Residents Group to Present Argument for ‘McMansion’ Moratorium

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The newly-created Belmont Citizens for Responsible Zoning is hosting a meeting for Precinct 7 Town Meeting Members in the Flett Room at the Belmont Public Library tonight, Thursday, Feb. 5, from 7:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m where it will present its case for  a moratorium on construction of oversized single-family dwellings in a large section of the precinct.

Last month, the residents group submitted to the Town Clerk’s Office a citizen’s petition seeking to place a one-year suspension of oversized single-family dwellings in a portion of Belmont’s Single Residence C Zoning District. The amendment to the zoning bylaws has been accepted and will be presented to the annual Town Meeting in May. The petition will need to achieve a two-thirds margin of acceptance to be approved.

The area – known by long-time residents as Shaw Estate – includes single-families within the bounties of School, Washington and Grove streets and Grosvenor, Dalton and Bacon Roads.

See the group’s flyer here.

The group believe oversized replacement homes – popularly known as McMansions – change the character of neighborhoods by excluding middle-income families from buying single-family homes as assessments and values of surrounding homes increase, crowd out sunlight and natural habitats while taking advantage of zoning that is not as strict as existing rules for renovations and additions.

 

The group will also lead a discussion on recruiting candidates to fill vacancies in the precinct’s Town Meeting delegation.

Hike in Parking Fees Spark Belmont Business Owners Ire

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Photo: Bells & Whistles’ Meghan Aufiero at the community parking lot behind Belmont Center, Tuesday, Feb. 3. 

There was a surprise waiting for Meghan Aufiero as she arrived for work at Bells & Whistles, the home furnishings, gifts and accessories store on Leonard Street on a frigid Tuesday morning, Feb. 3.

As she was putting dollar bills into the parking machine, she discovered the daily rate to park in the Belmont Center commuter lot would cost her an extra $2 a day to $5.

“This is a bummer,” the Winchester resident said when she discovered the 75 percent increase in the price of parking in Belmont’s commercial hub.

Aufiero is just one of dozens of employees of small businesses and franchises feeling the impact of the near doubling of the daily parking charge, approved late last year by the Belmont Board of Selectmen at the recommendation of a citizens/town group that spent more than a year determining the parking operation was not paying its way.

The new parking scheme, which went into effect Sunday, Feb. 1, includes the new fee structure and an attempt to monetize the vast number of commuters who have parked on Belmont streets for nothing, or close to it, for decades.

In addition to the hourly and daily fees jumps, the town has created 10 new weekday parking spots along Royal Road adjacent to the MBTA’s commuter rail station at Belmont Center and spaces in the Belmont Center commuter parking lot reserved for commuter pass holders. Those monthly passes are going for $90 a pop, an increase of $30.
The jump in fees, delayed a month at the request of local businesses, has been as welcome as the two snow storms that have hampered businesses in the town’s main commercial area.

“I can’t, and won’t, tell you how angry I am about this,” said a Leonard Street business proprietor.

Owners say the result of the new commuter parking plan is their staffs are left holding the bag, which needs to be filled with quarters to feed the parking machine.

For Belmont Toys owner Deran Muckjian, the increase will be an additional burden on his employees.

“The are now being asked to pay $1,200 or more this year just to come to work,” he said.

For Shelley MacDonald, who travels from Clarendon Road to Belmont Center, the additional cost of parking is making it harder for her to justify coming to work at the town’s only toy store.

“These little businesses don’t make enough to offset the new price for their employees. How can they retain good workers?” MacDonald asked.

Muckjian is not just upset by the added costs to his employees, but whether the increases are justified. Muckjian said his parking costs in towns where he has other stores are considerably less; in Lexington, he pays $250 a year each for two employee passes while Winchester does not charge a nickel for employee parking permits.

“What are the costs to park here? Keep the blacktop repaired? Making sure the parking machine is working?” Muckjian said.

At the very least, said Muckjian, a discount should be provided to the employees with the subsequent decrease in revenue be made up by increasing the fees on commuters.

