Preserving a Habitat Meadow, Pond from Development

It is one of Belmont's great secrets. Located between Somerset Street and Concord Avenue, a broad meadow is occupied by wild grass and a collection of sheep and goats where nearby a family of ducks share with frogs a small pond in the midst of the woods.

A 10 minute walk from Belmont Center, the two-and-a-half acre parcel separates the busy suburban world with one of serenity and peace, a gem of nature where residents can trail on trails or sit and watch the sheep eat their way across the once overgrown landscape.

Due to the generosity of the Weeks' family, whose homesteads nearly predates Belmont's founding, the current owners and the work of a little known town non-profit, the land will be left in its present undeveloped state for perpetuity.

At its Wednesday meeting, the Belmont Board of Selectmen voted to place a conservation restriction on the land now owned by the Massachusetts Audubon Society by transfering the property's development rights to the Belmont Land Trust.

Even if the land is sold in the future, "we own the building rights so any financial gain from developing the land would go to us," said Neil Winston, Land Trust president.

The land – which was sold to Mass Audubon by the Weeks family at a significant discount – joins nearly five adjacent acres of land know as the Maple Allee donated by Anne Allen, sister of Julia Weeks who sold the land.

The Weeks/Allen land is now linked to the 88-acre in the Habitat Wildlife Sanctuary as well as the 120 acres of town owned land known as Rock Meadow and Lone Tree Hill south of Concord Avenue as permanent open space.

As with other homeowners, the land trust created an agreement to protect the land in which the landowner retains ownership while agreeing to limit development and other activities that could degrade the natural and scenic value of the property. In return, the development rights are handed over to the trust.

In its most noteworthy action, the Land Trust spearheaded the protection in 2002 of Richardson Farm off Blanchard Road that is currently being rented to and farmed by Belmont Acres Farm. Cultivation since 1634 when King Charles I deeded the property to Abraham Hill of Charlestown, a direct forbear of the current owners, the Ogilby family, the land may well be the oldest continually operating farm in the United States.

Currently, 26 acres in Belmont are protected from development, "allowing residents to enjoy open spaces that have become rare in Boston," said Winston.