Select Board forfeits right of purchasing three properties

The Select Board voted to forfeit its right to purchase or otherwise work to preserve three agriculture  properties rather than see the land be put to more intensive use.

The owners of all three plots — two owned by A.D. Makepeace Company, off Maple Springs Road, and the Bartholomew Family Bogs, off Pierceville Road — are currently provided with a significant “Chapter 61A” tax break in return for their commitment to keep the land open for agricultural use. In return, the town gets a right to purchase the land if it is put up for sale or there are plans for a non-agricultural use.

If the board doesn’t wish to purchase the land, it can also assign the property to an eligible organization or government entity. The Maple Springs Road property is intended for solar installation, and the Pierceville Road property is intended for a subdivision.

Select Board member Judith Whiteside said that over the past five years, the town has purchased conservation rights for several similar properties or enabled an entity to purchase the property. However, the town has no funds to purchase any of the three properties. 

Select Board Chair Sarah Corbitt brought up using Community Preservation funds, but Whiteside said the funds couldn’t be approved  in time to meet the Chapter 61A deadline to make a purchase commitment.

The Planning Board recommended that the board preserve or acquire the two properties off of Maple Springs Road, said Director of Planning Joshua Faherty. The Conservation Commission didn’t give a recommendation at the meeting, and Corbitt said she felt uncomfortable making a “really important” decision without it.

Ultimately, the board voted to not exercise its right to purchase or assign the property, as no organizations or entities had shown interest in purchasing the property, including the Buzzards Bay Coalition. Corbitt voted against not exercising the right for the properties recommended for purchase by the Planning Board.