Langwood Commons dealt another blow
Published on July 9th, 2008
STONEHAM, MA - The Gutierrez Company suffered a major setback last week after state officials insisted that the Langwood Commons project requires further review by a state environmental agency.
According to a letter received by town officials this Tuesday from Richard Bourre, the acting director of the Mass. Environmental Protection Office (MEPA), he has determined that the developer will have to file a notice of project change with the agency.
Last February, MEPA waived the need for further review, agreeing with the developers' contention that no action was necessary, if the project, to be constructed across from Spot Pond, didn't require state permits.
However, according to Bourre, he had recently been in contact with officials from the Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR), who maintain that the Langwood Commons project will need to mitigate new vehicular and pedestrian traffic on its roadways.
“On Feb. 1, 2008, the former MEPA Director responded to your letter of Jan. 16, agreeing that if the project was not the subject of any state action, there would be no basis for MEPA jurisdiction,” Bourre admits.
“[However], the MEPA office preserved its right to conduct further review, in the form of a notice of project change, should the project require an agency action,” the acting MEPA director explained. “Because the project...will require an action by DCR, the submission of a notice of project change is required.”
The Burlington developer, who purchased the former Boston Regional Medical Center (BRMC) site approximately a decade ago, has repeatedly been stymied in his attempts to develop the property, largely because MEPA has determined that the proposals would cause adverse impacts to the surrounding Middlesex Fells Reservation.
Most recently, the Gutierrez Company and its partner Simpson Housing, LP, obtained town permissions to construct 405 residential dwellings, 20 percent of which would be affordable, at the hospital parcel.
In addition, Gutierrez has received a green light to demolish the 250,000 square foot hospital building in order to erect a new six-story office building.
Since the Burlington developer first contended that it was no longer subject to the MEPA process, both Melrose and environmental activists within the Friends of the Fells organization have lobbied state officials to reverse that decision.
The longtime opponents of the project - neighboring Medford and Winchester officials and citizens have similarly protested the proposal - contend that the mixed-use development would destroy the character of the Fells Reservation.
On Tuesday night, Town Administrator David Ragucci expressed his outrage at the July 1 MEPA letter from Bourre.
According to Ragucci, the state, which has placed a priority emphasis on the construction of affordable housing, has repeatedly hampered Stoneham's attempts to pull itself out of dire financial straits by encouraging the large-scale project.
“What that means is there will be yet another delay with the hospital project,” vented Ragucci, who believed the town should pursue legal action against the state. “It's really the constructive taking of a piece of property that will benefit Stoneham.”
“It's just not something that developers in other communities have to go through. I just think there are forces at work outside of Stoneham,” the furious Town Administrator furthered.
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