Belmont – Page 7 – Belmont Citizens Forum

Stewards Keep Ogilby Farm Traditions

Environment, Historic Preservation, History, Newsletter, Plants, September/October 2023 Comments Off

Sep 012023

By Judith Feinleib Henry Ogilby thinks of himself, his siblings, and Mike and Hermik Chase as stewards of the last remaining farmland in Belmont, part of the Richardson Farm Historical District. They are stewards in the classical sense of the term—people whose code of ethics requires them to engage in responsible planning and management of resources. In this case, these resources are the land and houses that have been in the Ogilby family since the 17th century. For the last 11 years, the Chases have cultivated the land of Belmont Acres Farm where they grow and sell vegetables and keep [READ MORE]

Lone Tree Hill Goes Native with Plantings

Environment, Lone Tree Hill, Newsletter, Open Space, Plants, September/October 2023 Comments Off

Sep 012023

Lone Tree Hill Goes Native with Plantings

By Jeffrey North On Earth Day 2023 (April 22), the Belmont Citizens Forum (BCF), in conjunction with the Judy Record Conservation Fund, held its ninth annual Lone Tree Hill Volunteer Day. (See “Volunteers Plant, Clean Up Lone Tree Hill,” BCF Newsletter, May/June 2023, for more information). Several dozen volunteers rolled up their sleeves, and gardening trowels in hand, planted 350 plugs of young native plants in the Great Meadow and reclaimed meadow areas of Belmont’s Lone Tree Hill Conservation Land in addition to planting 40 white pine saplings to replace the mature pines gradually lost to age and weather. The [READ MORE]

Profiles in Belmont: Scott Ferson

History, Newsletter, September/October 2023 Comments Off

Sep 012023

By Elissa Ely The start of the pandemic elongated time in lonely and frightening ways. People craved the consolation of community but were prohibited from human contact. Screens were a brilliant technologic substitute, yet just as lonely in their way. Sometime around then, Scott Ferson drew a hopscotch board on the sidewalk in front of his School Street house, and an inspirational message above it. Solitary pedestrians—who were all of us—found it hard to pass without noticing, and maybe without a small involuntary skip between squares. It was a bright bit of humor we could share without knowing one [READ MORE]

Belmont Community Path Route Takes Shape

Bicycles and bike paths, Bike Paths, Newsletter, September/October 2023, Transit Comments Off

Sep 012023

Belmont Community Path Route Takes Shape

By Vincent Stanton, Jr. How should the Belmont Community Path get from the Clark Street Bridge to Waverley Square? How might it cross Waverley Square? How should it connect to residential neighborhoods? These and related questions have been under study for Phase 2 of the Belmont Community Path. In December 2022, Belmont hired Pare Corporation and Toole Design Group to design Phase 2, which extends from the Clark Street Bridge to Waverley Square. Amy Archer and Kathleen Fasser, the project leaders of the Pare-Toole team, led the 2016–2017 Belmont Community Path feasibility study, and more recently designed the Waltham segment [READ MORE]

Why Belmont Needs the Specialized Energy Code

Climate Change, Newsletter Comments Off

Aug 312023

Why Belmont Needs the Specialized Energy Code

By Roger Wrubel Massachusetts adopted An Act Creating A Next-Generation Roadmap for Massachusetts Climate Policy (Roadmap) in 2021. The act directed the Department of Energy Resources (DOER) to update the existing energy building codes and to create a new Opt-In Specialized Energy Code to encourage the construction of all-electric buildings. The state needs to update energy building codes because the policy requires reduced greenhouse gas emissions. The policy set greenhouse gas emissions limits of at least 50% below the 1990 baseline by 2030, at least 75% below the baseline by 2040, and required net-zero emissions by 2050. By 2050, emissions [READ MORE]

Belmont Embraces MBTA Zoning Challenge

Construction and Housing, September/October 2023 Comments Off

Aug 312023

By Rachel Heller and Thayer Donham Belmont residents have yet another great opportunity to shape the future of our community. Under a new state law, Belmont will be creating districts where multifamily housing can be built. The multifamily zoning requirement for MBTA Communities, also known as Section 3A of the Massachusetts Zoning Act, requires municipalities with good access to transit to have zoning in place that allows for up to 15 apartments or condominiums per acre. The Multifamily Zoning Districts must be approved by Town Meeting by December, 31, 2024, and meet the following requirements: Comprise a minimum land area [READ MORE]

MBTA Rethinks Tunnel Construction

Bicycles and bike paths, Bike Paths, Construction and Housing, July/August 2023, Newsletter Comments Off

