Tucked behind the high rises that define Huntington Avenue is the sometimes forgotten but always feisty neighborhood of St. Botolph.

Few are aware that St. Botolph is part of the Back Bay. Tour guides to Boston fail to include it and the St. Botolph neighborhood does not fit within the boundaries of the Neighborhood Association of the Back Bay. Nevertheless, resident parking in the area is for those with Back Bay stickers.

For those who have never visited, St. Botolph and its intersecting streets are a beautiful surprise. One enters the neighborhood off of the traffic-clogged and densely commercial Huntington Avenue and then is enveloped in a different world of quiet, tree-lined streets with well-kept brownstones. The neighborhood runs some eight blocks long, from the Copley Marriott to the Northeastern University campus, and three blocks from Huntington Avenue to the Southwest Corridor Park.

Residents have fought for years against encroachments from the outside world. They have worked hard to improve the condition of the neighborhood’s streets and succeeded several years ago in getting the area designated an historic district. In their success they have developed an enviable espirit du corps, an enthusiasm on display each spring at the St. Botolph Street Fair. Through dedication and continued watch, they have made it into one of the nicest neighborhoods in the city.

Thomas Jefferson noted that “eternal vigilance is the price of liberty.” It is also, on a perhaps more pedestrian level, the price of a good neighborhood. Over the last few months, the St. Botolph Citizens Committee has been batting around a proposal submitted by The Druker Company, Ltd., to build a 25-story apartment building next to the Colonnade Hotel. The building, to be built on a small sliver of land on Garrison Street immediately abutting the St. Botolph neighborhood, would house 99 apartments.

There is a general consensus that some type of development on the site is appropriate. Done correctly, the new development could create a residential link from St. Botolph to Huntington Avenue and could enhance the safety and security of the area. But there are concerns as well.

Some of the concerns are readily resolvable. For example, the present proposal appears to underestimate the number of additional cars that new residents would add to the area. A commitment to add additional spaces for new residents should mitigate this problem.

Other issues are more fundamental.. The residential buildings in the St. Botolph area average four or five stories. The buildings along Huntington Avenue are considerably higher. Residents are worried that the proposed development, five times higher than neighborhood’s brownstones, will overwhelm the residential community. The new building may loom over the neighborhood, casting shadows during the day and creating a sense of isolation.

The parcel of land proposed for the development is zoned U, for urban renewal, meaning that its proposed height and massing are within current zoning requirements. Still, the Boston Redevelopment Authority has a role in managing the development process. Part of that process means accounting for the needs and concerns of residential communities.

The St. Botolph community is a valuable part of the Back Bay and of Boston. It deserves to be protected. My hope is that good sense will prevail, and that a smaller, less intrusive development will soon be planned for the site.