►
Description
Docket #0559 - City of Boston Conservation Commission to receive a property located at 108 Walter Street in the Roslindale neighborhood of Boston.
A
A
A
A
Okay,
I
will
air
zoom
gavel
this
hearing
to
order
and
welcome
everyone.
My
name
is
michelle
wu,
I'm
chair
of
the
boston
city
council's
committee
on
planning
development
and
transportation,
and
I'm
grateful
that
we're
all
here
for
hearing
on
docket
number,
zero,
five,
five,
nine
I'll
read
some
disclosures
into
the
record
at
the
beginning,
acknowledge
my
colleagues
open
it
up
for
opening
statements
and
then
we'll
dive
right
in
with
the
administration
about
the
parcel
we
are
discussing
today.
A
So
in
accordance
with
governor
baker's
march
12,
2020
executive
order
modifying
certain
requirements
of
the
open
meeting
law
and
relieving
public
bodies
of
certain
requirements,
including
the
requirement
that
public
bodies
conduct
our
meetings
in
a
public
place.
That's
open
and
physically
accessible
to
the
public.
The
city
council
will
be
conducting
this
hearing.
Virtually
this
enables
the
council
to
carry
out
our
responsibilities
while
adhering
to
public
health
recommendations
and
ensuring
public
access
to
deliberations
through
adequate
alternative
means.
A
A
This
property
is
currently
in
the
care
and
custody
of
the
boston
planning
and
development
agency
and
is
located
in
the
roslindale
wetland
urban
wild
and
will
be
a
valued
addition
to
this
natural
neighborhood
asset.
The
matter
was
sponsored
by
the
mayor
and
referred
to
the
committee
on
planning
development
and
transportation.
A
On
april
14
2021
I'm
joined
by
my
colleagues
here:
councillor
liz
braden,
counselor
ricardo
arroyo,
counselor,
matt,
o'malley
I'll.
Do
one
quick
scan
of
the
waiting
room
make
sure
we
didn't
miss
anyone?
Okay,
no
other
counselors
yet,
but
we
will
recognize
them
as
they
join
so
I'll
turn
it
over
to
colleagues
for
an
opening
statement
and
then
we'll
dive
into
the
the
panel
discussions.
B
C
C
This
is
a
project
that
the
longfellow
area,
neighborhood
association
and
many
other
advocates
have
been
working
on
for
several
years
and
where
we
are
today
is
in
large
part
due
to
their
efforts
to
transfer
this
property
to
concom
will
expand
the
rosendale
wetlands
and
allow
easier
access
to
the
urban
wilds
through
the
parcel.
Protecting
and
preserving
our
urban
wilds
is
essential
to
climate
resiliency
and
equity
in
the
city
of
boston,
especially
in
district
five
and
I'll
be
voting
in
favor
of
this
order
when
it
comes
before
the
body.
Thank
you,
madam
chair.
D
Thank
you,
madam
chair.
I
just
wanted
to
really
thank
the
incredible
advocates
who
have
got
us
to
this
point.
As
many
of
my
colleagues
know,
because
I've
talked
about
it
at
length.
Every
time
108
or
104
walter
street
comes
up.
I
played
in
these
in
this
open
field
in
these
wetlands
as
a
kid,
and
this
has
literally
been
a
decades-long
process,
and
I've
been
very
proud
to
have
worked
shoulder
shoulder
with
so
many
individuals
over
the
past
decade
in
my
time
on
this
body
to
get
to
this
point.
D
We
were
able
to
secure
funding
in
last
year's
budget
to
get
to
this
point
when
this
project
is
done
when
104
108
walter
street
is
completed,
we're
going
to
really
have
the
the
the
the
grand
slam
we're
going
to
have
affordable
housing
on
site
pathways
to
home
ownership,
we're
going
to
have
new,
open
land
refurbished
green
space.
We're
gonna
protect
it.
It
serves
climate
resiliency.
This
particular
plot
has
been
ranked
by
mass
autobahn
as
the
top
desire,
the
top
top
opportunity
for
resiliency
and
acquiring
of
land.
D
A
Thank
you
very
much
ditto
to
all
of
the
above.
We
want
to
make
sure
this
happens
quickly,
as
it
is
now
multiple,
multiple
months
and
years
into
so
much
effort
from
the
community.
So
I
want
to
just
echo
the
the
gratitude
to
so
many
people
who
have
worked
very
hard
and
I'm
excited
that
we
are
having
a
conversation
about
the
tangible
pieces
today.
Okay,
so
let's
turn
it
over
to
the
administration.
