Devens Enterprise Commission
| | 2006 ANNUAL REPORT Devens Enterprise Commission |
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The Devens Enterprise Commission (DEC) The Devens Enterprise Commission (DEC) is a regulatory and permit-granting authority for the Devens Development Project. It is empowered to act as a local planning board, conservation commission, board of health, zoning board of appeals, historic district commission and, in certain instances, as a board of selectmen. It carries out these duties in the context of a unique and innovative one-stop or unified permitting system, which greatly streamlines the local regulatory process. The DEC consists of 12 gubernatorial appointees, six (6) of whom are nominated by the host communities of Ayer, Harvard and Shirley. Each host community also nominates an alternate member. The Commission began operating on June 22, 1995. DEC Commission members currently include Ed Hamilton (Ayer), Jim DeZutter (Harvard), William Marshall (Chairman), Andrew Syiek, Lisa McLaughlin, Phillip Sidney (Shirley), Paul Routhier, Paul Von Loesecke (Vice-Chairman), Marty Poutry (Ayer), William Castro (Shirley), John Knowles (Harvard), Armen Demerjian, John Oelfke ( Shirley alternate) and Paul V. Johnson (Harvard alternate). The Ayer alternate slot remains vacant at this time. During 2006 Commissioners Bonnie Biocchi and Phillip Sidney (Shirley) resigned. Andrew Syiek replaced Bonnie Biocchi and John Oelfke is awaiting appointment to the vacant Shirley slot. The Commission wishes to recognize and thank our former members for their years of service on behalf of the Commonwealth and the communities they represented.
DEC staff includes Director/Land Use Administrator Peter C. Lowitt, AICP, newly appointed staff planner Neil Angus, AICP who joined the commission in October, 2006, Administrative Assistant Mary Quinn, plus a number of consultants. These include the provision of inspectional services that are conducted by Gabe Vellante, Wellman Parker and Bob Friedrich. The Vellante team successfully responded to a request for proposals and was reappointed to a three year term by the Commission. Our legal and engineering assistance are covered by contractual relationships with consultants as well. The firm of Vollmer Associates continues to provide Development Review Services for the DEC, securing another three year contract with the Commission and Edith Netter & Associates continue in their legal advisor role. The DEC hired Ms. Dona Neely as our part time EcoStar Coordinator, tasking her with advancing this award winning environmental branding and achievement program which embodies the DEC's commitment to sustainable development. Mr. Lowitt, AICP is president of the Massachusetts Chapter of the American Planning Association and continues to serve on the boards of the Eco Industrial Development Council and is chairman of the Green Roofs for Healthy Cities Industry Association.
HIGHLIGHTS 2006 Projects: 2006 saw the issuance of a site assignment and subsequent level 2 unified permit for the W. K. Macnamara Devens Recycling Center, LLC, project on Independence Drive. The DEC also issued permits allowing ODIC to redevelop a small building on MacArthur Street, IPT to renovate the former gym on Charlestown Street, and One Jackson Place, LLC to renovate the former military intelligence defense training building known as One Jackson Place. The Commission also upheld the decision of the Director in a reconsideration request regarding the Red Tail Golf Course at Devens. The project generating the most excitement in 2006 was the permitting of the first phase of Bristol-Myer Squibb's 97 acre corporate bio-pharmaceutical facility between Queenstown, Jackson and Patton Streets. The decision to locate the plant within Massachusetts and at Devens in particular, illustrate the importance of the DEC's unified permitting system to the Commonwealth in terms of competing for high-quality biotech manufacturing facilities and the jobs they produce. The Bristol-Myer Squibb facility was permitted in forty-nine (49) days. 2006 Permits
Level 2 Permits 6 Disposition: The DEC, through its Chairman and Vice Chairman, William P. Marshall and Paul Von Loesecke, actively participated in the actions of the Devens Disposition Steering Committee and the disposition process as it unfolded in 2006. Mr. Marshall serves as chair of the Devens Disposition Executive Board. Many DEC Commissioners and staff participated in this process, some continuing to serve on the Land Use and Open Space Committee (Director Lowitt), finance and development (Commissioner Von Loesecke), housing and transportation (Commissioner Poutry and Director Lowitt). The Governance Committee, (Director Lowitt and Commissioner vonLoesecke) whose work and assignments of tasks from the Steering Committee dealt with most of the legal issues, and generally oversaw the "completeness" of the report. The DEC staff worked with consultants to develop the draft 2006 Reuse Plan and draft 2006 Devens By-Laws as part of the disposition process. As the DEC is the regulatory body charged with implementing both these documents, Commission staff's active participation was necessary. Hundreds of hours of staff time and the time of our attorney were used in drafting and reviewing these documents. The DEC has a statutory responsibility to participate in the disposition process. After much discussion the DEC voted to support the recommendation of the Disposition Steering Committee to endorse scenario 2b, which called for the creation of a new town of Devens with return of various out-parcels to the host communities of Ayer, Harvard and Shirley. The DEC went on record thanking the hundreds of volunteers who participated in the numerous meetings held over the past three years as part of the disposition process. The Scenario 2b recommendation was narrowly defeated at town meeting and passed as part of the general election process. Awards: The DEC received the Worcester Business Journal/ Mass Audubon 2006 Environmental Award for a Public/Private Partnership. Mr. Lowitt received the award for the DEC's continuing commitment to the shared vision of sustainable development at Devens and for the DEC's continued implementation of that vision through its EcoStar environmental branding and achievement program. Congratulations to all involved! See: www.devensec.com/sustain.html for more information on this prestigious award. Transportation:
