Belmont School’s Calendar Could See Changes, Adding Jewish Holiday, Earlier Start to Year

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Photo: The Belmont school calendar could see changes on adding religious holiday and the start of school. 

Every year since she’s had children attending the Belmont schools, School Committee member Elyse Shuster has been in the same situation as so many Jewish parents at the beginning of every school year: should we keep the kids out of school during the High Holidays of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur?

Even under the district’s current policy – the system officially doesn’t recognize religious holidays – that allows students to miss a day or two without penalty (and teachers are advised not to schedule tests on those days), Shuster and others have feared their children will not be fully caught up with their school work during the important first days of the school year as the important holidays occur between September and early October.

“It’s extremely hard to miss those days especially for high schoolers,” Shuster told the Belmontonian.

“The teachers will say that students won’t be penalized for missing class, but they also won’t hold up teaching for those days. Those kids are on their own,” she said.

For some families, the choice is one of education rather than faith.

“The [observances] are important to us, but I’ve known families who have sent their children to school rather than miss two or three days of class,” Shuster said.

Elected to the committee in 2013, Shuster was approached by parents and friends on the subject.

“People would come up to me to ask, ‘When are you going to bring it up?'” said Shuster.

That time came at the Belmont School Committee meeting held Tuesday, March 10 at the Chenery Middle School when Shuster received the handout with the draft 2015-16 school calendar.

On the sheet, in March, was scheduled an early release for Good Friday.

“If the district’s rule is not to observe religious holidays, why are we having a half-a-day on Good Friday?” asked Shuster.

For the next half hour, the school committee and district officials discussed how to put into effect either including those observances and how it could affect future discussions.

“I’m glad you’ve brought that up because this comes up, and we then forget about it,” Lisa Firo

Shuster is not asking to strike a sacred Christian day from the calendar, “that a religious holiday is … only being taken away in a tit-for-tat way,” said Shuster. In fact, she was hoping to draw interest in adding a holiday – most likely a day set aside for Yom Kippur which takes place on Wednesday, Sept. 23 – for an important observation to a sizable minority in the school population.

“If it’s all or nothing, then I think that’s fair. But I want to us to think about the High Holidays of the major religions in this town and have a dialog in this town,” she said.

Belmont Superintendent John Phelan said Belmont should not look how other cities and towns have broached he matters since every community is made up “of folks who have … different experiences and religious backgrounds and be respectful of where our local community feels is important and then try to reflect that.”

Just this week, the Easton School Committee voted to eliminate three religious holidays – Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur and Good Friday – from its calendar.

What Shuster is attempting to change is, at times, harder than discussing religion or politics with your relatives; the status quo. For as long as anyone can remember, the school year in Belmont begins after Labor Day and there is a half-a-day of work on Good Friday. When presented to past school committees, calendars were approved after a curtsey look.

“It alway seems like it’s the status quo and even when we bring it up, how does it change? I hope that people … will appreciate that this discussion is happening about religious holidays,” said Shuster, inviting people to the next school meeting to discuss this issue.

With Schuster opening the door to altering the calendar, Phelan said he wants to re-examine the long-standing tradition of a post-Labor Day beginning of the school year.

“If we start going down the path of additional days recognized, we may also simultaneously entertain starting school before Labor Day,” he said, a change that could led to schools opening in August.

Current school policy is that Belmont schools open on the first Wednesday in September. Under the proposed 2015-16 calendar, the school year does begin before Labor Day – tentatively a full day for 1st to 12th grades on Wednesday, Sept. 2 – due to the late date of the holiday, falling on Monday, Sept. 8.

“I think it’s good for the kids, and I just want to make sure that is discussed,” said Phelan.

School Committee Chair Laurie Slap said she was eager to start that conversation “when we have that opportunity.”

Other important dates in the draft calendar are the winter recess beginning on Thursday, Dec. 24 and running through Monday, Jan. 4; February break begins the week of Feb. 15 and a late Spring break week starting April 18.

The earliest the last day of school will occur will be Tuesday, June 14, that is if no snow (or any other weather/emergency) days are declared.

Approving changes to the calendar will need the cooperation of the Belmont Education Association, the bargaining representative of teachers, aides and staff. Language in the teachers’ contract pertaining to the calendar will need to be reviewed by all sides before action can be taken, said Phelan.

With more research needed and with Phelan meeting with other superintendents this week where he will bring up the subject, Slap said the committee will take up the issue at its next meeting on Tuesday, March 24.

