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Resident raises wetlands and wildlife concerns about Melrose Street parcel; item pulled from agenda
Summary
During non-agenda public comment, Beverly Foster of Melrose Street urged officials not to allow development on a wet parcel, saying trees and wildlife have been removed; staff told the Board the item was pulled from the agenda and could not be addressed at the BZA meeting and advised residents to contact the city council.
Beverly Foster, a Melrose Street resident, urged the Board of Zoning Appeals during non-agenda public comment to stop development on a parcel near her family’s property, saying the site is a wetland and that previous vegetation and wildlife have been lost.
"I just wanna say, it's a wetland. Everything sinks. And I know this is gonna happen because we own property and things have sunk into the ground," Foster said, recounting childhood memories of wildlife at the site and saying the location "was the proving grounds" where children played.
Foster told the board she believed a contractor said the build would be a private residence for himself and his parents and said she had posted about the site on social media; she also said she had contacted the mayor and city council without success. A board member responded that the agenda item had been pulled and could not be addressed at the BZA hearing. "It did get pulled from the agenda now. So that is not, that won't be a question for us in this meeting right now," a staff member said, and advised residents to take concerns to the city council.
The exchange included tense moments: board and staff members repeatedly told the speaker the BZA could not take action on an item that was not on the agenda, and at one point an official asked a commenter to stop speaking and asked them to leave the meeting after interruptions.
Because the item was removed from the BZA agenda, the board did not hear technical testimony, engineering reports, wetlands determinations or a formal permit application at this meeting. The staff directed residents with concerns to contact their city council representatives or attend city council meetings, which occur the first and third Monday of each month.
The record shows local residents remain concerned about potential impacts to wetlands, tree cover and wildlife habitat when development is proposed; the BZA did not take action on the Melrose Street parcel at this meeting.
