I own the property at 105 Beatrice Circle. As a member of Build Wise Belmont, I have worked with others over the past few years to bring a thoughtful approach to a developer’s plan to build a multi-unit housing project at 91 Beatrice Circle, a single-family neighborhood on Beatrice Circle.
We don’t argue that the housing shortage in the Boston area is real. We are aware of the Mass. MBTA Communities Act which mandates zoning changes to provide for multifamily housing near transportation centers. However, we believe and have maintained that 12 multi-bedroom units are too many for this parcel in this neighborhood on this access road.
We have attended meetings of the zoning board and tried mediation. Ideas that we presented have met with an unqualified “no.” The last meeting, scheduled for Feb. 12, seemingly was to be held without our knowledge or the knowledge of our attorney. This action would have left our group out of trying to find an acceptable solution for the current and future residents of Beatrice Circle.
Building eight, 2,000+ square foot three and four-bedroom units, and four 1800+ square foot two-bedroom units on a one-half acre plot, causes many problems, not limited to the following:
- The lot will be clear-cut, taking out trees that provide cooling shade, noise mitigation, and massive water intake and retention that would otherwise flow down a significant slope into adjacent properties.
- Our traffic study demonstrates the uphill sight lines on the access road do not allow enough stopping distance. The more cars and service vehicles moving in and out of the development, the more chance for serious accidents to occur.
- The unit buildings are out of scale with other buildings in the neighborhood.
- The adjacent properties will experience an increase in light and noise pollution.
Please consider putting Belmont’s need for more housing stock in a multi-unit zoning district where the scale of multiple units is more fitting to available space. This half-acre should be built with far fewer units that are scaled to the existing dwellings.
Margaret Lowry, Beatrice Circle