Scramble to protect state sites

Fernald, Glavin are slated to close

With two state facilities for the mentally disabled in the region slated to close within the next several years, local officials are working to prevent overdevelopment of the properties and preserve open space if they are sold.

Governor Deval Patrick recently announced four of the state's six institutions for people with developmental disabilities would be shut down, including the Fernald Development Center in Waltham and Glavin Regional Center in Shrewsbury. The closings are expected to occur over the next four years, with Fernald the first to shut its doors, by July 2010. Another state facility in the region, the Wrentham Developmental Center, would remain open under the governor's plan.

The state has no specific plans for the Fernald or Glavin sites, according to a spokesman for the state's Executive Office of Housing and Economic Development.

Patrick's decision on Fernald followed years of controversy, including an October ruling by the US Court of Appeals that sided with the state in denying that Fernald's residents had the right to stay in the facility. State Senator Richard Tisei, a Wakefield Republican and the chamber's minority leader, issued a statement calling for Patrick to reverse the planned closure, citing its impact on the residents and their families.

Fernald is "a very, very important piece of property in the city and you have a little country road as the access," said Waltham Mayor Jeannette McCarthy, warning against overdevelopment of the 196-acre parcel. "It's imperative that Waltham have a say in this. The entire city will be impacted."

Declining to discuss specifics since the property is still owned by the state, McCarthy said she anticipates reviving the city's Fernald reuse committee to address the issue.

The committee was created under a state law that dictated what Massachusetts was required to do to redevelop the land. However, at the state's request, the committee was disbanded while the issue was debated in court, McCarthy said.

"As soon as the state delegation gives me the OK, I intend to have a meeting right away," McCarthy said.

City Councilor Patrick O'Brien said Waltham has examined purchasing the site using Community Preservation Act funds.

"The city wants to make sure we preserve the land," O'Brien said, describing the impact as "devastating" to neighbors and the city if it were sold and developed.

O'Brien said he supports converting some of the existing buildings to affordable housing units, something that has been discussed by the Fernald Working Group, a coalition of various Waltham organizations that was formed several years ago.

"Our purpose has always been to involve the community and make sure the state is aware that Waltham is very involved in this property, and to make sure the state incorporates the community's vision in the site," said Steve Laferriere, a member of the group.

The group hopes to see affordable housing on the property, using a clustered development approach that would leave large tracts of open space, he said.

Fernald Working Group members also hope the site's history is preserved through renaming roads and parks after Fernald's founders and restoring historic buildings, a process that could be daunting because some of the structures contain asbestos and have been vacant for years.

"There's buildings that are fenced off and not safe for people to be in," Laferriere said. "I think there's a lot of infrastructure and environmental issues that need to be addressed by someone."

The group's vision includes restoring wetlands and expanding open space, especially through links with neighboring natural resources to create a corridor for the Western Greenway, a stretch of parkland in Lexington, Belmont, and Waltham.

While Waltham was expecting the closure announcement, officials in Shrewsbury were caught off guard at the Glavin Regional Center being included in Patrick's plans.

"To the best of my knowledge, Shrewsbury had absolutely no advance warning or knowledge that the Glavin Center was going to be closed," said Selectman John Lebeaux. "It's a big, big piece of property, but we have no idea what the state's intentions are."

If the property, which is primarily zoned as residential with a strip of commercial where it abuts Route 9, were to be sold and developed, Lebeaux said, he would prefer commercial building with adequate buffers to neighboring residences.

"Shrewsbury has had tremendous residential growth over the past 10 years," Lebeaux said. "It's stressed our municipal services and we've had to build several new schools."

The town would like to see some of the property preserved as open space, especially the portion that has an active farm, he said.

"We'd most welcome it probably remaining the way it is," Lebeaux said. "It's been an excellent member of the community."

In Wrentham, town officials expected the state to keep the Wrentham Developmental Center open, and said they welcome the institution in their community.

"We're happy with the facility," said John McFeeley, the town administrator. "It's been part of our history for all these years. Someday it will probably get closed, and if that were to happen, we would be worrying about what would happen to the property."

Some of the center's land hosts a town recreation facility, and Wrentham's cable-access television station is housed in one of its buildings, McFeeley said.

In 2002, Town Meeting voted to rezone the property to conservation and recreation in order to restrict its development potential, even though it costs the town $300,000 a year in state funds, he said.

Communities that host state facilities receive payments in lieu of taxes based upon the value of the property. Since the zoning change restricted development, the parcel's value plummeted.

"We've basically taken a loss on it to make sure it is something that's more palatable to the town's tastes," McFeeley said.

Also facing closure are facilities in Monson and Templeton, while the Hogan Regional Center in Danvers would join Wrentham in remaining open.