UPDATED: Walden, Marist Brothers Jointly File Appeal of ZBA Decision

Originally posted at 3:50 p.m. Updated at 4:48 p.m. quotes from Walden CEO
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Walden Behavioral Care and the Marist Brothers have filed a joint appeal of the Framingham Zoning Board of Appeals decision with the court.

The deadline to file an appeal was today.

"The decision denying Walden's application for a special permit is unreasonable, arbitrary and capricious, based on legally untenable grounds." 

"Our hope in the appeal is the same hope we have originally had for the property," said Walden CEO Stuart Koman.

"We were disappointed in the original (ZBA) decision," he said.

Koman said Walden made tremendous efforts to address the neighborhood's concerns and there was a long list of conditions we had agreed to.

Koman said he knows the appeal process is long and that Walden and the Marist brothers are in it "to see it through to the end."

"Our goal is to bring world class health care to that property," said Koman.

Koman said Walden Behavioral Care would be issuing a press release Tuesday morning.

The Framingham Zoning Board of Appeals voted 2-1 in October to grant a special permit for Walden Behavioral Care for the former Marist property site. That vote basically denied Walden's request, as the vote had to be unanimous to be approved.

ZBA Chair Philip Ottaviani, Jr. was the lone vote against the special permit.

Ottaviani said he had one hurdle he just couldn't get over. He said he did not truly believe the use was in "harmony with the neighborhood."

Walden argued it met "all the criteria for a special permit."

Walden attorney Jim Hanrahan said at the "end of the day the issue is not harmony, it is whether it is appropriate." 

A petition with more than 500 signatures was submitted to the ZBA opposing the special permit.