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Home My WebLink About2017-10-16-CPC-STM3-rpt Town of Lexington Community Preservation Committee Report to 2017 Special Town Meeting #3 October 16, 2017 Article 12: Appropriate Community Preservation Act Projects Submitted by: Marilyn Fenollosa, Chair Richard Wolk, Vice Chair Charles Hornig David Horton Jeanne Krieger Joe Pato Robert Pressman Sandra Shaw Melinda Walker Elizabeth Mancini, Administrative Assistant Approved October 12, 2017 ARTICLE 12 (a) Project: Busa Farm -Affordable Housing Indefinitely Postponed 1 ARTICLE 12 (b) Project: Property Purchase-Adams Street Lot at Chiesa Farm CPA Category: Open Space Amount Requested: $1,025,000 Amount Recommended: $675,000 CPC Vote: (6-2-1) Project Description: CPA funds are requested for the purchase of approximately 30,029 square feet of land located at 44 Adams Street. 13,398 square feet of the lot is subject to an existing conservation restriction and easement. A portion of the lot is also subject to an access easement in favor of the neighboring property at 42 Adams Street. The lot is adjacent to the Town-owned Chiesa Farm conservation land and was recently purchased by a builder who demolished an existing house to build a larger home on the lot. The builder has agreed to delay construction of the new home and provide the Town the opportunity to consider purchasing the property. If purchased, the property would expand and enhance the view into the existing conservation area from Adams Street by increasing the effective frontage from about 255 feet to 365 feet. The Chiesa Farm conservation property is an historic landscape in Lexington. The open fields visible from Adams Street and the farm's rolling pasture offer a glimpse into Lexington's agrarian past. Originally part of"Locke Land", the property was held by members of the Simonds family throughout the 19th century. The Bugbee family acquired the farm in 1897, naming it "Maplemere Farm". The Chiesa family purchased the property in 1920 and operated it as a dairy farm until the 1960s, when dairy operations ceased and the family began boarding horses while also running a small market garden business and selling jellies and ciders made from produce grown on the farm. The Town acquired 9.25 acres from the family in 1976, 13 additional acres in 1985, and the .31 acre conservation easement in 1986. Project Goals and Objectives: • Utilize CPA funds to purchase a lot adjacent to Town-owned conservation land. Project Benefit: The purchase of the lot adjacent to the existing conservation land will enhance and preserve in perpetuity a vista of Lexington's agrarian past, as viewed from Adams Street. It will also provide an additional opportunity for parking and for a street-level entry to the conservation land. Funding Request: The Community Preservation Committee recommends that Town Meeting approve $675,000 to partially fund this purchase, allocated as follows: • $650,000 (purchase price) • $25,000 (closing costs, legal fees) 2 The CPC declined to support a higher amount on the grounds that the original request significantly exceeded the purchase price for land per acre that this Committee has supported in the past. 3 CPF ACCOUNT BALANCES 2017 Special Town Meeting #3 APPROPRIATED TO DATE (by category as of September 1, 2017) CATEGORY COMMUNITY HOUSING $9,869,812 HISTORIC RESOURCES $32,542,863 OPEN SPACE $14,849,841 RECREATIONAL RESOURCES $8,890,599 TOTAL $66,153,115 ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES $1,505,000 TOTAL APPROPRIATIONS TO DATE $67,658,115 AVAILABLE FOR APPROPRIATION AT STM #3 OCTOBER 2017 AVAILABLE BALANCES COMMUNITY HOUSING RESERVE $56,437 HISTORIC RESOURCES RESERVE $447,833 OPEN SPACE RESERVE $276,011 UNBUDGETED RESERVE $661,352 UNDESIGNATED FUND BALANCE $368,703 TOTAL $1,810,336 4