ZBA Grounds Airbnb, Punts Internet Lodging to Planning Board

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Photo: The room that Joanne Sintiris rents for $85 a night as an Airbnb host.

Joanne Sintiris found herself uncomfortably close to the edge of a financial cliff. 

A divorce left the Betts Road resident wrestling to make ends meet and seeking some way to make a little extra money. 

“I needed some way to supplement my income. It was hard to see how I was going to do that,” she said.

Then Sintiris discovered the wildly popular online service Airbnb where homeowners can rent out one or more rooms in their house, condo or apartment for a nightly, weekly or monthly fee.

“It turned out to be a real savoir,” said Sintiris, who rents a spare room out for $85 a night, below the $135 average for the Boston area.

The “room” includes a private entrance, one bedroom, living room, private bathroom, use of a washer/dryer, a shared garden and patio with a grill.

“It was crazy. I was turning people away, many people who I didn’t want,” said the Cambridge native. 

And her guests raved about the experience.

“Joanne was a wonderful host, she was easy to communicate with, friendly, and we felt very welcome in the apartment. The location was quiet, relaxing, yet still easy to get to the best parts of Boston,” wrote a lodger who stayed in October.

Sintiris will now see her windfall slashed dramatically after the Belmont Zoning Board of Appeals Monday night, Dec. 7, rejected her request by a single vote for a special permit to would allow her to continue renting the room for less than seven days.

In a debate that once veered off to include the threat of sex offenders and all guests requiring CORI background checks, the board Monday essentially punted the issue off to the Planning Board, which will be asked to create, or at least, modernize the town’s antiquated lodging and boarder bylaws for the 250 residents who host Airbnb visitors in Belmont.

“If it is correct that there will be 250 people with rooms to rent, then in that case it must be thought out in a comprehensive way which is the role of the Planning Board,” said ZBA Chairman Eric Smith. 

Sintiris’ case is the first of what could be several hundred the Office of Community Development anticipates to bring before the ZBA. The town contends that under existing town bylaws, anyone renting for less than seven days must obtain a special permit under the town’s bylaws. Sintiris just happened to be the first Airbnb provider plucked from the website to be required to rent the room for seven plus days. 

Since a majority of lodgers stay less than four days, Sintiris sought the special permit since those potential customers are decamping across the town line in Cambridge (with a 1,000 Airbnb listings), Boston (2,000), and other neighboring communities that have no or very limited restrictions.

“I need to have the flexibility to provide a room for a weekend or a week,” she said.

Airbnb is now one of the biggest success stories coming from the new internet service industry, reporting Monday a net worth exceeding $25 billion.

While there is the occasional sensational negative event, Airbnb have become the “go to” lodging experience for a rapidly growing number of travels around the world. In the seven years since Airbnb was founded, more than 60 million people have used the service, listing almost two million homes in 34,000 cities (Paris alone has 60,000 hosts) in approximately 190 countries worldwide.

Municipalities have scratched the surface of regulating these new fangled rentals; Somerville proposed a six percent tax (but had no way of implementing it) and Boston is pondering restrictions.

For the handful of residents who opposed the special permit, the issues created by this “disrubting ” range from noise to fear of those coming into the community. 

Opponents such as Patrice Shea of Talyor Street, who lives close by another Airbnb location, said her street has vehicles coming in “from all over the country” in addition to “Uber cars” – the online, on-demand car service – as people arriving at “very unusual hours,” while many strangers are seen walking with suitcases on the sidewalk. She also wondered if the town wasn’t loss of town revenued in taxes and fees.

“It’s just plain creepy,” Shea said after her testimony. 

“I get the fiscal benefit to the host … and the renter, they pay less money. [But] what does it do to me?” said JP Looney who lives eight houses up Betts from Sintiris, wondering if “a boarding house” in the vacinity will likely reduce his property values.

Looney also pondered safety issues with unfamiliar people coming into the area.

“Is Airbnb doing a criminal background check? That’s not what I understand from the website,” Looney ask. “We are opening up a can of worms by allowing this.”

Picking up on the critic’s line of questioning, board member Nicholas Iannuzzi said without CORI and sexual offendors background checks, “you should in fear of our own safety with anyone in your house for $85 a night.” 

Sintiris countered that she has had a “great experience with everyone,” including university educators and professionals who are coming to town for work or to visit children at school.  

