City of Newton
In Board of Alderman
RESOLUTION
August 14, 1995
Whereas,the MBTA postponed its scheduled herbicide spraying of the Riverside Line in Newton and held a Public Information Meeting on August 7, 1995, as requested by the Board of Aldermen unanimously by Resolution on July 10, 1995 (#280-95); and
Whereas, that meeting was attended by Aldermen Lipsitt, Mansfield and Parker, State Representatives Cohen and Khan, members of the Green Decade Coalition and GreenCAP, and about 30 abutters to the Riverside Line; and
Whereas, although MBTA officials presented information to demonstrate that they use an approved product and their methods of application limit the extent of the spraying, testimony was given by GreenCap members that some of the components of the herbicide are untested and their effects unproven, and by abutters that MBTA procedure had resulted in significant over spray as recently as 1994; and
Whereas, MBTA also described alternative methods of vegetation control, including limited burning, mechanical cutting, and reduced concentrations of chemicals, but rejected these alternatives for the Riverside Line; and
Whereas, most attendees at the meeting requested that some or all of the Riverside Line in . Newton be designated a 'no-spray zone,: with only one person speaking in favor of ' the spraying; and
Whereas, the MBTA officials could not indicate where 'no-spray', 'limited-spray' or "no-spray' zones were planned to be, nor would they guarantee any abutter that a requested 'no-spray“ zone would be honored; and
Whereas, the MBTA has rescheduled the herbicide spraying for the week of August 21, 1995;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Newton Board of Aldermen formally request MBTA Interim General Manager Robert L. Mabardy to cancel the planned 1995 herbicide spraying of the Riverside Branch of the Green Line, and to take part in a joint task force to explore and recommend alternatives to current MBTA chemical vegetation control methods, and to seek improved methods of communication with the public regarding these activities.
Ald. Mansfield, Parker and Lipsitt
Request for APPROVAL under Suspension of Rules
by UNANIMOUS Vote
Attest: Edward G. English, City Clerk
