Cost leaves voters jittery on land buys
Marshfield Town Meeting last week voted down two big land purchases as well as a zoning change that would have allowed a summer camp to operate on residential property.
Voters agreed to buy a 17-acre failed subdivision, North River Village, even though they rejected the other proposed acquisitions.
And the owners of the proposed camp site on Union Street say they’ll move their home off the property so that they can go ahead with plans for a day camp for children ages 5 to 12, their lawyer said.
More than 600 people turned out for the special Town Meeting that stretched over two long evenings, said Town Clerk Patricia Picco. Usually about 200 people attend such meetings, she said.
But this one was packed with hot-button items, including the summer camp proposal and the requests from the Community Preservation Committee to borrow more than $4.1 million to buy a total of 128 acres of undeveloped land.
Susan Caron, chairwoman of the town’s open space committee, supported the land purchases and said she was disappointed with the results - the first time the town has voted against acquiring land for open space.
Caron said the recession had made it possible for the town to compete with developers for the land, but also made voters nervous about borrowing so much money. She said Town Meeting members were concerned that the state would renege on its share of the cost. The Community Preservation Act fund gets money from a 3 percent tax on local real estate bills, and contributions from the state.
“These are just difficult times, and we did the best we could,’’ Caron said.
She said she was particularly sad that the town didn’t spend $2.4 million for the 24-acre Pine Oak Farm, a stalled development of 20 single-family homes. The proposal won a simple majority of the votes - 284 to 231 - but needed a two-thirds majority to pass.
Voters also rejected spending $112,000 for 39 acres of salt marsh known as the Brinkman property, which runs from Rexhame Beach along the South River. Officials pulled back another proposal to buy 48 acres on the North River - the Goggin property - because they still were negotiating the price.
Joe Pecevich, a self-described nay-sayer, said he was glad Town Meeting turned down the proposals.
“Pine Oak Farm looks like a site suitable for a small subdivision, and borrowing money to acquire it would essentially amount to a bailout of a [private] investor,’’ he said. “The marsh was a cost-and-benefit question. Salt marsh has a lot of protections [already] and there’s nothing to be gained by [the town] owning it.’’
He also complained that details of the proposed purchases weren’t available until just before Town Meeting. “They [try to] rush those through without properly vetting them with the public,’’ he said.
The one acquisition that went through, the North River Village parcel, will cost the town about $891,000 after closing expenses, said Town Administrator Rocco Longo. The original subdivision plan had been approved as a Chapter 40B development, with five of the projected 18 homes designated as affordable, but the developer ran into financial trouble and the project never went forward, Longo said.
The land includes a large vernal pool, endangered species, and archeological ruins, and is next to conservation property owned by the Trustees of Reservations.
“People felt it was worth protecting,’’ Longo said.
Arguably the most divisive matter before Town Meeting involved a zoning change proposed by a couple who want to start a summer camp for 125 children on their 6 acres on Union Street.
“It was a very lengthy intense debate,’’ Longo said. “Some people were not all that excited about having 100 kids next door to them. Others said what could be more lovely than 100 kids playing in the woods?’’
The issue has been simmering since 2007, when the Zoning Board of Appeals approved Gloria and Ronald Erikson’s request to open a camp and neighbors appealed the decision.
A Superior Court judge ruled last March that local zoning rules prohibited the Eriksons from having both the camp and their residence on the land, said their attorney, Robert Galvin Jr.
The Eriksons, who moved to the property two years ago, are appealing the decision, and they also - unsuccessfully - asked Town Meeting to rewrite the zoning rules to allow two principal uses on the land.
“They are disappointed but also resolute,’’ Galvin said. “They plan to open the camp, and they’ll move out. . . . It’s a shame. Personally, I don’t think the sound of children playing is a nuisance.’’
Steven Masiello, who lives across the street, said he hopes the Eriksons don’t go ahead with their plan.
“We’re concerned about everything you could imagine about it,’’ he said.
“It’s as if your neighbor was going to have a wedding or a party with 100-plus people coming to his house. That’s OK, it’s a special occasion; you’re probably even invited. But this is going to be every single day of the summer.’’
Johanna Seltz can be reached at seelenfam@verizon.net. 
