2010-04-20-CPC-min - Laserfiche WebLink

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Minutes of the Community Preservation Committee Tuesday, April 20, 2010 3:00 pm Room 207 Town Offices Present: Betsey Weiss, Chair; Joel Adler, Norman Cohen, Marilyn Fenollosa, Jeanne Krieger, Wendy Manz, Nathalie Rice, Admin. Asst; Leo McSweeney, Sandy Shaw and Dick Wolk. Also in attendance were Mr. David Kanter and Ms. Shirley Stolz of the Capital Expenditures Committee, Selectmen Mr. Peter Kelley, Finance Director, Mr. Rob Addleson Mr. Charles Hornig, Ms. Ingrid Klimoff, Ms. Kay Tiffany, and Mr. Todd Cataldo, owner of the Cotton Farm. Ms. Weiss called the meeting to order at 3:05 pm. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss the proposed Cotton Farm Land Acquisition, and to receive an expanded project description of the Town Offices Building Project. 1.Cotton Farm Land Acquisition – Ms. Weiss opened the meeting, and recognized Mr. Charles Hornig, who was in attendance as a private citizen, (not as a Planning Board member) to discuss the valuation on the Cotton Farm property. Mr. Hornig stated that he supported preservation of the parcel, but not at the cost of $3.8 million dollars, the negotiated price for the sale. He said he had issues with the per lot value of $880,952 and with the section of one of the appraisals which assumed that the lots would sell within 18 months. This time frame seemed particularly short, especially when built by a developer/owner, he noted. He said it would be more customary to see the lots sell over a 3-year period, which might decrease the value of the land by some $500,000. Mr. Hornig also discussed the restrictions on the number of houses on the back land and its impact on the total development of the property. He added that he felt this was the last piece of land the Town would buy, but questioned, “at what price”. As he calculated, what the Town was “taking away” from the owner was approximately 2.5 million in development potential. This left more than a million being attributed to the easement and the restriction on the number of the homes. This value, he strongly suggested was too high. Mr. Hornig also cited comparable sales on Tricorn Road and Marrett Road, which did not support the appraised value of the Cotton Farm lots at $880,952. There was a discussion among members of the points raised by Mr. Hornig, with some members showing a great deal of hesitancy about the proposed project, and others voicing their support. Ms. Shaw made the point that the 1