Spring 2010 Citizens in Caring for Their Green Spaces
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Brookline GreenSpace Alliance is a non-profit membership organization dedicated to the enhancement of open space PLACE in Brookline by supporting Spring 2010 citizens in caring for their green spaces. How Open Space Mitigates Climate Change Deborah Rivers, AIA LEED AP ver the past decade, we have become A heat island is created when large areas Grassroots support for a green community increasingly aware of climate of heat-absorbing surfaces such as streets, Ochange resulting from human sidewalks, parking lots, and buildings found activities. This year Brookline in urban environments, retain is observing Brookline 2010: A and radiate solar heat energy. As In this issue Community Climate Challenge. this warmer moist air rises, cloud Climate Change As we work to reduce our carbon condensation may occur resulting and Open Space footprint by making energy in more frequent thunderstorms. improvements in our homes, Because of the largely impervious Parks Report: driving less and walking or paving present in urban areas, five years of bicycling more, we should be aware that there is an increased likelihood of urban progress Brookline has another valuable asset to help flooding. Warmer temperatures caused meet the challenge. Our parks and tree- by heat island effect also exacerbate air Day in the life of lined streets are important elements in the pollution because smog is produced faster at a Park Ranger mitigation of climate change. Landscaped higher temperatures. Higher temperatures open space helps alleviate the effects of lead to increased cooling demand, leading to Heritage Tree urban heat islands by helping clean and increased emissions, perpetuating the cycle. cool the air, and providing more effective Care continued on page 4 stormwater management. Green, Locally PLACE is published twice a year, in spring and fall, by Brookline GreenSpace Alliance 40 Webster Place, Brookline, MA 02445 Tel: 617.277.4777 Web: brooklinegreenspace.org Board Members BGSA Annual Meeting conservation restriction in Concord is retained Officers in perpetuity for one or more of these uses: Arlene Mattison, President “Zoning Tools that can protect Open Space” was Anita Johnson, Vice President agriculture, recreation, park land, conservation. Marian Lazar, V.P.-Publications the title of Marcia Rasmussen’s lecture at the Deirdre Buckley, Secretary Two other factors have influenced Concord’s Ron Brown, Treasurer BGSA annual meeting April 5th. Rasmussen, the open space preservation successes. First, the Directors Director of the Planning Division for Concord, Tony Andreadis zoning bylaw requires a minimum of 25% open Harry Bohrs discussed three successful case studies. Concord Frank Caro is a semi-rural town feeling the pressures of space in all new developments. The second D. Ernest Cook Anne Covert increased land value and development. The factor is that money is set aside each year in the Gina Crandell Capital Improvements Plan (CIP) for future land Rob Daves community has expressed a strong desire to Mary Dewart acquisitions. When farmland or property with Hugh Mattison maintain open space, especially farm land. Merelice Passing the Community Preservation Act (CPA) open space value is put up for sale, the town may Ryan Pace Fred Perry has provided funding to help reach this goal. have the right of first refusal. By setting aside Linda Phelke funds each year, money is available when land Deborah Rivers But land preservation in Concord goes beyond Lucy Robb comes on the market. Such a proactive approach Ronny Sydney the financial aspect. The core of the open space Don Weitzman preservation program is a cooperative and often in planning can be a model for Brookline. Bruce Wolff pro-active process between town and land owner. Advisors As Rasmussen said, “Where’s there’s a will, Michael Berger The Planning Division has acted as facilitator in there’s a way.” The key to duplicating Concord’s Michael Dukakis Frances Shedd Fisher bringing together the elements, both financial and successes is a townwide consensus that open space Betsy Shure Gross Chobee Hoy zoning, that have allowed Concord to preserve preservation is vital to creating a good quality of Member Organizations open space and family farms. Land under a life for all citizens. Brookline Farmers’ Market Brookline Soccer Club Award recipients at the annual meeting. Brookline Village Coalition At left: Gail Fenton receiving the Brookline Youth Baseball Campaign to Preserve St. Aidan’s Environmental Leadership Award from Chestnut Hill Garden Club president Arlene Mattison for volunteer Chestnut Hill Village Alliance work in BGSA’s Environmental Learning Climate Change Action Brookline Fisher Hill Association Project. At right: Janice Kahn and Tony Friends of Billy Ward Playground Andreadis received the Green Umbrella Friends of Boylston Playground Assoc. Award for Chestnut Hill Village Friends of Brookline Reservoir Alliance’s efforts to improve Route 9 