Where there's a will, a land tug

After the Woburn City Council voted to rezone a 40-acre parcel to open space from residential, the City of Boston sent a message to Woburn: Not so fast.

The land in question is known as the Cummings Trust property, which includes 180 acres of adjoining land in Burlington. The entire property was bequeathed to Boston in 1930 by Mary P. Cummings for use as ''a public pleasure ground" and today exists largely as open space, although it is zoned for residential use.

In recent months, however, Boston officials had been studying the will to see whether the city could sell the property to a developer. The city had considered using proceeds from the sale to help with development costs associated with the Rose Kennedy Greenway and other park areas created in or near the path of the old Central Artery.

The Woburn City Council moved to limit this possibility. The council voted on Jan. 17 to change the zoning to open space, which would allow so-called passive recreational uses such as hiking or picnicking.

Boston thwarted this maneuver, however. On Jan. 13, days before the Woburn council's vote, Boston's attorneys filed plans under a provision of the state's subdivision control law. The plan freezes the residential designation of the property for three years. That plan was approved by the Woburn Planning Board on Jan. 24 in a 5-1 vote.

Edmund Tarallo, Woburn's planning director, said the board was legally obligated to approve the plan. ''The property meets frontage requirements as defined by state law, so the board had to approve," he said.

But Planning Board member David Edmonds cast a ''no" vote, citing philosophical reasons.

''I could not in good conscience vote in favor of it," he said. ''A trust is just that -- a trust. Mrs. Cummings trusted Woburn to keep it as open land. That's what we should do."

Lisa Signori, who as the City of Boston's chief financial officer is the custodian of the Cummings Trust, said there are no immediate plans to develop the property.

''The intent is to hold the residential zoning for the property constant for three years and in that time work towards a long-term solution about what to do with it," she said.

Woburn officials said the council's action was motivated by concerns that Boston would sell the land to residential builders, possibly the developer of a 40B affordable-housing project. Under the state's Chapter 40B, developers who set aside a portion of their units at below-market prices can avoid zoning ordinances in communities where less than 10 percent of the housing meets the state's definition of ''affordable."

The Cummings land is adjacent to land where Archstone Properties recently received approval to build a 540-unit apartment development under Chapter 40B. The plan was approved by the state Housing Appeals Committee and is being appealed by the city.

Woburn Mayor Thomas L. McLaughlin said the city wants to make sure that the land's future use is consistent with the Cummings will.

''My concern, along with the council, is that the property stay within the framework of the will and trust established by the Cummings family, which is for recreational use," he said.

The land lies in West Woburn, adjacent to Cambridge Road at the Burlington line. In Burlington, the parcel lies off Blanchard Road. ''It's a pristine piece of property," said McLaughlin.

Burlington has also been engaged in discussions about the land. Town Administrator Robert A. Mercier said he met with Boston officials in December.

''Given that most of the land is in Burlington, this is a huge issue for us," he said. ''Anything that happens with it is going to affect the town. We'd like to see it stay as it is now."

What to do with the land has been a dilemma for many years. Jeffrey Conley, executive director of the Boston Finance Commission, the city's financial watchdog, said the land is an extremely valuable asset to the city. A recent survey indicated the land could be worth as much as $20 million.

''Our position has been the same for a long time," said Conley. ''This has been an unused, underutilized property since 1930. It's owned by the city and taxpayers of Boston, and the question of what to do with it needs some resolution."

But given the stipulations of the Cummings will, the options appear limited. Signori said she and other officials will meet with representatives from Woburn for a discussion of the land's fate.

''We are very interested in working with both communities on something long term," she said.

Alexander Reid can be reached at areid@globe.com.