Alex Selvig Harvard DPIR comment letter.
Alex Selvig
Candidate, Boston City Council
District 9, Allston-Brighton
PO Box 35755
Brighton, MA 02135
Mr. Gerald Autler
Boston Redevelopment Authority
One City Hall Square
Boston, MA 02201 September 10, 2007
RE: Draft Project Impact Report (DPIR) for the Harvard Allston Science
Center.
Dear Gerald,
I am happy to send you my comments on the DPIR submitted by Harvard
University for their planned science complex in North Allston.
This complicated, highly technical, and incredibly large report should
be carefully and thoroughly examined. In my opinion the Task Force,
affected residents, and general public have been given insufficient
time to do so.
That being said, I have been able to give most of it careful review,
but I will concentrate on the Environmental Protection Component set
forth in section 80B-3, subsection 2 of Article 80, Development Review
and Approval.
· The height of the complex exceeds the limits set forth in the North
Allston Strategic Framework for Planning. Winds created by the
proposed buildings will exceed BRA maximum levels, as Harvard states
in Section 4.1 of their DPIR.
· Laboratory and associated waste generated is estimated by Harvard to
be 193.2 tons/year. Animal waste is referred to in DPIR Section
4.6.1.2, and lab waste referred to in DPIR Section 4.6.3. A
description of the type of animals and laboratory materials, including
any that are hazardous, has not been given. Furthermore, there is no
description of the procedures for disposal of the deceased animals or
hazardous materials.
· Noise level predictions may be inaccurate. My site visit raises
questions as to actual locations of the receivers used for the
projections. As an example, there is currently a recording device
close to the location of receiver No. 11 referenced on the report, but
it is farther away from the noise source than the one shown on DPIR
Table 4.7-2.
· Construction dust is to be controlled by "wetting agents" and the
use of covered trucks for transportation of debris (DPIR 4.11.5). My
visit coincided with the demolition of one of the buildings in the
former Windom St. Industrial Park. The "wetting agent", holding a
water hose and chatting with a coworker while demolition progressed,
did very little to stop huge clouds of dust.
· Trucks carrying debris were in most cases not covered, and idled for
long periods, violating Boston's Noise Ordinance as described in
section 4.11.6 of the DPIR. I can assure you that "reminding" drivers
not to idle, as Harvard has stated they will do, will have no effect.
Harvard should propose a viable mechanism for enforcement of the Noise
Ordinance.
· Runoff and other water ("dewatering") encountered on site will be
discharged into the Charles River (DPIR 4.11.10). I have concerns over
what pollutants or other undesirable material will be pumped into the
Charles, possibly affecting humans, flora and fauna.
· Existing infrastructure at the Massachusetts Turnpike exit for
Allston-Brighton is grossly inadequate for normal traffic. The daily
addition of several hundred large construction vehicle trips at these
severely stressed points will have a devastating, negative effect on
transportation.
· The Boston Transportation Department has publicly disagreed with
Harvard's transportation mode share estimates. It is my understanding
that 72% of the staff at the adjacent Harvard Business School drive to
work. The absence of adequate public and alternative (bike, walk)
transportation options for the area exacerbates the problem and will
pose an unacceptable burden for local residents.
· No report or assessment has been submitted detailing rodent or other
pest infestation and the ramifications for residents of disturbing
their habitats. No significant mitigation plan appears to be in place.
· There is no description of flora and/or fauna found on site, as may
be required in Art. 80 (Page 32).
These questions are by no means exhaustive, and others will no doubt
emerge. I'm sure I will have occasion to voice them in person at the
next several meetings as I fight my way through this very large
report.
I hope that my concerns and those of my fellow Allston-Brighton
residents can be addressed in a way that gives us a positive,
workable, and well-considered plan. We have great hopes that the end
result will be a revitalized North Allston capable of sustaining and
enhancing the community's quality of life as well as meeting the needs
of the University.
Sincerely yours,
Alessandro (Alex) Selvig