If we’re not careful, Boston Harbor will be walled off to those of us who are not wealthy and powerful, even though we have laws and regulations put in place to protect us. Today, CLF is taking action to ensure that the city and state cannot get away with putting private developers’ interests ahead of the public when it comes to these precious public assets.
Jun 21
2018
2018
Jun 21
2018
2018
Conservation Law Foundation Continues Fight for Public Access to Boston Waterfront
“Both the public at large and the appeal of Boston’s waterfront come out ahead when waterfront plans include ample public spaces and impose reasonable limits to height and density, as current law requires,” said Bradley Campbell, president of Conservation Law Foundation. “In this plan, the city allowed the dictates of developers to trump the rules, and the state in turn blessed the city’s approach with tortured reasoning, justifications, and trade-offs that were never even part of the public process. CLF will ask the courts to declare this plan unlawful, and end the pattern and practice of shortchanging the public trust.”
Jun 20
2018
2018
CLF plans suit to overturn new zoning that allows skyscrapers on harbor’s edge
The Conservation Law Foundation filed notice that it will challenge the plan in court, saying that it violates state law by giving developers the right to build too much along a key stretch of Boston Harbor while requiring too few public benefits in return.
Jun 18
2018
2018
Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Issues Decision on Ballot Question
“Chronic underfunding of mass transportation leaves Massachusetts residents literally stranded,” said Alyssa Rayman-Read, Vice President and Director of CLF Massachusetts. “The Commonwealth can and should have a world-class transportation system that supports economic growth while reducing congestion and pollution. Without a clear revenue stream for transportation on the ballot, our elected officials must now come up with a comprehensive approach to funding.”
Jun 15
2018
2018
Bethlehem Landfill’s Pollution of Ammonoosuc River Must Stop
Last month, on a covered bridge spanning New Hampshire’s Ammonoosuc River, I stood beside our partners from Toxics Action Center as we announced the filing of a federal lawsuit against Casella Waste Systems for ongoing water pollution from its massive landfill in Bethlehem, New Hampshire. Our suit tackles Casella’s longstanding, and continuing, violations of the…
Jun 13
2018
2018
Risky Vt. Yankee transfer should be stopped
Communities in Vermont still reeling from the toxic waste left behind in their drinking water from long-closed industrial plants understand the importance of corporate responsibility when it comes to environmental issues. Common sense protections keep polluters on the hook and money in the bank for clean-up efforts.
Jun 6
2018
2018
Proposed 600-foot tower doesn’t square with Boston’s waterfront dreams
The Conservation Law Foundation is also threatening a lawsuit if the Chiofaro tower, and a 305-foot tower on the Hook Lobster site, get a final OK.
Jun 6
2018
2018
In Boston’s booming Seaport, the namesake is also the threat
But despite the changes, there’s still no requirement for developers to follow through, complained Bradley Campbell, president of the Conservation Law Foundation, an environmental advocacy group.
“It’s a largely procedural requirement,” he said.
May 24
2018
2018
Everett’s Gateway Center Fails the Public and Violates State Law
Nearly 20 years ago, DDR Gateway LLC (DDR) promised to provide greater public access to Everett’s waterfront in exchange for a State license to build its Gateway Center shopping complex. But two decades on, the waterfront park the developer promised hasn’t fully materialized. Now CLF is asking the State to hold DDR accountable for its failures.
May 22
2018
2018
Environmental group objects to zoning that allows waterfront towers
The “private benefits your decision confers on a few private developers dwarf any public benefits being provided,” wrote Heather Miller and Peter Shelley, attorneys for the group. “Critically and fatally to your decision, nowhere do you even articulate exactly how this project primarily serves a public purpose.”