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A subcommittee of the Longfellow Area Neighborhood Association of Roslindale, a neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts
A team of youth workers will help with wetlands restoration this summer, cutting invasive plants, clearing the way for a walking trail around the perimeter, and helping to tend native trees that have been planted during neighborhood work days until they become tall enough not to be overwhelmed by fast-growing knotweed and buckthorn. We welcome and thank them!
Arboretum development is underway
Harvard is constructing a 43,000-square-foot botany lab near the wetlands (bordered by Centre, Weld, and Walter Streets and the rear of Hebrew Senior Life). More than half of the site will be off limits to development until the year 2882, when the arboretum's lease with the city expires, to provide a buffer zone between the institutions on Centre Street and nearby residential areas. This concession was made by Harvard after months of dialogue with neighbors and elected officials. Updates on the progress of the project are available at http://www.construction.fas.harvard.edu/WeldHill/updates.htm.
Morrison "Street" development threat still unresolved
Twenty-nine Morrison Street is an undeveloped, landlocked private parcel abutting the Roslindale Wetlands urban wild (conservation land) that has been the object of some questionable real estat transactions. In 2005, its soon-to-be purchaser proposed to erect a dwelling on it. Morrison is a paper street running from Weld to Coniston. It was laid out on maps in 1929, but never built, largely because much of it runs through soggy wetlands acreage, the great majority of which is part of the wild. Twenty-nine Morrison's proximity to conservation land would present an applicant potential obstacles to obtaining the requisite permits to build.
An impressive 60 or so letters in opposition to the proposal were sent by neighbors to City Hall, and it appears highly uncertain that the City would ever approve a formal permit application, not to mention paving Morrison for access, without which construction would be impossible under any circumstances.
Yet, the development threat still has not run its course as of spring 2008. The May 16 issue of the Jamaica Plain Gazette reported that its current owner, Troy Strother, has filed a suit against its previous owner, claiming that she misrepresented the parcel as ready for a "dream house." Strother discovered the controversial nature of the land when he tried to market it, the Gazette reported. Read the full article.
Deer reappear
Residents on Coniston Road saw two deer munching on wetlands flora and a Walter Street resident spotted a deer in the backyard in mid-May!
The Roslindale Wetlands Task Force was formed by consensus at a September 4, 2003, town hall meeting attended by more than 100 community residents. It has become a subcommittee of the Longfellow Area Neighborhood Association (LANA), an established community organization with a record of impressive accomplishments. The Task Force represents hundreds of area residents concerned about the future of the wetlands.
The Task Force's mission is to work with community residents, city government, environmental organizations, and businesses for the benefit of this unique natural asset, including...
- Wetlands preservation
- Plant and wildlife protection
- Habitat protection
- Open space preservation
- Stormwater management
- Flood control
- Public access compatible with these considerations
