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Concord Journal and Lincoln Journal
April 13, 2000
Citizens' appeal of Middlesex development gets green light
By Lucille Daniel, Correspondent
A group of citizens hoping to prevent Middlesex School from developing 46 acres of its property in Estabrook Woods won a small victory last week when an administrative judge ruled that the appeal the group filed with the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) can move forward. The DEP judge could have thrown out any issues that he felt were frivolous. Instead, he ruled that all the arguments presented in the appeal are worthy of a hearing by the Office of Administrative Appeals.
According to Attorney Joanna Roberts who, along with her husband Mark Roberts, is representing the citizens, if there is no summary decision this summer in favor of one of the parties, the case will be heard in Administrative Court in Boston on Oct. 3, 4 and 5.
The appeal, signed by Lansing Old, Marjorie B. Perry, Margaret T. Brace, Elise Browne, Eleanor Bemis, John Baker, Nina Nielsen, Carol Dwyer, Chandler Gifford and Michael Kellett, was filed May 27, 1999. The citizens were responding to a Superseding Order of Conditions (SOC), issued by the DEP ten days earlier, allowing the development project to proceed. The SOC overturned a unanimous1995 decision by Concord's Natural Resource Commission denying the school a wetlands crossing into the proposed development area.
This most recent effort to stop the development into the woods is the latest in an eight-year struggle between Middlesex and Estabrook advocates that began when the school first announced plans in 1992 to construct a bridge and road into its Estabrook property east of the current campus. The protests have been based on ecological and historical arguments, including the presence of Native American artifacts in the woods, the threat to rare species, and Henry David Thoreau's strong connection to his oft-mentioned "Easterbrooks Country." The more than 2,500 acres that comprise Estabrook Woods have been designated by the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture and the U.S. Forest Service as a Forest Legacy area.
The original development called for the construction of soccer fields, tennis courts and faculty housing. The current plan eliminates faculty housing, but retains plans for a 32-foot-wide, 120-foot long steel-grid bridge into the woods, a 1,100-foot access road, an 8-inch sewer pipe, two soccer fields and eight tennis courts.
According to the citizens' appeal, the soccer fields would have a negative impact on the deep woods because of tree removal, grading and use of chemicals. There will also be further environmental and ecological studies on the property to determine if the development poses risks to rare species' habitats or breeding grounds. The document also asserts that Middlesex has not adequately considered viable alternatives to the current project.
Middlesex Business Manager Jim Saltonstall said that, over the years, the school has been willing to adapt its vision. "At least three times in response to citizen concern, the school has cut back on its original plan," he said.
Among other specifics, he noted that "we have made a deliberate choice to exclude faculty housing from the plan." Currently, the school is building three new houses for five families and plans three to five additional housing sites on other areas of the campus.
Saltonstall added that "once this process is over, the school will have put close to one-third of its 330 acres into permanent conservation." He said that, from his personal perspective as a Concord resident, he believes the school has been held to a stricter standard than private developers who have built in the Estabrook area.
Royall Victor III, current president of the Middlesex Board of Trustees said the board understands that its Estabrook property is "an important asset" and that trustees are taking the matter very seriously. He added, however, that the school must weigh competing needs and make the best possible decision for the future. "A private school is a complex business with lots of important issues going on all the time," he said.
The citizens appealing to the DEP say their goal is to overturn the state's Superseding Order of Conditions and return control over the project to the Concord community.
Attorney Roberts, from the firm McRoberts and Roberts of Boston, said that, beside the ecological arguments made in the appeal, there is also the claim that "a procedural error" occurred. Because the current plan has been changed several times since Concord's permitting boards made their decisions, the DEP "has approved a different project," said Roberts. "Local citizens and local boards haven't looked at the new project. It should go back to the town boards with a new Notice of Intent. The local community is far more aware of local conditions. They should retain jurisdiction."
Saltonstall said that he couldn't speak to the legality of this issue but that, on a practical level, "the process has favored diminution of the impact on Estabrook Woods. Every step has created less intrusion. The process has worked."
According to Steve Ells of Lincoln, former director of environmental review for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in New England and a long-time Estabrook advocate, opponents of the school's plan hope in part that the citizens' appeal will give Middlesex trustees time to change their minds about the entire proposal. "The project was ill-conceived, and then people got fixated on it," said Ells. "We hope the school will take the time to reconsider and respond to alternative proposals."
Lansing Old, who spearheaded the appeal effort, said he had for years watched fellow Concord citizens work hard to save the woods. "I wanted to pick up the ball," he said. "This cause is too precious to give up."
Many of those opposing development have put their money where their mouth is. In the 1960s, former Middlesex Head Lawrence "Monk" Terry, Concord resident Thomas Flint and several others spearheaded an Estabrook preservation effort. The campaign, which was supported both financially and inspirationally by Middlesex School, involved securing Estabrook land in Concord and Bedford for Harvard University to purchase as a field station for ecological research. Many families with property in the woods sold pieces of their land at well below market rates to support the preservation effort. At that time, however, permanent deed restrictions did not exist and so families let their land go on faith. Among those families was that of Ellie Bemis, one of the signers of the citizens' appeal.
"Under the persuasion of Middlesex's past [headmaster], Monk Terry, my grandfather sold his land to Harvard to help form their field station'" said Bemis in a 1994 letter to Middlesex trustees. "He did this with great trepidation because his land was his sole bank account and only limited preservation restrictions were assured. Still he loved his land, and it was the best alternative at the time for preservation. Middlesex played a leading role at that juncture in persuading not only landowners but many other citizens to join hands for the greater good, as I trust you will do now."
As it turned out, in 1997 Harvard committed to the permanent preservation of its 672 acres of Estabrook property, after the Concord Land Conservation Trust, the Carlisle Conservation Foundation and the Trustees of Reservations succeeded in securing permanent protection for 400 abutting acres.
Also in 1997, Middlesex graduates and members of the Concord community raised $400,000 to purchase a parcel of land across Lowell Road from the school. They believe that, combined with abutting land that might eventually become available, this parcel will provide an alternative site for fields and courts.
Saltonstall said he believes the school is not ruling out other options for the fields, but added that it is unlikely the Board of Trustees will drop its plan for a bridge into its Estabrook acres. "It's too important for the future of the school," he said.
(Reprinted with permission)