Citing environmental concerns, Gov. Deval Patrick vetoed a bill that would have allowed Waltham to offer a 99-year lease to a private developer to build a nine-hole golf course on the old Metropolitan State Hospital property on Trapelo Road.
The governor said in his veto letter, dated Aug. 5, to the Legislature that the state Department of Conservation and Recreation performed an assessment of the 55-acre site in 2006 - done at the request of the city, including the mayor - that showed a golf course could harm the surrounding environment.
"The assessment concluded that a golf course on this site would jeopardize the land's fragile ecosystem, mature trees and wetlands," the governor said. "The Executive Office of Environmental and Energy Affairs and I are concerned that authorizing a golf course at this location would compromise precious open space and natural resources."
Plans had been in the works for a golf course on the site since 1994, when a committee of residents in Lexington, Belmont and Waltham developed a plan for the reuse of the former hospital property. The group at that time said a golf course would be the best use for the Waltham parcel.
In Patrick's veto letter, he said the city allowed a special act of the Legislature, which passed in 1996 and would have allowed Waltham to enter into a lease for a nine-hole golf course, to expire in February 2007.
In recent years, the city decided against building and operating its own course, and instead decided to try to lease the property to a developer who would build and maintain a course.
Ward 6 Councilor Robert Waddick, who worked on plans for a golf course when he served as deputy mayor under Mayor David Gately, said Patrick was basically telling the city that it missed its chance.
"This golf course could have been built and up and running," Waddick said. "Now it's not going to happen, and it's unfortunate."
Waddick said he didn't understand the state's assertion that a golf course would have harmed the surrounding environment, since hospital buildings sat on the property for years.
"I think a golf course would have been an improvement to the environmental quality," he said.
Last year, the City Council approved a request for proposals to solicit developers for the project, which offered up to a 10-year lease for the property.
But bids were scarce. Mayor Jeannette McCarthy along with the City Council then asked the Legislature for a special act that would have allowed the city to offer a lengthier lease. The bill passed both the House and Senate last month.
The mayor was unable to be reached for comment yesterday.
State Rep. Thomas Stanley, D-Waltham, who is also a city councilor, said he had been trying to convince the Patrick administration in recent days not to veto the bill.
"This would have given Waltham another opportunity," Stanley said.
The land has a conservation restriction, and will likely remain open space.
Stanley said that either he or another legislator could bring forth another bill for the golf course, but it would likely be vetoed by the governor as well.
"The sad thing is it's an opportunity wasted," Stanley said.
Richard Conn can be contacted at 781-398-8004 or rconn@cnc.com.
