West Roxbury Neighborhood Council

Meeting Minutes – April 25, 2006

 

Proposed Harvard Development on Weld Hill

Gerald Autler, Senior Project Manager at the BRA is overseeing the project. He provided us with an update of the current status.  Harvard wants to build a research and administration building on the fourteen acre site.  Harvard is negotiating with the BRA over the details of an Institutional Master Plan which will replace the current single family zoning for the site.  As part of the review process there is a task force that includes interested parties, including some members of local neighborhood groups.

Parameters are being defined to minimize the impact of development.  For example, any buildings will be at least one hundred and fifty feet from the edge of the property along Weld Street.  Any buildings height will not exceed the height of Weld Hill.  The stone walls along the perimeter will be repaired.  Walking paths will be maintained and continue to be open to the public.  These conditions will be incorporated into the Master Plan.

Once there is agreement between the BRA and Harvard, with input from the task force, the final Master Plan will be submitted.  Mister Autler estimated that this will happen within the next couple of months. 

A motion was passed, that the West Roxbury Neighborhood Association continue to oppose the BRA accepting Harvard’s Institutional Master Plan until we hear the opinions of the Longwood Neighborhood Association.

Dialogues on Boston’s Ethnic and Racial Diversity

Mason Sand describe a program where a group of fifteen to twenty people of different racial and ethnic backgrounds get together for four sessions to share experiences, build trust, and reduce stereotyping.  Boston Dialogues has been supporting this program in other parts of the City, and is looking for interested people in West Roxbury.  Because of the commitment to attend four sessions, at a time that fifteen to twenty people can agree on, a pool of around sixty interested people is needed.  Additional information can be found at www.bostondialogues.org.

Committee Reports

Zoning

There was no Zoning Sub-committee meeting in April.

New Business

Boston Shines – Neighborhood Cleanup

Volunteers should meet at the Hasting Street parking lot off of Centre Street Saturday, April 29, between 8:30 to 2:00.

 

Attendance:

Joseph Conran, Kathleen Ryan, Tony Saroufim, Judy Settana, Steve Smith, Don Torok

Excused: Kathleen Colby, Larry Costello

 

 (Minutes prepared by Don Torok)

The West Roxbury Neighborhood Council meets the 4^th Tuesday of the month at 7:30 p.m. at the Area E Police Station.  The public is encouraged to attend.  These and prior West Roxbury Neighborhood Council minutes are available on the Internet at  http://members.aol.com/lcostello/wrnc/