The ad hoc committee of the Select Board, which has spent the past year investigating possible scenarios for the federally-owned property on the north side of Hartwell Road, agrees that the optimum short-term use would be to host a solar farm, controlled by the town.
Click this link to learn more about the ad hoc Hartwell Road Committee.
The committee spent much of last Tuesday’s meeting meticulously editing its draft report and expects to continue with that process at its next virtual session during the last week of April, as it prepares to submit the report to the Select Board, perhaps in May.
Still undecided is whether the town can acquire the property. The federal government has indicated it intends to divest the site, which has been closed to all activity for more than 20 years.
Town officials are especially wary of the process. Almost three years ago, the former Navy hangar on the south side of Hartwell Road suddenly became available at an auction. Officials protested in vain that the town was supposed to have the right of first refusal.
The high bid for the hangar was $9 million and the owner is trying to obtain runway access from the Federal Aviation Administration.
Anticipating similar possibilities with the north parcel, the Select Board appointed the ad hoc committee more than a year ago to review the history and potential of the land.
The voluminous report draft features a detailed history of the 30-acre site, called Hartwell Hill but more formally known as the Bedford Naval Weapons Industrial Reserve Plant, northern tract. It was first acquired by the federal government in an eminent domain process after the construction of Hanscom Field in the late 1940s.
Beginning in 1952, the Air Force subcontracted research operations there to Raytheon Co., continuing until the facilities shut down in 2000.
“The entire tract has a troubled environmental history,” the report points out. Indeed, in 1994 it was added to the federal “Superfund” list, which provided for cleanup by the Environmental Protection Agency. Mitigation has been ongoing for several years and will continue.
The ad hoc committee has examined a range of prospective uses, many of which are limited by environmental issues. “We need to point out that there aren’t a lot of options for this site,” commented committee member Karl Winkler.
He also, noted, however, that there are more possibilities over the long term. “If we get the site and we put the solar farm on it and in 25 years the site is deemed clean, what do we do with it? Can we do other things with this land when it’s clean?” ‘Other things’ could include open space, Winkler noted, adding that open space is a diminishing local resource.
Committee Chair Jennifer Boles said she wants the report to emphasize the water pollution outcome, adding that the EPA requires that groundwater be restored to drinking water quality, and one of the current remediations has a lifetime of 80 years.
There are different levels of remediation, Winkler pointed out. If the report says there could be future opportunities, that shouldn’t be considered a negative. Amy Lloyd, Planning Board liaison to the committee, said “visions for the future” would be an appropriate report component.
However, Lloyd said she opposes retaining the industrial use for the parcel. “We have more appropriate areas to add to the tax base. Our tax base is not going to suffer if this site doesn’t enter the tax rolls.” Although it has been zoned for industry, the land has never been taxed because of its military use, she noted.
“There will be people that will argue that we shouldn’t eliminate any businesses, and we should counter that argument,” she stated.
Mike Rosenberg can be reached at [email protected], or 781-983-1763
Loading ...
We support any non-industrial use of this 9 acre parcel, if it can be acquired by the Town, including for a solar farm. But maybe it can also support recreational opportunities, like the less than one acre needed for some permanent Pickleball courts.
A solar field is an excellent use of a brownfields site. But has it been vetted for glare? It may be too close to the airfield to be allowed by the FAA.
Katherine, we asked the same question of an industry expert, Robert Jackson, Director of Solar PV Project Development for Ameresco, at our committee’s January 23, 2020 meeting (Ameresco installed the solar arrays at Logan Airport, working in close cooperation with the FAA and Massport). Rob described the solar glare hazard analysis modeling which is routinely used to design solar arrays at airports and near airfields throughout the country.
By the way, his preliminary assessment is that the Hartwell Hill property is suitable for a solar farm. But detailed solar glare hazard modeling would come first.
Promisingly, there are already building-mounted solar arrays at the Civil Air Terminal and the Boston MedFlight headquarters/hangar at Hanscom Field. The new Signature Flight Support FBO facility currently under construction will also feature a sizeable rooftop solar array. On this side of the airfield, less that 300 feet from the Hartwell Hill property, The Edge Sports Center has a rooftop solar array as well.