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MassDevelopment In The News
Independence for Devens
October 24, 2006: The Boston Globe, Editorial
MassDevelopment has spent $140 million to turn the former Fort Devens into a thriving business hub. For that investment to work to the state's benefit, the Devens Regional Enterprise Zone needs to be part of the solution to the high cost of housing in Massachusetts.
So far, it isn't. The former military base now holds 4,200 civilian jobs, but decade-old rules limit the number of homes on the 7-square-mile site to 282. Any changes to those rules would require the approval of all three of the zone's host towns - Harvard, Ayer, and Shirley - but it's far from clear that the three towns are ready to accommodate the amount of residential growth that Devens needs.
For that reason, a panel formed to consider Devens's fate has recommended a radical idea: The Legislature would incorporate most of Devens as the state's 352nd municipality and hike the housing limit at the same time. Town Meetings in Harvard, Ayer, and Shirley will all vote today on whether to recommend the proposal to state lawmakers, and the MassDevelopment board, the Devens Enterprise Commission (the zone's governing authority), and the zone's residents will also meet today to consider the matter.
We urge all six parties to approve the proposal. Incorporation represents the best compromise between home rule for Devens's host towns and the need for more housing in the state's new high-tech belt.
At this point, Devens doesn't look or feel like a real town, because business development has so far outpaced the growth of housing. But more housing is crucial to Devens's emergence as a community, and getting all three host towns to agree to substantially more homes there would have been difficult.
Right now, Massachusetts has densely packed historic areas - including vast swaths of Boston and Cambridge - where homes and businesses exist in close proximity. The state also has quiet bedroom towns where people can escape the bustle of commercial activity. But Massachusetts is still figuring out how to develop 21st-century communities that can include high-tech businesses alongside enough housing to keep down the cost of living. If Devens evolves properly, it could become a model in the future.
Local control of development is a cherished principle. Home rule has its complications, though; concerns about traffic, open space, and the cost of public services can sap public support for new housing. Yet the economy suffers when housing construction is what happens only in someone else's town.
In theory, it's hard to see why a state that already has 351 towns and cities needs one more. In practice, incorporation would help Devens live up to its potential as a community - and prevent the growth in jobs there from making the state's housing costs worse.
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