Tag: Joshua Smith

  • ZBA approves Boston Gas Co. proposal to rebuild facilities

    The Zoning Board of Appeals approved the Boston Gas Co.’s proposal to rebuild a distribution station in Arlington during their Tuesday meeting.

    The zoning board agreed that the project met the criteria for a special permit, meaning that it is essential to the neighborhood and it is not detrimental to their welfare.

    During the hearing for the proposal, Joshua Smith, the lawyer representing National Grid, explained that new features were incorporated into the site design based on comments from the Arlington Zoning Board and community members.

    The original plan had only one species of plant for landscaping while the revised plan includes more plantings and a more diverse array of species around the site. The new plan also uses a different kind of security fencing. The original idea was to use chain link fencing while the new fencing is made of wrought iron.

    Marina Popova, a member of Mothers Out Front who offered her comments during the hearing, said that the neighbors are considering an appeal over the decision.

    When Popova first heard that the Zoning Board approved the gas company’s proposal, she said that was very disappointed. (The area residents wrote a letter that was published on Feb. 9. You can read it here.)

    Popova said that the updated landscaping plan was an improvement, but believed that it was a poor substitute for the loss of trees in the area.

    “I feel that the voices of the neighborhood were not heard at all,” said Popova.

  • Neighbors oppose expansion of Boston Gas Co. facilities

    Boston Gas Co.’s plan to rebuild a distribution station in Arlington is drawing opposition from neighbors.

    Boston Gas is seeking a special permit from the Arlington Zoning Board of Appeals to rebuild a distribution station and expand its facilities on Washington Street. The company needs permission from the town before it can start construction.

    The Arlington Zoning Board of Appeals will discuss the Boston Gas proposal at its meeting scheduled for tonight, Feb. 24.

    The so-called “take station” receives gas from a transmission pipeline and processes it for customers, Joshua Smith, a lawyer representing Boston Gas, said at a Jan. 13 zoning board meeting.

    Smith and Jeremy Butler, the project engineer, said the take station at 305 Washington St., which was constructed in the 1950s and rebuilt in 1997, needs to be replaced.

    Neighbors wrote a letter objecting to the proposal. You can read it here.

    The company wants to build a new station next to the old one, at 307 Washington St., in order to meet National Grid and federal code standards. National Grid is the parent company of Boston Gas.

    During the January meeting, Smith explained that some of the equipment in the facility needs to be replaced and moved above ground for safety and security purposes. Butler said the new take station will serve most of Arlington.

    The site is about two acres, and about a third of an acre of trees would have to be cut down. The company hopes to start construction this summer.

    Boston Gas officials would not speak to a reporter but said in an emailed statement: “The project is focused on making critical safety upgrades for our existing customers and does not expand our gas infrastructure.”

    Members of Mothers Out Front, a climate justice organization, and other residents plan to submit a petition requesting that the zoning board reject the gas company’s proposal. Nearly 500 people have signed the petition.

    “We hope that that will demonstrate to the zoning board that it’s really not in the interests of our neighbors in the town,” said Marina Popova, a member of Mothers Out Front who co-authored the petition.

    Popova, who lives near the site, said she is worried about the loss of nature and the risk to the wildlife.

    ”It will cause harm to the neighborhood, by cutting and eliminating the mature trees and mature woods,” Popova said.

    Claire Moodie, a co-coordinator of the Arlington chapter of Mothers Out Front and one of the authors of the petition, acknowledged that safe gas distribution is important but said she wishes that the company would renovate its current site instead of building a new facility that would cut down trees in the area.

    “There was definitely a strong concern from those immediate neighbors that walk their dogs through the area and just appreciate the natural habitat,” Moodie said of the neighbors who spoke at the zoning board meeting in January.

    Brian Guzik, who signed the Mothers Out Front petition, lives a few hundred yards from the proposed location of the facility.

    “I was a little bit surprised, I guess, to the extent to which the modifications were going to be made,” Guzik said. “I mean, there’s kids that walk through there to get to school.”

    Karen Samuelson, who lives a few houses down from 307 Washington St., said that she would be saddened by the loss of nature in the area. “It’s a really lovely green space in our neighborhood, and there’s lots of wildlife here,” Samuelson said.

    Stephanie Levinson, a neighbor who has resided in her home for 40 years, lives next to the Washington St. property. ”When I was told that they were going to be taking all kinds of trees down, I was really distressed,” Levinson said, “not only for myself, but for this whole area, because there aren’t a lot of green areas.”

    Danielle Dean, who lives next to the wooded area, said she appreciates the scenery that the environment near her house provides. She said her kids sled in the area and collect worms for fishing.

    “It feels like it’s just a little reprieve from the densely populated rest of the neighborhood,” Dean said.

    This story, published Feb. 24, 2026, is part of a partnership between Your Arlington and the Boston University Department of Journalism.