Vol. 2, No. 6
May 21, 2002
Contents
1) ALDERMEN VOTING ON LINCOLN PARK SCHOOL
The Proposal
I've recently learned that the School Department plans to build a
new Lincoln Park Community School on the other side of Lincoln Park
from its present Washington Street location. The proposed new school
would stretch along the south side of the park for 480 feet along
Lincoln Parkway, eliminating the present baseball field. After its
construction, the existing Lincoln Park School would be demolished,
and a soccer field put in its current location along Washington
Street. A new roadway with parking area, bus turn-around, and parent
drop-off area would bisect the park.
You can compare for yourself the plans of the existing
and proposed Lincoln Park School.
Concerns
The School Improvement Council and PTA of the Lincoln Park Community
School would like to see this project move ahead with all due speed.
Yet a number of neighbors have complained that the community input
process has been hasty, poorly publicized, and resulted in a plan
which diminishes Lincoln Park as open space. Many have argued that,
with a longer planning process, a site design could be found which
would result in a high quality school and optimal preservation of
the park.
It is widely known that "open space" in Somerville constitutes less
than 3% of our land area, and that our definition of "open space"
includes cemeteries and areas that are entirely hardtopped. I am
concerned by any plan that reduces our tiny allotment of green open
space. Ground was recently broken on a new Edgerly School set in the
middle of Glen Park, the only significant open space in East
Somerville, and one of few in the city. The Superintendent of
Schools, Dr. Albert Argenziano recently told the Finance Committee
that he was interested in expanding Somerville High School over the
playground area of Central Hill Park, up to the edge of Highland
Avenue.
What Next?
On Tuesday, May 21, at 6:30 p.m., the Finance Committee will meet in
the Committee Room in City Hall to consider two important votes to
authorize the relocation and rebuilding of the Lincoln Park
Community School. One matter under consideration will be the vote to
convert the use of the area where the new school will be built from
park land to school building. If I am reading the "Declaration of
Change of Purpose " documents correctly, 14,121 square feet will be
changed from school use to park use, and 78,843 square feet changed
from park use to school use.
The other vote will be to authorize the issuance of bonds to fund
construction of the new, $17.4 million school. The Finance Committee
meeting is not advertised as a public hearing; to my knowledge, the
Board has not been asked to hold a public hearing on the school
siting proposal. Any vote coming out of the Finance Committee
meeting is likely to be voted on by the full Board at its May 23
meeting.
The Somerville Conservation Commission will be considering the
conversion of open space to school building at its meeting on
Wednesday, May 22, at 7:00 p.m., at City Hall Annex, 50 Evergreen
Avenue (at the corner of Thurston Street). There is also an
opportunity to review the city's Environmental Notification Form
(ENF) and comment on it to the state's Executive Office of
Environmental Affairs (EOEA) - see the next section of this
newsletter. Neighbor Ron Witte, who is part of the informal
community group asking for a longer design/siting process, invites
anyone with concerns about the city's plan to contact him at (617)
776-1087, or rwitte@gsd.harvard.edu.
2). COMMENTS DUE ON LINCOLN PARK SCHOOL, NORTH POINT
The community still has some time to comment on the Massachusetts
Environmental Policy Act (MEPA) filings for the Lincoln Park
Community School Project and for the two projects planned for North
Point; a large mixed use development that crosses the Cambridge line
into Boston and Somerville, and a residential development in
Cambridge. For background on the North Point projects, see
SOMERVILLE AT LARGE, Vol. 2, No. 3.
The people to contact for copies of the
official filings on each project are the agents listed below.
All comments should be addressed to:
Robert Durand, Secretary
Executive Office of Environmental Affairs
Attention: MEPA Office
[inset name of EOEA Environmental Analyst for project]
251 Causeway Street, Suite 900
Boston, MA 02114
Please note that the EOEA # is required on all comments; otherwise,
the MEPA Office will ignore them. The projects are identified as:
EOEA# 12782
Project Name: Lincoln Park Community School
EOEA Environmental Analyst: LeAndrea Dames
Agent: Brian Lawlor/ Symmes, Maini & McKee
Agent's phone #: (617) 547-5400
Comment deadline: May 28, 2002
EOEA# 12650
Project Name: North Point - Cambridge, Boston, Somerville
EOEA Environmental Analyst: LeAndrea Dames
Agent: Will Donham
Agent's phone #: (978) 897-7100
Comment deadline: June 7, 2002
EOEA# 12651
Project Name: North Point - Cambridge
EOEA Environmental Analyst: LeAndrea Dames
Agent: Scott Thornton
Agent's phone #: (978) 474-8800
Comment deadline: June 7, 2002
You might also be able to review these documents at the city's
Office of Housing and Community Development (OHCD). Contact OHCD at
(617) 625-6600 ext. 2500. The existing
and proposed Lincoln Park School
site plans may also be viewed on my website.
More on North Point
Curious about what's going on at North Point? There will be an
opportunity to get the details about the proposed residential
project, and a preview of the mixed-use plan. The Cambridge Planning
Commission will be holding a public hearing on the smaller North
Point Project (776 units of housing) on Tuesday, May 21, at 7:30
p.m. This hearing will be immediately followed by a "pre-application
conference" for the mixed-use project at North Point that spills
into Somerville. The Planning Commission meets at 806 Massachusetts
Avenue (the Central Square Senior Center).