Jun 302023

By Vincent Stanton, Jr. The MBTA recently changed its position regarding the preferred construction method for the new tunnel under the Fitchburg Commuter Rail Line at Alexander Avenue. Now the plan is to use “cut and cover” construction rather than tunnel jacking. The change will lower the cost of constructing the Belmont Community Path by an estimated $5 million, shorten the construction timeline, reduce the construction footprint, and be less disruptive for nearby residents, the Belmont middle-high school community, and Fitchburg Line riders. The cut and cover approach will also permit a wider tunnel, which is preferable given the anticipated [READ MORE]

Letter to the Editor: Airplane Noise

Environment, July/August 2023, Newsletter Comments Off

Jun 302023

To the Editor, Regarding your feature piece in the May/June issue [“Why is There So Much Plane Noise Over Belmont?” BCF Newsletter, May/June 2023], it is good to see attention to the issue. However, the author decided to use valuable print largely to explain simply what is, and not the effects, other than “disturbing” or “too much” noise. Imagine if all that ink was used for describing epidemiological evidence that points to negative health outcomes, instead of rote retelling of recent events and history, easily conveyed with a link or two. People end up in hospitals more often as a [READ MORE]

A New Weekly Voice for Belmont

July/August 2023, Newsletter Comments Off

Jun 302023

By Sue Bass Once upon a time, Belmont had a real newspaper. Indeed, within living memory, it had two: The Belmont Citizen (1944–1988) and the Belmont Herald (1931–1988.) By the time Henry and I moved here in 1995, the merged Citizen-Herald was an acceptable but not great source of information. Still, I seem to recall that at one time it employed an editor, a reporter, and at least one stringer who might attend Planning Board or other committee meetings. Then it got worse, and worse, and worse. No coverage of school sports. No more police log. No more school lunch [READ MORE]

Ottavio Forte, Renaissance Man

Arts & Culture, July/August 2023, Newsletter Comments Off

Jun 302023

By Fred Bouchard Tireless energy, intelligence, and curiosity mark the life and times of Ottavio Forte. Now in his 80s, he has enjoyed success in a colorful array of careers and hobbies: electrical engineer, beekeeper, sculptor, winemaker, distiller, gardener, and homespun philosopher. Born in Formia (near Naples) in 1940, Forte came to New York at 14, the eighth child of illiterate, hard-working parents. As a high school senior, he claimed second prize in the Brooklyn Science Fair for a model of a vacuum tube. Forte graduated from City College of New York in 1961 in engineering. MIT hired him in [READ MORE]

Profiles in Belmont: Dean Hickman

Environment, July/August 2023, Newsletter, Recycling Comments Off

Jun 302023

By Elissa Ely Before he became chair of Sustainable Belmont, before the PhD in pharmacogenetics, before moving to the United States, certainly before any awareness of the environmental needs of a Massachusetts town next to Cambridge, Dean Hickman was picking up litter. “Have been picking up trash anywhere I go since I could walk,” his Instagram says. Growing up in farm country west of London, traveling the footpath systems, Dean took the “Keep Britain Tidy” campaign of the 1960s to heart. Many decades later, on a late rainy afternoon when he could have been enjoying a mug of tea, we [READ MORE]

BH Students Create Native Plant Garden

July/August 2023, Newsletter, Plants Comments Off

Jun 302023

By Audrey Brenhouse On Saturday, May 13, the Belmont High School Climate Action Club, with the help of adult and student volunteers, planted our long-anticipated native garden in front of the school. Our goal is to grow plants native to this area to promote and support native wildlife, helping to restore the land’s natural biodiversity. In the spring of 2022, we held a student-led concert where many families kindly donated to this process. After years of approvals and fundraising, we are proud and grateful to be able to display the result of your generosity. Over the next few years, these [READ MORE]

Belmont Will Phase Out Gas Leaf Blowers

Air Quality, Environment, July/August 2023, Newsletter, Plants Comments Off

Jun 302023

By Marina (Goreau) Atlas and Karen Cady-Pereira In recent years, Belmont residents have become acutely aware of the roar, fumes, and particulate dust emitted from two-stroke gas-powered leaf blowers. A new town policy will soon change the use of gas-powered leaf blowers that emit cancer-causing particulates, send out winds that can exceed Category 5 hurricanes, and stir up everything from road dust to pollen to particles left behind from Muffin and Fido’s morning walk. This policy is an important step to improve our relationship with lawns and encourage healthy landscapes that enhance our quality of life. From May 15 to [READ MORE]

Porchfest Returns!

