Please help! Subdivision of One Benton Road Revisited

[lslapiko.livejournal.com]

http://lslapiko.blogspot.com/
Monday, January 31, 2011

Subdivision of One Benton Road Revisited

Gather round, children while we revisit the story of the Giobbe House, a beautiful historic structure sitting atop a rolling green hill that was gutted and destroyed by an out-of-town developer for the purpose of constructing condos. Come closer while I remind you of that developer's fight to further subdivide the already compromised landscape in order to build a second condo structure, despite their awareness of the environmental and traffic problems it will cause the city if given the approval to go forward, as well as the fact that after nearly a year on the market, one of the units in the current structure has yet to be sold. Finally, learn how Somerville residents have thus far prevented the proposed subdivision by working with the Board of Aldermen, resulting in the denial of the proposal by the Somerville Office of Strategic Development and Planning Board and are continuing to fight by attempting to force a denial of the realtor's upcoming appeal.

Well, it's petition time again, with MLM Realty Trust's appeal scheduled to come up before the Zoning Board of Appeals Wednesday February 2, 2011. Please read the previous blog entries linked here to follow the history of this situation, or if you're familiar with the long saga and would like to join the fight, click on this link: http://www.petitiononline.com/giobbe4/petition.html and sign. The petition we submitted at the June 2010 Office of Strategic Planning and Development and Planning Board meeting was instrumental in preventing MLM's development plans once, and we believe this new one will be again.

Previous Giobbe House/One Benton Road posts:

The Giobbe House

More Tales of the Giobbe House

Further Tales of the Giobbe House

The Giobbe House: The Saga Continues

One Benton Road's Last Stand

Here's the text of the current petition:

Dear Members of the Somerville Zoning Board of Appeals,

We're writing to encourage you to uphold the Planning Board's denial of MLM Realty Trust's proposal to subdivide the backyard at One Benton Road in order to build a three-unit condominium. We feel that the following issues, mentioned in the Planning Board's denial of MLM's proposal, have not been addressed, nor can they be adequately dealt with through mediation.

Subdividing the property at One Benton Road would:

* compromise the traffic and pedestrian safety at the intersection of Benton Rd with Summer St, esp. for children attending the two schools one block away and anyone attending the many services and functions at St Catherine's Church, also one block away.

* adversely affect the Mystic River and Charles River watershed of this hilltop location.

*exacerbate water runoff problems for neighbors down slope of One Benton Rd. These neighbors now have significant water runoff problems that didn't exist before MLM began their work on One Benton Rd.

* erode property values in the adjacent historic districts.

* increase traffic and parking density in a neighborhood that's already strained by this issue.

*diminish the scenic nature of the adjacent historic districts.

*contribute to the loss of open green space in Somerville, a city that everyone knows is densely developed and has about 77% of its property already paved over or built upon.

*encroach upon and harm the local historic districts that have already been adversely affected by MLM's inappropriate work on One Benton Rd.

*damage the historic integrity of the backyard at One Benton Rd and the adjacent historic districts.

Allowing MLM to proceed with their plan to subdivide the One Benton Road property directly contradicts Somerville's commitment to being a green city by endorsing an outside developer's machinations to bring increased traffic to an already over-congested part of Somerville, thus increasing pollution and decreasing the availability of street parking, while building with no commitment to green construction materials or techniques. The initial three unit condominium structure on the One Benton Road property has already been responsible for the loss of three parking spaces on Summer Street due to the placement of the curb cut they made. In order to compensate for this loss, MLM agreed in December 2009 to create additional parking on the Benton Road side of the property by reducing the existing the driveway there from 39 ft. to 13 ft., but has done none of the agreed-upon work. Additionally, the sidewalk on the Benton Road side of the building has not been maintained according to Somerville's stated snow removal policies, resulting in a narrow icy passageway rather than a safe walkway.