Mark it down on your calendar.

Selectman Candidates’ Question of the Week: Where Do You Stand on the ‘McMansion’ Moratorium?

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Every Wednesday leading up the Town Election on Tuesday, April 7, the Belmontonian will be asking a “Question of the Week” to the candidates running for a seat on the Board of Selectmen: incumbent Andy Rojas and Glenn Road resident Jim Williams.

This weekly feature will allow the candidates seeking a three-year term on the board to answer topical questions concerning Belmont and help demonstrate their ability to lead the town.

This week’s question: The construction of oversized and out-of-scale residential homes – known as “McMansions” – has become a hot button issue in Belmont and in neighboring towns. The annual Town Meeting in May will be presented a demolition moratorium on new homes that exceed a maximum height and mass in Precinct 7’s Shaw Estates neighborhood. Do you support the petition or not?

Andy Rojas

The character of Belmont’s neighborhoods has been under assault for at least a decade. Teardowns of existing residences have yielded much denser replacements that max out building height and mass while reducing open space, light and air. Increased density of units on existing lots also contributes to increased physical congestion and character erosion.

Development controls such as the recent GR District By-Law and the proposed Precinct 7 Demolition Moratorium By-Law are necessary to retain the architectural character and social demographics of our neighborhoods.

  • I support these actions and would like to see them extended to most of Belmont’s residential areas.

I will initiate and carry out work with the Planning Board, Community Development Department and other appropriate town agencies so a comprehensive Subdivision Control By-Law can be developed. Such a by-law is needed to preserve the historically large lots in many Belmont residential neighborhoods, including Belmont Hill, that are threatened by:

  1. subdivision pressure, increased density and traffic; and
  2. changes to their general character and ‘feel’.

This form of increased density is just as pervasive and destructive to Belmont’s character and charm as out-of-scale building on smaller lots. Both threats must be addressed.

While it is critical to balance benefits to the entire community with the private property rights of owners, we must act now to preserve and protect what has historically made Belmont so desirable as a residential community. The rights of residents should include not having the scale, density, mass and overall character of the neighborhood they chose to live in dramatically change due to unrestrained re-development. We must protect and enhance the basic, underlying characteristics that have evolved into our ‘Town of Homes’.

Preserving Belmont’s character requires effective and targeted use of zoning by-laws and overlay districts as well as approval of projects reflecting community context and values. Our Planning Board and Zoning Board of Appeals are often residents’ last line of defense against overbuilding. I pledge to appoint board members who will prioritize respect for the town’s character as well as residents’ rights.

Significant professional building and site experience, work as a landscape architect plus many years of Planning Board service qualified me to plan community-sensitive projects and draft bylaws including, but not limited to, the Oakley Village Overlay District; I actively supported the Demolition Delay By-Law. Understanding the past helps me plan Belmont’s future.

I am committed to intelligent residential development and re-development that expands Belmont’s tax base, serves residents and retains our physical, cultural and social character. Belmont can achieve this by utilizing my extensive experience and expertise.

I respectfully request your vote for Selectman on Tuesday, April 7, 2015. Thank you.

Jim Williams

I support the proposed moratorium on over sized teardown replacements for a number of reasons.

First, this is an example of Belmont residents stepping forward to take action, through a democratic process, regarding something that directly affects their neighborhood and quality of life. It does not prevent landowners from selling or renovating their properties, nor does it prevent the teardown and replacement of similarly-sized dwellings. Instead, it provides for a period to re-evaluate this town-wide trend toward the demolition of modest homes in favor of large so-called McMansions.

Jim Williams

Jim Williams.

These large, over-sized dwellings, can have adverse impacts on a neighborhood, and it is in response to this concern that the residents have moved this article forward. During this one-year moratorium period, I hope we can, as a town, consider planning tools that both allow for responsible re-development and also protect the character of our neighborhoods.

Large, over-sized dwellings that fill small lots up to the zoning limits of height, set-back and lot coverage are often much greater in elevation and overall mass than their neighbors. They increase impervious surface and therefore contribute to increased storm-water runoff. In many cases, they replace more modest affordable dwellings thus reducing the diversity of housing stock, particularly for young families, first-time home buyers, and families on fixed incomes such as seniors. The size of these houses can, without extreme energy-saving measures, disproportionately increase the energy demand on the town and its infrastructure and thus drive up energy costs for the town. In several instances, this trend has resulted in the demolition of historic houses and the loss of irreplaceable reminders of Belmont’s history.

