Let's Save a Little Green Space, People!

Ok. Before I get a lot of comments along the lines of "This is about MEDFIELD, not HAMPDEN!" let me reiterate Hawker's policy of covering neighborhood gossip and news of interest to Hampdenites. As far as Hawker is concerned, if you can easily walk there, it's Hampden-related.

This from a friend:

"Friends, Hampdenites, Baltimorons, lend me your ears!

A developer is trying to buy from the City a tiny triangular piece of land that abuts my back alley in order to increase the number of units/parking. This tiny little plot of land is the absolute reason I and all my neighbors bought our homes on the South side of Roland Heights. It adds a lovely buffer of green space, quiet or the wooshing of tall trees, birdsong, rabbit & fox burrow space and a path through the woods avoiding the Superfresh megashopolis... We maintain it through path clearing and trimming when the City does not, which is more than less as you might well imagine.

The developer has property right below that has been fallow for some time. This action is a land grab for the paltry sum of some $15K, to increase the number of units (& parking) from what was originally proposed as 11 to...12, 13 and now 14. This is in addition to their 43-residence development Skyview directly below 42 & Falls, all of which directly impact Falls Road below Cold Spring Lane. An aerial view is available here.

This proposal been in the works for some time, but of course, they did not inform the residents of tiny Hoes Heights and tiny Heathbrook who are directly affected. Clearly this is intended to steamroll over a population of our elder residents, but thankfully there are some community-minded peeps that are keeping a sharp lookout. Having an engineer and lawyer or two on the street helps.

Happily, the City contacted the Medfield community association (across the way on the West of Falls Rd, much larger) to mediate and they have offered to speak for us. (Medfield has long been agitating for the replacement of the failed traffic light at 41st & Falls, which affects EVERYONE IN HAMPDEN due to the necessity to exit at Cold Spring Lane to enter Hampden from the north, and also for speed bumps to mitigate the speed-short-cutters on Hickory and Evans Chapel Rd (trying to avoid Falls & 41st) .

The Time Group development will happen, but it is the triangular plot on a hill directly north of it that is in question. The proposal is that we will end up with our backyards facing a) a 14 ft retaining wall and some of our natural trees if they don't get the land; b) a "forest conservation" landscaping of shrubberies and young trees, retaining some old growth and a 14 ft retaining wall.

My deepest concern is the water runoff question, which was answered at the community mtg I attended Monday. Currently, our alley fills up with ice and is impassable during the worst winter storms. We have an average of 3-4 water main breaks during the winter on Ro'Heights. The development will install new storm runoff routes, which thankfully for us will dump south, but into Falls & 43rd St sewer lines, so lookout down below!

If you live/work/play along the Falls Rd corridor, in or around Hampden/Medfield/Hoes Heights/Heathbrook please consider the impact of these two new developments and start paying attention to the City sale of land in this instance.

Thanks for your attention,
The Lady Hoe"