Now
I
have
on
my
list:
morgan
mcdaniel
from
the
vpda
and
aldo
giron
from
parks
and
recreation.
E
E
E
108
walter
street
is
a
37
000
square
foot
parcel
located
within
the
roslindale
urban
wild.
It
was
previously
privately
owned
and
risked
being
lost
as
wetland
open
space
when
the
previous
owner
placed
the
parcel
on
the
market.
The
local
community,
as
as
several
councillors
mentioned,
strongly
advocated
to
the
city
that
the
wetland
be
preserved
through
acquisition
by
the
boston
conservation
commission.
E
The
private
owner
only
offered
the
parcel
for
sale
in
an
assemblage
with
the
adjacent
parcel
104
walter
street,
which
contains
a
single-family
home,
so
purchasing
only
one
was
not
an
option.
Therefore,
community
advocates
proposed
that
the
city
used
this
opportunity
to
acquire
both
parcels
creating
affordable
housing
on
104
walter
street
and
permanently
preserving
108
walter
street.
E
The
boston
planning
development
agency
acquired
104
and
108
walter
street
in
december
2020
using
a
combination
of
housing,
2030
funds,
the
neighborhood
development
fund
and
the
environment
department,
climate
resiliency
reserve.
Since
that
time
we
have
released
a
request
for
proposal
for
four
units
of
affordable
housing
on
104
walter
street
and
responses
are
due
on
may
19th.
We
are
eager
to
convey
108
walter
street
to
the
boston
conservation
commission
in
order
to
permanently
preserve
this
piece
of
wetland,
and
I
will
turn
it
over
to
my
colleague
aldo.
F
Hi,
I
want
to
thank
the
committee
for
allowing
me
to
speak,
and
I
want
to
thank
all
the
advocates
and
all
the
city.
Councilors
have
been
working
on
this
acquisition
for
many
many
years
so,
but
my
role
is
more
about
the
grant
and,
of
course,
the
conservation
commission
acquiring
this
project
in
this
land.
The
state
law
requires
that
gifts
of
land,
which
is
essentially
what
this
will
be
from
the
bpda
that
gifts
of
land
to
the
conservation
commission,
be
voted
on
by
the
city
council
and
that's
why
we're
here
today.
F
F
F
The
vote
that
the
city
council
did
back
in,
I
believe
it
was
december
to
allow
for
the
city
to
accept
and
expend
this
grant
and
and
now
this
vote
to
accept
to
allow
the
concount
to
accept
the
gift.
All
those
have
to
be
recorded
as
well
as
well
as
the
state's
project
agreement,
which
puts
on
additional
conditions
beyond
article
97
to
be
sure
that
this
land
is
is
fully
protected.
A
D
O'malley,
thank
you,
madam
chair.
Before
I
get
started,
I'm
sure
I
will
probably
add
addendums
to
this
as
we
go
along.
I
I
mentioned
kathy
mccabe,
of
course
be
remiss
if
I
didn't
also
ignore,
acknowledge
jim
taft
and
beatty
wayne
belighter,
janet
forrester,
my
odds,
martin
rodriguez
who've
just
been
in
the
trenches
and
are
so
excited
for
this
day.
Thank
you,
morgan
and
aldo
for
the
quick
overview
I
mean
this
is
as
non-sort
of
like.
I
would
hope,
controversial
of
an
issue
that
we've
seen.
D
E
Absolutely
so
we
wanted
to
be
responsive
to
the
community's
desire
to
see
things
happen
here
quickly.
So
after
we
acquired
the
land
in
at
the
end
of
december,
we
very
quickly
moved
forward
to
have
a
community
meeting
in
february
drafted
an
rfp
got
it
out
on
the
street
in
early
april
responses
are
due,
may
19th,
we
will
be
having
you
know,
having
evaluation.
E
That
includes
another
presentation
to
the
community
to
community
members
on
our
evaluation
committee,
because
at
the
urging
of
community
members
lana
included,
we
are
hoping
to
be
able
to
designate
a
developer
in
august,
assuming
assuming
all
goes
well.
Obviously,
if
it's
appropriate
to
take
more
time,
we
will
do
so.
E
I
I
can't
speak
with
certainty
on
what
you
know
groundbreaking
would
look
like,
but
I
will
say
that,
because
department
of
neighborhood
development
has
invested
about
775
000
in
the
purchase
of
this
property,
they
will
not
be
providing
any
additional
subsidy,
so
it
may
be
able
to
proceed
much
faster
than
other,
affordable
housing
projects.
So
you
know
maybe
a
year
or
two
rather
than
three
to
five
years.
