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Northborough committee advances landowner outreach; agrees to send letter to Indian Metal property owner
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Summary
Members reviewed a coordinated mailing campaign with Sudbury Valley Trustees (17 letters), reported one owner expressing partial interest, discussed a Rice Avenue parcel listed for sale adjacent to Edmond Hill Woods, and voted unanimously to send an outreach letter to the Indian Metal/Indian Meadow golf course property owner.
The Town of Northborough Open Space Committee on Wednesday reviewed coordinated landowner outreach carried out with Sudbury Valley Trustees and voted to send an outreach letter to the owner of the Indian Metal/Indian Meadow golf course property.
Staff said Sudbury Valley Trustees and the committee jointly mailed 17 letters on Jan. 15 to properties drawn from the committee’s multi-year landowner list; four recipients were new contacts. One property owner visited the town office, spoke with staff for roughly 30 minutes and indicated they were not interested in selling or restricting the entire parcel but might consider conserving a 4–5 acre portion. Staff said they will continue follow-up with Sudbury Valley Trustees.
Members spent extended time discussing a Rice Avenue parcel (line 66 on the committee spreadsheet) that abuts Edmond Hill Woods. Chair read an online listing price for the property — “$1,000,004.50” — and members noted two separate online listings: one for the house and two acres and one for the full ~17.97-acre parcel. Committee members discussed constraints that include wetlands, limited frontage and an alignment with the MWRA aqueduct that make subdivision or ANR unlikely. Members agreed to try to contact the listed realtor or drive by the site to collect more detail and to explore options such as acquiring the backland, funding a survey, or pursuing a conservation restriction or bargain sale if a partial-conservation approach is feasible.
On the Indian Metal parcel (line 38), members reviewed a short outreach letter and an accompanying summary of conservation options from Sudbury Valley Trustees. A motion to send the letter was moved and seconded; the committee voted unanimously to forward the letter to the property owner.
The group also received an update that a planning-board proposal to expand the open-space residential development (OSRD) bylaw to a wider set of residential properties will not move forward to town meeting because the planning board was not supportive due to density concerns.
The committee closed with a staff announcement that a staff member is retiring on Friday; members thanked the person and wished them well. The meeting adjourned after a roll-call vote.
