (read it at https://www.metrowestdailynews.com/story/news/local/2026/07/07/charles-river-water-level-lowered-to-allow-for-natick-ma-dam-removal/90820738007/).
"The state has a new housing tracker: Here are Natick's numbers," reports Natick Report. The item cites a statewide push to add 222,000 new homes between 2025 and 2035 and situates Natick's growth within that broader tally (read it at https://www.natickreport.com/2026/07/the-state-has-a-new-housing-tracker-here-are-naticks-numbers/).
"🌱 Patch AM: How does Natick's new-home growth stack up to neighboring towns?" per Natick Patch. The roundup compares Natick's pace of new housing construction against nearby communities (read it at https://patch.com/massachusetts/natick).
"Here's How Many Beaches Are Closed To Swimming In MA," according to Patch. The statewide item notes some beaches have reopened following a ruptured sewer line that caused closures last month (read it at https://patch.com/massachusetts/natick).
COMING UP
The Select Board takes up the Johnson property interim-uses matrix and continues Main Street Improvement Project discussion on Wednesday, July 8, with public comment invited.