In the end, the board voted 3-2 (Iannuzzi and Jim Zarkadas voting no) in favor of Sintiris’ special permit; while a purality, it was one vote shy of the necessary threshold for the issuance of the license. 

While Iannuzzi’s negative response was towards the distrubtor aspect of the technology, Zarkadas’ ran towards finding a more precise definition of the town’s lodging bylaws.

“It really is up to the Planning Board to make updated laws because there has been a lot of changes and I’m pretty sure they were written back in … the 1800s. While I’m open to business, but when it starts to cross the line of running and operating a business in a neighborhood, there is a lot of unknowns that need to answered,” he said.

Sami Baghdady, the current chair of the Board of Selectmen and former chair of the Planning Board, said it is incumbent for the bylaw writing entity to fill in the gaps in taxes, zoning and licenses that new technology brings to the town.

“The Planning Board needs to address this quite quickly, just because there is more than 200 units now doing business,” he said.

For Sintiris, the change to seven days minimum stay that began this fall “has already hurt me,” saying the current regulations has cut her income by $1,000 a month. 

“I’m not asking for much. Just enough,” she said.

First Look: Will Belmont Run to a New Dunkin’ Donuts on Pleasant Street?

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Photo: The Dunkin’ Donuts building on Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge, that a Belmont store on Pleasant Street would look like.

Vincent and Nick Leo knows something about selling donuts. The Cambridge-based family operation runs 17 Dunkin’ Donut franchises in Massachusetts and Florida. In fact, if you go to Fresh Pond for your morning donut and coffee, it’s a Leo-run business. The DD in Alewife Station? Most of the Dunkins’ in Medford? Those are Leo’s too. And if you have a hankering for a “coffee regular” in Clearwater, Florida, say hello to someone from the Leo family who’s behind the counter.

And now, the Leos hope to expand their donut and coffee empire to Belmont.

Tonight, the Leos will be before the Zoning Board of Appeals seeking a special permit and site review of their proposed 18th franchise location at 344 Pleasant St. at the intersection of Brighton Road, a hop and a skip from Route 2 and Arlington.

The location, a hop, and a skip from Route 2 and Arlington are the former home of a gas station/repair shop that the Leos hope to build a 3,500 sq.-ft. building in which the franchise would take half the space with a pair of 1,000 sq.-ft. store fronts, creating a small strip mall.

The building, which will look like the family’s franchise at 2480 Mass Ave. in Cambridge, will have 21 indoor seats and eight outdoor. Like its Mass. Ave. store, parking for about ten vehicles will be in the rear of the building. 

The proposed hours of operation are 6 a.m. to 11 p.m.

The restaurant operation will abut the intersection with the small retail operations along Pleasant. There will be a free standing “Dunkin’ Donuts” sign – approximately three feet by five feet – along Pleasant Street 

The Belmont operation will not have a drive-thru component like many of Leos operations. All food will be made off-site and delivered to the store. The store will employ between one and six employees on each shift. Trash would be collected three times during the week. 

The Leos had commissioned a traffic study by Design Consultants that said a restaurant “will not negatively impact the neighborhood by increasing traffic to the site,” as it would have “less impact traffic than the current gas station.”

How the community views the Leos coming into their neighborhood is not yet known. While there are several letters of support for the business (the Leos posted flyers on their Fresh Pond outlets asking patrons to write to Belmont officials with kind words), a town official said that several people have been calling his office for the past month to know the date of the meeting “so they can say what a bad idea this is.” 

In April 2014, the neighborhood banded together to persuaded the town to deny a retail liquor license to Waltham-based D&L Liquor to put its fourth store in the former Mini-Mart opposite Brighton Street from the proposed Dunkin’ Donuts.

And They’re Off: Paolillo Pulls Nomination Papers As Election Season Starts

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Photo: Mark Paolillo.

One week after the official start of the 2016 Town Election contest, there has been a steady stream of residents who have picked up nomination papers to begin their efforts to be elected town-wide or to Town Meeting.

Town Election will take place on April 5, 2016. 

On the town-wide front, it comes as no surprise that two-term incumbent Selectman Mark Paolillo has taken out papers. The long-time Pilgrim Road resident indicated in the fall his intentions to run one final time to the three-person board. 

Joining Paolillo as early birds grabbing their papers in the first week are Mark Carthy seeking re-election to the Board of Library Trustees, Ellen Cushman for Town Clerk and Charles R. Laverty III who raced into the Town Clerk’s Office last Monday to get the process started for his return to the Board of Assessors.

