I think I’m just going to focus my Leominster blog on things I don’t like around town since there appears to be so many of them lately including this little nugget of information.
From the Sentinel, Developer proposes project near Pierce Pond
Why does Peter Bovenzi need to build 12 houses behind Pierce Pond in Leominster? Why can’t that land just stay as it is? According to the Registry of Deeds, on June 5, 2003 he paid $800,000 for 35 Roche Ave which is the abandoned warehouse building on 2.5 acres plus an adjacent 36.5 acre parcel that surround the pond. Below is a map showing the area. The parcels he is looking to develop are lots 2 and 2B.
He’s talking about connecting the open land behind the pond to the pond itself. How does a development connect open land to the pond??? Am I missing something? If you put houses between open land and a pond, where is the connection?
How about really connecting the land to the pond and leaving it alone!
He talked about Monoosnoc Brook running through the land and how his development is going to protect the brook. WHAT? Wouldn’t the best protection be to not develop the land around the brook and the pond? Can I maybe have a member of Leominster’s conservation committee comment on how building houses near a brook protects it?
How about the hiking trails he is going to create? Great idea…I’m all for it. One thing though. People like to hike in the woods, not in other people’s backyards. Forget the houses and just build the hiking trail.
Do the right thing Mr. Bovenzi. Don’t build around the pond. I sure hope the residents around the pond stand up against this development. If you know any of them please forward them a link to this post so we can get the word out to everyone.
***To update anyone who is interested, I have sent a link to this post to members of The Trustees of Reservations, The Monoosnoc Brook Greenway Project, The Nasua River Watershed Association, and The Leominster Conservation Commission. My goal is to make sure there is so much opposition that Bovenzi ultimately withdraws his petition. Please share this post with everyone you can so we can stop the development.***
August 22, 2007 at 4:07 pm
I agree 100%. The Leominster Land Trust owns property in the area as well. Coincidence..? Maybe. But I would keep a close eye on the property the LLT owns and see if it gets “sold” back to Mr Bovenzi.
Plus, I bet he steps up to fix the dam as well. Hero of the day. The people around the pond will be so happy to have the dam repaired, they won’t put up a fight if more houses go in.
Of course I could be wrong…
August 22, 2007 at 7:08 pm
I think you bring up an excellent theory. Peter Bovenzi has owned that land for quite a while now and not too long ago Peter Angelini brought to light the situation with the dam. Peter Angelini is one of Peter Bovenzi’s “associates” and both serve on the LLT together.
Here is how it went down…
Peter Bovenzi has Peter Angelini stir up some controversy over the condition of the dam just before he plans to propose his development. First the neighbors get all concerned that the pond may have to be drained unless they come up with the money to fix the dam. Just when they realize how much it may cost and that they don’t have any other options, Bovenzi steps in. He then proposes his development knowing full well that he is going to face opposition. Once the neighbors start to oppose the development, Bovenzi says that as a condition of his approval he will fix the dam thereby saving the residents the expense of the repairs and all is happy in Bovenzi Land.
His project now has the support of the neighbors and he’s clearly not concerned about opposition from the LLT since he started that organization and is pretty much the largest financial contributor. He then makes a boat load of money and ruins the area around the back of the pond all while showing the city all the great things he is doing to protect the pond and the brook.
I forwarded this post to members of the Trustees of Reservations so they can hopefully get involved and help to stop the development. I wonder if Peter Bovenzi has the Trustees in his pocket just as he does the LLT.
Again, please share this with everyone you know so we can ensure the protection of Pierce Pond.
August 23, 2007 at 8:26 am
The Leominster Land Trust was given the land under water and the dam from Peter Bovenzi. The Leominster Land Trust will therefore endorse Peter Bovenzi’s project and be deeded the rights to any open space.
The problem being that the Land Trust needs $150,000 to fix their dam. Will Mr. Bovenzi fix the dam, or will they sell off some house lots from their newly aquired property to fix the dam?
August 23, 2007 at 9:44 am
I think you are partially correct Phillip.
Peter Bovenzi never owned the land under the pond. It may have been given to the Leominster Land Trust but I believe Bertram Cohen is who gave it to them. Cohen was a huge landowner in Leominster and has been selling off parcels for many years and a lot of it to Bovenzi.
Regarding the dam, in actuality, the dam is owned by the Ricker family who runs the day camp and also by the family to the right of the spillway where there is anothe small section of the dam. People often times refer to the spillway as the dam but the dam is actually the large earthen mound that runs from the spillway to Ricker’s camp behind the basketball courts. It also extends out a ways from the other side of the spillway. The dam is almost 500 feet long.
The dam is actually private property owned by the Ricker family and one or two other families on the other side of the spillway. Here is a link to the Assessor’s map to further explain.
Ricker Dam Map
Lot 3 is the actual dam which is owned by the Ricker family. If the dam were to fail, the Ricker family would actually be liable, not the Land Trust or anybody else. The Rickers are working with other residents who live on the pond to come up with a plan.
If anybody has any other information to add, please feel free to comment
August 23, 2007 at 2:21 pm
I am not sure why the Ricker family wishes to have residents around the lake pay for improvements to his property. As responsible business owners and property owners, that dam should be maintained by the Rickers.
All we have heard was how the dam was “unsafe” and how it was in desperate need of repair. Ricker’s Camp allows children to play on the dam, if it was unsafe then they would make the repairs long ago.
I now understand that the dam and the spillway are seperate:
– The Spillway is owned by the Land Trust
– The Dam is owned by individual land owners
Let the land owners fix the dam on their property and the Land Trust fix their spillway. The Land Trust just sold some land in the watershed for around $200,000, why not use the proceeds to fix the dam.
Has anyone else asked themselves why kind of Land Trust sells off buildable lots of land in the city’s watershed, or that takes over a dam and threatens the abutting residents with draining their pond if they don’t pay to fix it?
August 23, 2007 at 4:52 pm
Here is something I posted a while back on my forum:
Start Quote:
“Just watched the Conservation Commission from 7/10. They had/and read a letter submitted in response to an Angelini letter about having to drain the dam due to the structure needing work, and the letter stated that the dam condition does not yet warrant the draining of the pond as immediate as Angelini implies. I can’t remember the official agency the letter came from, but it was good enough for the commission.
I recommend grabbing a copy of the meeting minutes, or grab a DVD copy from LATV for $10. ”
End Quote
August 24, 2007 at 8:46 am
[...] please check out my post about the Pierce Pond Development in Leominster that we want stopped. We need to spread the word so Bovenzi won’t build houses [...]
September 10, 2007 at 11:37 pm
The office of dam safety was the agency that wrote the letter to the Leominster Land Trust (CC’d to the commission).
I saw the meeting, the dam is listed as FAIR which means it is in need of repair but not failing.
The Land Trust and Mr. Ricker refuse to maintain their property without their neighbors chipping in. It boarders on blackmail if you ask me……Pay-up or we drain your pond!!!
September 20, 2007 at 10:39 am
[...] second item I saw was the proposed development on Pierce Pond by local builder Peter [...]