Hey...

After lots of meetings and long hours working to help shape the future of my neighborhood, I've come to a realization: the process needed to be exposed (how luminous of me...). Our city, it's councilors, the processes that shapes the future of our neighborhoods, our city needed to be exposed. Too many things during the last year have boggled my mind. Too many things seemingly done behind closed doors. Public meetings, committees, sub-committees are only window dressing. So, over the next three days I will describe the process as I've lived it. What I think of it and how you, me, us, residents, neighbors, tax payers, voters can change things around (yes I have the solution... lol).

Also included are a set of link to the minutes of the East Cambridge Planing Team during which the petition was presented and discussed. I highly recommend reading them, it helps read between the lines.

February 27 2008: http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dfj5mqmw_97d5jqp9g7
April 9 2008: http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dfj5mqmw_989gzbbgcn
April 26, 2008: http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dfj5mqmw_99hgfx3t27
June 11, 2008: http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dfj5mqmw_100fxn78ccs
July 23, 2008: http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dfj5mqmw_101hcbqqrdb
August 12, 2008: http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dfj5mqmw_102g6xvswc8
Noise Neighborhood Report: http://docs.google.com/Presentation?id=dfj5mqmw_103nwtfdfcz

How things started...

About a year ago Alexandria Real Estate (ARE), the biggest land owner in East Cambridge, came to the East Cambridge Planning Team (ECPT), to present its rezoning petition. The presentation went well, starting with the offer of a park ARE asked the community for its input. They wanted to make sure this rezoning petition fitted the neighborhood's needs and was within East Cambridge Area Planing Study (ECAPS) requirements, with certain exception (height, density,...to name a few). Kind of contradictory but they certainly got the ears of the community. (Refer to ECPT minutes of February 27 here above very informative..)

During the next few months a subcommittee, which welcomed all members of the community, was formed by ECPT to keep abreast of the project, understand its impact and come up with a set of recommendations to be presented to the community.
Early on ARE was an active participant in the subcommittee. It always seemed kind of strange...(they were later ask not to attend anymore, which they did) but they wanted to participate, be involved, they projected the image of a socially conscious corporate entity (ie: Ben&Jerry's). We bought it... (Someone was asking for our help, how could we refuse?).

The progress of the subcommittee were reported to community on a regular basis (Please read minutes of meetings provided here above). Things were looking up, even if some were still very much against this massive development. Slowly but surely, we, the community, were getting a better grasp of what was needed, if and how ARE's petition met these needs, what we had to ask for these needs to be met. After, a heavily attended meeting in August, at the Kennedy School, the city finally decided to enter the game. A steering committee, chaired by councilor Murphy and Maher, was set up and now a tri-partied review started, the committee includes members of ARE and the East Cambridge community. In September of 2008, ARE refiled it's petition. More time was needed to review it.

Lots of time... lots efforts was/is spent on this petition... efforts and monies that could be much better allocated... To think that this is all for ARE's sole profit... Until I see any substantial mitigation, it's for ARE's sole profit... Damn...
I went to check their financials (http://finance.yahoo.com/q/bs?s=ARE8) this project is worth to them, just the rezoning, more then $250 million... no wonder all concerned about monies want this to pass...

Why are we considering this Rezoning petition... oh yeah they proposed a park... we do need a park ... badly... since the city can't provide one... let ask the developers...

Anyway, more discussions, more efforts...December arrived...