Cushman, who is Belmont’s current Town Clerk, said there has been good interest in becoming and retaining their seats as Town Meeting members, with some already completing the task of returning their nomination sheets with the necessary number of signatures.

More activity is expected as letters from the Clerk’s Office will go out this week to Town Meeting members whose terms expire in 2016 asking if they want to be considered a candidate for re-election. Those letters must be returned to the Clerk’s office by 5 p.m. on Jan. 26 to exempt the incumbent members from collecting signatures. 

Those seeking to be new Town Meeting members or those selected at a precinct caucus must collect 25 signatures from residents in the precinct being represented and submit the papers back to the Clerk’s office no later than 5 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 15, 2016.

Bag Those Leaves: Final Week of Yard Waste Collection

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Photo: Bagged leaves at the curbside.

If you have been delaying your leaf collecting and garden cleanup, you’re just about out of time as this week, Dec. 7 to Dec. 11, is the final week for yard collection in Belmont.

Place all bagged leaves, sticks and garden waste curbside on the day of your scheduled trash collection.

If you have any questions concerning the policy, contact the Belmont Public Works Department at 617-993-2680. 

Yard collection returns in April. 

A Contrite Developer Promises Action on Long-Delayed Cushing Village

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Photo: Developer Chris Starr (photo 2012)

Apologetic and contrite, Chris Starr stood before the Belmont Planning Board and said he was sorry.

“I can’t begin to tell you how much each of these delays really impacts me,” said Starr.

“I’ve seen the frustration of people in Cushing Square, and I’ve seen the residents and the business owners … and I certainly empathize with what they are going through right now. And I share that frustration,” said Starr. 

Starr, who in 2010 sued each member of the Belmont Board of Selectmen and threatened in 2012 to develop a 40B housing development if the Planning Board would not move on the development, was penitent at the Dec. 3 meeting as he sought for the third time in the past four months either an extension or modifications to the proposed project that was approved nearly 30 months before.

“I want first to start off by apologizing for having to come back for yet another request. We are deeply sorry to do this … the simple fact is that there were some lender requirements that needed to address.

The Planning Board approved Thursday night the three “modifications” to a one-year extension to the special permit granted in July 2013 passing Starr’s Smith Legacy Partners to obtain the town permits to construct the residential/commercial/parking complex running from Belmont and Common streets onto Trapelo to Winston roads. 

The two-and-a-half year delay in construction was due in large part in the difficulty in securing a primary lender who would assume the risk in a project led by an inexperienced developer. 

Starr also announced Thursday that he is now to meet three agreed to “milestones” with the town to begin the initial construction phase of the project. 

“So we are really committed to making a change in Cushing Square and getting Cushing Village done,” said Starr.

The three strict milestones with deadlines as part of the agreement:

  • The developers must close on the deed for the municipal parking lot at a cost of $850,000 by Friday, Dec. 11,
  • Begin initial demolition on Friday, Jan. 15, 2016, and
  • Seek a building foundation permit from the town by Monday, Feb. 1, 2016. 

One of the modifications deals directly with the very first milestone, delaying the Dec. 11 closing of the sale of the municipal parking lot adjacent Trapelo Road by a week.  

Starr said he and his family is “committed to closing on the 18th” ending by thanking the Planning Board for “your understanding, your patience and I’m sure it won’t go unrewarded.” 

Mark Donahue, the Smith Legacy attorney, outlined the modifications that he noted was being required by Wells Fargo, the developer’s lead lender who will commit $15 million at the start of the project.

The first is a “force majeure” provision that allows the three milestones will be extended in the event of an extraordinary incident; relating to acts of God and not mere neglect or if the developer seeks a better deal.  

The second is what Donahue called “the lender saving provision” where the milestone dates are set aside if the lender exercises its rights of taking control of the property if it is determined the developer fails to meet his obligation to the bank. The lender, Wells Fargo, will then have the ability to negotiate a sale or a new deal with the town within the one-year extension, preventing the project from falling into “a black hole.”

The benefit of the second alteration is it “reassures the town” the project will be ultimately completed, with or without Starr at the helm, said Donahue.

“This is not to suggest in any fashion that the developer is walking away from these milestones,” said Donahue.

The third is the delay by a week of the first milestone. 

“We have frankly lost time as we … were communicating with the lenders,” said Donahue. 

The new additions, said Belmont Selectman Chair Sami Baghdady, will be beneficial to Belmont as it will allow the development to move forward whoever is in control of the project.