A monthly pass at the nearby Alewife Station in Cambridge is $7 a day while the parking lot at the Fitchburg/Acton commuter line stop at the Brandeis stop in Waltham is $4 daily.

So far, there has been little communications between owners and the town on resolving the matter.

Champions Sports Goods owner Gerry Dickhaut said he has yet to receive a reply to a Belmont Center Business Association letter on business owners’ concerns. The single-page note, dated Dec. 8, suggests cutting the increase in the daily rate in half, up a $1 to $4 a day, retain the $60 a month pass for employees while jacking up the cost to commuters to $15 a day, which would still be half the cost of parking in downtown Boston.

But the town official who presented the case for the fee hike at a pair of public meetings last month said the increases in daily and monthly rates are past due.

Belmont Town Treasurer Floyd Carman, said rates have been kept steady since January 2009 while the demand for parking spots is outstripping supply.

“Belmont parking is at a premium. We are not like other towns that either has the space for big lots or a lot of industry that can subsidize parking,” said Carman. “Belmont does not have that luxury; We have a limited number of parking spaces. That’s the facts.”

He said the town’s parking advisory group, made up of residents and town officials, made an extensive analysis of the parking rates in many communities, not just neighboring municipalities. The new price structure “is a function of what it takes to run the program and what’s fair.”

Carman said the need for the town to employ three parking enforcement personnel and keeping all the equipment running requires the town to raise about $35,000 a year on fees to make the program pay for itself.

“Believe me, the town is not getting rich on this increase,” said Carman.

As for alternatives and price breaks for employees, Carman said he has not seen any proposals “come across my desk.”

“If the business association comes to me with a proposal, I am ready to talk to them and then presented to the Board of Selectmen,” said Carman.

Don’t Be Like Kerry: Belmont Sidewalks Must be Cleared by 8 PM

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After last week’s blizzard, Secretary of State John Kerry was fined $50 for failing to clear snow from the sidewalk on the side of his Beacon Hill home in Boston. And Boston Code Enforcement officers didn’t give the former Massachusetts senator a pass just because he was in Saudi Arabia during the storm. (He did “happily” pay the fine.)

And Belmont is about to follow Boston’s lead as town officials are putting out the message that residents have until tonight to clear their sidewalks. 

“The sidewalk snow removal bylaw grace period ends at 8 p.m. [Wednesday, Feb. 4]. Sidewalks MUST be cleared of snow in accordance with the bylaw…” said a message sent from the town’s web site. 

Belmont’s General Bylaws (Section 60-800I) require sidewalks to be cleared on paved public sidewalks adjacent to residential property and made safe for pedestrians by being clear of snow, slush and ice adjacent to their property to ensure safe pedestrian passage.

For enforcement information, residents call the Office of Community Development at 617-993-2664. Someone will then come by for a look see.

The snow removal bylaw was passed by a Special Town Meeting in November 2013. It is set to be expire on April, 30, 2016 unless reintroduced and approved at the 2016 Town Meeting. 

The Remainder of The Week: Lots for Toddlers to Do and LEGO Club is Back

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Thanks to the snow storms, “This Week” is an abbreviated one:

• Sing-along with Julie Goetze will be happening Wednesday, Feb. 4, at 10:30 a.m. at the Belmont Public Library’s Children’s Room. 

• The Beech Street Center, 266 Beech St., is holding free hearing tests on Wednesday, Feb. 4, from 12:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. Mass Audiology offers this service free of charge to our Center participants.

• Infant Lapsit Storytime is for infants and pre-walkers. Enjoy songs, finger plays, and rhymes chosen especially for our littlest readers on Thursday, Feb. 5, at 10:30 a.m. in the Flett Room of the Belmont Public Library.

• The LEGO Club for kindergarteners through second graders is back on Thursday, Feb. 5 from 3 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. in the Assembly Room of the Belmont Public Library. Drop in anytime. Members will be creating their own unique LEGO structures.  All LEGOs  will be provided. Just bring your imagination!

