Bike Cameras Could Make Riding Safer

 Bicycles and bike paths, Newsletter, November/December 2023  Comments Off on Bike Cameras Could Make Riding Safer
Nov 012023
 
Bike Cameras Could Make Riding Safer

By Sumner Brown Bicycling is not perfectly safe. Belmont’s approach to handling bicycles on roads is evolving, and some bicycle riders could improve their habits. But there is another problem that I have been thinking about after I spent three weeks in hospitals recovering from a hit-and-run bike incident: bicycle cameras. While I was confined to Spauldingz Rehabilitation Hospital in Charlestown, I concluded that my mistake was that I did not have a camera on my bicycle that could have recorded what happened and the license plate of my attacker. (Incidentally, you can tell you were attacked during road rage [READ MORE]

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Waltham Field Station Update

 Environment, Newsletter, November/December 2023  Comments Off on Waltham Field Station Update
Nov 012023
 

Waltham Field Station Update By John Dieckmann The Waltham Fields Community Farm (WFCF) has been attempting to negotiate a lease for the continued use of the acreage at the former U Mass Field Station on Beaver Street. The Waltham City Council approved the lease on June 26.  However, the conditions in the lease would have left the WCFC in a financially unsustainable condition, so WFCF is attempting to negotiate better terms.  Unfortunately, there has been no movement from the city in response, leaving matters in limbo. Meanwhile, WFCF has been operating its programs at a reduced scale. Stacey Daley, the [READ MORE]

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Nov 012023
 
How to Make Decisions About Heat Pumps

By Will Brownsberger Edited and reprinted with permission from Brownsberger’s blog, willbrownsberger.com/heat-pumps. Many people are seeking to shrink their personal carbon footprint. Many also seek to participate constructively in the energy systems transitions necessary to achieve net zero carbon emissions. There is a broad consensus among climate planners in Massachusetts that we need to electrify heating in buildings. However, each building raises unique challenges. This article attempts to summarize the environmental and consumer considerations for people seeking to electrify home heating. Many of these issues are explored in more depth in this heat pump outline. Several good heat pump applications [READ MORE]

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Residents Restore Royal Road Woods Ecosystem

 Environment, Newsletter, November/December 2023, Plants  Comments Off on Residents Restore Royal Road Woods Ecosystem
Nov 012023
 
Residents Restore Royal Road Woods Ecosystem

By Vincent Stanton, Jr. and Pamela Andrews Belmont Conservation Volunteers (BCV) formed earlier this year to work on “restoring our natural spaces for everyone to enjoy.” Volunteer efforts have focused on reining in the extensive and expanding invasive species displacing native plants which support local insects, birds, and mammals.  The BCV emerged from pioneering volunteer work by Leonard Katz on Lone Tree Hill. (See “Spare a Thought for Lone Tree Hill”, BCF Newsletter, September 2022.)  To expand that work to town-owned land, Katz and Sustainable Belmont leader Dean Hickman obtained permission from both the Select Board and, because many of [READ MORE]

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Profiles in Belmont: Joe Rancatore

 Newsletter, November/December 2023  Comments Off on Profiles in Belmont: Joe Rancatore
Nov 012023
 
Profiles in Belmont: Joe Rancatore

By Elissa Ely “Ranc’s chocolate ice cream can comfort the distressed, alleviate pain, and stand in for antidepressants if you have lousy medical insurance.” (Yelp) Somewhere in the labyrinth of Facebook, where even unwinding a string won’t help you find your way out, there is a photo of Joe Rancatore sitting on a straight chair in front of a freezer of pre-packed ice cream pints in his Belmont store. He is listening seriously to a little girl in a princess gown and accessories, and she is speaking to him with the same intensity. It’s the perfect communion between a business [READ MORE]

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Opinion: Why Pay Property Taxes When You Can Get a Tax Break?

 Newsletter, November/December 2023, Open Space  Comments Off on Opinion: Why Pay Property Taxes When You Can Get a Tax Break?
Nov 012023
 
Opinion: Why Pay Property Taxes When You Can Get a Tax Break?

By Max Colice Over the past 10 years, the Belmont Country Club has received tax breaks totaling more than $4 million on its property tax bills thanks to a state law called Chapter 61B. Chapter 61B allows country clubs and other private nonprofit organizations to get a 75% discount on property taxes for recreational land, including golf courses. Belmont taxpayers pay for this enormous tax benefit. That’s because when one taxpayer’s bill goes down, everyone else’s bill goes up to offset that reduction. In other words, every taxpayer in Belmont has been subsidizing the Belmont Country Club’s property taxes for [READ MORE]

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Opinion: Belmont Needs Business-Friendly Zoning

 Construction and Housing, Newsletter, November/December 2023, Parking  Comments Off on Opinion: Belmont Needs Business-Friendly Zoning
Nov 012023
 
Opinion: Belmont Needs Business-Friendly Zoning

By Taylor Yates and Paul Joy Belmont has zoned itself into a financial corner. Fiscally healthy towns balance their tax bases between commercial and residential real estate, Belmont does not. Belmont receives only 5% of its property tax revenue from commercial real estate, whereas fiscally strong towns receive 20% or more. We receive so little revenue from commercial real estate because the few areas in town where it is allowed suffer from overly burdensome regulation. The Economic Development Committee and Vision 21 Implementation Committee were charged by the Select Board to review Belmont’s zoning bylaws and to look for ways [READ MORE]

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November/December BCF Newsletter

 Newsletter, November/December 2023  Comments Off on November/December BCF Newsletter
Nov 012023
 
November/December BCF Newsletter

Read the November December 2023 Newsletter PDF In this issue: Vision for a Better Belmont: Elizabeth Dionne This is the first of a new series of interviews with Belmont stakeholders about their vision for Belmont’s future. Read more. Opinion: Belmont Needs Business-Friendly Zoning Belmont has zoned itself into a financial corner. Fiscally healthy towns balance their tax bases between commercial and residential real estate, Belmont does not. Read more.    Opinion: Why Pay Property Taxes When You Can Get a Tax Break? Over the past 10 years, the Belmont Country Club has received tax breaks totaling more than $4 million [READ MORE]

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 Posted by at 9:23 am
Nov 012023
 
Vision for a Better Belmont: Elizabeth Dionne

This is the first of a new series of interviews with Belmont stakeholders about their vision for Belmont’s future. This interview was conducted by Jeffrey North. It has been edited for length and clarity. – Ed. BCF: Congratulations on your election to the Select Board earlier this year. What have you learned about how Belmont works—either well or not so well? Overall, having served in an official capacity in Belmont for the past seven-and-a-half years (Town Meeting, Warrant Committee, Community Preservation Committee), I am pleasantly surprised that there are not many surprises. While municipal governance can be daunting and sometimes [READ MORE]

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