Somerville Implements First Conservation Restriction

SOMERVILLE, MA — The former parcel at 5 Palmer Ave. will be perpetually conserved as open space under the city's first conservation restriction. The property was acquired using funding from the Community Preservation Act and will add open space to the adjacent Glen Park Community Garden.

The conservation restriction will be used as a model for other dense urban communities using CPA funds to broaden their open space, according to the city. Because a third party is required to hold the restriction to ensure that the parcel is preserved as open space, local nonprofit Groundwork Somerville is partnering with the City and the CPC to hold the restrictions for this and all future parcels acquired with CPA funding.

"Groundwork Somerville is very excited to enter into this partnership with the City of Somerville in creating and protecting this new parcel for the city, in one of our most densely populated neighborhoods where green, open space is at a premium," Kat Rutkin, executive director of Groundwork Somerville, said in a statement. "This alignment of our mission with the intent of the Community Preservation act is another reason we are so happy to be working in a collaborative city like Somerville."

While additional community garden plots have been identified as a community need, there will be a public process at a later date to determine design options for the space. For more information on the CPA, sign up for the CPA Email Newsletter by visiting the City’s website at www.somervillema.gov/cpa and clicking "Sign Up Now for CPA News."