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Some neighbors of Roxbury convent say turning it into school would bring too much noise, traffic, danger
By adamg on Tue, 02/22/2011 - 10:58am
Rodney Singleton posts some "guiding principles" from neighbors of St. Margarget's Convent, which the Sisters of St. Margaret are planning to sell to the Bridge Boston Charter School, which will ultimately serve up to 335 students.
The neighbors say they are worried about all the buses for what will be a citywide school in a neighborhood already full of schools and buses and even the safety of having a school on a rocky outcropping. They say they'd rather see a museum, a library or even condos on the land.
The purchaser needs to ensure that the current level of tranquility now enjoyed by the neighborhood is not substantially diminished. That very tranquility was one of the primary value propositions posed by the Convent over 20 years ago when the facility was expanded and transitioned from St. Monica's Nursing home, and it can - not be abrogated.
The purchaser must demonstrate a "community-valued" contribution. For example, the right to have a monthly Fort Hill Civic Association meeting is not a sufficient level of demonstrated community value. The Bridge Boston Charter School is not a neighborhood school, and would serve the entire city of Boston through a lottery system. There would be no guarantee that a significant portion of students (if any) would be from the Highland Park neighborhood and, thus, the value to community would be diluted.
The purchaser must maintain a residential setting that respects the historical character of the neighborhood, having no negative impact on key neighborhood features such as the William Lloyd Garrison House (situated in the compound) and the nearby Olmstead-designed Highland Park and Cochituate Standpipe.
Jonas Prang has posted a Q&A from the Sisters and a similar document from the school.
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Comments
Yes. More condos. Condos will
Yes. More condos. Condos will solve all that ails Boston! CONDO CONDO CONDOS!
How is a school not a "community-valued" contibution. Aaahhhhh.
Well
reminds me of the (apocryphal?) comment attributed to Barney Frank, back when he was in the state House, that he'd rather live next to a prison than a school, because when people get out of a prison they don't hang around the neighborhood.
Plus, depending on the state,
Plus, depending on the state, they may count as "residents" for the purpose of the census. Since they don't vote, that means your individual vote has more weight! And you get more services.
Sounds more like the
Sounds more like the neighborhood doesn't want the rest of the city's 'good fer nuthin'!" kids romping around their neighborhood after school. If this wasn't a charter school, I could understand that, BPS students aren't the best behaved kidlets by any measure. But charter students have less of a tendency to be part of the vandalize stuff and start fights crowd, so I'm not quite seeing the issue.
Condos vs Schools
I can't believe people are actually opposing a school and offering condos as a possible alternative. Everyone agrees that education is the foundation to success. Traffic is an unacceptable reason, especially in a city of Boston's size.
I see the neighborhood group
I see the neighborhood group counts Roxbury Community College as one of the schools the area is already burdened with. Are the thugs from RCC breaking into their houses and stealing their cars? Same for the O'Bryant high school. As if those kids are walking up the hill and peaking into windows. You'd think someone was trying to open a landfill next door.
Traffic not always an issue
Interesting that the Fort Hill folks are using traffic as a reason to oppose the school yet barely anyone in JP has mentioned the increased traffic the proposed Whole Foods will bring.
Maybe because it's a false comparison?
In JP, you have a supermarket replacing a supermarket. On Fort Hill, you have a school that will take kids from across the city (i.e., lots of cars and buses) vs. a convent.
A Square Peg in a Round Hole
A school does not offer significant community value when the site for the school will cause so much disruption to daily life that it would outweigh any social value.
Consider for example, placing a skyscraper next to wooden homes on a residential street.--Sound, extreme? Fine. Where exactly then is the line when a change of use will cause reasonable people to determine that a social valuable institution in one setting becomes a socially detrimental institution in another setting.
There simply is absolutely NO space for bus traffic and service delivery trucks, and absolutely no outdoor space for children to play - so much so, that the Bridge school is actually proposing to bus the children to playgrounds each day.
So some commenters-who do not even live in the neighborhood- may want to suggest that concerned neighbors that will be impacted by a significant change of use are just, NIMBY whiners. Fine, invite bridge school to build a structure next to your house.
Square pegs need Square holes to fit-