The Fitchburg Line Reverse Commute working group, chaired by DEC Director Peter Lowitt, continued its work to connect Route 2 and Fitchburg Line Commuter Rail issues through regular meetings of community representatives to discuss transportation issues. These meetings resulted in a study funded by the MBTA (the McMahon Report) The Fitchburg Commuter Rail Line Improvement Plan September 2005 to analyze the potential for reverse commuting, improvements to the line and the reinstitution of Express Commuter Rail Service along the Fitchburg Line. During 2006 the group worked with our legislative delegation, in particular Congressman John Olver, to investigate Federal and state funding opportunities for implementing the Plan's recommendations. A summary of the report's recommendations are listed below: The Fitchburg Commuter Rail Line, running from North Station to the Northwest, was reviewed for potential service expansion and improvements. The service expansion recommendations for the Fitchburg Commuter Rail Line have been defined for implementation in the short-range, medium-range and long-range. Each of the improvement packages includes three elements. The short-range (implemented within the next five years) improvement package includes consolidation of stations, schedule improvements and addition of continuously welded track/design of signal system upgrades. The medium-range (implemented within 5 - 10 years) improvement package includes station improvements, implementation of reverse commute options and signal system improvements. Finally, the long-range (implementation expected to take 10 or more years) improvement package includes the creation of a regional parking facility, additional peak/off peak service, double tracking and extension of service to a proposed station at the Gardner terminus or a proposed Wachusett Station in West Fitchburg. During 2006 the opportunity to fund the double tracking component of the recommendations, from South Acton to Ayer was advanced through the support of our legislative delegation. The station consolidation discussion was moved to the back burner as well. For more details about the existing conditions, the evaluation process of service expansion possibilities, or the Fitchburg Commuter Rail Line Improvement Implementation Plan, please see: www.mbta.com/projects_underway/fitchburg.asp# During 2006 the Devens Transportation Management Initiative remained on hold. Communication: The DEC's main means of communicating with the public remains its web site, www.devensec.com, where its meeting and hearing dates are listed, as are the agendas and minutes from recent meetings. Records of Decisions from various Unified Permit applications are also listed to illustrate the permitting process through concrete examples. The W.K. Macnamara Devens Recycling Center LLC, Unified Permit Record of Decision is currently listed on the site.
Sustainability Efforts Devens work on Sustainable Development and the DEC's EcoStar program continue to receive worldwide recognition. Mr. Lowitt presented a case study on Devens Sustainability efforts to the Eco Industrial Roundtable and the Canadian Pollution Prevention Conference in Halifax, Nova Scotia and spoke on Devens at the Brownfields Conference held in Boston in November, 2006. The focus of the DEC's current sustainability efforts remains our EcoStar program, which was launched in February, 2005 and currently has twenty two members and a part time coordinator. In December of 2006 the DEC received an award from the Jesse B. Cox Charitable Trust of $20,000 a year for two years to help pay for the coordinator position. The Commission is thankful and excited that the Trust has seen the potential and promise of the EcoStar program and is willing to support it financially.
Financial self-sufficiency: The Legislature instructed the DEC to become financially self sufficient and stopped funding the DEC in 2000. Since then the DEC has undertaken a number of studies to establish a program of taxation to offset the loss of state funding. A taxation plan was submitted to the Department of Revenue and Administration and Finance per Chapter 498 of the Acts of 1993. In 2005 the DEC signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Mass Development to cooperatively institute a taxation program for Devens. The Memorandum of Understanding - a Joint Plan of Taxation for Devens, earmarks two percent of all taxes and funds from the 29 special agreements or taxation/fee programs with existing firms at Devens. Additionally, Mass Development agrees to maintain the DEC's $250,000 cash reserve. In March of each year the DEC forecasts the size of its reserve as of June 30 of that year. If the reserve is forecast to fall below $250,000, then Mass Development agrees to make the reserve whole. The taxation agreement was not triggered in 2006. The DEC reduced our operating surplus from over $900,000 to $350,000 over the past five years. The DEC's main source of funding is the collection of permit fees, which reflect the level of development activity at Devens. The rationale for building up a surplus has always been the cyclical nature of development activity. We have been in a trough the last five years. The DEC is pleased to announce that our audit for 2006 has been completed in a timely manner and that our auditor has issued a finding of no material findings. The audit will soon be posted on our web site. Respectfully submitted:
William Marshall, Chairman
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