Ultimately, Town Meeting will decide the fate of the proposed moratorium. But, in the interim, I wholeheartedly support this article as an example of the neighborhood’s right to shape it’s own future, and more importantly, the message it sends to Town Government regarding the need to re-evaluate and direct future development in a responsible manner town-wide.

2014 Was a Good Year to Sell Real Estate in Belmont

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It’s official: 2014 was a very good year for anyone selling real estate in Belmont as the average sales price for a home – be it a Colonial, a condo or an up-and-down two family – increased by more than five percent, according to the data compiled by  McGeough Lamacchia Realty of Waltham.

The firm included an Infographic “map” of Belmont real estate data.

The housing market remained strong in Belmont in 2014, with a total of 320 homes – single-family, condos and multi-family – sold at an average sale price of $748,839, about five and a half percent increase from 2013.  The total number of homes sold in 2014 is 11 fewer than in 2013, which is part of a trend that contributed to overall home sales in Massachusetts being down 1 percent in 2014.

  • Single-family: 169 sold in 2014 versus 179 in 2013, for an average price of $976,919 which is $60,000 more than last year’s average of a little more than $910,000.
  • Condominiums: 91 condominiums sold in 2014 compared to 98 in 2013, with an average sold price of $595,454, an increase from 2013’s average of $573,301.
  • Multi-Family: 60 homes sold in 2014, as opposed to 54 in 2013. The average sale price in 2014 was $674,145, nearly $35,000 more than the average in 2013. This makes multi-family homes the only category to both see more homes sold, and an average higher sale price.

While hardly anyone can call the average housing price as “cheap,” Belmont remains affordable compared to Cambridge and Lexington, where a single-family home can cost up to $314,556 more when you look at average sale prices. Arlington, Waltham, and Watertown come underneath Belmont’s average price for a single-family home by anywhere from 34 to 53 percent.

Get Out the Vote: Belmont Schools in Race for Recycling Award

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Photo: From left, Emma and Chloe Ellis along with Brady Chan and Brent Hudson recycling milk cartons at the Wellington Elementary School. 

After they finish their lunches, the last thing students at the Roger Wellington Elementary School on Orchard Street do is head for the refuse barrels.

But before they throw away anythings, students will be pouring out the milk and water from the containers into a pail then tossing the boxes along with papers and plastic boxes into a blue recycling bin.

“The more you do, the more it helps the earth,” said fourth grader Rachel Hudson.

Recycling is not just a lunchroom activity at the Wellington, but an activity that goes on throughout the day.

“It’s a big initiative at the school. Our school is very earth-minded … and we have been recycling almost since I started here,” said Wellington Principal Amy Spangler, noting the building was constructed to promote natural light and geothermal heating in an environmental-friendly way.

There are recycling bins in every classroom where children have a responsibility bringing to major receptacles and helping each other to be as diligent as possible in reprocessing material, participating in a six-week “Tray-less Thursday” program in the cafeteria that highlighted best menus to serve to reduce food waste and attending all-school assemblies that incorporated art from recycled material, presentations and taking part in national contest focused on sustainability.

“The Wellington is the model for the other schools. The staff, the parents, and the children, have been wonderful here,” said Mary Beth Calnan, the part-recycling coordinator with the town’s Department of Public Works.

“They really embrace even the little changes,” said Calnan. Much of the student’s enthusiasm comes from the most basic of reasons.

“Telling elementary students that what they are doing is good for the earth is a simple, strong message,” said Calnan.

“Mary Beth has been a great partner as kids are really conscious of recycling,” said Spangler.

IMG_2319

Students who don’t need to be told to recycle; they’re naturals at it: from left, Brent Hudson, first grade; Emma Ellis, first grade; Chloe Ellis, third grade; Rachel Hudson, fourth grade; and Brady Chan, first grade. With the students are (left) Belmont Recycling Coordinator Mary Beth Calnan and Amy Spangler, principal at the Wellington.

The Wellington’s recycling program is part of a district-wide approach to increasing recycling in the six schools in the system that includes a wide variety of programs and events.

Calnan thought the district-wide effort established in the past two years was worthy of attention.

“So I went ahead and nominated the district for a state-wide contest held by MassRecycle,” she said of the non-profit organization which highlighted local, business and school recycling for 20 years. 

