Government & development in Medford

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Last 14 days

• Medford council votes 6-1 to back challenge to mayor's lawsuit stance. Council President Zach Bears said the city has spent more than $35,000 defending a values-based investment ordinance after the mayor's office told a federal court it would not enforce it, a stance state Sen. Pat Jehlen warned could set a precedent for unchecked executive power.Medford News
• Medford panel reviews composting gains, sets fall event calendar. A Medford advisory committee reported 51 percent participation in the city's composting program, calling it higher than most cities. Every-other-week trash pickup begins July 1, and organizers are still sorting bathroom access for the volunteer-run Junk in the Trunk swap on October 17.Medford News
• Medford board recommends deleting outdated vacant-property zoning rule. The Community Development Board voted to recommend removing an outdated vacant-properties zoning section and elected new leadership, but members spent much of the meeting airing frustration with the City Council's Sept. 15 reversal on student housing rules for the Boston Avenue corridor.Medford News
• Medford liquor board takes beer hall case under advisement. Medford's liquor commission heard a police report that a 19-year-old was hospitalized for intoxication after a June World Cup watch party at Great American Beer Hall, then took the matter under advisement after the sergeant admitted he never requested video of the incident.Medford News
• Tree ordinance advances to City Council for a vote. Medford's Energy and Environment Committee heard a revised public tree ordinance could reach a City Council vote, discussed a possible rodenticide ban, and noted Trees Medford is giving away free trees to high-heat neighborhoods through September 20.Medford News
• Historical panel splits on demolition reviews, advances three properties. The Historical Commission voted 71 Mystic Avenue and 73 Surrey Street significant, sending both to an October 5 hearing, while a member urged steering the VFW away from demolishing 321 Winthrop Street after crews found buried headstones at Cross Street Cemetery.Medford News
• School Committee approves superintendent's goals, CTE honors pilot. The School Committee unanimously approved Superintendent Galussi's 2026-27 goals, including getting 80 percent of kindergartners and first graders to reading benchmarks by June 2027, and a new Career Technical Education honors track for juniors and seniors.Medford News
• Board of Health splits tobacco suspension for two stores. The Board of Health let McSheffrey's Mobile and NK Convenience serve $2,000 fines and seven-day tobacco suspensions on non-consecutive days after second-offense sales to a minor, and heard a Tufts and BioLabs biosafety lab permit request for 200 Boston Ave.Medford News
• Council committee keeps noise ordinance rewrite in committee. A City Council committee approved its summer newsletter and reviewed noise-ordinance models from Somerville, Cambridge and Brookline, citing weak after-hours enforcement; the rewrite stays in committee with draft language expected after the September 23 Ward 1 meeting.Medford News
• Conservation Commission approves shell lighting, trail drainage projects. The Conservation Commission cleared dark-sky-compliant lighting upgrades at the Condon Shell and a state drainage fix on the Mustang Loop Trail near Medford High School, both proceeding without a full Notice of Intent.Medford News
• Medford home sales top out at $1.1 million. Medford's latest recorded deeds show home sales topping out at $1.1 million for the week, with trust transfers making up a large share of the recorded transactions.Medford News
• Free trees for high-heat neighborhoods offer ends today. Trees Medford is offering free trees to residents in the city's high-heat neighborhoods through September 20, part of a push toward roughly 300 total plantings, the Energy and Environment Committee heard this month.Medford News
• Ward 1 meeting Wednesday to shape noise ordinance rewrite. Medford's Ward 1 meeting is set for September 23, after which councilors expect draft language for a rewritten noise ordinance following complaints about weak after-hours enforcement.Medford News

Updated daily from the Medford morning brief.