Valley Land Fund News

The 14-acre wooded parcel, formerly owned by David Ciak and Margaret Papalegis, is located on the mountain side of East Street in the vicinity of Ferry Street and abuts the Mount Tom State Reservation.

With that announcement, the Community Preservation Committee has expressed interest in contributing up to $150,000 to complete the market value price.

The parcel had originally been under a purchase and sale agreement with David Lepine of DML Development, LLC, who built the Harvest Valley condominiums on East Street. But the city had first dibs on the parcel due to the way the land had been taxed for approximately seven years, under an open space provision.

The Department of Conservation and Recreation plans to appraise the land - which should happen by May - before settling on a final grant amount.

The Valley Land Fund purchased the parcel late last month after Mayor Michael A. Tautznik exercised the city's right of first refusal on the land in December -in an agreement worked out with the city, the land fund is holding the property until a permanent owner, in this case the city and state, can secure enough funding to purchase it.

Affordable housing

It is likely that the city will see that several units of affordable housing be built on the front of the parcel, according to City Planner Stuart Beckley.

Land Fund consultant Terry Blunt, a former DCR employee, brought a notice of the state's intent to a Community Preservation Committee last week.

Affordable housing and open space preservation are two of the four categories on which CPA funds can be spent.

Beckley said that it is not yet clear who would ultimately own the land.

The city is seeking guidance from the Department of Revenue on the regulations regarding the expenditure of city money for land that could end up as a part of a state reservation.

One option is that the city could own the land and the state would own a conservation restriction upon it, Beckley said.

The CPC has also expressed interest in creating a one-acre building lot on the parcel for what would likely contain an affordable duplex.

Beckley said that a private developer or a nonprofit such as Habitat for Humanity would likely build the housing.

Each duplex unit would be sold for approximately $150,000.

Housing Partnership Committee Chairman James Sullivan has pushed for the open space-affordable housing hybrid since word of the sale came out last year.

"The beauty of it is, what it does is put together the whole open space-affordable housing concept in one package where everybody gets something out of it," Blunt said.

Beckley, who along with other planning officials has long tried to conceive of ways to combine the two priorities, had similar sentiments.

"I think this is a small-scale demonstration of that," he said.

Matt Pilon can be reached at mpilon@gazettenet.com.

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Mayor Michael A. Tautznik on Thursday recorded the Valley Land Fund's assignment in the registry of deeds, effectively transferring the city's right of first refusal on the parcel to the nonprofit, which has helped to conserve more than 8,000 acres across the western counties.

It was standing room only Wednesday evening at the municipal building, as approximately 25 abutters, preservation activists and concerned residents packed into a first-floor conference room one day after Christmas to express support for preserving the parcel.

The city can do so by exercising or transferring its right of first refusal on the property, which is under a purchase and sale agreement with DML Development Corp. for $350,000.

The city gets first dibs on the property because it has been taxed under a recreational land provision, Chapter 61B, for seven years.

Many who spoke at Wednesday's public hearing lamented the pace and scope of development on East Street over the past five years.

More than120 condominium units have been built along the street in that time. Around 60 of the units belong to DML Development Corp., which owns Harvest Valley Condominiums at 273 East St.

No DML representative attended Wednesday's hearing.

“It has totally destroyed the view, atmosphere and culture,” Lang Avenue resident John K. Watling said of recent development.

East Street resident Brian Greenwood said that development of his street has ruined his daily drive to work.

“I can't stand driving down that road much longer and seeing what's been done with it,” he said.

Greenwood's wife Shannon Greenwood, noted the declining views and vistas on East Street.

“They cannot be re-created by anyone in this room once they are lost,” she said.

District 2 City Councilor Justin P. Cobb, who lives on East Street, said he was “wholeheartedly in support” of preserving the property.

Cobb, who made it clear that he lives across the road from the parcel, noted the wildlife he had witnessed there, including black bears and coyotes.

Also attending to show support for conservation measures were councilor Robert M. Harrison and councilor-elect Ronald D. Chateauneuf.

William Canon, a landscape architect who leads the Master Plan Open Space Subcommittee, suggested that a limited development “to preserve the greater whole” may be worth looking into. “I understand some of the economic pressures put on the city to balance between the myriad of costs,” he said.

Several others, including Pascommuck Trust member Marty Klein, echoed their willingness to allow some development on the parcel as “a last resort.”

Terry Blunt, a former Department of Conservation and Recreation staffer appointed by the Valley Land Fund to speak on its behalf, said the fund was ready to explore all options for the parcel.

“There is a nonprofit standing by to try to make this work,” he said.

Blunt, a founding member of the fund in 1986 who now runs a conservation services firm, said he learned of the parcel in August when he was approached by its owners, Margaret Papalegis and David Ciak, who inquired about potential state interest in the land, which abuts the Mount Tom Reservation.

Blunt, who said Thursday he had not yet discussed further strategy with the board, could not offer further details on what proposal would come forth.

Those options could include a fundraising campaign to purchase the land outright but could also involve working with the owners and using state or private money to preserve the parcel. Also, all or some of the parcel could be incorporated into the reservation.

Blunt, who said he plans to research other funding sources, said he hopes the land fund can reach consensus on a proposal “as soon as possible.”

Matt Pilon can be reached at mpilon@gazettenet.com.

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