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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
Indef nitely Postponed
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.
CATEGORY
CPF ACCOUNT BALANCES
2017 Special Town Meeting #3
APPROPRIATED TO DATE
(by category as of September 1, 2017)
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
AVAILABLE FOR
APPROPRIATION AT STM
#3 OCTOBER 2017
AVAILABLE BALANCES
COMMUNITY HOUSING RESERVE
HISTORIC RESOURCES RESERVE
OPEN SPACE RESERVE
UNBUDGETED RESERVE
UNDESIGNATED FUND BALANCE
TOTAL
M
$56,437
$447,833
$276,011
$661,352
$368,703
$1,810,336