SEC facing final hurdle
Published on November 12th, 2003
STONEHAM, MA - The Gutierrez Company filed its last environmental impact report (EIR) to the state's Executive Office of Environmental Affairs for its proposed 914,000 square foot office park (Stoneham Executive Center, or SEC) at the former site of the Boston Medical Regional Center.
Proposing nearly $2.4 million in traffic improvements to the Middlesex Fells Reservation Parkways, offering the Town of Stoneham nearly $600,000 for capital improvements and expenditures, and providing assurances that an improved drainage system will reduce the total volume of water runoff from the site, Arthur Gutierrez, Jr., the Burlington development firm's Vice-President, remained confident that the final report addressed all the concerns of neighboring residents and communities.
"This is the final EIR, which we consider the last document we need before having all the permissions in place to begin construction...We've done more than what's required of any state regulation or office. Because of some of the concerns of our neighbors, we have gone the extra mile," Gutierrez remarked of the four volume report.
However, despite Gutierrez's assertion that the report addresses all relevant concerns, Stoneham resident Miriam Regan-Fiore, who along with neighbors has fought the development for well over a year, stands by her claim that the Stoneham Executive Center will devastate the surrounding area.
"It's the size of this project, that's really the crux of it. It's not the fact that there's an office park [going there], it's just that the size is unacceptable for this area," said Regan-Fiore.
Blanketing surrounding communities with pamphlets urging citizens to offer donations to raise $50,000 for a defense fund, Regan-Fiore's advocacy group, Communities for Fells Preservation has hired Cambridge law firm Anderson & Kreiger to challenge the final EIR.
The general public will now have 30-days to comment on the FIR, and Regan-Fiore and other opponents of the project will hold a public hearing on Nov. 20 at the VFW in Melrose.
The Historical Parkways Initiative and Traffic Concerns
When the Gutierrez Company filed it's Supplemental Draft Environmental Impact Report (SDEIR) or second impact report last year, Bob Durand, the Secretary of Environmental Affairs, responded to the document by saying the development firm had not performed enough research on the Historical Parkways Initiative.
With the Middlesex Fells Reservation Parkway listed on the National Registrar of Historic Places, the Historical Parkways Initiative was launched by various state agencies in 2001 to protect the historical character of the Commonwealth's parkways.
Since Durand's Aug. 2002 comments, the Gutierrez Company has worked with various state agencies to identify the key features of the Middlesex Fells Reservation Parkway and determine ways to mitigate traffic concerns while minimizing the impact to the reservation, says Gutierrez.
Claiming that the development will only result in two additional traffic lights at the entrance of the office park and at the intersections of Pond Street and Woodland Road, the Gutierrez Company has also proposed reducing the amount of green-space slated to be paved from 25,000 to 17,000 square feet.
Adding that his company will also provide a conservation easement of nearly 47,000 square feet at the site of the office park, Gutierrez stood by his assertion that his company has gone above and beyond what's required to protect the historical character of the roadway.
"We've been working for the past five-months to develop a historical character study of all the affected parkways. Everything we've been doing has helped incorporate design studies to maintain the character of the parkway...We've done more than our share to mitigate traffic concerns and we've shown that not only are we addressing our traffic, but we've done much to mitigate other traffic," Gutierrez commented.
However, Regan-Fiore disputes Gutierrez's claim, saying that not only will the proposed traffic improvements harm the historical character of the parkway, but that the traffic mitigation will not be able to fully contain the increased traffic volume resulting from the development.
"Even though they've made some major changes to the intersections, there's still going to be a major overhaul and widening of lanes to some intersections while not doing enough to others. The basic problem is that the project is too big. You just can't mitigate all of the traffic impacts without destroying the character of the parkway," said Regan-Fiore.
The Ravine Road resident also remains concerned about the safety of the recreational parkway in light of the increased traffic volume.
"Traffic jams are one thing and that's obviously not desirable, but safety issues are a major concern. For example, take the intersection at the [J.J.] Grimbsby. There are no crosswalks and none proposed despite increasing traffic volume," Regan-Fiore remarked.
In response, Gutierrez believes that the parkway will become safer as a result of the traffic improvements.
"We think we're going to have a safer parkway because we're going to have additional signals that control traffic and calm the parkway down. We've introduced a corridor-wide traffic mitigation program that will improve safety all the way from Route 28 to the actual site," the developer explained.
Drainage and Water-Runoff
Citing her unfamiliarity with the engineering aspects of the drainage and water-runoff system at the proposed office park, Regan-Fiore will count on the expertise of a drainage expert hired by her organization to raise concerns with the schematics of the plan.
"I'm not a drainage expert but these details are being reviewed by an expert. Even though they may have alleviated the run-off toward Ravine Road, there's concern that the drainage might overflow and pollute Spot Pond or Conan Park," said Regan-Fiore, who is also concerned with potential impacts to the Quarter Mile Pond and the Fells Reservoir.
"This [proposed development] is surrounded by environmentally sensitive area, so the concerns center on not just flooding to the neighborhood, but also with the amount of water going into vernal pools," the Ravine Road resident added.
Defending the drainage and runoff system, Gutierrez claims that not only will the Stoneham Executive Center see a lower volume of water-runoff than what flows off the site today, but that no water will enter Spot Pond.
"Again, we're going to reduce the volume of water coming off that site when it's build. Secondly, [the water] is going to be treated through a water management system, which will clean the water. Nothing will enter Spot Pond and the MDC has sent letters agreeing with us," said Gutierrez.
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