In its first year of being nominated, the Belmont School District is one of the three finalists in the K-12 category.

And now until Friday, March 13, Belmont residents and students can vote on-line for the district to be honored with the first prize.

“I am extremely proud of this district’s effort of following the four R’s: refuse, reduce, reuse and recycle to become more sustainable in the last two years,” said Calnan.

The initiative has produced long-term changes in the schools and town, she said.

“The most far-reaching aspect of the recycling campaign has been changing the culture in the schools by way of the PTA/PTO’s,” Calnan said. “The thing I like the best is that the PTAs and PTOs have initiated their own ‘Green Teams’ made up of residents who are concerned about the environment and related issues such as local food and sustainability.”

Last year, the parent’s groups got together to create the Green Schools Alliance, which meets bimonthly with school district leaders to shape a comprehensive approach to environmental issues facing the schools and the wider world.

“We share ideas and success stories as well as programs that weren’t so successful. It’s a place to share,” said Calnan.

Last month, the Alliance and the elementary school Green Teams learned the results of the nationwide Green Cup Energy Challenge in which the Wellington and the Winn Brook schools finished in the top-ten at schools in the Northeast.

“This growth was a combined effort of students, parents and staff from the school and town departments working collaboratively to carry out these green initiatives,” Calnan said.

 

Be Like Boris: Belmont Pet License Deadline is March 15

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Photo: Boris, the Amazing Russian Circus Cat (Retired), is licensed for 2015. Is your pet “legal?”

The clock is ticking on making your pet “legal”, at least in the eyes of the town of Belmont.

The deadline for residents to obtain their annual dog and cat licenses is officially Sunday, March 15. But if you want to get the license in person, the final day you can get your tags at the Belmont Town Clerk’s Office will be Friday, March 13.  

After Sunday, the cost for renewing licenses for neutered or spayed pets will double.

It is simpler then ever to renew pet license for dogs and cats: it can be done online here or by printing the Pet License Form and mailing or bringing in the form and payment to the Clerk’s office at:

Town Clerk’s Office

Town Hall 

455 Concord Ave.

Belmont. MA 02478

New Pets

If your pet has never been licensed before in Belmont, you must supply a Certificate of Rabies Vaccination and a Spay/Neuter certificate from your pet’s veterinarian as well as the Pet License Form and mail to the Town Clerk’s office with payment or come to the Town Clerk’s office and license your pet in person.

2015 Fees

Until March 15: Renewals and new pets

  • Neutered/Spayed: $12 per pet; $9 if owner is 60 years of age or older
  • Unaltered: $37 per pet; $34 if owner is 60 years of age or older
March 16 to Dec. 31: Renewals
(New pets use above pricing regardless of date)
  • Neutered/Spayed: $24 per pet; $18 if owner is 60 years of age or older
  • Unaltered: $49 per pet; $43 if owner is 60 years of age or older

Failure to license pets will result in a $50 non-criminal violation. Failure to vaccinate pets will result in a $100 non-criminal violation per Massachusetts General Laws Ch. 140.

As Town Clarifies Permit, Belmont Uplands Opponents Speak Out

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Photo: The entry to the Belmont Uplands site in October. 

As the town clarifies what the building permit issued this past Friday, March 6 to A.P. Cambridge Partners II – the developer of the proposed $70 million, 299-unit apartment complex at Belmont Uplands – will allow the development team to do, opponents to the long-delayed project have begun to speak out on the effect of the project will have on Belmont and surrounding communities.

“The issuance of a building permit to executives from Prudential Real Estate Insurance and developer Brian O’Neill appears to confirm that neither the town of Belmont nor the [Commonwealth] of Massachusetts consider it their duty to protect the public and the earth from pollution and flooding … ,” said Anne-Marie Lambert of Chilton Street, who has been a strong critic of the proposed complex being built amidst the Silver Maple Forest in the Alewife Reservation.

After two decades of plans, proposals (that included a commercial research and development building in the early 2000s), lawsuits and delays, Belmont’s Director of Community Development Glenn Clancy as town engineer issued the first of three permits allowing the Philadelphia-based O’Neill Properties Group to construct a five-building complex situated on 15 acres on the Cambridge line on Acorn Park Drive.

“The permit is the approval for foundations for each of the five buildings,” said Clancy Monday, March 9.

Clancy said the development team has acquired the necessary paperwork to being utility work at the site that is a stone’s throw from Route 2 and Arlington.