• Precinct 7 Town Meeting members will be holding a precinct meeting on Thursday, Feb. 5 from 7:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. in the Belmont Public Library’s Flett Room. Everyone from around Grove Street Playground and the Harvard Lawn/Belmont Corner neighborhoods is invited. 
• Pre-School Storytime will be held at the Benton Library, Belmont’s independent and volunteer run library, at 10:30 a.m., Friday, Feb. 6. Stories and crafts for children age 3 to 5 with Denise Patnod or Mary Creedon. 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. 

Future Pols and Policy Wonks: Brownsberger Announces Summer ’15 Internships

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Photo: State Sen. Will Brownsberger (left) with former Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick.

State Sen. Will Brownsberger announced today that up to four part-time unpaid internships in his State House office will be available to students from his district for the summer of 2015.

Legislative internships offer students a wide variety of experiences including issue research, constituent service, legislative work and budget tracking. Daily seminars on different aspects of state government are scheduled by the Senate.

Internships are open to undergraduate college students and to high school students who will have completed their sophomore year. All applicants must have a permanent residence in the senator’s district which includes Belmont.

Each internship will require a commitment of 10 to 12 hours a week in the office, with potential additional research work outside scheduled hours.

The application deadline is Friday, March 6. A cover letter and resume should be sent to barbara.miranda@masenate.gov or mailed to:

State Sen William Brownsberger

State House, Room 413C

Boston, MA 02133

Interviews will be conducted in March and applicants will be notified of their status by April 10.

Tickets Now On Sale for Foundation for Belmont Education’s Spring Dinner

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The social event of the year in Belmont is just around the corner as tickets are on sale for the Foundation for Belmont Education’s 16th annual Spring Dinner set for Saturday, March 21, the first day of spring.

You can obtain tickets here.

“Mad for Education” is this year’s theme for a night of dinner, dancing and a fast paced auction led by Neal J. Fay.

The event takes place at the Belmont Hill School from 6:30 p.m. to 11 p.m.

Early bird tickets can be purchased until March 2. It’s advisable for anyone thinking of attending to obtain their tickets early since for the past five years, the event has been sold out before the early reply date.

For more information, email the FBE at springdinner@fbe-belmont.org

And, They’re Off! Contested Race for Belmont Selectman’s Seat

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Photo: Incumbent Andy Rojas submitting his nomination papers to Belmont Town Clerk Ellen Cushman.

With incumbent Andy Rojas turning in his nomination papers for re-election for a second three-year term on the Belmont Board of Selectmen today, Tuesday, Feb. 3, it’s now official there will be a contested race for a seat on the three-member board.

Rojas joins Glenn Road’s James Williams on the April 7 Town Election ballot.

Williams is also the first candidate seeking any town-wide office who has put up a campaign sign, along Bright Road. (see below)

A third person, recent Belmont High School graduate Brian Liddell has taken out nomination papers but has yet to turn them in to the Town Clerk’s office.

Will Snow Stop Long Enough For Belmont Girls’ Hoops to Qualify for Tournament?

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Nine and three.

That sounds pretty good to Belmont High School Girls’ Basketball Head Coach Melissa Hart coming off the court after her squad used its trademark blanket defense to defeat Reading Memorial High, 67-32, Friday, Jan. 30 at Belmont’s Wenner Field House. 

Now if Hart’s players would be a little more … selfish.

“They are so humble and generous that they’re passing when they should take the shot,” said Hart, recalling one of her players dishing the ball to a covered teammate rather than taking an uncontested layup. 

Yet Hart’s sees a silver lining to the team’s “need” to share the rock. 

“That’s not a bad situation to have because they are always looking for the open player,” said Hart.

With nine wins in twelve games, this season’s Marauders are in the midst of the best run in more than a decade. The team is a single win away from automatically qualifying for the MIAA Div. 2 North Sectional tournament.

But will the weather finally cooperate? In the past 10 days, Belmont has seen three games cancelled due to dual snowstorms that settled over eastern Massachusetts including Tuesday’s game away at Arlington. Belmont will get their chance on Wednesday, Feb. 4, at Arlington in a rematch of an earlier game in which the Marauders came from nine-points down in the third quarter to defeat the SpyPonders, 62-54, on Jan. 6.

