A memorial honoring Newton's Sept. 11 victims has finally found a home. 

Following a vote at its Jan. 10 meeting, the Newton 9-11 Memorial Committee approved of the Newton Fire Headquarters as the site for the city's Sept. 11 memorial. 

"It’s very exciting to finally have a site, a home for the memorial," Newton 9-11 Memorial Committee Chair Sande Young told Newton Patch last week. 

The committee had previously proposed a memorial site at Newton City Hall to commemorate the eight Newton residents who lost their lives on Sept. 11, 2001. However, the Parks & Recreation Commission recently placed a moratorium on memorials located on City Hall or War Memorial property. 

Parks & Recreation Commissioner Bob DeRubeis explained to that back in 2006, the Parks & Recreation Department accepted a master plan for the city that included guidelines for memorials on City Hall/War Memorial grounds. Those guidelines suggested a moratorium be placed on memorials built on that property.

However, DeRubeis told Newton Patch that the Parks & Recreation Commission only voted on the master plan, and did not vote on the appendix that included the moratorium. The commission then decided to accept that moratorium at its Nov. 21, 2011 meeting. 

"The commission thinks the 9/11 memorial is a wonderful idea, but they have an issue with memorials in general being on City Hall grounds because of the homestead design and that [the grounds] should stay as natural as possible," DeRubeis said. 

DeRubeis said the Parks & Recreation Commission does not need to approve the memorial's Newton Fire Headquarters site, as it is land controlled by the Fire Department. 

Young told Patch last week that the new site has the approval of both the Fire Department and Mayor Setti Warren. 

The memorial will be located to the right of the Newton Centre headquarters, Young said. The design will require some adjustments due to the grade of the land.

The committee approved the design in July 2011 after holding a competition involving local architects. The winning design was submitted by architect Mark Sangiolo, an Upper Falls resident who incorporated design elements representing the World Trade Center, Pentagon and flight path of United Airlines Flight 93. 

Over the next couple of months, the committee is looking to raise another $10,000 for the construction of the memorial, Young said. The group has already raised around $30,000 to cover materials and the final design drawings. 

There are no fundraisers currently planned, Young said, but the committee is working on sending out letters to solicit donations.

The committee is hoping for a groundbreaking this spring.