Newton Mayor To Update City On Plans To Save Webster Woods

NEWTON, MA — The mayor looks set to announce next steps in her effort to acquire Webster Woods, a nearly 18 acre parcel of woodland that was once owned by Congregation Mishkan Tefila until it sold the property including an additional 7 acres with its temple and parking lot to Boston College in 2016.

Neighbors - including the mayor - have been concerned that the woods, which sit along the state-owned Hammond Pond Parkway in Chestnut Hill and connect to the city owned Webster Conservation Area, the Hammond Pond Reservation and the Cohen Conservation Area, will be developed by Boston College. So, on Sept. 18 the mayor announced she was taking steps to save Webster Woods, permanently.

Two years after BC bought the land, the college began using the former temple buildings for performance, rehearsal space and as a retreat center, investing in more than $5 million to make repairs to the buildings and another $1.5 million to repair a sewer line, according to the college. College officials have said they have no plans to develop the land.

But Newton officials say the college hasn't made steps to permanently reserve the land, either. Boston College is exempt from many local zoning rules under law. And in early 2019, construction began on a road salt storage facility on the rear parking lot of the property.

So Fuller approached the Community Preservation Committee for funding the purchase through the board’s open space funding reserve. That money, which comes from taxes, may only be used for land preservation, outdoor recreation facilities, historic preservation, or affordable housing, she said.

A formal request to the preservation committee and more details are set to be made this week at the Newton Community Preservation Committee's meeting Thursday at City Hall.

The move is proving popular among a cast of residents who have been petitioning City Hall to ensure the land stays protected since before Boston College bought the property.

Environmentalist and Co-Chair of the Friends of Webster Woods Ken Kimmell who is on the Webster Woods Advisory Panel, along with Newton Conservators, environmentalists, Community Preservation Committee and Chief Environmental planner said he thinks the mayor is doing the right thing by Newton.

"Webster Woods is the largest tract of contiguous open space in Newton and has long been top on the list for acquisition priorities," he wrote Patch in an email. "Ensuring city ownership will protect this land for generations to come and ensure that it remains a wonderful resource for all of Newton. "

But not everyone is thrilled.

"I have engaged in multiple conversations with Boston College over the past year and a half about reaching an agreement allowing Newton to purchase these woods," said the mayor in a statement. "They see this land as critical to their future, but we know it is critical to ours."

Boston College Spokesperson Jack Dunn said the school is prepared for a fight.

"We are disappointed with the Mayor's decision, which we believe is contrary to the best interests of all involved, and we intend to oppose it using all means possible. The City of Newton had an opportunity to purchase the 25-acre parcel in 2016 and chose not to do so. Within the past year, we offered options to the Mayor that included a land swap, and she did not respond to our proposal," he said in a statement.

"An eminent domain seizure is an extreme measure that will undermine confidence in the Mayor and the City of Newton in the eyes of all property owners. It is also an expensive proposition that will be borne by the taxpayers of Newton. Boston College is the largest employer in Newton and we have several thousand alumni and parents who live in the city and vote regularly in its elections. Their voices will be heard in opposing the Mayor's decision."

The mayor's plans indicate that she's focused on the taking of the woods, not the temple or parking lots. It's unclear how much the acquisition will cost.

The land was part of the state reservation until 1954, when the state sold it to the temple for $400 an acre. In 2016, Boston College paid $20 million for the property, or roughly $870,000 per acre.

The nearly 18 acres of land contribute to the 88 acres of forest on either side of it and makes up the largest contiguous forest in Newton and includes a diverse eco-system and habitat of woods, rocky ledges and vernal pools. Bikers, runners and bird watchers can be regularly found along the forest paths.

Fuller said she's still open to "achieving a mutually acceptable agreement" with the college, even as she works with the Community Preservation Committee, the Conservation Commission, and the City Council to provide the necessary authority and funding to acquire the woods.

Click here for this meeting's full agenda:

More info on Webster Woods can be found here.

Patch reporter Jenna Fisher can be reached at Jenna.Fisher@patch.com or by calling 617-942-0474. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram (@ReporterJenna).