January/February 2026 – Belmont Citizens Forum

Belmont Needs You

January/February 2026 Comments Off

Dec 182025

Not tomorrow. Not “when things calm down.” Now. Your town is under constant pressure: from development, traffic, climate impacts, infrastructure, and policy decisions. The Belmont Citizens Forum Newsletter exists to keep watch. But we cannot report, investigate, or inform without writers willing to step up. We want sharp minds, steady pens, and citizens willing to roll up their sleeves. If you care about Belmont’s streets, wetlands, budgets, bylaws, boards, trees, trails, taxes, wildlife, rezoning plans, or the future your neighbors will inherit, then consider this your draft notice. Pick up your pen like others pick up a shovel or a [READ MORE]

Correction — January/February 2026

History, January/February 2026 Comments Off

Dec 182025

The article “Serving Those Who Served” (BCF Newsletter, November/December 2025) contained a mistaken identity. The gentleman pictured on the left on page 3 (and above) is Mr. Robert Young, a 100-year-old veteran, not Robert Taylor. We apologize for the mistake, and we salute Mr. Young’s service

Belmont Farmers Built Chicago Skyscrapers

History, January/February 2026, Newsletter Comments Off

Dec 182025

Belmont Farmers Built Chicago Skyscrapers

By Edmund McDevitt In 1831, in the section of Watertown that later became the south part of Belmont, Peter Chardon Brooks was born. The child was to become one of the most important historic figures in the development of the skyscraper. Little is known about his family’s residence in Watertown. Peter Brooks’s grandfather, the original Peter Chardon Brooks (1767–1849), was, at the time of his death, quite possibly the wealthiest man in Boston. His wealth came from a marine insurance business, some of which insured ships involved in the Atlantic slave trade—no surprise, given that the family were slaveholders prior [READ MORE]

First Church History

Historic Preservation, January/February 2026 Comments Off

Dec 182025

John Howe (left) speaks with attendees after his talk at the Beech Street Senior Center about the history of First Church in Belmont, Unitarian Universalist, which was built in 1890 in the Romanesque Revival style. The church is one of Belmont’s important historic buildings, adjacent to the 1853 Lyman Underwood House. His presentation included photos showing the church in its original location on the north side of Concord Avenue, with the railroad tracks at street level. Howe was a long-time Belmont resident, and remains an active member of First Church. The Belmont Historical Society hosted Howe’s talk last November.

Bicyclist Rides the Henry Knox Trail

Bicycles and bike paths, Bike Paths, Historic Preservation, January/February 2026 Comments Off

Dec 182025

By David Webster When I lowered my bicycle on the grassy bank of the Sudbury River in Wayland and stared at the granite marker and historic broken Stone Bridge, time froze. The marker identified this place as being on the Knox Trail. I imagined steam rising from sweaty horses and oxen and then evaporating into the frigid winter air as the straining animals pulled their heavy loads of captured cannons across the bridge towards Boston. This winter marks the 250th anniversary of an extraordinary Revolutionary War event that was pivotal in forcing the British evacuation of Boston in 1776. During [READ MORE]

Profile in Belmont: Ken Stalberg

January/February 2026 Comments Off

Dec 182025

By Elissa Ely Few of us recognize our path in this spinning world until long past childhood. It’s usually vague, convoluted, unclearly marked. If we’re lucky, we don’t wander down too many side streets leading nowhere (or worse, to unhappiness). For some, the wandering never ends. Ken Stalberg, former “Mailing Maestro” for the BCF Newsletter, principal violist with the Boston Lyric Opera Orchestra, the Boston Classical Orchestra, and the Boston Landmarks Orchestra, as well as a violinist with the Boston Ballet Orchestra, took a straight path from a young age. His mother was an amateur pianist (“and a very good [READ MORE]

Beth Lambert: Restoring Rivers and Wetlands

Environment, January/February 2026, Water Quality Comments Off

Dec 172025

Beth Lambert: Restoring Rivers and Wetlands

By Jeffrey North This article is part of the Belmont Citizens Forum’s series on environmental leadership in Massachusetts. The Massachusetts Division of Ecological Restoration (DER), part of the Department of Fish and Game (DFG), works to restore and protect rivers, wetlands, and watersheds across the commonwealth. From removing aging dams to revitalizing salt marshes and wetlands, DER supports projects that strengthen ecosystems, improve climate resilience, and reconnect communities to nature. The Belmont Citizens Forum spoke with Beth Lambert, director of DER, about the division’s statewide restoration priorities and her vision for the future. Jeffrey North conducted the interview. BCF What [READ MORE]

Why Recycling Stagnates

Environment, January/February 2026, Recycling Comments Off

Dec 172025

Belmont’s options for dealing with waste woes By Jeffrey North Dr. Jonathan S. Krones, associate professor of engineering at Brandeis University, gave a virtual presentation titled “Garbage 101: How the waste system actually works, and what we can do to achieve a more circular economy” sponsored by the Belmont Public Library last November. The talk offered a rare behind-the-scenes look at how waste and recycling systems actually function in Massachusetts and around the country. It also delivered a clarifying message to communities like Belmont: our recycling system is struggling not because residents are necessarily doing it wrong, but because the [READ MORE]

OPINION: Treat Invasive Plant Removal as a System

Environment, January/February 2026, Open Space, Plants Comments Off

Dec 172025

OPINION: Treat Invasive Plant Removal as a System

By Jeffrey North Belmont’s conservation lands—Rock Meadow, Lone Tree Hill, Habitat, and our many wooded edges and wetland buffers—face a quiet but relentless challenge. Aggressive invasive plants threaten the fundamental health and richness of our local native plant communities, and consequently the fauna that rely on them for food and shelter. Invasive species such as glossy buckthorn, bittersweet, knotweed, and tree of heaven do not care about property boundaries or budget cycles. Yet our response to this threat is fragmented: volunteers clear a patch, a contractor mows a section, a grant funds a pilot project. Then, when the effort cannot [READ MORE]

How Rail Trails Can Serve Public Housing

Bicycles and bike paths, Bike Paths, January/February 2026 Comments Off

Dec 172025

How Rail Trails Can Serve Public Housing

Drake Village, Arlington, and Lessons from Across the Northeast By Jeffrey North & Vincent Stanton, Jr. Development of the Belmont Community Path is proceeding in two phases. Phase I is close to the 100% design threshold. Planning for Phase 2, which will run from the Clark Street Bridge to the Waltham border, started in late 2022 when the town hired Pare Corporation and Toole Design. The Pare team studied the route options during winter and spring 2023 and recommended a final route to the Community Path Project Committee (CPPC) in May 2023 (see “Belmont Community Path Route Take Shape, BCF [READ MORE]

January/ February 2026 BCF Newsletter

January/February 2026, Newsletter Comments Off

Dec 172025

Read the January/February 2026 BCF Newsletter. In this issue: How Rail Trails Can Serve Public Housing What would it be like to have the path close to Belmont Village? Are there any local precedents for paths adjacent to public housing? Read more. OPINION: Treat Invasive Plant Removal as a System Invasive species such as glossy buckthorn, bittersweet, knotweed, and tree of heaven do not care about property boundaries or budget cycles. Yet our response to this threat is fragmented. Read more. Why Recycling Stagnates Our recycling system is struggling not because residents are necessarily doing it wrong, but because the [READ MORE]