Upcoming Somerville Community Meetings: Union Square, GLX, More

SOMERVILLE, MA – Several key meetings pertaining to local issues are slated for the coming weeks. These include an update on the Green Line Extension and parking changes due to Somerville High School construction.

Keep in mind the following upcoming public meetings:

Monday, Nov. 20 and Thursday, Nov. 30: Union Square Public Input

From the city of Somerville:

The next round of public input on Union Square development will be a two-part public hearing at two Planning Board meetings on Nov. 20 and 30. After multiple years of public process to develop the Union Square Neighborhood Plan as well as Union Square Zoning, the community has set forth the parameters of Union Square development. In keeping with this guidance, this fall at two public meetings, the Master Developer, US2, presented their preliminary plans for the seven master development blocks and a new neighborhood park. Now their final proposed plan, the Union Square Coordinated Development Plan, is before the Planning Board, which will hold a two-part public hearing on the plan on Monday, Nov. 20, and Thursday, Nov. 30.
The purpose of the hearing will be to receive public comments on the Plan, which, once approved, is the formal mechanism that will allow the general plans to proceed. More public input opportunities on specific plan elements will follow over time. Before individual buildings, streets, or parks within the plan may proceed, each must undergo design and site plan review, which, for each, includes an additional Planning Board public hearing and two additional neighborhood meetings.
All interested persons are invited to attend and/or comment at the upcoming hearing. At the opening hearing, US2 will formally present their Plan to the Board and the community. Spoken testimony will then be taken at this meeting as well as at the next Planning Board meeting on Nov. 30. Written testimony will also be accepted at a minimum through Nov. 30.
Meeting dates and More Information:

• Public Hearing of the Planning Board, Monday, Nov. 20, 6 p.m. in the Argenziano School Cafeteria, 290 Washington St.
• Public Hearing of the Planning Board, Thursday, Nov. 30, 6 p.m. at City Hall, 93 Highland Ave.
• Written comments: Interested persons may provide comments to the Planning Board at the hearing or by also by mail to OSPCD, Planning Division, 93 Highland Avenue, Somerville, MA 02143; by fax to 617-625-0722; or by email to planning@somervillema.gov.
• Staff reports, plans and Board decisions for this project, when completed, will be posted online at Somervillema.gov/unionsquareplanning.
• Submittals may be viewed in-person in the Office of Strategic Planning and Community Development, located on the third floor of City Hall, 93 Highland Ave., during regular business hours.
• For more information: Email planning@somervillema.gov
  

Monday, Nov. 20: Green Line Extension

From MassDOT:

6-8 p.m.
Tufts University - Breed Memorial Hall
51 Winthrop Street
Medford, MA

The community meeting will be an opportunity to provide information to the public on the document and on the MEPA process. A copy of the NPC can be found on the project website (www.greenlineextension.org). The project website also contains background information on the project as well as information on the state environmental review process.

The NPC presents a preliminary proposal for a one-mile extension of the Green Line along the MBTA Lowell Line commuter rail right‑of‑way from the currently planned terminus at College Avenue in Medford to Mystic Valley Parkway (Route 16) in Medford and Somerville.

EEA is accepting public comments on this document. Comments should be addressed to:

Secretary of Energy and Environmental Affairs
Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs (EEA)
MEPA Office
Attn: Erin Flaherty, MEPA Analyst
EEA No. 13886
100 Cambridge Street, Suite 900
Boston MA 02114
Email: Erin.Flaherty@state.ma.us

Comments must be received by EEA no later than 5 p.m. on Tuesday, November 28.

Copies of the environmental document have also been placed at local libraries. A list of these locations can be found on the Green Line Extension website (www.greenlineextension.org).

If you have any questions, or if you would like to receive a hard copy of the Notice of Project Change document, please contact the Green Line Extension project team at info@glxinfo.com. (PLEASE NOTE: A previous version of this notice listed an incorrect email address).

Monday, Nov. 27: Parking Changes to Central Hill Campus

From the city of Somerville:

Community Meeting Monday, November 27, to Discuss Upcoming Parking Changes Due to Start of Construction at Somerville High School

Parking on City Hall, SHS Concourse to be reduced beginning January 2018.

With construction on the new Somerville High School building project set to begin in January 2018, gradual changes to parking options on the Central Hill Campus (which includes City Hall, Somerville High School, and the Somerville Public Library) and the surrounding public streets will also begin at that time.

All interested residents are invited to join staff from the City’s Capital Projects Management, and Transportation & Infrastructure departments on Monday, November 27, to discuss planned parking changes, and the recent parking study conducted by the consulting firm of Nelson\Nygaard. An extensive parking survey that examined parking utilization at various times of day on the Central Hill Campus as well as streets within a reasonable walking distance was conducted in spring of 2017.

The meeting will be held beginning at 6:30 p.m. in the Somerville High School Library, 81 Highland Ave. The study’s executive summary is available for review atwww.somervillema.gov/shsparking.

Questions? Contact Mike Tremblay in the Office of Strategic Planning and Community Development, at mtremblay@somervillema.gov.

Tuesday, Nov. 28: Union Square Development District Public Hearing

From City Clerk John Long:

President William A. White, Jr. and Finance Committee Chair Tony Lafuente have called for a meeting of the Board of Aldermen’s Finance Committee, to conduct a Public Hearing on the Mayor’s proposal to create a Union Square Development District (BOA #204437), and a Union Square District Improvement Financing (DIF) Development Program (BOA #204517). Information on this proposal can be found on the city’s website at www.somervillema.gov/usqdif.

The meeting will be held on Tuesday, November 28, 2017, at 6 PM, in the Aldermanic Chambers on the 2nd Floor of City Hall, 93 Highland Avenue.

The meeting will begin at 6 PM with a brief presentation on the purpose and structure of the DIF by Mayor Joseph Curtatone, followed at 6:15 PM by an opportunity for public testimony. The Committee may deliberate following the public hearing.

The public is invited to attend and be heard at this Public Hearing. Written testimony may also be submitted in advance of the meeting to the City Clerk, either electronically atcityclerk@somervillema.gov, or physically at City Clerk’s Office, Somerville City Hall, 93 Highland Avenue, Somerville, MA, 02143.

Image via Shutterstock