State: No Woodland Road Environmental Review

The commonwealth of Massachusetts will not require an environmental impact report (EIR) for the controversial Stoneham-based re-development project on Woodland Road.

The decision not to require the EIR came from the state Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Richard K. Sullivan on April 19. You can read the full nine-page document including the decision here.

The project, known as Langwood Commons, is in the middle of the Middlesex Fells. While the property is privately owned, the Fells is managed by the state Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR).

Friends of the Middlesex Fells Reservation, as well as concerned Medford area residents and city officials, have argued the plans do not have appropriate environmental review and the impact on traffic and the environmental landscape of nearby Medford roads have not been considered.

Last month, .

DCR recently extended the public comment period on the Woodland Road redevelopment and nearly four pages of the document linked to above are the names and dates of public comments received on the project.

According to Sullivan's decision, the Environmental Notification Form (ENF) for the project "has sufficiently defined the nature and general elements of the project for the purposes of (Massachusetts Environmental Protection Act) review and demonstrated the project's environmental impacts will be avoided, minimized and/or mitigated to the extent practicable."

Sullivan wrote his decision was based on the public comments, his review of the ENF and his consultation with other state agencies.

On their website, the Friends of the Fells wrote Sullivan's decision "is not surprising or unexpected." When Sullivan was previously DCR commissioner, the Friends said Sullivan blocked an environmental review of the project in 2009.

"This means that the public will need to wait until later this year for the outcome of the lawsuit brought by the Friends of Fells, ten citizens, and the City of Medford to see if the full public environmental review will be required," they wrote.