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ALT
Annual Meeting
Wednesday, January 25, 7:30-9:30 pm
Senior Center, 27 Maple Street, Arlington
Our guest speaker will be landscape architect Ginna Johnson, who will help kick off discussion of a conservation
vision for the Mugar site (see story below).
We’ll share some refreshments and some successes
of the past year, and look forward to the work ahead in 2012.
Please join us!
Re-envisioning
the Mugar Site
Arlington’s 2001 Town Meeting set out the
community’s goal for the 17-acre Mugar site in a
nearly unanimous vote: that the Town wants to “preserve the conservation,
recreation, and open space uses of the property.”
We strongly agree, of course. But what would
that look like? And how can we get there?
To facilitate thinking about the site, ALT is
teaming with landscape architect Ginna Johnson on
a schematic plan that envisions the site as public land. We want to explore
opportunities for trails, environmental education, and connections to other
Alewife resources; for restoration of wetlands and meadow habitats; and for
increasing the site’s effectiveness in flood control and neighborhood
protection.
Ginna will be the
featured speaker at the ALT annual meeting. She will present some initial
concepts and lead a public discussion to gather ideas about many possible
visions for the site. Later in 2012 we will sponsor other opportunities to
expand this re-envisioning process with others in the community.
A critical issue, of course, is how to secure
the permanent protection of the site. If the community cannot protect the
entire site at a feasible cost, what tradeoffs are possible? Is there any level of development on any
portion of the site that would be acceptable if it enabled permanent
protection of the vast majority of the parcel?
These are tough questions, and consensus may be
elusive, but a serious effort at protection will require a serious debate. Please join us to begin this conversation
at our Annual Meeting on Wednesday, January 25, 7:30-9:30 pm, at the Senior
Center, 27 Maple Street, Arlington.
For other
questions please contact ALT
President Clarissa Rowe at 781-643-3156 or email info@arlingtonlandtrust.org
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