2016.11.28 Council Agenda Item 05

Summary

Order to authorize the Town Manager to execute an option agreement to purchase a parcel of land consisting approximately thirty-seven (37) acres, more or less, located on Babbidge Road as shown on Town of Falmouth Tax Map R08 Lot 036-B.

A public comment period will be included (3 minutes).

ACTION: Council action is anticipated.

Description

The Council is being asked by the Land Management & Acquisitions Committee to consider the purchase of a ±37-acre parcel of undeveloped land off of Babbidge Road owned by the McLean family. The parcel is adjacent to the town’s existing 375-acre North Falmouth Community Forest.

This parcel was once part of the historic Babbidge Farm. Approximately 2-acres of the property have been maintained as grassland. The remaining acreage consists of early successional forest, a forest type that is increasingly rare in southern Maine. As such it represents a valuable habitat type for a wide variety of wildlife, including a number of species of concern and the endangered New England cottontail rabbit (NEC).

The acquisition includes a 60 ft. wide strip of land leading from Babbidge Road into the main portion of the property. A woods road continues from the end of this strip across the parcel and into the North Falmouth Community Forest. The town already has a right-of-way over this road; the acquisition would secure that right-of-way and give unfettered access into NFCF from Babbidge Road. This road also serves as a snowmobile trail, replacing a trail that was severed by the Spoondrift subdivision to the east.

A sale price of $250,000 is being proposed, pending an appraisal. An option agreement has been drafted to limit the price to no more than $290,000 (town would have an option to terminate the agreement if the appraisal is higher than $290,000). The owner also has indicated that they want an option to terminate the agreement if the appraisal comes in less than $250,000.

The property meets two primary goals the town has established in both its Comprehensive Plan and openspace plan: It will help limit growth in the Rural Area and especially in this specific part of town, where any houses and streets built will be a great distance from existing town infrastructure (schools, public safety, public works, etc.) and thus be costly to serve; and it adds significant acreage to an existing large parcel of conservation land, preserving valuable habitat, enhancing recreational opportunities, and ameliorating the impact of development on the existing Forest that would otherwise result if this parcel were not acquired.

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