State studying Gutierrez project
Published on January 10th, 2001
STONEHAM, MA - The state is looking closely at the land, air and drainage around the old BRMC site.
On Dec. 22 The Massachusetts Office of Environ-mental Affairs formally requested an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) from the Gutierrez Company for the proposed Stoneham Executive Center on Woodland Road.
This is standard procedure for a development of this size — 914 square feet of building space on 40.7 acres of land.
The report must detail parking plans, transit options, nearby or intersecting recreation areas, air quality, water quality, waste water disposal, drainage, general aesthetics, construction schedules and traffic patterns.
As the Gutierrez Company awaits the Jan. 30 continuation of its site plan and special permit hearing before a joint committee of Stoneham Selectmen and the Planning Board, traffic is the hot issue.
Traffic engineers for Gutierrez and the town spoke on Dec. 19, the first day of the hearing. Questions remain unanswered about how best to mitigate traffic concerns around the development on Woodland Road, Pond Street, Ravine Road, Main Street, South Street and North Border Road.
The state request for an EIR has asked for even more attention to possible traffic hazards. The report asks for an analysis of traffic patterns on the above roads as well as Fellsway East, Fellsway West, Phillips Road, Wyoming Avenue and several connecting roads outside of Stoneham.
The town and Metropolitan District Commission (MDC) have met to discuss how to improve the area roads (the MDC owns portions of Woodland Road, South Street, North Border Road and Pond Street). Citizens can speak more on Jan. 30. And Gutierrez is working on the EIR.
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