At the Conservation Commission meeting this Thursday, November 7, at 7 pm, members are expected to continue their review of stormwater issues at the Mugar/Thorndike Place development to Thursday, November 21, following a request by the Applicant for more time to prepare feedback.
At the previous special hearing on October 24, representatives from the peer reviewer, GZA GeoEnvironmental, Inc., and BSC, the consultant for the Applicant (Arlington Land Realty LLC), presented their most recent findings and comments as part of the Notice of Intent (NOI) for Thorndike Place under the Massachusetts Wetland Protection Act (WPA). Numerous questions were raised, and the Applicant was asked to provide additional information.
The Land Trust’s hydrology consultants, Scott Horsley and Michael Mobile/MMA, also provided information from their respective groundwater monitoring and stormwater mounding analyses and responses to recent GZA and BSC reports. They continue to review and respond to new information as it is available.
Check the Con Com website to register for the Zoom meetings and to see the final agenda, new correspondence, and reports.
The Commission’s Thorndike Place Wetlands Permit web page hosts the recent GZA and BSC reports along with previous peer review and consultants’ reports, public comments, and other correspondence regarding the NOI hearing.
Blog
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Mugar Hearing Continued to November 21
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Special Mugar Hearing October 24
The Conservation Commission is holding a special Zoom hearing this Thursday, October 24, at 7 pm to continue its review of stormwater issues at the Mugar/Thorndike Place development in East Arlington. Check the Con Com website to register for the Zoom meeting and to see the final agenda, new correspondence, and reports.
The Commission has received the peer review report from GZA GeoEnvironmental, Inc., and revised stormwater calculations from BSC, the consultant for the Applicant (Arlington Land Realty LLC), as part of its review of the Notice of Intent (NOI) for Thorndike Place under the Massachusetts Wetland Protection Act (WPA). The Commission hired GZA in June as a third-party reviewer to provide additional geohydrologic expertise on the project’s compliance with regulations outlined in the Massachusetts Stormwater Handbook and Stormwater Standards.
As documented in previous hearings, the Land Trust, through its hydrology consultants, Scott Horsley and Michael Mobile/MMA, has also provided information from their respective groundwater monitoring and stormwater mounding analyses. The Commission’s Thorndike Place Wetlands Permit web page hosts the recent GZA and BSC reports along with previous peer review and consultants’ reports, public comments, and other correspondence regarding the NOI hearing.
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Mugar Hearing Continued to September 19
The Conservation Commission hearing on stormwater issues at the Mugar/Thorndike Place development, originally scheduled for Thursday, September 5, has been continued again to Thursday, September 19. Check the Con Com website for the final agenda, new correspondence and reports, and Zoom registration information.
The Commission has received the peer review report from GZA GeoEnvironmental, Inc., but is not ready to hold its hearing on the stormwater review aspects of the Notice of Intent (NOI) for Thorndike Place under the Massachusetts Wetland Protection Act (WPA). The Commission hired GZA in June as a third-party reviewer to provide additional geohydrologic expertise on the project’s compliance with regulations outlined in the Massachusetts Stormwater Handbook and Stormwater Standards.
As documented in previous hearings, the Land Trust, through its hydrology consultants, Scott Horsley and Michael Mobile/MMA, and The BSC Group, engineering consultants for the Applicant, Arlington Land Realty LLC, have provided information from their respective groundwater monitoring and stormwater mounding analyses. The next hearing is expected to be a critical review of the long-running and conflicting analyses and assessments provided to date.
The GZA Stormwater Standards Peer Review is posted on the Commission’s Thorndike Place Wetlands Permit web page along with previous peer review and consultants’ reports, public comments, and other correspondence regarding the NOI hearing.
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Mugar Hearing Continued to August 1
The Conservation Commission hearing on Mugar/Thorndike Place has been changed to Thursday, August 1, according to the latest agenda posting.
By that time the Commission is expected to have received the peer review report from GZA GeoEnvironmental, Inc., in order to continue its hearing on the stormwater aspects of the Notice of Intent (NOI) for Thorndike Place. The Commission hired GZA in June as a third-party reviewer to provide additional geohydrologic expertise on the project’s compliance with regulations outlined in the Massachusetts Stormwater Handbook and Stormwater Standards.
Check the Con Com website for the final agenda, new correspondence and reports, and Zoom registration information.
Previous peer review and consultants’ reports, public comments, and other correspondence regarding the NOI hearing are posted on the Commission’s Thorndike Place Wetlands Permit web page.
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ALT Scholarship Winners 2024
The Arlington Land Trust established the Arlington Land Trust Conservation Scholarship for graduating seniors at Arlington High School in 2024. The response was excellent, and we decided to award not one but three $1,000 scholarships to students who will be pursuing education, volunteer service and work in conservation, environmental protection or a related field.
We are pleased to recognize these three winners of the inaugural ALT scholarship program:
Tatem Kerr participated in an internship at Mass Audubon’s Habitat Wildlife Sanctuary taking care of resident goats, learning and utilizing best practices for composting, and teaching community service groups and school children about the environment. She plans to major in marine science and work to protect ocean wildlife from plastic waste, and may later explore becoming an environmental lawyer.
Miriam Oliveri-Schneider co-founded Full Circle Compost Service, a student-run, free and accessible food waste reduction service program. She also pursued an internship at Mass Audubon’s Drumlin Farm Wildlife Care Center, where she worked with injured animals and researched the causes. That experience influenced her goal to become a conservation biologist to study the effects of human pollution and environmental degradation on wildlife.
Clara Schneider has been actively involved in the Remembrance of Climate Futures Arlington project, which promotes climate resilience and advocacy, as well as in other internships to promote sustainable waste management and combat extreme heat. Her advocacy for various aspects of environmental preservation and experience on Arlington’s Debate Team have led to her goal of becoming an environmental lawyer.
We congratulate these students on their significant contributions to environmental issues in Arlington and wish them well in their future educational and career endeavors.
As a part of our conservation and education mission, we intend to open up the Scholarship application process to all Arlington-based high school seniors in 2025. We are grateful for the generosity of our members who make these awards possible. Thank you.