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HomeMy WebLinkAboutOpen Space & Comm. 01/13/2022Open Space and Recreation Committee January 13, 2022 !-;NnvED OFFICE MEETING HELD VIRTUALLY USING GOTOWEBINAR PLXfidJQ) Ptt 2• 1 ) Present: Rebecca Foster; Sharon Friedman; Sally Fehervari; Kevin Dumas, TownlNldoakir N"anr�c� Griffin; Katelyn Gonyer, Environmental and Conservation Planner. Ms. Gonyer opened the meeting at 7:30 pm. Reorganization of the Committee: Ms. Foster made the motion to nominated herself for Chair. Ms. Friedman seconded the motion. Ms. Fehervari — in favor Ms. Friedman — in favor Ms. Foster — in favor Motion passed 3-0-0 at 7:32 pm. 177 Old Elm Street. Ms. Gonyer said at tonight's meeting the Committee is trying to get a recommendation to the Select Board, per a letter from the Town Manager, requesting that both the Open Space and Recreation Committee (OSRC) and the Conservation Commission give a recommendation to the Select Board on acquiring a parcel of thirty (30) acres of forested land that is currently under Chapter 61. Ms. Gonyer said this is an opportunity for the Town of Mansfield to potentially acquire the land and, in order for the Select Board to make some decisions on this, they wanted to look to the OSRC and Conservation Commission to make sure that this type of land acquisition parallels with our planning documents such as the Open Space Plan and the Master Plan. Ms. Gonyer said since the land is in Chapter 61, when there is any potential change of use or a sale, that land then goes to the town for First Right Refusal. She said this will not be forthe full parcel; of the thirty-three (33) acre parcel, three (3) acres will be pulled out, so it will be a thirty (30) acre acquisition of currently forested land. She noted the land was delineated under an Order of Resource Area Delineation, approved in 2017, which means all the wetlands have been flagged and approved. At this time there has been no development approved by the Conservation Commission. The land was forested in 2015 but stands as an open space, forested parcel with some upland and wetlands. She said this acquisition falls into the criteria set forth in our planning documents. The Open Space Plan and Master Plan are all showing the town's need or want to acquire more green spaces, especially parcels that will create a greenway corridor and expand the trail systems into West Mansfield. Ms. Friedman said she is in support of the town exercising its prerogative under Chapter 61 in acquiring this parcel of land. She said she reviewed the GIS material and the land that is surrounding this parcel and this would truly support not only the Open Space Master Plan but the Master Plan that was just approved by the town. She said she thinks the town is in a position where we financially can do this and, with so much other development going on, would be able to preserve this for the town and maintain a nice spot of open space in that area, which would be an improvement and would benefit the health and welfare of the Town of Mansfield. Ms. Fehervari said she supports the acquisition of this land because we do need to preserve as much of the green space as possible. She said this is a wonderful opportunity. Ms. Foster said she also supports the acquisition of the land. She said this is all part of our goals to acquire more land to improve the connectivity of the land we already have. Ms. Friedman made a motion to recommend to the town that it acquire the parcel at 177 Old Elm Street for perpetuity and conservation. Ms. Fehervari seconded the motion. Public Comments: Ms. Foster read the following script: "it is important to us that you have a platform for your questions and comments during this meeting, therefore to ask questions or make a public comment during tonight's virtual meeting you must have registered and joined the meeting via GoToWebinar where you now have the ability to submit your questions or comments through the questions option in your control panel, or you can use the raise your hand option to be allowed to speak. As with any public meeting we ask you to be respectful of the Board members and the other residents who are making their comments by patiently and quietly waiting your turn. Thank you." Robert Saquet said he is the owner of the land in question and what brought this to the forefront is they have a buyer for the land, Al Noor Academy in Mansfield, that wishes to build a new campus for their school. He said there is ample acreage to support this. He said he believes the school would be a tremendous asset to the town in general. He said one of the reasons this parcel is so attractive to the town is there are approximately twenty (20) acres of town -owned land abutting this parcel. He said what the school is considering and would like to offer is that a portion of the land that is not used for the school campus would be passed over to the town. This would link the existing parcels that the town already owns, ending up with forty acres of forested land. Mr. Saquet said between the land from the academy and the existing town -owned land there is nine to ten acres of land that surrounds the Buckskin Drive development and also a link to the old cemetery on Jewell Street, which is town -owned property, so you would literally have a trail from Old Elm Street to Jewell Street. This land from the academy would be acquired at no cost to the town. Ms. Gonyer said at tonight's meeting we are only voting on the thirty (30) acres in total as one parcel. Nancy Griffin said a Dr. Elshaar is trying to join the meeting. Mr. Dumas asked if there was a possibility that Ms. Griffin could work with the person off line and possibly message this person to see if maybe there is another alternative means of communication that they may be able to arrange. Ms. Griffin read a message from Dr. Elshaar, Al Noor Academy, stating "the school can work with the town to keep the school in Mansfield and donate part of the land." Ms. Gonyer said if people are for the acquisition and still have questions, she can answer them after the meeting and said any of the documents are public record. Jean Southard said the neighbors on Old Elm Street totally support the town's acquiring this property for Open Space. She said there are no sidewalks or sewer on the street. She said the street has been named a scenic byway and it is not appropriate to put a large school in this area. Ms. Gonyer said we appreciate the support and the comments about the need and the lack of open space in that area but again, the potential use is not part of this. Ms. Friedman —in support Ms. Fehervari — in support Ms. Foster — in support Motion passed 3-0-0 at 7:51 pm. Ms. Gonyer said she will draft a memo explaining the findings of the OSRC to the Select Board just as we will be doing at our next Conservation meeting and then the Select Board at their February meeting will take into the consideration the information from both the OSRC and the Conservation Commission, as well as all other facts, and will then start the process. Meeting dates will be reviewed because the updates to the Open Space Plan for 2023 need to be completed. Adjournment: Meeting adjourned at 8:00 pm. (Fehervari/Foster). Ms. Fehervari —in favor Ms. Foster —in favor Motion passed 2-0-0. Rebecca Fo Chair Date