Go back

Annual Report 1999

To Members and Friends:

The purpose of CPRH is to protect Harvard residents from the negative impact of unreasonable development in surrounding towns. This is an active engagement to retain Harvard's residential character and maintain the quality of life that makes Harvard an attractive place to live. Projects we have worked on during the past years include:

Shirley MCI Maximum Security Facility

CPRH worked in conjunction with town officials to implement certain measures to mitigate the building's impact on the breathtaking view from Harvard's Prospect Hill. As a result, state officials agreed to reduce building height, negotiate building color, bury the watertower, create a berm, and plant trees in an effort to preserve the viewshed. We continue to monitor the prison lighting to assure that promises to mitigate the impact on the viewshed are kept.

Asphalt Plant in Lancaster

In close cooperation with Lancaster and Bolton citizen groups, CPRH worked to stop the building of the largest asphalt plant in the state. To raise concern regarding the plant's potential carcinogenic fumes and airborne toxins, CPRH attended public hearings, educated both Harvard citizens and local and state officials to the negative impacts of the plant, and provided financial support to defray educational and research costs.

Cleanup of Devens Landfills

There are seven Army landfills at Devens containing a wide variety of toxic materials including pesticides, metals, oil, and arsenic. CPRH joins the Mass Audubon Society, Mass Development, and North Harvard residents in their stand for remediation by the Department of Defense through the excavation and removal of toxic materials. A final destination outside of Devens would be preferable in our view. The Army has not yet acted on this request for the removal. CPRH, in cooperation with PACE (People of Ayer Concerned about the Environment) will continue to monitor the landfill situation and provide feedback to the Army and state officials.

Devens Sewage Sludge Plant

CPRH worked aggressively against the bio-conversion facility anticipated to cause repugnant odors, dangerous emissions, and so consequently, declining public health and property values. Our efforts included extensive research, testifying at public hearings, providing information to local public officials, strategizing with other citizen groups, educating the public, and collecting signatures on multiple petitions. Proposals for this plant have at least temporarily been withdrawn. We continue to monitor for the reemergence of similar inappropriate utilization of Devens.

Towermarc Development In Boxborough

CPRH has participated in the planning board discussions with Boxborough to rezone the property adjacent to Harvard, the northern parcel, from industrial to office park use. This situation is as yet unresolved.

The Expansion of the Oxbow Wildlife Refuge

Along with the number of other groups, CPRH lobbied to complete the no-cost transfer of 890 acres of Fort Devens land to be given to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for the Oxbow Refuge. In addition, the groups lobbied for the 4,800 acres in the South Post, when it is eventually excessed by the Army, to be given to the Oxbow. In 1996, the 890 acre transfer was completed. We are still awaiting the transfer of the South Post acreage and will continue to monitor this situation.

As in all ten years of CPRH's existence, the community's response to our work played a crucial role in our successes. We take pride in our leadership of our community's opposition to the construction of an airport at Fort Devens. This was a major accomplishment and we look forward to working on other issues that similarly affect the community in the future. We need volunteers from our membership base to monitor issues, write letters, collect signatures, telephone, and attend meetings, or any number of other tasks. Members are all welcome at monthly board meetings.