State Officials File Bill to Protect Nearby Kessler Woods

Photo via newtonconservators.org

Massachusetts State Rep. Ed Coppinger (D-West Roxbury), State Rep. Frank Smizik (D-Brookline) and State Sen. Mike Rush (D-West Roxbury) have filed a bill that aims to conserve part of the Saw Mill Brook in Kessler Woods, which runs through undeveloped land bordered by West Roxbury, Brookline and Newton.

The bill, “An Act Relative to the Saw Mill Brook in the Counties of Suffolk, Norfolk and Middlesex,” calls for the Saw Mill Brook to have a riverfront area of 1,000 feet in any undeveloped area, providing that the riverfront section does not apply to parcels of land developed before Dec. 30, 2004, officials said in a recent news release.

The three officials filed the bill in response to concerns from West Roxbury and brookline residents about a proposed Chestnut Hill Realty development project on a piece of Kessler Woods property that had been previously owned by Cornerstone Corporation. Kessler Woods is currently not considered to be conservation land.

When initially purchased by Cornerstone, the city of Newton agreed on a building desgin to ensure the natural features of the land were not destroyed by future development, according to officials.

The proposed building, which would be for residential purposes, was meant to hold 62 condo units comprising 131 bedrooms and 146 parking spaces. Chestnut Hill Realty subsequently expanded the plan to include 80 units with 136 bedroom sand 160 parking spaces, an increase in occupancy by about 20 percent. The proposed project also calls for a building with three and a half stories, compared to two stories as in the original plan.

“Any and all development that takes place in our community has to take into consideration the natural environment they are in,” Coppinger said in a statement. “This bill will help ensure the waterway and neighborhood will not be affected.”

Added Smizik, “Developers need to know that we value nature as an integral part of the health and well-being of our communities. This bill will ensure that the entirety of the Saw Mill Brook is protected if a residential building is constructed on the Kessler Woods Property.”

To learn more about Kessler woods, visit newtonconservators.org.