3) COMMENT ON SOMERVILLE OPEN SPACE PLAN
Somerville is currently updating its Open Space and Recreation Plan,
as required every five years by the state's Division of Conservation
Services, in order for the city to be eligible for certain open
space and recreational grant programs. The city's consultant for
this project, McGregor & Associates, is surveying public opinion
about our existing open space and recreational areas, and our
perception of need. I encourage everyone to take a few minutes to
participate; I'll
email
the survey form as an attachment to anyone who requests it.
4) FARMERS' MARKET TO OPEN AGAIN THIS WEEK
Had it with winter? Ready for something fresh and green in your
life? This Wednesday, May 22, the Davis Square Farmers' Market will
resume, in the municipal parking lot at the corner of Day and
Herbert Streets. Even this early in the season, there will be a
selection of healthy perennials, bedding plants, bread, cookies, and
other baked goods, fresh farm-made goat cheese, and more. The market
will be open every Wednesday from noon until 6:00 p.m., until all
the harvest is in.
5) REMINDER: HEARING ON LIVING WAGE EXEMPTION
This Thursday evening, May 23, at 6:00 p.m. in the Aldermen's
Chamber, there will be a public hearing on the Request of the
administration to exempt the city's recycling contract from the
Somerville Living Wage Ordinance. Most workers at KTI's Charlestown
facility now earn $6.60 an hour - gross weekly wages of $264.00,
assuming a 40 hour work week. The city's "Living Wage," based on the
federally determined poverty level for a family of four, is $8.56
per hour, yielding a gross weekly wage of $342.40.
Somerville makes money now on newspaper recycling. KTI is proposing
a "profit sharing" arrangement with the city on mixed recyclables.
I, personally, do not wish even to consider boosting city revenues
off the backs of these workers. How do you feel about this prospect?
6) MORE THOUGHTS ON THE ALDERSEY STREET PROPOSAL
In the course of the lively discussion that the Aldersey Street
proposal has sparked, several people have told me that affordable
housing has to be built at very high densities. As one reader
commented, "any affordable housing in Somerville is likely to result
in some potentially undesirable tradeoffs." These assertions started
me doing some research.
The last time that there was an application in Somerville for a
comprehensive permit under Chapter 40B, the applicant was the
Somerville Community Corporation. The application was to build 42
units - all of them affordable - on the site of a former factory on
Linden Street in Ward 2. The land area was about 65,000 square feet,
making the land area per dwelling unit approximately 1,500 square
feet. The parcel is zoned Residence B, where the minimum land area
required per dwelling unit is - 1,500 square feet.
The Aldersey Street project proponents, by contrast, propose to put
30 units on 25,000 square feet in a Residence A zone. This allows
833 square feet of land per dwelling unit in a zone which requires
2,250 square feet of land area per dwelling unit - almost triple the
allowed density. And for what "benefit"? Twenty-two market rate
condominiums, and eight affordable ones, straining the
infrastructure of an old and densely-built neighborhood.
The Somerville Corporation Project on Linden Street proves that
affordable housing can be financed and built at reasonable
densities. But then, the Somerville Corporation is a non-profit
Community Development Corporation (CDC), locally run. The owner and
for-profit developer of 9-11 Aldersey Street lives in Canton, Mass.,
where fewer than 6% of the housing units qualify as affordable. His
originally-from-Somerville attorney lives in Nahant, where fewer
than 3% of the housing units are affordable.
Perhaps the Commonwealth should make a policy of encouraging would-be developers of affordable housing to start at home. In the
meantime, the Planning Board will take the Aldersey Street proposal
up again on June 6.
7) SOMERVILLE AFFORDABLE HOUSING OPPORTUNITY
Two condominium units at 143 Cross Street, near Union Square and
McGrath Highway, will soon be sold by lottery to qualifying
Somerville residents. The two-bedroom unit is priced at $139,000,
the three bedroom unit at $213,000. The information session will be
held Tuesday, May 21, from 6:00 until 7:30 p.m. in the Aldermen's
Chambers. Applications will be available at this session - in fact,
it is necessary to attend the information session to receive an
application. For more information, call the Housing Program Staff at
(617) 625-6600 ext. 2577.
8) UPDATE ON MAGOUN SQUARE CVS
At its last meeting on May 9, the Board of Aldermen voted 8 to 2 to
declare as surplus and available for disposal two separate parcels
of land within the Magoun Square Municipal Parking Lot. One
triangular parcel is expected to accommodate one corner of a retail
pharmacy to be constructed principally on the site of the adjacent
storefronts, slated for demolition. The other parcel, which appeared
unexpectedly on the revised Declaration of Surplus on May 9, will be
the site of a large, freestanding ATM.
The next step in making the property available for private
development is the creation of a Request for Proposals (RFP). The
Finance Committee has reserved the right to review and comment on
the RFP before it is issued. No date has yet been put forward for
issuance of the RFP.
copyright 2002 Denise Provost
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