Letter: We stand by our statements on Wellesley Country Club plans.

By Lemonia Fotiadis, Phil and Laura Fragasso, Helen and Robert Sagan
Wicked Local Wellesley
Posted Dec 20, 2010 @ 10:50 AM


Wellesley — In the Townsman Forum article of Dec.s 9, Wellesley Country Club (WCC) stated that in a previous Forum article published on Oct. 14 “the writer made several inaccurate statements regarding Wellesley Country Club’s application for a new maintenance building.” We did not.

On Dec 9, the same day that WCC touted their environmental stewardship in the Townsman, the Wetlands Protection Committee determined that WCC was in violation of wetland protection laws for dumping in protected wetland areas adjacent to Rosemary Brook without a permit. The committee announced they would issue a Cease-and-Desist letter to Wellesley Country Club.

WCC seems to steadfastly ignore the fundamental issue in their development proposal — building multiple maintenance facilities in wetland-protected areas when alternative, less-disruptive locations are available on their property.

The proposed construction is taking place in a wetland resource area as stated in our previous column. A buffer zone itself is a wetland resource area under the Wellesley Wetlands Protection Bylaw and the Riverfront Area is a wetland resource area under the Commonwealth’s Wetland Protection Act. These resource areas serve many important environmental functions, including the protection of public or private water supplies and water pollution prevention.

The club seems to believe that buffer zone impacts occur only where shovels hit earth, piles are driven, vegetation is removed and open space is paved over. The authors stand by their statement that all of the bylaw buffer zone -- and indeed areas far beyond the buffer zone -- will be impacted by the construction of these facilities. The proposed maintenance facility alone is a two-story building as long as the entire length of the façade of Wellesley’s Roche Bros. and Citizen’s Bank combined — approximately 245 feet.

State-of-the-art equipment can fail, accidents happen, and mistakes are made. As such, we believe that no unnecessary risk should be taken in this environmentally sensitive Riverfront Area that is so close to our water supply.

At the Wetlands Protection Committee meeting on Dec. 9, Wellesley Country Club representatives acknowledged that the club does use pesticides and fertilizers for their turf management. The equipment that WCC will be storing and maintaining at the proposed facility will be used for applying pesticides and fertilizers or maintaining turf that was treated with said chemicals. While we applaud the club’s efforts to design a state of the art facility, we assert that there is absolutely no reason to expose our water supply and wetland resources to such a risk given that no technological solution is fool proof.

In the Townsman article “Battle over Rosemary Brook intensifies” of Nov, 24, Paul DeYesso, a Wellesley Country Club representative, said, “It’s obviously not the only place this could go, but from an environmental impact standpoint, we feel this is the best location” The authors disagree. The best location is a location away from the Rosemary Brook Riverfront Area where four of the town’s seven drinking water wells draw from the aquifer and contribute to 84 percent of the town’s drinking water.

Progess Update

Dear Friends of Brookside,

The Wellesley Townsman is conducting a poll on whether or not the Country Club should be allowed to build in our Wetland Resource Areas. (Please vote No!)

The article also has 3 maps of the area showing the proposed construction sites. Do check it out:

http://www.wickedlocal.com/wellesley/features/x1757253642/Maps-show-area-where-Wellesley-Country-Club-plans-to-locate-facilities

Wetlands Protection Committee Meeting, Thursday December 9, 2010:

The environment had a "win" at Thursday night's WPC meeting. The Wellesley Country Club was cited for illegal dumping without a permit within the 200' Riverfront Buffer Zone, and was issued a cease and desist order. The area is located behind our Community Gardens.

http://wellesley.patch.com/articles/country-club-issued-cease-and-desist-by-wetlands-protection-committee

We had a really great showing of people in that small NRC office Thursday night. It made a difference. To those who attended, thank you for taking time out of your busy schedules, especially during the holiday season.

Please also consider writing a letter to the editor at the Townsman. We are happy to answer any questions you may have about the process.

Happy Holidays!

www.friendsofbrookside.org

Please, Vote NO and help us STOP this construction project in our riverfront buffer zone:

http://www.wickedlocal.com/wellesley/features/x1757253642/Maps-show-area-where-Wellesley-Country-Club-plans-to-locate-facilities?photo=1

WELLESLEY WETLANDS MEETING

WELLESLEY WETLANDS PROTECTION COMMITTEE
MEETING AGENDA
Thursday, December 9, 2010
Selectman's Meeting Room, Town Hall, 525 Washington Street, Wellesley, MA


PUBLIC HEARINGS/APPOINTMENTS

7:00pm Discussion – Wellesley Country Club
The discussion shall involve the WPC’s review of alleged violations of wetlands laws at Club along Brookside Road.

Progress Update

Our “Walk” event was very successful and made the front-page of The Wellesley Townsman on November 18. We had over 110 people in attendance and between the event itself, and handing out flyers at Roche Bros. and the RDF beforehand - - we got petition signatures from over 230 people representing 92 different street addresses in Wellesley. These results were submitted to the Wetland Protection Committee at the last meeting on November 18. We plan to resume a town-wide petition campaign soon and will need volunteers so please stay tuned.

The Wetland Protection Committee has officially contracted with peer reviewer Beals & Thomas, Inc. to assess critical components of the proposed project as well as citizen input and concerns. A copy of the contract that includes the scope of services is attached.

Unfortunate news, a member of the Wetland Protection Committee, Carlos Gimeno, has resigned from the committee. The Wetland Protection Committee is looking for a replacement so if you or someone you know is interested please inquire/apply.

Good news, we have been approved to have an informational, educational table at the upcoming Town Meeting on Dec 6 where we will to share facts about the proposed building project and environmental considerations.

The next Wetland Protection Committee meeting is scheduled for Dec 9 at Town Hall. Please attend if possible. We will send out information confirming the time and agenda as soon as it is published.

We also have a new URL http://www.friendsofbrookside.org. It will take you directly to our blog where information and articles are posted.

Thank you for your continuing support.