A 10-acre portion of a larger parcel of open land off Cartwright Road that was being eyed by developers has been taken off the market after the town and the longtime property owner reached an agreement for the town to buy the land abutting the Ridge Hill Reservation for $800,000.
The Select Board voted unanimously at its Feb. 24 meeting to combine Conservation Trust ($500k) and Community Preservation Act ($300k) funds to buy the property and designate it as undevelopable open space.
The town and the property owner, Marjorie A. Pine, executed a purchase and sale agreement on Feb. 19 but several actions are required before the sale can be completed, including approvals from the CPC and at Town Meeting.
The P&S also mentioned needing the Planning Board’s “endorsement” of the plan, given the 10 acres is being carved out of a 12-acre parcel and effectively creates a new lot. The seller is retaining a two-acre parcel that fronts on Cartwright.
“It’s a wonderful opportunity, and it will not have a great financial impact because this money has been dedicated specifically to buying open space, so it doesn’t involve any debt,” said Select Board Vice Chair Cathy Dowd during a brief discussion of the purchase.
“These things don’t come along very often, and it’s embedded in Ridge Hill and can provide more recreational space for people to walk and to enjoy.”
The Conservation Trust was created back in the 1960s under state legislation that established conservation commissions. Since then, various donations and appropriations at Town Meeting and from other sources have built a fund that currently has $530,000.
The CPC funding will come from its Open Space reserve that has more than $3 million on hand.
Town Manager Katie King and Town Counsel Chris Heep had notified the Select Board weeks ago that the land was available. The board subsequently discussed the potential purchase several times in executive sessions. The proposal was also discussed privately among members of other committees, such as the Finance Committee, Conservation Commission and the CPC.
King said the parcel has long been eyed by the Conservation Commission as a top priority for purchase, given that it is undeveloped and borders Ridge Hill on three sides.
“I became aware from our conservation department that there was a potential for it to be sold,” King told the Observer after the meeting.
“I didn’t see any particular listing. I just was aware that the current property owner was interested in selling.”
The property was listed with BHHS Commonwealth Real Estate. Broker Suzanne Nissen said, “there was definitely interest from builders.”
Dave Herer, chair of both the Conservation Commission and the CPC, said he was aware of the private interest.
”Before this deal was struck, we were worried because we were actually told by the realtor for the owner that they were looking to develop it,” Herer told the Observer after the Select Board voted on the purchase.
He said any developer might have encountered challenges navigating wetlands on the site, but it had capacity for a significant development.
“I did a quick and dirty layout of a potential property subdivision there and I got like, ten lots on that site. So, it was kind of scary,” he said.
Nissen agreed the lot appeared to have potential, but thought ten lots might be aggressive.
“The shape of the lot is ideal for building a road for access to that big, open space in the back, where the larger part of the lot sits,” she said.
“People commented that it looks like Vermont and you’re five minutes from downtown Needham and five minutes from downtown Wellesley. There are people that were very interested in looking at putting several houses back there.”
Nessen described the seller as content that most of the land would be preserved and that the two-acre lot, which she called a “pork chop” lot could provide additional financial return, given that the $800,000 purchase was far less than what a developer likely would have paid.
The town reportedly is negotiating for a second, larger acquisition of open space located in the vicinity of the Town Forest. The CPC has received a placeholder request for a possible second Open Space article for this year’s Town Meeting warrant
When asked if a second shoe might drop King declined comment, noting only that placeholders are common.
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