The actual building permit to do the remaining work that includes the framing and actual building is pending final sign-off from the Fire Prevention Office, said Clancy.

“A final building permit to do all work on the foundation is the only outstanding approval I am aware of,” he told the Belmontonian.

The town has been handcuffed in imposing local zoning bylaws on the proposed development as O’Neill is building the complex under the state’s Chapter 40B law.

Enacted in 1969, the law allows a developer to bypass local restrictions if the municipality’s housing stock is less than 10 percent is deemed affordable for moderate-income residents and when the builder sets aside a specific percentage – at Belmont Uplands it will be 60 units – for buyers with income less than the 80 percent of the median in the region.

For those who have kept a constant battle to prevent the construction of the development, the permit comes after six months of increasing evidence – the clearing of the site of trees and vegetation beginning in October and a recent request to allow the placement of construction parking – O’Neill Properties was preparing to begin actual building.

For Idith Haber of Oliver Road who is president of the Coalition to Preserve the Belmont Uplands, the town’s issuing O’Neill a building permit continues the lack of support groups that have been attempting to thwart the project, which included the Board of Selectmen withdrawing a lawsuit backed by the town’s Conservation Commission.

“The Coalition believes that issuing the building permit similarly inappropriate,” said Haber.

Both Haber and Lambert have long contended the site can not sustain a major development as it will impact local neighborhoods – in Belmont around Little Pond – with increased flooding and to the public health due to the potential of higher-than-expected stormwater activity.

“[It] appears to confirm that neither … Belmont nor the (Commonwealth) of Massachusetts consider it their duty to protect the public and the earth from pollution and flooding which will result from the undisputed 150,000 gallons of storm water runoff this project will generate,” Lambert said.

In 2014, Lambert presented data showing the amount of storm water at the site used by O’Neill to win approval by the state to move forward with the permitting process underestimates the storm water levels by a large percentage since the developer uses data published in 1961 instead of rainfall statistics from 2011 due to the impact of global warming.

With this new data, O’Neill would be in violation of the town’s Storm Water Bylaw passed by Town Meeting last year.

“It is shameful that [the developer] claims to have sensitivity to environmental issues yet invests in a project which blatantly ignores current climate change reality,” stated Lambert, adding that “ensuring enforcement of Belmont’s stormwater bylaw regulations throughout the town is also critical.”

While the town has issued the permit, there remains pending litigation filed to enforce Belmont’s stormwater bylaw and the Massachusetts Clean Water Act. Clancy said the court did “not explicitly” say the town could not issue the go-ahead.

“The applicant proceeds at their own risk,” he said.

Despite the town’s action, Haber has received words of encouragement to continue the fight.

“We continue to receive a lot of moral and financial support from Belmont, Cambridge, and Arlington residents,” Haber said.

This Week: Peeps on Parade, Yale Students Dancing, Teens Self Publishing

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On the government side of “This Week”:

  • The Belmont School Committee will hold a meeting on Tuesday, March 10 at 7 p.m. at the Chenery Middle School.
  • The Belmont Historic District Commission will discuss the proposed moratorium on oversized single-family homes and nominations of the Preservation Awards on Tuesday, March 10 at 7 p.m. at Town Hall.
  • Find out what’s happening with Belmont Light’s substation and the transmission project at the meeting of the Belmont Municipal Light Advisory Board on Tuesday, March 10 at 7:15 p.m. at Belmont Light’s headquarters on 40 Prince St.
  • The Belmont Energy Committee will review and discuss the committee’s projects and Belmont Climate Action Plan recommendations at its meeting on Wednesday, March 11 at 8 a.m.
  • The Community Preservation Committee meets on Wednesday, March 11 at 5 p.m. will discuss open space and housing inventory along with project updates.

• Author Jessica Lander will speak on her book Driving Backwards as part of the Belmont Public Library’s Books and Bites series at 11 a.m. on Monday, March 9 at the library’s Assembly Room. This debut work of non-fiction captures the modern-day charm and character of Gilmanton, a small town in New Hampshire where Lander spent her summers. Lander also writes an education-focused blog, Chalk Dust, about experiences in and out of the classroom.  She currently lives in her hometown of Cambridge, near to family and friends.

• The Belmont School District will be making a presentation before the Burbank Elementary PTA at 7 p.m., Monday, March 9 at 266 School St.

Tuesday is story time at both of Belmont libraries. 