It is clear that MLM is uninterested in Somerville or the community surrounding One Benton Road; but rather wishes to use the small amount of open land left on the property for one reason: their stated desire to make a profit on the purchase price they paid. The fact that one of the initial three units they've built has not been sold after 11 months on the market does not suggest that continuing to build on the lot will make it desirable to potential buyers.

Somerville can never recover the history and beauty that was destroyed when MLM gutted the Giobbe House, which formerly stood on the One Benton Road lot, but we can disallow their further attempts to degrade and destroy our city's integrity in order to fill their own pockets.

Thank you for your kind attention to our concerns.

This is a situation in which every signature makes a difference, so please add yours and let the ZBA know that Somerville is not interested in being exploited by developers with no commitment to working in harmony with the community.

Again, sign at http://www.petitiononline.com/giobbe4/petition.html

Comments

friendly moderator note

[ron_newman]

please, please, put an lj-cut in this very long post. Thank you.

Re: friendly moderator note

[i-leonardo.livejournal.com]

seconded !

Re: friendly moderator note

[clevernonsense.livejournal.com]

and maybe revise it to sound less pretentious, if you want to be more effective

Re: friendly moderator note

[lslapiko.livejournal.com]

Please feel free to write a better one and send it in yourself. We need all the help we can get.

Condescending much?

[pingback-bot.livejournal.com]

User ringrose referenced to your post from Condescending much? (http://community.livejournal.com/davis_snark/63251.html) saying: [...] http://community.livejournal.com/davis_square/2500156.html [...]

Re: Condescending much?

[lslapiko.livejournal.com]

I really don't get how this is condescending. Is it the first paragraph? If so, that can only be the case if people have absolutely no sense of humor. Anyway, there's no pretention or condescension intended so please take it as it's meant: a serious request for help couched in a bit of humor based on the history of the situation.

Re: friendly moderator note

[ron_newman]

Thanks for adding the lj-cut. (And please use one whenever you post something long like this.)

Re: Condescending much?

[ron_newman]

I enjoyed your opening paragraph.

Re: Condescending much?

[lslapiko.livejournal.com]

Thank you!

Re: Condescending much?

[sabio75.livejournal.com]

It's probably the general attitude of "development = bad || no change = good" that oozes between every word.

Somerville is growing and changing, and will continue especially as the green line comes in. We need to figure out how to work with people who want to invest in our city (whether they are "from here" or not), rather than fight them tooth and nail at every turn because we don't want anything to change.

Growth and change provides the fuel to help us keep many of the treasures around town alive, but we have to compromise. Otherwise, we'll get nothing but decay.

Re: Condescending much?

[intuition-ist.livejournal.com]

hear, hear!

Re: Condescending much?

[alphacygni]

In particular, the idea that a single-digit number of condos has any significant impact on local traffic and pedestrian safety is almost absurd. I can understand not wanting it there for other reasons, but when traffic and other factors are brought in when they really shouldn't be, it bothers me terribly.

Re: Condescending much?

[lslapiko.livejournal.com]

I don't know where you get "no change is good" unless you read it in. I'm all for positive change but this post is about one particular crappy change. The fact that MLM is not a Somerville business is only mentioned to underscore the fact that they don't care about Somerville. They don't. It's a fact, not a theory. Read the whole petition. There are concrete reasons why this particular project is bad. Read the older posts. Look at the pictures. If you don't agree, don't sign the petition. But don't make generalisations about what you assume I think about anything else based on what I've written about one specific
issue. Lastly, if this project had been done with respect for the community there would be no need for a battle like this. Don't hate the playa, hate the game.

Re: Condescending much?

[somertricky.livejournal.com]

Rearrange your priorities to appeal to the ZBA, and for God's sake eliminate the bullet point regarding the effects of the proposed project on the Mystic and Charles River watersheds. Greenpeace and Earth First couldn't have come up with that in a hundred years of joint brainstorming sessions. You've got enough reasonable arguments against this (and I'm with you) but that point makes it sound like they're building the Hoover Dam or something.

