What is the Future of McLean’s Open Land?

 Historic Preservation, July 2015, Newsletter, Open Space  Comments Off on What is the Future of McLean’s Open Land?
Jul 102015
 
What is the Future of McLean’s Open Land?

By Sue Bass Piece by piece, the remaining open land in Belmont is being protected—or developed. The Belmont Uplands were bulldozed. The town’s last farm has been saved, protected by Lydia Ogilby and her family with an agricultural restriction. A dozen houses are filling what used to be two six-acre estates off Concord Avenue on Belmont Hill. But nearby open space is covered by conservation restrictions, thanks to descendants of the Claflin-Atkins family that once farmed the land, particularly the late Anne Allen. The fate of two major open areas remains undetermined. Officers of the Belmont Country Club insist that [READ MORE]

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Mugar Site Plans May Mean More Flooding

 July 2015, Newsletter, Open Space, Stormwater  Comments Off on Mugar Site Plans May Mean More Flooding
May 122015
 
Mugar Site Plans May Mean More Flooding

Along the north side of Route 2 in East Arlington lie seventeen acres of wetlands almost entirely in the 100-year floodplain. Despite its potential for flooding, this parcel has been the subject of various development proposals over the years. Recently Oaktree Development of Cambridge showed Arlington town officials a preliminary sketch of a proposed 219-unit housing development on the parcel owned by the Mugar family and adjacent to the Alewife Reservation. The Oaktree developer intends to invoke the state Chapter 40B statute to circumvent certain local permitting processes and bylaws by including a certain percentage of affordable housing in the [READ MORE]

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Path Neighbors Can Choose Trees For Privacy

 Bike Paths, May 2015, Newsletter, Open Space  Comments Off on Path Neighbors Can Choose Trees For Privacy
May 122015
 
Path Neighbors Can Choose Trees For Privacy

By Meg Muckenhoupt Community paths allow more people to travel without using cars—and a lot of people want to do just that. It is estimated that more than 2 million people walk, run, and bike the Minuteman Bikeway in Cambridge, Arlington, Lexington, and Bedford each year. Understandably, neighbors living in homes abutting new paths are often concerned about the effects of having so many visitors passing by their yards. Different communities have varying approaches to living with bike trails. Today, 22 years after the Minuteman Bikeway officially opened, about a quarter of properties abutting the Bikeway in Arlington have no [READ MORE]

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