  • Pre-School Story Time at the Benton Library, Belmont’s independent and volunteer run library, at 10:30 a.m. Stories and crafts for children age 3 to 5. Parents or caregivers must attend. Siblings may attend with adults. Registration is not required. The Benton Library is located at the intersection of Oakley and Old Middlesex.
  • The Belmont Public Library on Concord Avenue will be holding two sessions of Story Time for 2′s and 3′s, at 9:30 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. 

The Beech Street Center, 266 Beech St., will be holding three great events on Tuesday, March 10:

  • 11:30 a.m.: Chinese New Year Program. Features performers wowing you with dance, singing, incredible instrumental music, and other arts.
  • 1:15 p.m.: Tell Your Heartwarming Tale of the Blizzards of ’15.
  • 5 p.m.: Yale University Ballroom Dance Team. Marvel at this outstanding group of students as they compete in a variety of International dance competitions; their repertoire encompasses many styles – from tango and salsa to waltz and hustle. Expect to be awed, so bring a friend!

• It’s an early release day for elementary and high school students.

• Belmont’s new Veterans Service Officer, Robert Upton, will be holding office hours at the Beech Street Center, 266 Beech St., on Wednesday, March 11, from noon to 2 p.m.

• Chenery Middle School students can stop by the Belmont Public Library’s Assembly Room on Wednesday, March 11 from 1:30 p.m. to 3 p.m., work on your homework, enjoy some hot chocolate and try out an activity. This is for middleschoolers only!  Provided to you for free, thanks to the Friends of the Belmont Public Library.

• Residents and kids can build Easter-inspired Peeps dioramas on Wednesday, March 11 from 2:30 p.m. to 3:45 p.m. in the Flett Room. 

• The International Fiction Book Club will hold its inaugural meeting where it will discuss Americanah by Chimamanda Adichie at the Belmont Public Library on Wednesday, March 11, at 6:45 p.m. to 8 p.m. in the Flett Room. Join the club on the second Wednesday of the month for fun conversation, tea and snacks. Each month they’ll talk about one book chosen by the group, either fiction or memoir. If you don’t have time to read the book, come anyway. We’ll talk about favorite recent books people have read. Everybody is welcome. If you have questions, contact Kylie at ksparks@minlib.net.

• Middle and High school students are invited to hear local author Sharisse Zeroonian speak about her play One Plus One is Two, which she self-published when she was a teenager at the Youth Adult Room in the Belmont Public Library on Thursday, March 12 from 2:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. Learn tips and tools for how you can self-publish as a teenager.

• The Belmont League of Women Voters will be meeting on Thursday, March 12 at 7 p.m. in the Flett Room of the Belmont Public Library.

• The Belmont Board of Selectmen is holding a precinct meeting to discuss the fiscal ’16 budget options at the Beech Street Center on Thursday, March 12 at 7 p.m. 

• The Senior Book Discussion Group will meet on Friday, March 13th at 11 a.m. at the Beech Street Center, 266 Beech St., to discuss The Blithedale Romance by Nathaniel Hawthorne.

• A Powers Music concert – Songs without Words – will take place on Friday, March 13, at 1:15 p.m. at the Beech Street Center. Cellist Laura Blustein and pianist Kathryn Rosenbach will lead the audience through Mendelssohn’s beloved “Songs Without Words” as well as transcriptions of Brahms and Schubert that are used in pieces from popular musicals and pop standards.

 

Letter: Will Uplands Development Lead To More Scenes Like This?

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Photo: A photo by Stephanie Liu of a suspected coyote roaming in her backyard. 

To the Editor:

[This letter was a comment on the town issuing a building permit for the 299-unit apartment complex in Belmont Uplands]

A couple of days ago, I saw this very emaciated coyote walking in my backyard and then turned to Little Pond. I have to admit that I was so tempted to bring some food for him as I don’t think he can survive very long. But it’s illegal and it’ll create the impression that backyards are bountiful feeding areas. Can we blame them when we take away their habitats?

I guess this is the pattern we are facing after losing our forest and their sanctuary. It’s so sad. Coyotes are generally nocturnal, but they do hunt during the day when they are hungry. The town should issue warning for residents to keep their children and pets indoors.

Stephanie Liu

Oliver Road

 

On the Market: A Great ‘White House’, A Bit of History, An Updated Condo

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A sample of Belmont homes “on the market” ranging from the affordable, the average and the quite expensive.