No.
D
That's
fantastic
and
again
just
the
fact
that
we
are
at
this
point,
which
was
seen
as
an
unattainable
dream.
For
so
long
is,
is
I
don't
mean
to
to
diminish
that
that
that
sounds
like
a
reasonable
and
a
pretty
aggressive
timeline?
And
I
appreciate
I
know
you've
said
this
and
I
know
you've
demonstrated
this,
but
just
continued
partnership
with
lana
as
well
as
with
it
with
the
director
butters.
I
think
this
is
one
of
the
rare
development
issues
where
you're
gonna
see
agreement
essentially
across
the
board.
D
E
Sure
so
we
don't
generally
receive
proposals
until
the
day
that
they're
done,
but
having
had
walk-throughs
in
a
pre-bid
conference.
There
have
been
at
least
two
developers
who
I
think
are
seriously
interested
in
this
project.
It
is,
it
is
challenging.
You
know,
the
community
is
asking
a
lot
and
we
hope
we'll
be
able
to
deliver
and
then
a
few
more
smaller
entities
sort
of
dipping
their
toes
in
the
water.
So
we'll
be
really
interested
to
see
see
what
comes
back.
That.
D
D
I
mean
just
the
fact
that
we've
demonstrated
that
for
affordable
housing
projects
that
actually
makes
more
beneficial
sense,
particularly
for
homes,
in
terms
of
utility
costs,
and
also
just
the
fact
that
it's
a
little
a
little
slice
of
of
just
some
real,
a
really
beautiful
urban
wilds
to
have
some
houses
there
and
right
across
from
the
arnold
arboretum.
It's
just
it's
just
remarkable.
So,
madam
chair,
I
I
don't
have
any
more
questions.
This
is.
D
This
is
a
day
that
very
few
people
thought
was
coming
and
I
don't
mean
to
jinx
ourselves.
We
are
not
we're
not
there
yet
we're
not
at
the
ribbon
cutting,
but
this
is
such
a
crucial
step.
So
thank
you
to
your
great
leadership
in
this
and
I
look
forward
to
voting
in
the
affirmative
on
wednesday
or
whenever
this
comes
before
us.
So
thank
you,
madam
chair.
A
Thank
you,
councillor,
mali.
All,
I
will
add
also
thank
you
so
so
much
to
both
sets
of
teams
that
have
been
working
on
this
and,
of
course,
I
hope
some
of
our
advocates
who
are
with
us
in
the
waiting
room
will
also
be
testifying,
and
so
we'll
we'll
hear
from
in
some
ways
the
most
important
people
who
have
been
driving
this
forward.
F
Well,
I
can
address
that.
What
we're
hoping
to
do
is
as
a
city,
you
know,
develop
a
in-house
capability
for
doing
open
space
acquisitions.
There
may
be
times
when
you
know
we'll
need
outside
assistance
like
with
bpda
and
other
entities
and
the
oftentimes.
These
acquisitions
are
our
team
effort,
but
we're
hoping
to
get
to
a
point
where
there's
more
expertise
in-house
at
the
parks
department,
for
example.
F
You
know
we
often
you
know,
as
in
this
case,
assist
concom
on
land
acquisition
and
so
and
certainly
we'll
be
advancing
on
that,
because,
as
you're
probably
aware,
the
cpa
has
awarded
parks
department,
some
funds
for
a
acquisition
fund,
so
we're
starting
to
gear
up
for
accepting
applications
from
various
entities
for
new
land
acquisitions
for
open
space.
It
could
be
for
children's
play
areas,
it
could
be
for
courts
or
it
could
be.
For
you
know
natural
areas
or
even
you
know,
climate
resilience
projects.
F
You
know
some
difficulties
that
if
the
city
were
to
just
use
its
own
capital,
funds
would
be
make
the
process
much
easier
for
for
us
in
general,
but
in
any
case
we're
going
to
proceed
ahead
with
you
know,
with
the
cpa,
funded
acquisition
process
and
then
from
there
you
know
work
to
broaden
it,
and
you
know
we're
hoping
that
you
know
here
in
this
case.
This
is
know,
we've
taken
advantage
of
this
opportunity
and
as
you've
seen,
this
has
been.
F
You
know
it's
kind
of
decades
in
the
making.
We
want
to
also
attend
to
you,
know
other
places,
other
neighborhoods,
sometimes
other
neighborhoods,
don't
have
the
you
know
the
kind
of
home
you
know,
grown
domestic
expertise
on
you,
know,
city
planning,
city
building
and
need
help
from
the
city
itself.
