As a Harvard voter I attended Town Meeting in 1993 and voted in favor of accepting the provisions of Chapter 498 and adopting the Devens Reuse Plan. The vote of Town Meeting was favorable as were the concurrent votes in Ayer and Shirley. Thereby a pact was made among the three towns and the commonwealth that has endured and resulted in a wildly successful redevelopment undertaking. But as the Devens project approaches the finish line, its conclusion could be tarnished.
State Sen. John Cronin, whose district includes the town of Shirley, has said he is “not a big fan” of using a Super Town Meeting to increase housing in Devens, which is the method provided for in Chapter 498 by which the three towns make changes to the reuse plan. It can be argued that MassDevelopment’s success at Devens is directly related to the terms of Chapter 498, the quality of the Devens Reuse Plan, and the steadfast commitment to both by all parties.
Few changes have been made to the reuse plan or Chapter 498. The changes that have been enacted have all been made by votes of town meetings or with the consent of all three towns. Recently, both MassDevelopment and the Devens Enterprise Commission have publicly committed to using only Super Town Meeting for any future changes.
Sen. Cronin’s commitment to expanding the housing supply in the region is commendable. And I am sure the towns and Devens residents would be willing to consider a plan to increase housing at Devens even beyond Vicksburg Square, a plan that MassDevelopment should prepare and submit to voters. In addition to working with MassDevelopment and the voters on additional housing at Devens, Sen. Cronin might want to consider taking lessons learned at Devens, especially the advantages of unified permitting, to other cities and towns in his district as a way to expedite housing development.
Sen. Cronin’s unsuccessful attempt to change the Devens Reuse Plan during the last session of the Legislature by a simple amendment to Chapter 498 in circumvention of Super Town Meeting flies in the face of all the hard work citizens contributed to the original plan. The pure democracy of Town Meeting is not always easy or efficient, but I will have that any day over one man’s “top priority.”
Victor Normand
Stow Road
Editor’s note: Victor Normand chairs the Harvard-Devens Jurisdiction Committee and is co-chair of the Devens Jurisdiction Framework Committee.
