Dear Members of the Land Use Committee,

9 Ripley is a graceful historic house, a jewel of our neighborhood. The overwhelming majority of neighbors believes that 4 units on 9 Ripley is a mistake; that Alderman Danberg has not supported us  -- that it¡¦s simply too much density on that lot;  in aesthetic terms (sheer size), in terms of quality of life (noise pollution from 4 air conditioning units and the multiple cars, in all probibility the 8 cars, the owners will have.

I and many others believe that Newton¡¦s zoning system is broken.  We are frustrated with the aldermen¡¦s arbitrary abuse of special permits, instead of a thoughtful, accountable publicly discussed and voted on stance  ¡V and I think this should be a city-wide vote -- toward zoning and development.   I chose to live in a cluster of villages with preponderantly single family houses: not Coolidge Corner or Framingham (which route 9 seems to be becoming.)

I defer to the abutters.  If there is no recourse and that more than 1 unit must be built, I very strongly urge the aldermen to consider 2 instead.  There was unanimous  original support for this idea.  For the good of the neighborhood I think the aldermen should heed the Newton Planning Department¡¦s  important objections:

 ¡§The Planning Department is concerned that the amount of encroachment into the setbacks is incongruous with the character of the neighborhood and as a result, the project should be redesigned so as to be built in a manner that does not require this degree of relief (2).¡¨

¡§The Planning Department does not believe that there is anything about the dimensions or topography of the lot that would warrant this encroachment.  The Department recommends that the project be redesigned or scaled back so to accommodate this structure within the prescribed setbacks (4¡¨).

¡§The Planning Department does not believe that there are any characteristics of this parcel that necessitate the placement of the driveway so close to the property line (4)¡¨.

¡§[3 parking stalls on side setbacks]  The Planning Department believes that this will adversely affect the neighborhood by placing hardscape and vehicles very close to other residential properties.  The parking and circulation should be redesigned so as to avoid locating these parking stalls within the setbacks.(5).¡¨

And so on¡K

In all fairness, the developer Greg Cohen realized that his proposed architectural style was untenable, and he changed, and promised to change it even more, to better harmonize with the neighborhood.

But the problems remain.  Bottom line: If 4 units are built; the overwhelming probability is that there will be 8 cars parking at 9 Ripley.  4 units  and 8 cars is double the people and car density of the neighborhood.

I urge you to vote against the special permits.


Natasha Staller
Gary Ruvkun
120 Herrick Road
Newton