52 Alexander Ave. “The White House,” Modern colonial, new construction (2014). 3,500 sq.-ft. of livable space: 9 rooms, 5 bedrooms, 4 full baths. One-car garage. A quarter-acre lot. What’s special: What isn’t special about “The White House”? It has its own website! The building, designed by architect Robert Linn – you can see one of his designs on Grove Street in Cambridge known as “Red House” – is so clean in its lines (emphasized by the dominate white color scheme), the placement of the windows and wonderful use of open space – the second floor encompasses the attic in a more traditional home – it’s the classic New England Colonial infused with the sensibilities of contemporary European residential architecture. I even like the bathroom; it’s designed as a room rather than a space filled with fixtures. And it’s not on “the Hill” but a block from the commercial “Belmont Center.” It’s immediately a great house in Belmont. Now let’s see if the initial asking price can hold up. Price: $2 million. 

The first sentence of the sale’s pitch: “A rare opportunity to own new construction in Belmont and have it all: a flexible, true open floor plan encompassing a large kitchen with show-stopping quartzite island, Thermador stainless appliances, wine storage, convection oven, breakfast bar and walk-in pantry, family room with wall to wall windows, dining room with French doors leading to a covered patio and garden, and an entertainer’s dream living room.”

692 Pleasant St. An antique single-family in the Italianate style (1851). 3,188 sq.-ft. of livable space: 12 rooms, 6 bedrooms, 4 full and a half baths. Two-car garage. A little more than a third-of-an-acre lot. What’s special: History! This residency is from Belmont’s earliest days, a home for the son of the founder of Little Brown Publishing. The interior appears to have been kept in great condition with substantial renovations to keep it so nicely preserved. There are original wooden floors, the undulating curves of the main rooms and a great staircase. You also have to accept some really cramped spaces including the kitchen and some of the bedrooms. All in all, a wonderful space for those who love history or not. Price: $895,000.

The first sentence of the sale’s pitch: “Welcome to the Brown House built circa 1851 for the son of James Brown, founder of Little Brown Publishing Company. This lovely Italianate home boasts a beautifully detailed hooded doorway, bay window and slate roof and is surrounded by well thought out gardens and terraces.”

226 Trapelo Rd. #1. Renovated ground floor condominium (1922). 1,334 sq.-ft. of livable space: 6 rooms, 2 bedrooms, 1 full bath. Two-car garage. A little more than a third-of-an-acre lot. What’s special: This single-floor condo near Harding was renovated last year so it looks to be in great shape. It comes with nice period features – molding, trim, a built-in cabinet, brick fireplace and hardwood floors – with some surprisingly spacey room. The kitchen has those evil granite tops – this is not the 1980s! – and you’re facing a major thoroughfare. This is a bargain for a young couple. Price: $439,000. 

The first sentence of the sale’s pitch: “Picture perfect’ first floor condominium with lots of curb appeal in desirable Belmont. This immaculate home has 2 bedrooms, 1 bathroom, and is full of natural light.”

BREAKING: Building Permit Issued to Belmont Uplands Developer

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Photo: A protest at the site of the Belmont Uplands in November 2014. 

After years of legal battles and delays, the Office of Community Development has issued a building permit today, Friday, March 6, allowing construction to begin on a $70 million, 299-unit apartment complex in the Belmont Uplands section of Belmont.

“Please be aware that today a building permit was issued for foundation work at the Belmont Uplands site,” wrote Glenn Clancy, the Community Development director in an e-mail memo to town officials and selected residents. 

“AP Cambridge Partners has fulfilled all requirements under the Zoning Board of Appeals Comprehensive Permit and the Massachusetts State Building Code necessary to secure a building permit,” noted Clancy of the site that borders the Cambridge town line and is part of the Alewife Brook Reservation. 

Pennsylvania-based O’Neill Development has long planned to build hundreds of market-rate and subsidized apartments under the state’s Chapter 40B law which allows developers to bypass local zoning requirements if a municipality’s housing stock is less than 10 percent affordable.

The project has for years been stalled by a series of legal actions, notably by the Belmont Conservation Commission and the Coalition to Preserve the Belmont Uplands after the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection gave its OK for the development to proceed. 

In addition, a sprawling apartment complex has been seen by the town as having a detrimental impact on the school district with hundreds of additional students entering a system bursting at the seams with higher enrollment.

Development of one sort or another has been proposed for the site since the late 1990s which included a commercial building.

More to come in the Belmontonian.