Contents
1) Planning Board
The last time I sent out “Somerville Citywide,” I focused on some important items going before
the Planning Board that evening. Here is a report back on how those items fared:
A) Joint Planning Board/BOA Hearing on “Maxpak” Site Proposed Re-zoning
Many neighbors appeared to testify, some waiting quite awhile. The zoning proposal was
withdrawn by its sponsor, Alderman O'Donovan.
B) Planning Board Hearing on “Legalization” of the enlargement of 1-4 Hayden Terrace
Again, many neighbors came to testify. At the hearing, the property owner's attorney requested
a continuance, which was granted by the Planning Board without discussion. When the attorney
for one of the abutters asked to speak, the Chairman of the Planning Board ruled him “out of
order.”
C) Favorable Planning Board Decision on a Petition for PUD Master Plan Approval/Variances
for the Proposed Residential Development at 111 South Street
I haven't written previously about this project. It's a proposal to put over 200 “first-time
homebuyer” condominiums (average price, $436,000) in three buildings - with one parking
space each - on a site where there are now two commercial buildings. If you can't quite place
where South Street is, visualize this area: south of the Fitchburg line tracks, east of Webster
Avenue, and north of the Cambridge line.
This area is fringed with residential neighborhoods, some in Somerville, some in Cambridge.
Presently, it is home to businesses, including a foundry, a construction company, and Gentle
Giant Moving Company. The latter was, on September 28, 2006, awarded the International
Award for Marketplace Ethics from the Council of Better Business Bureaus.
I testified against this project on several grounds. One, it is in the corridor in which the Green
Line will likely be extended. Before permitting projects on an ad hoc basis, the city should be
looking at, and planning for, land use changes within the corridor as a whole, for optimal,
rational, and consistent development.
I am also concerned about further erosion of our limited commercial tax base. There is little
enough land in the city to re-develop for valuable commercial uses, such as office space, and
biotech R&D. For the city to encourage transformation of an existing commercial district into
a residential one is shocking to me.
Clearly, this outcome is what the city plans. In fact, OPCD Director Jim Kostaras showed the
Planning Board a “conceptual” plan that shows all the existing businesses in the area replaced
with residential buildings, except, ironically, for the Royal White Laundry on Webster Avenue.
Neither the businesses in the area nor the public have been consulted about this top-down plan.
Nor, Alderman White and I have maintained, can the Planning Board lawfully waive the
requirement that a PUD contain a mix of uses. So the developers made a concession - they're
including 5,000 square feet of retail space in their development. Maybe that was enough
to win over the Planning Board's approval.
2) Public Health Events
A) Cholesterol Low Down
The
Cholesterol Low Down program and will be offering free screenings:
- City Hall Plaza on September 27 at 10 a.m.
- Johnny's Foodmaster Supermarket in Charlestown on October 11
Participants will receive information about cholesterol and its effect on the body, tips on
reducing high LDL numbers, and low-fat, low-cholesterol recipes. In addition, participants will
be able to explore a mini-exhibit of Günter von Hagens' Body Worlds 2: The Anatomical
Exhibition of Real Human Bodies, currently on display at the Museum of Science.
B) Emergency Preparedness for Vulnerable Populations
Date and Time: Thursday, October 19, 2006, 8:30am-1pm
Where: Somerville Holiday Inn at 30 Washington Street
Registration: Admission is free, but advance registration is required by Monday, October 16.
Online registration is available. For more information, please contact Eric
Weltman at the MPHA: 617-524-6696; eweltman@mphaweb.org.
The Massachusetts Public Health Association and the Harvard School of Public Health are
sponsoring a forum to discuss emergency preparedness for vulnerable populations. Certain
populations, including the elderly, children, the disabled, immigrants, and the homeless, face
greater challenges if disaster strikes. The forum will include information about pandemic flu,
information about emergency plans, resources for preparing for emergency, and discussion of
the needs of particular communities. These topics will be of particular interest to health agents,
first responders, community activists, social service providers, or anyone else who works with
or represents a community that is vulnerable to disaster.
3) Fun in the City
A) What the Fluff?
When: Saturday, September 30, 3-8pm (Rain Date: October 1)
Where: Union Square, the birthplace of Fluff!
Join artists, musical and theatrical performers, inventors, and humorists to pay yummy homage
to this great American foodstuff in a madcap festival of science meets nostalgia meets urban
landscape. Enjoy and participate in the science fair, cooking contest, gallery show, and, of
course, eat some fluff!
Visit the web site for more information.
B) HONK! Festival
Date: October 7-8
Where: In and Around Davis Square, Somerville
The first-ever HONK! Festival is a fall gathering of 13 activist brass bands from across North
America. Across the country and around the world, a new type of street band is emerging.
Acoustic and mobile, borrowing repertoire and inspiration from a diverse set of folk music
traditions, these “Honkers” all share a commitment to music as social action. The HONK!
Festival features such bands as the Revolutionary Snake Ensemble, March Fourth Marching
Band, Brass Liberation Orchestra, The Leftist Marching Band, and Environmental
Encroachment. For more info log onto www.honkfest.org, or call 617-497-9889
C) Tour de Somerville 14th Annual Tour de Somerville: "Streets, Rails, and Trails"
When: Saturday, October 14, 10 am
Where: Starts at Seven Hills Park, behind the Somerville Theatre in Davis Square
Who: Sponsored by the Somerville Bicycle Committee, Friends of the Community Path, and the Mass. Central Rail Trail Coalition.
What: A family-friendly, 8-mile bicycle ride.
Our theme this year is "Streets, Rails, and Trails".
We'll start by exploring the back streets of Somerville's mostly-flat Ward Two.
Then we'll ride alongside future extensions of both the Somerville Community
Path and the MBTA Green Line, looking at railroad rights-of-way from a variety of
viewpoints. Finally, we'll return to Davis Square on the existing paved Community Path.
Rain date: If it rains, we'll postpone the ride to Sunday, October 15, same starting time and
location.
For more information, call 617-628-8895. Email: sbc@ci.somerville.ma.us
Material from this newsletter may be quoted freely, provided that it is credited to Denise
Provost, www.provost-citywide.org
copyright 2006 Denise Provost
This file has been converted from WordPerfect
Using wp2html.exe by Andrew Scriven