On Friday, both teams came out a little worst for wear after their storm-related layoffs, with Belmont taking a 5-4 lead after the first eight minutes. In the second quarter, sophomore Sara Stewart (4 points) got the Marauders going with a pair of buckets between a fast-break layup from freshman Jenny Call (9 points including another 3 point shot from the outside threat) put Belmont up by 7 (13-6).

At this point, Belmont’s spotlight defense took over as the Marauders created four consecutive steals, three by senior forward Elena Bragg, in 90 seconds leading to five points (four by Bragg) and Belmont was off and running. By the end of the quarter, Belmont outscored the Rockets, 24 to 10, to lead 28-14.

Friday was the third consecutive game Bragg has come up big on the offensive boards and on the score board, scoring 14 points against Reading.

“The team is working well, our energy level was been high so its so easy to take the lead and get those points,” said Bragg.

The Marauders’ defense limited Reading to 5 points in the third to seal the win. Hart started using many of her bench players in the third (“They are so valuable for this team because they practice our starters extremely hard,” she said) and they stepped up. Senior guard/forward Sara Lyons (6 points) stroke a pair of threes while junior point guard Ani Maroyan (4 points) hit a jumper and two from the charity stripe. Super junior sixth man Samari Winklaar pumped in 11 of her game high 15 points (along with 6 rebounds and 2 steals) in the second half as spark plug junior guard/forward Meghan Ferraro (3 points) threw in a three from downtown. Running the floor was senior Kayla Magno while fellow senior Lauren Noonan clamped down on the defensive end of the court. 

 

Belmont will be tested this week facing a tough Arlington team on Wednesday and host one-loss Woburn on Friday that defeated Belmont by three points last month.

Plenty of Town Meeting Positions Waiting for Candidates

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With two weeks remaining for residents to throw their hats into the ring, a boatload of Town Meeting positions in several precincts remain waiting to be filled by candidates.

According to Belmont Town Clerk Ellen Cushman, as of the Jan. 27th deadline for incumbent Town Meeting members to announce their intentions to seek election to the 290-member legislative body, there remains several open seats in each of the town’s eight precincts. (see below)

While traditionally-active precincts such as 1, 6 and 8 appear likely to have enough candidates to have contested races – more than 12 candidates for the dozen seats up for election – others are in serious need of residents willing to run to represent their neighborhoods.

“Right now, we have deficits of three candidates in Precinct 3 and six in Precinct 7,” said Cushman on Friday, Jan. 30. Precinct 3 is west of Concord Avenue and east of Trapelo Road, around Town Field and along Pleasant Street and up Mill Street. Precinct 7 is the Grove Street Playground neighborhood east to the Cambridge town line between Washington and Belmont streets.

If there remains a deficit of candidates on the Town Election ballot on April 7, the remaining Town Meeting slots will be selected with “write-in” candidates.

Cushman hopes to remind residents of the importance of Town Meeting as it is the legislative body of Belmont that approves or rejects new bylaws and determines the annual town budget.

“I would remind residents in Precinct 7 that their precinct is where a citizen’s petition to limit the height of residential houses will be voted at Town Meeting needing a two-thirds vote,” said Cushman.

Next deadline is Feb. 17, at 5 p.m. for all nomination papers for town-wide offices and Town Meeting members.

PRECINCT 1: 10 candidates for re-election, 2 residents took out nomination papers, 12 three-year seats available.

PRECINCT 2: 9 candidates for re-election, 4 residents took out nomination papers, 12 three-year seats available.

PRECINCT 3: 7 candidates for re-election, 2 residents took out nomination papers; 12 three-year seats available.

PRECINCT 4: 10 candidates for re-election, 3 residents took out nomination papers; 12 three-year seats available.

PRECINCT 5: 11 candidates for re-election, 2 residents took out nomination papers; 12 three-year seats available AND 1 one-year seat available with 1 person taking papers out for that position.

PRECINCT 6: 10 candidates for re-election, 3 residents took out nomination papers; 12 three-year seats available AND 1 one-year AND 1 two-year seat available.