Saying that “we’re all frustrated to be here again” Baghdady said when looking at the development “in the bigger picture, we have to say to ourselves, ‘OK, what’s best for Belmont?'” 

None of the proposed language affects the one-year extension “and it’s still ticking,” said Baghdady. If the developer misses any of the milestone conditions, “we don’t want the special permit to terminate. We do want the lender to have the opportunity to come in, secure the project, take it over, finish the construction, cure, remedy and proceed.” 

“We don’t want a hole in the ground … and if this developer can’t make it continue, it is good for Belmont to have some else move in and move this project forward,” he said.

Cushing Village, at 164,000 sq.-ft. encompassing three buildings and two town blocks, would be the largest development in Belmont in recent memory. When completed in 18 months, the $63 million project will include 115 residential units, 38,000 sq.-ft. of retail spaces and underground parking that includes 50 municipal spaces.

After the closing, the public will see heavy equipment come to the municipal parking lot, the first building site, a few days later as the lot will be closed for the final time on Christmas week, according to Tony Papantonis, president and founder of Needham-based Nauset Construction.

Demolition of the S.S. Pierce building (at the corner of Common and Trapelo) and the former CVS building at Common and Belmont would then begin as well as prep work on the municipal lot within two weeks, in the first weeks of January 2016.

VIDEO: Belmont Resident Discuss Airplane Noise in Belmont, Region on NECN

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Photo: Belmont’s Adriana Poole and Michael McLaughlin of Medford tell how a protest movement was born after a change in takeoff patterns at Logan Airport.

“Too many, too low, too loud,” Belmont resident Adriana Poole told host Sue O’Connell during an interview on New England Cable News’ “Broadside,” the network’s daily news analysis show, on Tuesday, Dec. 1, as she discussed how noise from planes taking off from Logan Airport has increased markedly over Belmont in the past three years due to changes imposed by the FAA.

A member of the activist group Boston West Fair Skies, Poole and fellow member Michael McLaughlin of Medford discussed the campaign to reduce the noise pollution that is creating a number of health issues for residents in communities impacted by the changes.

On Thursday, Dec. 3, US Rep Stephen Lynch (D-Boston) will host a public forum with the FAA and US Rep Katherine Clark at Milton High School to address growing complaints about the frequency and increased levels of airplane noise in local towns and neighborhoods that are impacted by Logan Airport air traffic.

See the video of the interview:

 

School Committee OK’s Land Survey for Possible Rink/Rec Center

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Photo: The varsity softball field.

The promise of a new ice skating rink and multi-purpose recreation center serving Belmont’s residents and sports teams took a baby step forward as the Belmont School Committee voted unanimously on Tuesday, Dec. 1 to allow a survey of school-owned property near Belmont High School by the non-profit seeking to build the facility.

The decision gives permission for the Belmont Youth Hockey Association to hire a firm to perform evaluation work on school property currently occupied by the Belmont High Varsity Softball field to determine if the surface is suitable for the construction of a recreation center and ice surface. 

“It’s a small step forward, but it is forward,” said Bob Mulroy, who has become the association’s point person for the project, that would include an NHL-sized skating rink, a second “half” skating surface that transforms into a field house for half the year, modern locker rooms, a community fitness center, and many more amenities.

According to Belmont School Superintendent John Phelan, the land survey will allow the association to return to the committee with a more detailed and concrete feasibility study. 

The $6.5 million complex – which would include off-street, on-site parking – would be overseen by a non-profit public/private partnership that would incorporate a wide array of town departments, the school committee, youth hockey and funders on the board.

In exchange for the land to build the center, Belmont schools, and high school teams will have use of the facilities at no cost. 

Back Again: Cushing Village to Seek More Changes to Development Permit

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Photo: The proposed Cushing Village development (left) and what is currently at the location (right).

Only three weeks after receiving an extension allowing it an additional year to construct its long-stalled project, the developers of the troubled Cushing Village residential/commercial/parking complex at Common Street and Trapelo Road will be back once again before the town’s Planning Board on Thursday, Dec. 3, as the project’s money backers are expected to demand modifications to the agreement to provide them even more legal and financial cover in the event the deal falls apart.

While neither the developer, Smith Legacy’s Chris Starr, nor the town’s point person on the project, the Office of Community Development’s Jeffrey Wheeler, would indicate what section of the extension requires altering, the one-year deadline of the special permit itself would not be affected, according to Sami Baghdady, chair of the Board of Selectmen. 

