Watertown council delays vote on AirStay permit after downtown business outcry over prolonged street closure

Watertown City Council deferred a decision on whether to extend an Occupy Right-of-Way permit for the AirStay hotel construction after a lengthy public hearing in which downtown merchants said prolonged street closures were harming their livelihoods.

City Manager Alan Stagger told the council the resolution on the table would be the city’s first formal extension for the AirStay Watertown LLC project and would add requirements for more specific communication from the developer, a 48-hour notice window for closures, and a requirement to restore the right-of-way to at least its preconstruction condition. Stagger said the measures aim to give staff clearer authority to manage closures and timing.

The public hearing drew several downtown business owners who described falling sales and difficulties accessing their storefronts. Jeff Gamber, who identified himself as part owner of County Fair Foods, told the council the road closure and the way it has been handled threaten his family business’s long-term survival: “We’re going to be losing one here soon,” he said, and pleaded for relief and follow-through from the developer and the city. Other owners echoed concerns about lost customers and the appearance of being “winners and losers” in how closures were handled.

Council members pressed staff for specifics about enforcement and remedies if the developer failed to comply. Several elected members said they were sympathetic to the downtown businesses and frustrated by what they described as poor communication from the contractor and the developer’s absence from the meeting. “What I don’t trust is them doing what they’re going to say they’re going to do,” Councilman Lynn Jirens said during debate.

City staff said the developer expects to backfill the site and open two lanes of Second Street by the end of the week and keep them open through June before pre-cast concrete work and a large crane require a temporary closure again. Staff also said the existing permit could have been administratively extended but was brought before the council specifically to publicly surface community concerns and add enforceable conditions.

Council members discussed multiple procedural options, including voting the resolution down and reworking it with stronger enforcement measures (including the possibility of performance bonds) or deferring action to a special meeting. The council ultimately voted to defer consideration to a special meeting set for Monday, June 8 at noon and instructed staff to require the developer’s attendance; the motion to defer carried. The council emphasized that the street must be reopened to at least two lanes by 5:00 p.m. on Friday to avoid further enforcement steps.

What happens next: The council will reconvene to consider a revised permit extension and additional enforcement language if needed. If the developer does not reopen the street by the Friday deadline, staff said the city could take steps to vacate the street for the contractor and require a new permit before construction resumes.