We're
hoping
to
provide
that
with.
F
You
know,
given
that
as
the
agency
that
puts
together
the
city's
open
space
plan,
we're
quite
aware
of
where
the
different
needs
are
in
different
parts
of
the
city
and
we've
in
the
past
address
a
lot
of
that.
We
want
to
keep
going.
You
know
much
deeper
into
this
and
getting
more
sensitive
and
attuned
to
all
the
different
needs
that
are
out
there.
F
F
Different
projects
that
can
help
improve
and
bolster
you
know
the
ability
of
land
to
deal
with
effects
of
you
know
global
warming.
So
pretty
much.
I
think
the
first
project
that
came
out
of
the
gate
is
this
project
and
keeping
this
you
know
open
land
in
in
open
and
vegetated
land.
In
that
condition,
you
know
is
a
key.
F
We've
got
a
bunch
of
steps
to
do
so.
If
it's
possible
that
this
wednesday,
the
city
full
city
council,
could
vote
on
that.
That
would
be
great.
It
has
to
wait
till
you
know
wednesday
next
week,
okay,
but
much
later
than
that
things
get
the
time
crunch
gets
really
really
bad,
and
then
we
have
to
start
asking
the
state
for
extensions,
and
that's
that's,
you
know
not
a
place.
We
want
to
be
so
we're
hoping
that
we
can.
You
know,
proceed
as,
as
you
know,
expeditiously
as
possible.
F
You
know,
city
council
has
already
voted
to
accept
and
expand
the
the
grant.
You
know,
and
you
know
in
fact
you
know
when
I
was
reviewing
the
application
that
we
made
back
in
july
and
many
many
counselors
you
know
submitted
support
letters,
including
yourself
counselor,
who
so
you
know
want
to
thank
all
the
counselors
for
that
and
just
hoping
that
you
know
we
can
follow
through
and
try
to
meet
the
the
time
frame.
A
Great
well,
I
can
make
I
can
help
on
that
front,
so
we
can
make
sure
this
will
be
on
the
agenda
for
this
week's
meeting,
our
first
in-person
meeting.
So
it
would
be
exciting
to
to
vote
on
that
from
the
chamber,
and
I
will
just
check
if,
if
council
o'malley,
our
president
pro
temp
has
any
other
questions
on
this
before
I
go
to
public
testimony.
D
A
Thank
you.
Okay.
I
see
just
four
people
in
the
waiting
room,
so
I'm
just
going
to
admit
everyone.
Sometimes
it's
complicated
with
whether
the
race
hand,
function
works
so
I'll
invite
everyone
into
the
main
room
and
we'll
go
one
by
one
to
see
who
would
wishes
to
testify?
Okay,
I
think
everyone's
in
now.
A
A
I
will
be
very
grateful
for
if
you
have
the
ability
to
stay
on
a
little
bit
just
to
hear
from
the
public
and
then
we
will
wrap
up
after
that,
okay,
but
they
feel
free
to
don't
feel
the
need
to
be
on
camera
or
anything.
We
know
you're
there
and
really
really
appreciate
you.
Okay,
so
let's
start,
I
see
frank
had
had
his
hand
raised
so
we'll
go
frank,
deb,
beth
and
julia
in
that
order.
G
Yeah
hi-
I'm
here,
thank
you.
So
this
is
great,
and
certainly
speaking
in
support
to
address
the
question.
Frank
o'brien,
43,
madam
street,
to
address
the
question
raised
about
what
lessons
are
learned,
which
is
a
really
key
question
I'll
briefly
list
a
couple
and
I
do
agree
with
aldo's
recitation
elder
guerin's
recitation
as
well.
G
Next
to
an
urban
wild
and
others,
which
I
could
name,
the
the
owner
sets
the
price
and
expectation
of
multiple
variances
at
their
full
development
value,
and
so
we
see
some
of
the
negative
consequences
of
the
city
just
granting
wholesale
variances,
and
so
it
makes
it
hard
for
any
public
benefit
use.
You
know
whether
it's
a
library
or
a
school
for
that
matter,
so
the
city's
practice
of
sort
of
piece,
mailing
development
and
granting
wholesale,
I
would
argue,
unjustified.
Variances
wasn't
true
in
this
case,
so
that
was
very
much
to
our
advantage.
G
G
The
city
had
previously
when
mr
blackman
was
the
was
the
environment
chief
had
zeroed
out
the
line
item
for
acquisition
and
the
city
had
not
even
originally
intended
to
use
this
climate
fund
for
acquisition,
but
chris
cook
was
proactive
enough
in
responding
to
the
advocacy
you
know
just
to
find
out
yeah.