Baghdady led the Planning Board when it awarded the special permit to Starr in July 2013 to build a 164,000 sq.-ft. three-building development with 115 units of housing, shops and underground parking in the heart of Cushing Square.

This time, it’s the developer’s financial backers who are demanding the changes.

“It is my understanding that the proposed modifications to the one-year extension of the special permit are at the request of the developers’ lenders,” said Baghdady, who said the thrust of the revisions is to allow the lenders the opportunity to protect their interests in the event that the developer does not meet the time deadlines of the conditions.

But even Baghdady said the public will know the exact implications of the changes when the agenda item is taken up by the Planning Board.

“It is difficult to comment any further without the benefit of the developer’s presentation at the hearing,” said Baghdady.

Thursday marks the third time since August that the development team requested and received extensions and modifications to the special permit issued nearly 30 months ago. 

The latest extension, for 12 months, issued on Nov. 17, also stipulated the developers meet three strict deadlines as part of the agreement:

  • The developers must close on the deed for the municipal parking lot at a cost of $850,000 by Friday, Dec. 11,
  • Begin initial demolition on Friday, Jan. 15, 2016, and
  • Seek a building foundation permit from the town by Monday, Feb. 1, 2016. 

The meeting’s timing is also somewhat interesting, as it will occur at the same time thousands of Belmont residents will be attending the annual “Turn on the Town” Holiday Tree Lighting Ceremony taking place in Belmont Center, a block from Town Hall. 

Belmont Police has issued traffic bulletins advising residents of road closures in the Center including Leonard Street being closed at 5:30 p.m., making travel to Town Hall difficult. 

Traditionally, the Planning Board holds meetings on Tuesday evenings.

Nomination Papers Are Now Available For Town-Wide, Town Meeting

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Photo: Town Clerk’s Office.

Nomination papers for the election of Town Meeting Members and Town-wide offices taking place at Belmont’s annual Town Election (Tuesday, April 5, 2016) are now available at the Town Clerk’s Office, located on the first floor of Town Hall.

The papers are due back to the Clerk for certification by Feb. 16, 2016 at 5 p.m.

Fifty certified signatures of registered Belmont voters are required for Town-wide office, 25 certified signatures of Belmont registered voters dwelling in the appropriate precinct are required for Town Meeting. It is always wise to obtain and provide at least 20 percent more signatures than the requirement to meet the certification minimums.

Getting Your Name on the Ballot

Running for election is simple. Have your neighbors and friends who are registered voters sign your papers and submit the signed forms to the Town Clerk by the deadline.

Town-wide Offices

To be considered a candidate for Town-Wide Office, you must be at least 18 years old and a registered voter of the Town of Belmont.

There are many Town-wide elected offices that will appear on the annual Town Election ballot. If you’re interested or want to share your skills in this way, you may file Nomination Papers until Feb. 16, 2016. 

The following is a list of elected Town-wide offices that will appear on the April 5 ballot:

Moderator

 elect one person for one year

Board of Selectmen

 elect one member for three years

Board of Assessors

 elect one member for three years

Board of Cemetery Commissioners

 elect one member for three years

Board of Health

 elect one member for three years
Members of the Housing Authority

elect one member for five years

elect one member of three years

Trustees of the Public Library

 elect two members for three years

Members of the School Committee

 elect two members for three years

Town Clerk

 elect one person for three years

Representative Town Meeting: Representatives from Each of the Eight Voting Precincts

The elected term of a Town Meeting Member is three (3) years, though should a resignation occur, there may be openings for one (1), or two (2) year periods.

In addition to the Twelve Representative Town Meeting Members that are elected for three-year terms from each of our eight voting precincts, there are also several partial terms available.

  • Precinct 3 – elect one person for one year
  • Precinct 5 – elect one person for one year
  • Precinct 7 – elect three people for one year

Incumbent Town Meeting Members

Incumbent Town Meeting Members who intend to run for re-election must notify the Town Clerk by signing and returning the Intention Letter that is mailed to them by Jan. 26, 2016. Missing the return deadline means having to collect signatures on nomination papers.

New Candidates for Town Meeting Member

To be considered a new candidate for Town Meeting Member, you must be at least 18 years old and a registered voter of the Town of Belmont. If you are currently serving as a Town Meeting Member, who was elected at a caucus, not by Town ballot, you will need to submit nomination papers as a new candidate.

