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Most Somerville residents know that planning is underway for two Green Line branches that will be extended from the Lechmere Station in Cambridge into Somerville, and through Medford. The state has promised that service will begin at the end of 2014. To ensure that the Green Line extensions are designed and built to meet the needs of current and future Somerville residents, four community organizations have begun working together to involve Somerville residents in sustainable decision-making about land uses around the stations and in ensuring that economic development meets residents' goals and bring in much needed green space, commercial tax revenues and jobs to the city.

Groundwork Somerville, the Somerville Transportation Equity Partnership, the Somerville Community Corporation and the Somerville Community Health Agenda are working together to make it possible for residents to influence land use planning decisions being made as the Green Line is extended through Somerville and Medford. The Green Line extensions will provide at least 6 new transit stops in Somerville and Medford that will change transportation patterns and uses, enable commercial development, improve quality of life, and increase open and green space. It is important for residents to work to maintain affordable housing in Somerville. We have a pivotal opportunity to organize, propose, design and make decisions that ensure consideration of sustainable environmental impacts, quality of life concerns and equitability in land use planning for the Green Line extensions.

As the city officially leads the land use planning process, our collaboration will focus on engaging community residents to establish priorities that reflect community values that promote decisions that are sustainable, reflect the goals of residents and make sound economic decisions. Our goal is to engage all community residents, including youth, immigrants, and low-income residents to establish principles that:

• Ensure that the station locations and land use decisions reflect community recommendations.
• Make sure that future land uses along the corridor focus on open space, green space and green engineering to set aside parcels of land as open and green space; Promote commercial development at Inner Belt and Boynton Yards to improve the city's tax base and support small commercial development around stations where appropriate.
• Prevent the displacement of low and moderate income homeowners and renters.
• Promote efforts to reduce air pollution caused by cars, trucks, buses and trains.
• Ensure consideration of a broad range of public health impacts in community planning.