Somerville Urban Forestry Committee to draft memo urging berm preservation at 90 Washington

Other Committee · Meeting of April 16, 2026

Somerville Urban Forestry Committee moves toward a formal memo urging preservation of the green berm at 90 Washington Street. Miles Byrne, a development director with Corcoran Jenison, told the committee the Somerville Redevelopment Authority is weighing suspension of the 15 percent green-space zoning requirement to recoup $39 million spent on the site — land a court valued at five times the city's original $8 million payment — putting a berm containing 38 trees and serving roughly 300 elderly Cobble Hill residents at risk. Co-chair Leah Grossman said two redevelopment proposals have been submitted, with the city council set to review them May 11 and a final developer selection expected by July 1.

Members Tori Antonino, Marion, and Suzanne Warner volunteered to form a subcommittee and draft a memo that could call on the SRA to reject any proposal that fails to preserve the berm. The committee also received a presentation from city Senior Public Space Planner John Bronikant on the Kennedy School inclusive playground renovation, which requires removing up to 16 trees and will plant 32 new ones — with the committee rejecting Japanese zelkova as a replacement species and urging 100 percent native plantings.

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Source: the Other Committee meeting of April 16, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.