PRECINCT 7: 7 candidates for re-election, 3 residents took out nomination papers; 12 three-year seats available AND 4 two-year seats available.

PRECINCT 8: 10 candidates for re-election, 6 residents took out nomination papers; 12 three-year seats available AND 1 one-year seat available.

After Statement Win, Belmont Boys’ Hoops Tumbles to Reading, 76-73

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At the beginning of the 2014-15 season, Belmont High School Boys’ Basketball Head Coach Adam Pritchard said the Middlesex League was so competitive “any team, no matter their record, can win on any given night.”

Pritchard’s words were particularly prophetic on Friday, Jan. 30, as his tournament-bound Marauders were taken down by a  three-win Reading Memorial High School squad, 76-73, in Belmont’s Wenner Field House.

The loss came just six days after Belmont defeated one of eastern Massachusetts’ top-ten teams and 2013 State Champions, Boston’s Brighton High, 79-65, on Sunday, Jan. 25, at the Martin Luther King Invitational at Boston’s Wentworth Institute.

With big man senior Adam Kleckner (22 points) and junior sixth-man Cole Bartels (9 points) back in the squad, the Marauders’ blew the game open in the third quarter as Belmont behind speedy junior shooting guard Matt Kerans (26 points, 10 assists) rained five three point shots (three from senior forward Seth Altman who finished with 14 points) to outscore the Bengals, 28-15, while its smothering defense kept Brighton’s 6-foot, 6-inch senior center Jason Jones (23 points) to 4 points in the quarter.

So it was not unexpected Friday night that Belmont would rush out to a 24-13 lead (10 points from Kleckner) on a Bartels three-point shot with two minutes left in the first quarter. In their earlier encounter this year, Belmont increased its lead throughout the game and cruised to a 58-41 victory at Reading.

Then, as if the team was sent outside to play, the Marauders’ shooting fell into the deep freeze, just as Reading began hitting the first of five three-point buckets in the half. Led by junior guard Chris Merullo (14 points – who hit three of his four three pointers during the run) and junior strong forward Jared Thorpe-Johnson (8 of 18 points in the second quarter), the Rockets went on a 27-3 run to take a 40-27 lead with 3:47 remaining in the half.

A Kerans three pointer (16 points) started a mini comeback that cut the lead in half by half time, 44-37. Yet with the exception of Kleckner (24 points) who had eight points in the third (6-6 from the charity stripe), Belmont simply could not find the basket with many in-close shots rimming out. Bur at the same time, Reading’s hot-hand cooled off considerably – thanks to a tight, suffocating full-court press – and Belmont was able to cut the lead to one, 50-49, with a minute remaining in the third.

But on its next trip down the court, Reading’s senior captain Mike Algeri (20 points) came to life, hitting three free throws after being fouled attempting a three point shot. Kerans’ late drive and hoop cut the Reading lead to two points, 53-51, at the end of three.

Early in the fourth quarter, a pair of free-throws from Kleckner and two baskets from Kerans gave Belmont a one-point lead at 59-58 and it appeared the Marauders’ had final found a way to victory. Two in-close baskets by Thorpe-Johnson and a three-point shot from Algeri gave the Rockets a 64-61 lead until senior Ben Lazenby’s (10 points) three tied the score at 64.

The game then swung back and forth with a Kleckner hook shot getting Belmont within a single point, 69-68, with 2:24 left. Seconds later, senior guard Jaemar Paul stole the ball but three shots from under the basket failed.

It was another senior, Reading’s Algeri, who did come up big, hitting an three from NBA-distance with less than a minute to give the Rockets, 74-71. A Kerans driving two pointer and a defensive stop gave Belmont the ball with less than 30 seconds remaining. But a long-distance, three-point shot by Kerans hit the rim and Algeri made both free throws after he was fouled to put Reading up by three with 2 seconds left. All chances for a last ditch shot ended for Belmont when the inbound pass hit a Belmont player in the foot and it went out-of-bounds.

Belmont’s next opponent will be at league leading Arlington on Wednesday, Feb. 4.