At DEIR Meeting, Hanscom Airfield Developers Shut Out Public Feedback

A shorter version of this article was published on June 6 in the Lexington Observer.

On May 15, developers of Hanscom Airfield’s highly contested proposed expansion announced that they would hold a Public Information Meeting to present the North Airfield Draft Environmental Impact Report at John Glenn Middle School on Thursday May 30 at 6:00 p.m. This presentation followed a contentious MEPA meeting on March 4, which stretched long after its planned end-time with negative comments from the concerned public.

The community began organizing a peaceful demonstration for May 30. Within a few days, nearly 70 people signed up. Organizers exchanged emails with Officer Brooks, the resource officer at John Glenn Middle School. In the words of Stop Private Jet Expansion organizer Alex Chatfield, "He referred us to speak to a Sargent Undzis and finally I got a call from a Lieutenant Vitale on Tuesday evening shortly after 7:00 p.m. We had a cordial and very specific call. He was cooperative and even offered to call me back as soon as he knew which entrance to the building people would be using. We discussed some recommended places we could stand where we would be visible and safe. The officer mentioned the “Senior Stroll” that would be taking place in the vicinity and I assured him several times that we would not do anything to spoil the event, even if it meant keeping our voices down."

Then at 12:08 pm on Wednesday May 29, the developers' Entitlement Permitting Strategy Advisor announced that the presentation would be moved to an online format, "due to safety concerns associated with protesters that have been disruptive in the past and a graduation event happening at Bedford High School the same evening." Chatfield called Lieutenant Vitale to ask what risk he felt was being posed, and Vitale confirmed that he had called the developers personally and informed them of the peaceful nature of the activists' plan.

Chatfield says, "The developers heard from the police that there would be no issues. The police were not concerned; they were helping to plan a safe event. They were not suspicious of what we planned to do, as far as I heard. We acted in good faith to include them in the planning. So, I think this was a deliberate move by the proponents to cast aspersions on the activists trying to stop the project by accusing us of being unsafe and disruptive. They then conducted the meeting in the most restrictive manner possible and did not allow time for all of the people who wanted to questions to have a turn."

The Meeting

In the online meeting on May 30, the participant list was hidden, and the public’s cameras, microphones, and chat were turned off. Only elected officials or their representatives could take the floor, for no longer than 3 minutes. This performative “community engagement” session essentially shut out the public’s feedback, under a guide of “safety.” As for the contents of the meeting, XR Boston rebel Niels Burger reported, "The developer gave a presentation on their climate report, which felt dishonest and misleading."

Burger continued, "They argued that the planned hanger expansion would decrease flights because it would prevent taxiing, the practice of flying jets without cargo or passengers, and therefore the project would have a net positive environmental impact. When pressed during the question-and-answer period for their evidence of reduced taxiing they said there was no way to know, but for the sake of the environmental study they were assuming the project would eliminate all taxiing.

They also talked about 'market demand,' arguing that there would be increased demand for private jet flights whether or not the project would go ahead. When pressed on the massive expansion of hanger space and increased fuel storage, they argued that the increased hanger space would have no impact on this increase traffic and that 'market demand' was somehow divorced from capacity expansion."

In response to the meeting's shift to an online format, local organizer Corinne Doud said, "What infuriates me is that the 'protest' was promoted publicly, including in the Bedford Citizen Calendar, as a peaceful, law abiding event, and was planned in coordination with the Bedford Police, and there was no legitimate reason to call off the in person meeting. Also, during the meeting the proponents mentioned a concern with pictures from an event happening at the High School and the protest, but though the two schools' properties are near each other, they are not close enough for pictures from one event to be impacted by the other event."

Reflecting on the May 30th meeting, Burger said, "As a resident of Arlington who has lived in the Boston area my whole life, I’m disgusted by the attempt of the developer and the employees of MassDOT to try to ram through this project against the overwhelming opposition from the surrounding communities. We all see the impacts of the climate and ecological crisis, whether it is breaking records in heat, coastal erosion, forest fires, natural disasters, not to mention increased sound pollution over the Walden Pond State Park and surrounding communities. Massachusetts is not immune to climate change and it’s only a matter of time before disaster and tragedy will strike us at home.

The gall of these developers to suppress public involvement in this process makes me sick. Where is the leadership from our 'climate governor'? Why are the MassDOT appointees helping the developers instead of serving the needs of the Commonwealth? I hope that the developer’s paid consultants and the government employees have the integrity to meet with the public in person and stop hiding behind their flimsy excuses of public safety. I hope Governor Healey hears the voices of the public and has the courage to shut down this destructive project."

What can we do now to oppose the Hanscom Airfield Expansion?

While XR Boston submitted our public comment about the Hanscom Airfield expansion on April 20, when 20 of our activists were arrested for disrupting private flights for the ultra-wealthy, additional public comments on the Hanscom airport expansion are open until June 14! If you aren't ready for direct action, you can still make an impact on this potential disaster. Feel free to mention the developers' intentional obfuscation of information to the public at the May 30 meeting in your comment submission.

Follow this toolkit from our friends at Stop Private Jet Expansion to send an email with your comments to the Massachusetts Environmental Policy Act Office!