Re: Condescending much?

[sabio75.livejournal.com]

What's unfortunate is that by lashing out at people who disagree with you, you stifle participation by the very same community you want to protect.

You are correct, we need not sign the petition if we disagree. But I chose to voice my thoughts as well so that the stage would not be held by only one point of view.

I struggle with it too, but we need to figure out how to talk about our future Somerville without anger.

Re: Condescending much?

[lslapiko.livejournal.com]

Yes "we" do.

Re: Condescending much?

[sandrylene.livejournal.com]

Please consider that you're being needlessly antagonistic here, and that it doesn't show your request for support in a favourable light.

The above comment is not constructive, to say the least.

Re: Condescending much?

[two-stabs.livejournal.com]

But your internet finger-wagging is doing so much good.

Re: Condescending much?

[noisybeacon.livejournal.com]

Can't we all just get along?
Why is it that nobody has asked the question of the need for more housing in Somerville? Rent is out of control, people need more housing! The are 2.09 million empty homes on the market in the US ) Who needs green space in the middle of the single most populated community per square mile in New England? It is far better to allow MLM to build in that spot and make more money! Maybe they can even add to the vacant homes in the US at the cost of only a few trees. Who needs parking? There is an abundance of that in Somerville with the snow! It is a virtual parking heaven with the huge number of free open spaces. Has anyone tried to drive down that wide, unobstructed, well lit, road in the last two weeks? Or tried to park in that area in the last few months? What we need is more voters, moved into more expensive condos, after cutting down a tree or two ( because that is all that is left ) with more cars and more pollution. Sounds like real genius city planning to me. The kind we have come to expect with our elected officials. I wonder if MLM has donated money to Mayor Joe's re-election campaign? I dont think it is too late! I love MA elected officials, they are the best money can buy!

Re: Condescending much?

[two-stabs.livejournal.com]

wat

Re: Condescending much?

[mrsdollylevi.livejournal.com]

Thanks for posting this. I don't find anything wrong with your tone or your argument.

Re: Condescending much?

[ward2.livejournal.com]

I actually think the original poster's comments were pretty well-meaning. It came directly from her blog, and I don't think is what was sent to the Zoning Board. I hope - it was amateurish to send to a Board.

But the sarcasm here isn't great either, although I agree with all your points. I have been following this project pretty closely since it began (I'm a neighbor of the property and have lived in Somerville for a little over a year). I went to many of the neighborhood meetings (when the developer was required to have them - they wouldn't have otherwise).

The Planning Board DENIED MLM based on all the factors that Noisy Beacon puts forth. They aren't in the pocket of MLM (although the Mayor's staff report seemed to be).

There is a whole article in the Somerville Journal about former AG Tom Reilly calling out Mike Capuano Jr. for being "political" in saying no to the developer. That was mean-spirited and WRONG. The points made for strongly denying the project had everything to do with safety and preservation of a historic neighborhood (that was one of the major factors in me choosing to live where I do). So did several other members of the Planning Board, and they have the respect of every neighbor in that area.

MLM got angry that they got denied and sued the Board and the city. Now it is before a special review of the Zoning Board.

This has nothing to do with the city or the mayor or the board being in the pocket of the developer. Instead, just the opposite.

Re: Condescending much?

[masswich.livejournal.com]

Please don't assume that anyone is in the pocket of anyone else in this situation. Its a lousy situation set up by the combination of state laws about development and a zoning ordinance that has some imperfections (as they all do). I talked to City staff about the situation. Remember their job is to impartially offer recommendations about development projects and whether they are in keeping with the zoning ordinance. Not whether they are necessarily good projects- whether they are lawful or not. That's the opposite of being in someone's pocket.

In this case, unfortunately, it seems likely that the law is on the developer's side. He has enough space to create a new lot for a new house. There are some situations where there are gray areas in development projects, and then there is some leeway to say yes or no. From what I saw, this is unfortunately not one of them.

Please don't shoot the messenger.