City Mayor David Gately has put together a committee to make recommendations about land purchases in Waltham that should remain undeveloped. Since then, the city acquired a 25-acre parcel, Chesterbrook Woods, for $2.75 million and a one-acre parcel in the Storer area for $600,000. The parcels were all acquired from private owners.

"Mayor Gately's priority is to preserve remaining open space in the city before it's gone," Robert Waddick, Waltham's deputy mayor, tells GlobeSt.com. "The area has become a hotbed because of its proximity to Boston and as a high-tech area but it's a double-edged sword. Quality of life is diminished without open space."

The committee is considering other parcels in the area including land owned by the Polaroid Corp. near Prospect Hill and a parcel owned by the Archdiocese in north Waltham. The city has been using its own funds to purchase the properties and, notes Waddick, "without putting a burden on taxpayers. Obviously, the economic situation is changing so this effort may not be able to move as aggressively as it did until the economic picture becomes clearer."