COMING UP- PLEASE ATTEND IF ABLE:

Silver Maple Forest Hearing before 3 Judge Panel
January 16th- John Adams Courthouse- Room 4
Across from Government Center

Coalition to Preserve Belmont Uplands made up of Winn Brook residents and Friends of Alewife Reservation will be presenting the 4 year old civil action suit legal defense before a three judge panel in behalf of wilderness conservation and wetlands regulations next Wednesday which apply to the Belmont Uplands or "silver maple forest", as it is popularly known throughout Belmont, Arlington and Cambridge. Representing the Coalition is Attorney Thomas Bracken, who will argue in behalf of a protected habitat area, exposing development errors concerning natural area replication planning, and due process errors by DEP regional adjudicatory Judge in regards to refusal to consider witnesses and testimony being heard and then rendered in the Decision.

Following the Coalition Hearing at a later date, issues of the Conservation Commission should be presented by the Town Counsel representative of Belmont such as: the clay layer underneath the building which is new evidence which would challenge the previous developer's calculations. The Judge did not mention the issue of "soils", which is a problem. The under-soil of the area is mostly fill from Route 2 construction.

Another point of the Commission is the groundwater infiltration chamber of mounding which will cause groundwater level to be too close to the bottom section which is in violation of “Standard 3” of the storm water regulations. Also in litigation points with the Commission has been "Standard 2" in the regulations which require no water rise allowed in Little Pond from the development. However, the District Court Judge said the amount is "trivial" which, according to the Commission, is an abused discretion, i.e. "to find the facts". Even very small amounts of water increase can have large impacts elsewhere in the watershed.

The Coalition case will be heard Wednesday, January 16th Court Hearing at John Adams Courthouse, Pemberton Square, Courtroom 4 at 9:30am. The courthouse is across from Government Center and easily accessible by MBTA. See the Coalition to Preserve Belmont Uplands for more information about the case: www.belmontcoalition.org.

Ellen Mass, President of Friends of Alewife Reservation