HomeMy WebLinkAbout1981-03-22-HFAC-rpt.pdf March 22, 1981 (151)>1 '
—0//
Mary Miley, Chairman
Ole}
Lexington Board of Selectmen
Town Offices /
Lexington, Mass. 02173 ;
RE; Hanscom Field Advisory Commission, Dec. 1980-March 1981
Dear Mary,
The Hanscom Field Advisory Commission was brought into
being on December 19, 1980 in accordance with the requirements of Chapter 290.
The list of appointments recommended by the Hanscom Field Advisory Committee
for inclusion on the Commission was approved by the four Boards of Selectmen
in the Hanscom area. CBedford reseryed their yote on CAPA in case another area-
wide group requested membership.) Selectmen Designees to the Commission in all
four towns remained the same: James Walpole, Concord; John Haggerty, Lincoln;
Fred Hafer, Bedford; and Jacquie Smith, Lexington.
ACTIVITIES
During this period we have continued to work with Massport
on monitoring the Noise Rules. Massport has employed Lynn Burkhart as chief
statistician and planner for Hanscom Field and have directed her to put all her
efforts into developing and managing a data collection system which will provide
both the Authority and the communities with useful data on which to evaluate the
impact of the Noise Rules at the end of the 18 month review period - January 1982.
Ms. Burkhart briefs the Commission on monthly activities and has worked closely
with the Noise Sub-Committee, FAA Tower personnel and users of the Field in
developing the data system -- to everyone's apparent satisfaction.
We have drawn up and approved By-Laws for the operation
of the Commission which we hope will assure the continuity of input and dedication
of service that all other iterations of this group have had. We have three
standing committees. Noise Rules (emphasis on community impacts) , Chaired by
John Haggerty, Operations (emphasis on airfield problems & coordination) , Chaired
by Norman Fredkin of Raytheon, and Land Use (emphasis on offering our regional
perspective on planning issues in Hanscom area to Town Boards or other officials))
Chaired by me Jim Walpole of Concord is our Chairman, serving until June 1982.
In January Massport conveyed to Concord conservation easements
on airport land lying within Concord One section was conveyed for a 50 year period,
the more buildable section was guaranteed to be left open for at least ten years.
ISSUES
Legislation Some legislative concerns have arisen in tisy ear's list of b•�lls from
the State House. ' G11
0.00 A M ��� /1 7' L—. ( Gc
r.� H.1058/S.1598 A bill to repeal the Towing Ban at Logan and
4814 A Bill to Remove the Daily Minimum use fee. I have attached a copy of
Jim Walpole's testimony which accurately expresses the position taken by the Towns
for the past two years on the towing issue and legislative regulation in general .
On H 4314 I mighittadd that this Massport regulation was designed to encourage General
\
ti
o
4 Aviation to stay out of Logan during peak hour traffic from a safety and capacity
standpoint One of the prime reasons Massport was willing to adopt the Noise Rules
for Hanscom was that they planned at the same time to institute this regulation which
had the capacity to divert traffic from Logan to Hanscom. The Noise Rules were
our guarantee that such increased traffic would not increase noise impacts.
H.3164 would require Massport to get prior approval from the
Mass. Aeronautics Commission before instituting any rules or regulations. Currently
MAC has such power over all other publicly held airports in the state From our local
perspective my concern is that this bill might endanger the Noise Rules. MAC (and I
blush to say even during my chairmanship) has failed to approve any noise regulation
presented to it.
H.3162 would require all airport plans to be in accordance
with the State System Plan --developed and approved by MAC My concern here is that
then MAC becomes the developer at Hanscom and our agreement to work mutually with
Massport to explore development of the field on both air and land sides will be
meaningless. Nationally., System Plans are only binding on state owned and operated
fields. Otherwise such plans serve as a goal setting process and as a guideline
for other airports in that state's system
Some of these bills have already been heard in Committee.
If you are interested in pursuing any of them, please let me know and I will get
more details for you.
Development
MAPC is circulating an A-95 Review form on a Flight Service
Facility proposed for Hanscom Field. Jere Frick will discuss that with you. Hanscom
Field Community Commission members feel the increase in traffic on the Hanscom roadway
system will have an adverse effect
Massport is also exploring a limousine service from Hanscom
to Logan by which Hanscom area travellers could drive to the field and take the limo
to Logan. It is a good energy saving idea for which Massport should be commended --
but not on that road system unless all service is at off peak hours.
It seems timely to assess the amount of development that is
going to take place in the Hanscom Field area in the next five years -- by Massport,
by the Air Force, and by the industries in the four town area. I suspect we will see
the same development explosion taking place throughout the region as has been detailed
in Bob Bowyer's analysis of the Hartwell area. We need this information so the towns
can exert whatever controls they have to slow this development until the road situation
is corrected. The best way to gain cooperation from developers in either the private
or public sectors may well be through showing them the data that demonstrates that this
road system is about to break down totally This may also be what the towns need to
convince the state and federal transportation officials that the situation is critical
and must be remedied at once If you feel HFAC should concern itself with how best
to quantify such a development increase, I would be happy to put it on the Land Use
Sub-Committee agenda
It continues to be a pleasure to represent Lexington on this
Commission Let me know if there are issues or positions which you would like me to
bring before the Commission
incerely,
Ja q ue`tyn Smith
'c c l Frick, Planning Director, Conservation Commission
.J
1
a
Testimony of James Walpole
Before Joint Transportation Committee
February 24, 1981
My name is James Walpole and my remarks refer to House Bill No. 1058
and Senate Bill No. 1598 on repeal of the. ban on towing at Logan, and to
House Bill No 4814 on removal of the daily minimum 'use fee. Although I
am Chairman of the Hanscom Field Advisory Commission, I want to emphasize
that I am not speaking on behalf of the Commission as it is presently cons-
tituted. We have not had an opportunity to discuss these bills as a com-
mission, and our commission is broadly representative of a number of dif-
ferent contituencies. My personal views on these bills, nevertheless,
are historically consistent with and, I believe, reflect the views of the
predominant interest of the towns and neighborhoods represented in the
commission, as they have been expressed in the past.
I an in favor of H 1058 and S 1598, to repeal Chapter 703 of the Acts .
of 1979, and opposed to H 4814, to remove the minimum daily use fee.
When a state agency has made a determination after hearing all parties
fairly, it is normally inappropriate to change that determination bylegis-
lation, except in clear cases of injustices, abuse of power or other such
e'ergency The bills mentioned above all deal with this general philoso-
phic issue. If the responsibility of the Massachusetts Port Authority to
rake rules and regulations. at its airports is arbitrarily and prematurely
pre-empted by stated legislation, Hanscom Field and its neighbors may be
affected as well as Logan and its neighbors The Massachusetts Port Au-
triority, as presently administered , has been highly responsible in trying
to meet the needs of the aviation industry while being sensitive to the
problems of the communities neighboring its airports. They should be free
to explore creative solutions to these problems without legislative inter-
ference
Thank you for your consideration