Sierra Club takes issue with Langwood project
Published on July 13th, 2005
The national chapter of the Sierra Club, an environmental advocacy group boasting a 700,000 person strong membership, announced its opposition to the Langwood Commons proposal recently, vowing to fight the project with all its resources.
With the formal opposition being dropped just weeks before this Thursday's next scheduled Zoning Board of Appeals hearing on the mixed-use housing and commercial development at the former Boston Regional Medical Center, those in pitched battle with the developers over the affordable housing project welcomed the announcement with open arms.
"They are a very strong advocacy group and I think they understand like we do that this is an issue for everybody in the Commonwealth," said Mike Ryan, President of Friends of the Fells, an environmental group that has opposed the project all along.
"Sometimes the developers and town officials like to say this is all about Melrose versus Stoneham. And nothing could be further from the truth. This gives the kind of attention that the Middlesex Fells needs, so the Sierra Club coming on board gives us that spotlight," the Melrose-resident added.
According to James McCaffrey, the President of the Massachusetts Chapter of the Sierra Club, the local branch of the organization has opposed the development from the outset for many of the same reasons cited by local opposition groups.
And while that opposition has sometimes been ignored, the recent announcement by the group's national chapter has only highlighted the problems facing the 550-unit project.
"It's an inappropriate scale project for inside a state park or reservation. The developers are doing the most they can to paint a rosy picture, but it's certainly not smart growth. It's going to adversely impact traffic problems and have a negative impact on the surrounding reservation," said McCaffrey.
"This has gotten a lot of press [lately] because the national Sierra Club highlighted the issue in a press release. What [the National Chapter] was doing was looking for these large 'dumb growth' projects that really create sprawl in an urban area," the president added.
Disputing McCaffrey's view, Simpson Housing spokesman Bill Caulder argued that the recent opposition to the project flies in the face of recent actions taken by the environmental group.
Specifically, the project proponent pointed to document entitled "Higher Density Development: Myth and Fact", a thick informational pamphlet endorsed by the Sierra Club, the National Multi-Housing Council, the American Institute of Architects, and the Urban Land Institute.
"This project falls in line with that document, so I'm surprised they would come out in opposition to a redevelopment of this property. It [the Sierra Club's opposition] seems to run counter to this document," Caulder said.
Caught off-balance by the recent announcement, Town Administrator Ron Florino also questioned what the challenge to the project was based on, especially since he's never spoken to any representatives from the Sierra Club about the mixed-use development.
"As far as I know, they haven't been involved in the process, so I don't know where they're getting their information from. I've certainly never spoken to anybody from that organization," the Town Administrator remarked.
According to McCaffrey, local members of the Sierra Club most certainly have been part of the process, regularly attending the ZBA meetings over the past months.
And from what he's heard about the process in general, there might be grounds for legal action, a battle that the environmental group will not shy away from if push comes to shove.
"We're going to leave all options open to oppose this project. And that includes working legislatively and working with the developers, although they seem hell-bent on blowing up this land parcel," McCaffrey said.
"But I will say this, we have a lot of concerns with the way the whole process had been handled. It seems clear that the deck is stacked. And that's not appropriate, and possibly not legal," the President added, declining to give specifics on what illegal actions he feels have taken place.
Refuting McCaffrey's insinuation that some type of impropriety has occurred, Caulder characterized the process as open and fair, despite one ZBA meeting where video cameras were reportedly illegally prohibited from being used by citizens.
Agreeing with the developer, Florino also felt the ZBA has handled itself well after that initial mishap, and welcomed the Sierra Club to contact him to discuss their issues with the approval process.
"It's unfortunate that there was that one meeting with the videotaping, but since then, I think the ZBA has done the right thing and kept the process open," said Florino. "I would welcome the opportunity to speak with [the Sierra Club] and see what their problems are with the process."
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