HomeMy WebLinkAbout2006-01-21 Board of Selectmen PacketTown of Reading
16 Lowell Street
Reading, MA 01867-2683 CONSERVATION COMNHSSION
Phone (781) 942-6616 Fax (781) 942-9071
ffink&i.reading.ma.us
MEMORANDUM
To: Board of Selectmen
From: Fran Fink, Conservation Commission
Re: 1481 Main Street
Date: December 20, 2005
The Town Manager asked for information and a map about the property at 1481 Main Street for your
meeting this evening. I have visited the property twice this fall with the owners, the Recreation
Director, and Town Manager. The' Conservation Commission also visited in October.
The site consists of two separate lots with two houses and a total of just over 93,000 square feet.
Both lots have a combined frontage on Main Street of 333 feet. They share a back lot line with the
Town-owned Bare Meadow Conservation Area. They are near the Lobs Pound Mill/Marion Woods
Conservation Area on the other side of Main Street and also near land belonging to Reading Open
Land Trust to the north. There are residential properties directly abutting the site to the north and
south, as well as across Main Street.
The site is primarily wooded with a mature white pine forest. The land slopes down considerably
from south to north. There are looped driveways and parking areas within the site, and a number of
interesting hand-crafted stone walls, seats, and other features that give it charm. One of the two
houses is a log cabin in very good condition that would lend itself to group gatherings. I have not
seen the inside of the second house.
Both the Conservation Commission and the Recreation Division see a number of potential uses for
the site, both for its intrinsic features and for its proximity to the Bare Meadow trail networks and
the Ipswich River sites. It could be used as a base for school field trips, after school programs,
summer day camps, winter cross-country skiing, and similar activities.
The owners have received one estimate of the value of the property as $1,200,000, although this
was not a formal appraisal. The land is in the S-20 Zoning District, where lots must contain
20,000 square feet and have 120 feet of frontage. It only has enough frontage for two lots on
Main Street, but if a short subdivision road were constructed into the site, it might be possible to
lay out three lots and a roadway parcel. The site is beyond the present public sewer system, and
development would be constrained by the suitability of soils for septic system use.
If the Town were to purchase the land for active and passive recreational use, the most obvious
potential grant source would be the Urban Self-Help Fund, administered by the MA Division of
Conservation Services. The deadline for application is typically June 1, and they require two
appraisals by the Town's appraisers, Town Meeting authorization, and a number of other
supporting materials. The grant would pay between 50% and 70% of the total cost.
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.Memo
To: Peter Hechenbleikner, Town Manager
From: John Feudo, Recreation Administrator
Date: 01/18/06
Re: Possible Activities/Uses for North Main Street Property
Here are some activities the Recreation staff and Conservation Commission has brainstormed. Some
need to be developed more than others, however all of them are purely possibilities:
Property Use:
Cabin Use:
♦ Synergy Course (Trust(Team Building) in a Meeting/Training Room
collaboration with Community Education
♦ Archery Range
e Sledding and Tubing Hill
♦ Horseshoe/ Bocce Ball Pits
♦ Playground Area
o Cross Country Ski Trails
♦ Summer Nature Camps
♦ School Field Trips (Nature Walks)
♦ Picnic Area for passive use
♦ Youth Classes (Small music, dance or art
classes)
o Adult Classes (Small yoga, music or art
classes)
♦ Office Space for Property Programming
♦ Group Retreats in conjunction with a ropes
course
♦ Outing Hut
0 Page 1
,Hechenbleikner, Peter
From: Fink, Fran
Sent: Wednesday, January 18, 2006 10:16 AM
To: Hechenbleikner, Peter; Feudo, John
Cc: Schena, Paula
Subject: RE: North Main Street
Page 1 of 1
LV
Another thought. I saw the letter from Mr. Eramo, the neighbor to the north. I am familiar with his property from
site visits to the Gresek site at 1503 Main Street. I do not think that the Eramo property lends itself to
Conservation/Recreation use because the lot is smaller and is mostly taken up With the house. He shares a
driveway with the house at 1503 Main, and also would share it with a new house if Mr. Gresek ever builds the
one we permitted last year. The Gresek land would be of much greater interest for Conservation/Recreation,
especially if it were puchased before he builds the new house. There also are other pieces of land around town
that would be of greater significance for conservation purposes. Thus, in my opinion, the Town should not pursue
the Eramo property.
The Cons Com has not discussed the Eramo property. If the BOS or Rec. Comm. is interested, I can have the
Cons Com look at it.
Fran
From: Hechenbleikner, Peter
Sent: Wednesday, January 18, 2006 8:51 AM
To: Fink, Fran; Feudo, John
Cc: Schena, Paula
Subject: North Main Street
Since neither of you can be at the site walk, can you put together a packet of information (most already exists)
with Kim showing locus, site, relevant facts, cost, uses.
Also FYI the property owner to the north has requested that we consider his property also for acquisition.
I'll need this to go in the Board of Selectmen packet for Friday.
Pete
1/18/2006
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