2012-10-25-CPC-min (2) - Laserfiche WebLink

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Ms. Manz informed the Committee that elections for the Chair and Vice -Chair will be held at the November 1St meeting. 7. Policies Related to Land Acquisition — As a follow-up to discussions in the meeting of July 24th, Ms. Manz raised the issue of clarifying the process in which stakeholders in CPA land acquisitions are given the opportunity for public comment. There is the belief on behalf of some members of the CPC, that the some interests, particularly housing and recreation, have not been adequately considered in recent land acquisitions. Ms. Manz suggested that there were two actions that could be taken; one to write the Selectmen and request specific considerations for land acquisitions, or two, to include a line or two on the capital request form which asks applicants to state if they have considered the other interests of the Act in their proposal. This issue sparked a debate among CPC members, some of whom felt requesting the Selectmen to adopt new prodcedures might be interpreted as being too cumbersome. Some members felt that conservation acquisitions should be considered simply as open space, while others felt that the appropriation of CPA funds obligated the CPC to consider all purposes for the acquisition of land. Mr. Kanter noted the importance of making an "audit trail" in order to ensure that an applicant had considered all four purposes of the Act. Ms. Weiss moved that the CPC set a policy that various committees (stakeholders) have the opportunity to comment in written form as part of the application process for a land acquisition, and that applicants demonstrate proof that such comment had been considered. The Committee discussed the logistics of such a process, and ultimately Ms. Weiss withdrew the motion. Ms. Manz agreed to draft a letter to the Selectmen for review at the next meeting, and the CPC will consider making a change in the Capital Request form. The meeting was adjourned at 4:50 pm. Respectfully submitted, Nathalie Rice Administrative Assistant Community Preservation Committee