Public Hearing Tonight on Railroad Avenue Lot

The Town Council will hold a public hearing tonight to consider the purchase of a .35 lot on Railroad Avenue in Unionville for $13,100. The Town has been accruing the small riverfront lots as they become available in an effort to preserve open space. The space could remain open for passive recreation or used for possible future projects such as a Unionville walkway or rerouting Rails to Trails.

The property, Lot 4 on Railroad Avenue, is owned by John R. Garilli and is one of two properties in the area that remain on the Town’s Land Acquisition List.

Purchase of the property will link four Town-owned open space parcels, creating 1.6 acres of open space with 420 feet of accessible riverbank that will be open to the public. The property also adjoins 4 acres of open space owned by the Farmington Land Trust.

The council will hear public comment on the purchase proposal tonight at 7 p.m. and later in the meeting is expected to vote to refer the issue to the Town Plan and Zoning Commission. The commission would submit its report at the April 9 meeting, when the council would vote on whether to purchase the property.