July/August 2023 Comments Off

Jun 302023

By Mary Bradley Porchfests began in 2007 in Ithaca, New York, as a means for local musicians to perform for their friends and neighbors on porches throughout town. Little did the organizers know what an explosion of joy they had unleashed. There are now over 200 Porchfest across the world, the majority of which are right here in New England. Earlier this year, NPR declared the Porchfest Season* runs from May through September. And it’s true; the majority of Porchfests in New England do fall within this time, including Belmont’s very own. Belmont’s Porchfest has carved out the Saturday following [READ MORE]

Opinion: Parking, People, and Money

July/August 2023, Parking, Town Committee Meetings Comments Off

Jun 302023

By Max Colice A typical parking space takes up about 300 to 350 square feet. In Belmont, if you want to open a retail business or office, you’ll need one parking space per 250 square feet of retail or office space. That’s right: in Belmont, your parking lot will have to be bigger than your business. If you want to open a restaurant, you’ll need one parking space for every two seats. Again, that’s more land for parking than for people. Providing all of this parking makes opening a business in Belmont more expensive than it should be. Consider how [READ MORE]

How Can Belmont Use the McLean Barn?

July/August 2023, Newsletter Comments Off

Jun 302023

By Carl Solander How can Belmont use the McLean Barn? The Land Management Committee of Lone Tree Hill (LMC), in consultation with the Belmont Historic District Commission, is seeking ideas to give new life to this remnant of Belmont’s agricultural past. The McLean Barn, also known as the Brick Barn at Rock Meadow, was conveyed to the town in 2005 by McLean Hospital following the 1999 agreement that created the conservation land now known as Lone Tree Hill. The barn has been unused since that time, patiently awaiting the next chapter in its long life. In 1892, as the central [READ MORE]

Unauthorized Bike Route and Vandalism at Lone Tree Hill

Bicycles and bike paths, McLean, Newsletter, Open Space, Town Committee Meetings Comments Off

Apr 302023

Unauthorized Bike Route and Vandalism at Lone Tree Hill

An unauthorized bike route off the Hillside Trail on the Lone Tree Hill, Belmont Conservation Land (LTH) property was reported on April 21, 2023. The route goes down a hill, over a rock ledge and lands below on a very steep hillside. The builders of the route cut down trees, broke branches, removed rocks and vegetation (trees and native perennial trout lily) from the hillside and excavated dirt by digging and leaving dangerous pits. There has been earlier unauthorized bike activity at Lone Tree Hill, but this is the most dangerous and damaging. At the ninth annual LTH volunteer day [READ MORE]

BHA Plans for the Future of its Senior Community

Construction and Housing, May/June 2023 Comments Off

Apr 262023

BHA Plans for the Future of its Senior Community

By the Belmont Housing Authority Board of Commissioners In 2018, Belmont Housing Authority (BHA) was awarded Community Preservation Act (CPA) funding by the town of Belmont to embark on an ambitious project: planning for the modernization of its Sherman Gardens apartment community. Situated between Sycamore Street and Thayer Road in Waverley Square, the 80-unit state-funded public housing community has provided critical shelter for seniors and persons with disabilities since 1971. After more than 50 years without a major renovation, the apartments are now expensive, difficult to maintain, and energy inefficient. Designed 20 years before the Americans with Disabilities Act was [READ MORE]

If You Just Sit Still

May/June 2023 Comments Off

Apr 262023

By David Morris When I was young, I had an uncle who was attuned to nature. He was an artist, a hunter, a forager, and truly fascinating to an eight-year-old. Recently, after a frustrating morning trying to see some wildlife, I remembered his words. He’d said, “You need to remember that you are part of nature, too. You need to find a nice spot and just sit still. Don’t wait for when it’s time to move, but just enjoy the looking, the listening, and the sitting still. After a while, once you start to seem like one of them, the [READ MORE]

Volunteers Plant, Clean Up at Lone Tree Hill

May/June 2023, Newsletter Comments Off

Apr 262023

Volunteers Plant, Clean Up at Lone Tree Hill

By Radha Iyengar The Belmont Citizens Forum (BCF), in conjunction with the Judy Record Conservation Fund, held its ninth annual Lone Tree Hill Volunteer Day on Saturday, April 22, an overcast and cool day. Volunteers included Girl Scouts Troop 82027, employees of Cityside Subaru, M&T Bank,and the Sai Group, and residents of Belmont and the surrounding communities. Many hands made light work. At the Pine Allee, efficient volunteers planted forty white pine saplings. The new plants replaced the Allee’s missing trees and some of the dead saplings from previous volunteer day plantings. At the adjacent meadow the volunteers planted slender [READ MORE]

Older Entries Newer Entries