Signatures of at least 25 registered voters of your precinct are required on the nomination papers. The Town Clerk must certify these signatures, so we always suggest obtaining about 20% more just to be safe.

Withdrawing Your Name From the Ballot

If you have taken out nomination papers and the signatures have been certified, but you change your mind, you may remove your name from the ballot by notifying the Town Clerk in writing by the deadline.

Opinion: Influence MBTA on Waverley By Writing to Gov’t Officials

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Photo: Commuter rail leaving Waverley Station.

We last left off with Belmont Board of Selectmen Chair Sami Baghdady offering to the MBTA representatives a design charette with the Selectmen and an appointed  group of residents around the idea of making the Waverley Station handicapped accessible given the overwhelming public sentiments expressed at the “grande charette” held on Nov. 15 at the Beech Street Center.

Despite this apparent public response, I have a lingering notion that it will be of no consequence because the “fix is in” for a new station to be built on Pleasant Street as proposed by the MBTA in 2010 and now again in 2015.

So, I decided to personally tour each station on the Fitchburg line to see first hand what the accessibility status is of each station with the goal of trying to discern why the Waverley Station options under consideration by the MBTA are so extreme. 

(As a reminder,  they are currently simply closing the Waverley Station or building a new station on Pleasant Street, concurrently  closing Waverley and eventually closing the Belmont Station. Here are the results of the survey:)

There are sixteen stops between and including Fitchburg and Belmont

  • One (Kendall Green) has a locked station in disrepair with a rudimentary platform, no handicap access and no parking 
  • One ( Hastings) is a railroad crossing with no station, shelter, platform or parking.              
  • Two (Littleton and South Acton) have the full build out high platforms and handicap access proposed for the “new” Pleasant Street station. Both have extensive parking (300 spots plus) lots, but not garages. 
  • Two (Fitchburg and North Leominister) have “mini-high” platforms with ramps for handicap access and four story parking garages with elevators.
  • Three (West Concord, Brandeis/Roberts, and Waltham)  have “mini-high” platforms with ramps for handicap access, but limited parking
  • Three (Shirley,  Ayer, and Silver Hill)  have a station-like “shelters,” limited parking and rudimentary platforms with no handicap access,
  • Four (Lincoln, Concord, Waverley, Belmont)  have stations and platforms with no handicap access and limited parking

Briefly, we can summarize:

  1. Two of the stops on the Fitchburg line between the Fitchburg and Belmont Stations have the full buildout proposed for the Pleasant Street location or $30 million Waverley and both have 300-plus parking lots that are not possible at either the Pleasant Street or Waverley locations.
  2. Five stations have mini high platforms and ramps for handicap access. 
  3. Four stations including Waverley and Belmont could have mini high platforms and ramps providing handicap access at the platform level.
  4. Five stops are just stops and are unlikely ever to be upgraded to stations.  
Briefly, we can conclude:
  1. Practically speaking,  there are only 11 stops that could be considered for the station upgrade the MBTA is proposing for the Pleasant Street location or Waverley Station.
  2. However, large-scale parking lots or garages are required to justify such stations, and neither Pleasant Street nor Waverley meets this hurdle.
  3. Alternatively, the MBTA could install mini high platforms with ramp access at the platform level at the Lincoln, Concord, Waverley, and Belmont Stations.
  4. Platform access would have to be provided at the Waverley and Belmont Stations, but not at the Lincoln or Concord stations as the platforms are at street level in these locations.  
  5. As a result, 100 percent of the 11 stops between Fitchburg and Belmont would be handicap accessible at the platform level.  

So, what can be done?  

As stated in my opening comments, I’m not optimistic that a governmental response will rule the day on this question.  However, it is given that handicap access is a civil right, not an option and using the above approach we can see that the MBTA could achieve a 100 percent handicap access coverage of the Fitchburg line by simply changing the approach to installing mini high platforms in the four remaining stations and providing platform access for Waverley and Belmont. 
I urge concerned residents to organize a coalition of Watertown, Waltham, and Belmont residents to influence the MBTA to move in this direction by writing your municipal representatives, state representatives, Gov. Baker and Lt. Gov. Polito, Congressional representatives, the MBTA and the Mass AAB. I think it will take, at the least, 2,000 letters to be successful.
Disclaimer:  This is my opinion and I have not discussed the content of this letter with either Sami Baghdady or Mark Paolillo.
Jim Williams, Selectman
Glenn Road