CRWA CHALLENGES BOSTON UNIVERSITY’S BID FOR ESPLANADE SITE

Boston, MA - Charles River Watershed Association (CRWA) said today that it has joined forces with neighborhood groups and other environmental organizations to block legislation to cede land on the Charles River Esplanade to Boston University (BU) for construction of a new sailing pavilion. The proposed 1.45-acre site is prime riverfront parkland heavily used by strollers, joggers, bicyclists, sunbathers, in-line skaters and others.

CRWA contends that before public parkland is diverted to private use, a comprehensive environmental review of the site and alternative locations must take place with opportunities for public input, according to CRWA’s Executive Director Robert L. Zimmerman. To date, neither BU nor the Metropolitan District Commission, manager of the Esplanade, has sought full public comment or evaluation of the project, despite a formal request from CRWA.

“This comes down to appropriate process,” Zimmerman says. “The Charles River Esplanade is probably the most important urban riverfront parkland on the East Coast. BU’s actions evidence a lack of sensitivity to fact that this is public land held in trust for the citizens of Massachusetts. For the university to expect to lease 1.45 acres on the widest stretch between the Hatch Shell and Herter Park without first conducting a thorough alternatives analysis and public review is unconscionable.”

Senate Bill 1613, introduced in the Massachusetts Legislature in December by Senator Robert E. Travaglini, would allow BU to lease the Esplanade site for 25 years and to construct a 6,000 square foot building and docks without either environmental or public review of the project. The proposed site, with sweeping views of the Charles and Back Bay, bows out into the river adjacent to Sherborn St. between the BU Bridge and the Mass. Ave. Bridge. The area is in constant use by local residents and visitors from dawn to dusk in the warm weather months.

A hearing before the Joint Committee on State Administration on the bill is scheduled for April 23rd at 11 AM. CRWA and others will testify against the bill and urge the committee to defer action until a complete environmental analysis has been conducted in accordance with the Massachusetts Environmental Policy Act, the state’s “no net loss policy” for public lands, and the public trust doctrine.

“CRWA recognizes that the university’s boathouse may not be in the best location,” Zimmerman conceded. “Our quarrel is with BU’s lack of due process in choosing a new site. The university’s offer to provide public programs and amenities at the new boathouse is a step in the right direction.”

CRWA’s partners in its efforts are the Bay State Road Neighborhood Association, Beacon Hill Civic Association, Charles River Conservancy, Conservation Law Foundation, Environmental League of Massachusetts, Esplanade Association, Massachusetts Audubon Society, and Neighborhood Association of Back Bay.

Founded in 1965, CRWA is an environmental non-profit organization dedicated to protecting the health, beauty, and public accessibility of the Charles River.