MassDevelopment has announced it will be holding two more public hearings on the redevelopment of Vicksburg Square in Devens. The hearings come in response to concerns raised by Harvard's Planning Board and its town counsel that a previous hearing held in Harvard in November was not properly held or advertised.
"While MassDevelopment respectfully disagrees with [Harvard town counsel Mark] Lanza's opinion, we have agreed to hold two more public hearings in the interest of moving the rezoning process along in a timely manner," wrote Ed Starzec, MassDevelopment's Vicksburg Square project manager, in an email Wednesday morning to Selectmen in Harvard, Shirley, and Ayer, as well as the Devens Committee.
According to Starzec's email, the Harvard Board of Selectmen and MassDevelopment will hold a public hearing on Tuesday, Feb. 21, at 7 p.m. at Town Hall. Additionally, Starzec wrote, the Ayer Board of Selectmen and MassDevelopment will hold a public hearing on Thursday, March 1, at 7 p.m. at Ayer Town Hall.
MassDevelopment, the agency in charge of redeveloping the former military base, supports changes to the Devens reuse plan and bylaws that would allow developer Trinity Financial to convert the now-vacant military housing at Vicksburg Square into mostly income-restricted rental apartments. State law requires that town meetings in the three towns whose land Devens straddles—Harvard, Shirley, and Ayer—must simultaneously approve the changes.
MassDevelopment will be officially submitting the proposed changes to the board of selectmen in each town with a cover letter signed by each town administrator and George Ramirez, MassDevelopment's Executive Vice President for Devens Operations, Starzec wrote.
"A consensus appears to exist" for holding the super town meeting on Wednesday, March 28, wrote Starzec.
"The Towns will prepare warrants for Super Town Meeting (with assistance from MassDevelopment as may be needed)," he wrote. "MassDevelopment will handle printing and distribution of the warrants per each town's customary practices."
Trinity Financial will reimburse the towns for "all normal costs" associated with holding the super town meeting, Starzec wrote.