A petition is circulating calling on the City of Boston and the State Legislature to enact an “ironclad” shadow law for the Arnold Arboretum: a blanket ban on any new shadow falling on the Arboretum’s collection anywhere along its perimeter, modeled on the protections for Boston Common and the Public Garden.
WalkUP Roslindale believes this proposal is misguided and harmful to the public good. A categorical, perimeter‑wide shadow ban is not a reasonable response to any actual threat to the Arboretum’s collection and it would cause serious collateral damage to the city’s ability to add homes in the places where they make the most sense.
Our Position
WalkUP Roslindale supports protections for the Arboretum’s collection (many of us live near its periphery and all of us are regular visitors). These protections should be grounded in project-by-project review using the City’s existing design and permitting processes, which already evaluate shadow impacts, environmental effects, and site-specific conditions.
A perimeter‑wide shadow ban would apply uniformly around the entire boundary regardless of actual impact, scientific relevance, or proximity to sensitive plantings. It would also lock away some of Boston’s most transit‑accessible land at a time when the city urgently needs more homes near reliable transportation.
Boston should not lose future housing opportunities to a rule written to address disputes unfolding elsewhere along the Arboretum’s edge. Thoughtful, evidence‑based review, not categorical prohibition, is the right way to protect the Arboretum while ensuring the city can grow sustainably and equitably.
Building housing in transit‑rich areas should not be made infeasible by fiat
The Arboretum’s southeastern perimeter runs along Washington Street near the Forest Hills Orange Line and Commuter Rail station across the Roslindale/Jamaica Plain boundary. This stretch, home to a working mix of small businesses, light industrial uses, and some vacant and transitional parcels, has real opportunities for a substantial amount of new transit-oriented housing. A blanket rule that treats every parcel along the entire perimeter the same, regardless of a given site’s actual shadow impact, would shut down sensible development before it’s even proposed.
As an example, a proposal for a 165-unit building a short walk from Forest Hills at 3841 Washington Street recently won approval, showing what’s possible here when projects are evaluated on their own merits rather than blocked by a categorical rule. Shadow studies at this location showed minimal early morning shadows only for brief periods of time during the year.
(Images 1-4 from 3841 Washington St supplemental filing, pp. 49–52.
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Shadows from any other proposed developments on this Washington St corridor would also fall on the eastern edge of Bussey Brook Meadow, an urban wild owned by the Arboretum Conservancy that is deliberately managed with minimal intervention. The existing growth in the meadow is either wetlands or trees growing in a steep valley or along the steep slope of the Needham Heights commuter rail tracks. The rail tracks create substantial separation between possible development sites and the Bussey Brook Meadow, limiting shadows to brief early morning periods and only at certain times of year.
Stewardship of public amenities depends on nearby residents
Public amenities benefit from nearby resident stewardship. When a proposed 230-unit development at 18-22 Arboretum Road stalled in 2024, this was not only a significant loss of housing in a transit-rich location, but also a loss of residents who would have cared about the newly opened Arboretum gate and Roslindale Gateway Path. The new gate has been a wonderful addition to the neighborhood, but graffiti, litter, and illegal dumping still persist there, on Arboretum Rd, and on the adjoining Kitson Rd.
Green spaces can be greatly enhanced and stewarded by the people who live nearby, use them, and care for them. Blocking new housing along this corridor keeps potential stewards from ever moving in, deepening the city’s worsening housing shortage in the process.
Boston needs both a healthy Arboretum and more homes near transit. We urge the City and the Legislature to reject a perimeter-wide ban so Roslindale and Jamaica Plain can keep adding the transit-accessible housing this corridor is so well suited for.