- Joined
- May 25, 2006
- Messages
- 6,964
- Reaction score
- 1,586
Backers: Land bill is about ecology
Builder sees move to block housing
By Dan Tuohy, Globe Correspondent | June 28, 2007
BOSTON -- A bill proposing that the state help to buy a piece of land that is slated for development in Belmont is pro environment, not anti affordable housing, supporters told lawmakers at a hearing last week.
It is a critical distinction to make, said state Representative William Brownsberger, Democrat of Belmont, citing the land's proximity to the Alewife Reservation and its importance to the region's watershed and wildlife. His legislation calls for the state to fund $6 million of the purchase price for the parcel known as the Belmont Uplands. The purchase essentially would block an affordable-housing project. With the land appraised at more than double that, Belmont would join Arlington and Cambridge and supporting groups to fund the rest and conserve the property.
But hurdles exist -- and more than just a state with tight finances: The land is not for sale, its owner, O'Neill Properties, has declared in a letter opposing the legislation.
"I think it is fair to question if this is about open space or preventing affordable housing," states the letter to the Legislature's Committee on Bonding, Capital Expenditures and State Assets. Signed by Steve Corridan of O'Neill Properties and consultant Robert Engler, the letter states that passage of the bill would constitute the first step toward a "hostile taking of the property."
Belmont's stock of affordable housing is less than 3.5 percent, the letter states.
The Pennsylvania-based developer is proceeding with plans to build 299 rental units under a Chapter 40B permit issued in February by the Belmont Zoning Board of Adjustment. As a project under the state's Chapter 40B law, which exempts an applicant from local zoning, 60 of the units would be rated affordable.
Local residents, however, left the need for housing as a subject for another day; instead, they urged lawmakers to pursue the acquisition to preserve what they describe as the last urban wild in Greater Boston. The project spells trouble for the health of the environment and the public, they contended.
Stanley Dzierzeski, a retired military engineer who lives on nearby Statler Road, said the proposed development and a loss of silver maples on the land would result in a serious health threat for residents.
"As an affected resident, I can assure you during heavy storms, contaminated [sewage] backups occur in the Winn Brook area with potential health issues," Dzierzeski told lawmakers. "The $6 million cost will be easily absorbed by the constantly working trees and the regional recreational and wildlife refuge protection in this watershed."
Ellen Mass, president of the Friends of Alewife Reservation, said the land's importance to the ecology and handling of water runoff transcends municipal boundaries. Her organization, serving as a steward of conservation land, has helped identify 90 species of birds and 20 mammal species, including otters, mink, fox, and deer, in the area, she said. "It is the largest untouched urban wildlife in the Boston area."
Engler, the Cambridge-based consultant for O'Neill Properties, said in a telephone interview that the developer satisfied those concerns during the town's zoning review. In the letter to the legislative committee, Engler noted that "all claimed impacts on flooding, sewer, and traffic have been reviewed and mitigation approved by the town's own engineers and consultants." He further noted that the property is not as pristine as abutters say, and that it was used in the past as a pig farm and as a landfill for the debris from construction of nearby Route 2.
The project is now pending a review by state environmental officials.
Brownsberger said his bill focuses on the environmental importance of the land to towns in the watershed. The uplands is 15.6 acres, of which 12.9 acres are in Belmont and 2.7 acres are in Cambridge; the Cambridge portion is not part of the construction site.
He said his support for conservation predates O'Neill's application for 299 rental units in five, four-story buildings. The developer previously had planned to build a four-story office and research and development building on the site. The property was rezoned for that purpose, from a residential district, in 2002. When the market cooled at about that time, the applicant changed plans for the housing project.
State Senator Steven Tolman, Democrat of Brighton, and Representative James Marzilli, Democrat of Arlington, are co sponsors of the legislation. Two of Belmont's three selectmen also testified in support, while no one spoke against the bill during the two-hour hearing on Beacon Hill.
Mike Ryan, executive director of the Friends of the Middlesex Fells Reservation in Stoneham, said the development would further erode the contiguous strip of habitat branching north from Boston, which would exacerbate the loss of wildlife. "We just can't tolerate this loss of habitat."
? Copyright 2007 Globe Newspaper Company.
Link
Here is a map of the area I think they are talking about:link
One one hand I support the effort to conserve lands in the Boston area. Lord knows Alewife needs protecting and cleaning up. But this does seem to be a way to keep out undesirable peoples which is a huge dick move. Perhaps if Cambridge could get off its ass and rezone Alewife for some housing we could have both the conservation AND affordable housing, TOD style.