City Council Rejects the Neighborhood's Zoning Petition for the W.R. Grace Site . . .

In January, you were asked to pitch in to help pass the Von Grossmann Petition (VGP), a downzoning petition for the W. R.Grace/Alewife area drafted by several neighborhood folk. The VGP would have helped to protect the neighborhood from the increased flooding, traffic, and environmental hazards that would be the inevitable by-product of the large development planned by W.R.Grace for that area. Neighbors responded in impressive numbers, as you flooded City Hall with calls and postcards and crowded City Council and Planning Board meetings.

Sadly, only Councillors Triantafillou, Reeves, Toomey, and Born supported the neighborhood at the Council meeting on January 6th and voted for the VGP. The other Councillors, citing fears of a lawsuit by Grace, approved the developer-friendly alternative petition submitted by the City Manager and the Planning Board.

. . . then Adds Insult to Injury!

In a mind-boggling series of events, Councillor Davis then went on to speak at length in favor of building a large hotel on the site at the corner of Rindge Avenue and the Alewife Brook Parkway, Councillor Galluccio proceeded to amend the zoning to allow a 55,000 square foot superstore on the site, and Councillor Sullivan introduced a number of late amendments apparently designed to facilitate development.

The Results are that the City has:

given its OK to an additional 422,500 square feet of development (imagine 16 new buildings the size of the Porter Square CVS Building);
refused to set construction guidelines appropriate to the level of contamination and asbestos concentrations at the site;
failed to find ways to reduce traffic problems;
did nothing to address the inevitable results to the neighbors of overburdening the floodplain on which most of the Grace property sits.

Bottom Line:

Grace and its developer, Spaulding & Slye, were given everything they asked for, and more!

Next Steps?

Call Councillors Davis, Duehay, Galluccio, Russell and Sullivan at 349-4280; let them know that you'll "Remember in November."
Help out the Alewife Study Group, the group of neighbors working together to gather and disseminate information and taking action to protect our neighborhood. We can use as much or as little time and energy as you can spare! Please call your neighbor, Lisa Birk, at 354-3295 to volunteer to flyer, phone, plan or draft; or you can send email to information@alewife.org
Watch for more flyers from the Alewife Study Group advising you of community meetings, or send email to alewifeinfo@usa.net to request more information, or check out www.alewife.org.

Neighbor by neighbor, street by street, we re-affirm our commitment to our community, our homes and each other during this fight. And THAT'S a part of the neighborhood the developers and the City can't take away from us!

Contact the Alewife Study Group, North Cambridge Massachusetts, by email at information@alewife.org