The 47 Spy Pond Lane agenda item will be at 8:15pm tomorrow, Thursday, 10/18/18 in the Lyons rooms at Town Hall.  Once again, our best chance of exerting influence is to show up in large numbers. If you last registered your attendance before Oct 4, please do so again at https://linkto.run/p/BHIRQ8DD as this is a new attendance poll.  If you are able to contribute to legal expenses, please donate at https://www.gofundme.com/protect-spy-pond.  As we had done in 2016, we are using the services of attorney Elizabeth Pyle, whose involvement is already making a difference.  

To recap the issue, Seaver construction plans to build two large new houses deep within the 100' buffer zone around Spy Pond, where there previously had been a single small house entirely outside the buffer zone.  In 2016, the Con Comm unanimously rejected Seaver's proposal. Earlier this year, Seaver resubmitted the exact same plan and was again rejected. Seaver then filed a lawsuit. Rather than fighting in court to uphold the Con Comm's decision, the town agreed to settle with Seaver for only minor changes to the plan, as shown in this diagram: https://goo.gl/3SMrdk.   As evident from the drawings, the houses are still massive and the 100' buffer zone intrusion is still substantial. Our position, which stems from the Arlington ByLaw and Regulations, is that there exist reasonable alternatives, for example, two smaller houses with zero or minimal intrusion into the buffer zone.  

If the current settlement is allowed to pass, this will cause harm to an already stressed Spy Pond and also sets a terrible precedent for future construction on Spy Pond, Mystic Lake, and other Arlington wetlands areas.  It sends a signal to all developers that conservation regulations can be steamrolled with legal threats. We are not against development but want thoughtful development that considers the health of our treasured Spy Pond. Public interest and opposition to this situation are essential.  Please plan to attend and express your views.

We must make sure that those in town government who have decision-making power enforce Arlington’s Wetlands Protection Bylaw and Regulations, and uphold the interests of our community. Our primary goal in this round is to make sure that the Conservation Commission simply enforce its own decisions.

We are a small group of neighbors.  Thus far these neighbors have funded the attorney costs. However, we now need to raise additional funds for this legal work so that we can put up the strong fight needed to support the Conservation Commission to enforce its own regulations. Please consider making a contribution as you feel comfortable. No amount it too small. Any unused funds will be donated to the Friends of Spy Pond Park whose values and work align with our objectives.  Please donate here https://www.gofundme.com/protect-spy-pond.