Friends of Carlton Street Footbridge Friends of Corey Hill Park in Chestnut Hill. Friends of Cypress Field Friends of Dane Park Friends of Emerson Garden [ADVERTISEMENT] Friends of Fairsted Friends of Griggs Park Friends of Hall’s Pond Friends of Harry Downes Field Friends of Hoar Sanctuary Friends of Larz Anderson Park Friends of Lawrence Park Friends of Leverett Pond Friends of Linden Park Friends of Littlefield Park Friends of Lost Pond Friends of Minot Rose Garden Friends of Monmouth Park Friends of the Muddy River Friends of the Old Burying Ground Friends of Sargent Pond Garden Club of Brookline High Street Hill Association Lincoln School PTO Landscape Committee Linden Parks Association Museum of Transportation Putterham Garden Club Salisbury Road-Corey Farms Neighborhood Association Executive Director Edward Hsieh PLACE Production Marian Lazar BGSA is a non-profit, tax-exempt organization under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Donations are tax deductible. 2 Open Space Planning: A Look Back at the Past 5 Years town’s Open Space Plan provides a h Passage of a Town Wetlands By-Law which framework for goals and planning for a increases the purview of the Conservation Afive year period. This document, required Commission to 150 feet around wetlands, by the Commonwealt h in order to be eligible further protecting our waterways and for certain funding and grants from the state, is a nature sanctuaries valuable tool in understanding current conditions As we move into tighter and tighter financial and assessing progress or needs. Brookline times, a strong Plan becomes that much more GreenSpace Alliance is co-chairing, with the vital. Setting out easily understandable goals that Conservation Commission, the Town committee the entire community can embrace makes it easier delegated the task of drafting for Selectmen’s to make the case for open space improvements approval the next Open Space Plan. and to ensure more buy-in by elected officials. It As Brookline is nearing the end of the 5 year cycle, is important to recognize that investments and it is a time for reflection and goal-setting for the improvements will be for naught if we do not future. Here is a short list of some of the successes maintain them, and provisions need to be made in and ongoing progress that can be traced back to future budgets for protecting the investments made the Open Space Plan 2005 and the related planning in our open spaces. While the Division of Parks documents, the Parks and Recreation Master Plan and Open Space budget has remained a somewhat and the Comprehensive Plan: constant percentage of the total Town budget from h Acquisition of the State-owned portion of 2002 to the present, at a minimum of 1.35%, the the Fisher Hill Reservoir which will result in fiscal 2011 budget shows a decrease to 1.29% of the a positive net gain to the Town-owned public total. Hopefully, this is not a trend downward, but open space in Brookline it does represent a loss of critical positions in the management and maintenance of our open spaces Fisher Hill Reservoir Development of a former town landfill into h and green infrastructure. Skyline Park, which adds public open space and playing field And even more concerning is that while open space is a major contributor to the health of Application of the Beacon Street Master Plan h our environment and community, Brookline’s to guide the Beacon Street Transportation reality is that over 50% of our undeveloped land Improvements Project to provide a better is privatly owned. There is the looming threat pedestrian and bike-friendly greenway that as money gets tighter, the many private between open spaces owners of large unprotected open spaces will h Progress on the Carlton Street Footbridge reconsider their previous informal commitments restoration which will provide an additional to keep these spaces undeveloped and cash in improved pedestrian access point into our those resources. Brookline does not currently open space system have a proactive land acquisition mechanism. h Adoption of policies which discourage use of Challenges certainly lie ahead. invasive plant materials and that encourage We hope that you take a moment to reflect on the planting of native species achievements of the past half-decade. Then join h Creation of a Town Conservation Restriction us in facing the coming challenges to protecting Policy which streamlines the process for the Town our natural areas, and participate in the planning to accept conservation restrictions and can help process currently underway. protect private parcels that would otherwise be Editor’s Note: BGSA also co-chaired the Brookline developed, to instead be protected by forward- Open Space Plan 2005 and has been working since looking stewards of the environment then with the Division of Parks and Open Space, the h Completion of renovations of Dane Park Park and Recreation Commission and Conservation and Harry Downes Field Commission to ensure that as many as possible of the goals set forth in the 2005 Plan are reached.