Indeed,
this
can
be
used
for
acquisition.
G
The
the
cpa,
funding
stream
has
its
own
limitations,
and
I
won't
enumerate
all
of
them,
but
the
city
really
needs
to
step
up
and
through
the
budget
process,
allocate
really
adequate
funding
for
climate
related
as
well
as
recreation
and
other
related
acquisitions.
I'm
estimating
that
it's
like
about
10
or
15
million
dollars
that
really
is
needed
and
that's
equivalent
to
any
sort
of
major
green
infrastructure
project,
whether
it's
a
bridge
or
a
road.
H
H
A
A
I
I
It's
it's
critical
that
we
protect
the
our
urban
wild
and
continue
to
expand
the
amount
of
available
open
spaces
that
we
have
for
our
residents
for
a
variety
of
reasons,
namely
our
ethics
to
accelerate
climate
resiliency
efforts
and
to
provide
residents
with
vibrant,
open
space
and
parks
to
enjoy
so
looking
forward
to
more
testimony.
Hopefully
it's
coming
sorry
for
joining
a
little
late,
but
I
did
catch
the
last
couple
of
speakers,
so
look
forward
to
committee
report
and
to
and
pledge
to
vote
in
support.
Thank
you,
madam
chair.
A
J
Okay
and
I
put
my
hand
up
as
well:
yes,
please
proceed
beth
columbo!
I
live
at
7,
o'brien
field,
road
in
roslindale,
and
I'm
also
here
with
kim
o'connell
who
lives
at
112
dale
street,
we're
just
thrilled
that
walter
street
is
getting
this
funding
we
had
put
in
for
a
cpa
grant
for
dale
street
parcel.
Unfortunately,
things
have
not
worked
out
for
us,
but
we
are
thrilled
that
somebody
is
getting
funding
for
this.
It's
very
important
that
we
have
this
kind
of
funding,
rather
than
just
putting
up
buildings
all
over
the
place.
J
L
My
name
is
julia
o'brien
and
I'm
here
on
behalf
of
the
lanna
board,
I've
been
a
long-standing
member
of
the
land
aboard
and
kathy.
Mccabe
has
asked
me
to
express
our
appreciation
for
the
hard
work
that
many
of
you
did
to
get
this
moving
and
help
us
through
what
is
one
has
to
admit
a
very
complex
process
to
accomplish
what
has
been
accomplished
here.
L
Assist
community
groups
in
this
effort,
I
think
that's
deeply
appreciated
so
our
appreciation
to
the
counselors
and
to
the
agencies
bpda
and
parks
department
for
following
through
on
this
as
effectively
as
they
as
they
have,
and
we
hope
that
we
have
a
good
developer
and
that
the
combination
of
affordable
housing
and
resiliency
is
an
example
for
other
projects
throughout
the
city.
So,
thank
you
so
much.
A
Okay,
I
think
that's
everyone
who
had
been
signed
up
to
testify
we're
really
grateful
that
everyone
could
join
us.
Thank
you
so
much
to
aldo
and
to
morgan
as
well
and
all
of
your
teams.
We
will
close
out
now
I'll
toss
it
to
colleagues.
If
anyone
wants
to
make
any
final
statement,
council
flaherty,
would
you
like
to
add
any
closing
statement.
I
D
Just
very
briefly,
thank
you,
madam
chair,
for
your
leadership
and
partnership
on
this,
and
it
should
be
noted.
You
know
I
took
to
heart
beth
and
her
neighbors
comments
as
it
relates
to
other
buildable
lots.
I
know
it's
a
focus
for
me
and
you
as
well
and
very
proud
to
have
offered
the
wetlands
ordinance
with
you
that
was
signed
into
law,
not
quite
at
walter
street,
but
the
other
side
of
the
roswell
wetlands.
So
I
I
appreciate
really
the
the
subtext
of
this
hearing
that
the
this
can't.
D
A
Thank
you,
councilor
mali
well
said,
and
all
I
will
add
is
that
we
very
much
want
to
see
this
replicated
expanded
with
urgency,
so
I'm
so
grateful.
We
know
how
much
work
went
in
all
volunteer
from
community
members,
research
and
advocacy,
and
taking
so
much
on
your
shoulder
so
very
happy
to
celebrate
this.
I
will
make
sure
that
we
move
this
for
this
wednesday
city
council
meeting
and
we
won't
stop
there
we'll
we'll
make
sure
that
this
is
just
the
baseline
as
the
city
moves
forward.
So
thank
you
very
much
everyone.