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 the John Glenn Middle School on Thursday May 30 at 6:00 p.m. This presentation followed a 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. Lieutenant Vitale from the Bedford Police Department called Stop Private Jet Expansion organizer Alex Chatfield, who says, “He was cooperative and even offered to call me back as soon as he knew which entrance to the building people would be using. He recommended places we could stand where we would be visible and safe. The officer mentioned the ‘Senior Stroll’ 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 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 with questions to have a turn.”
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.”
The public commentary period for the proposed Hanscom Expansion lasts until June 14, and we encourage all community members to submit a comment using Stop Private Jet Expansion’s toolkit on their website: https://www.stopprivatejetexpansion.org/
The public commentary period for the proposed Hanscom expansion lasts until June 14.