Selectmen Chairman 'Optimistic' on Purchase of Johnson Farm Land

Charles Woodard, chairman, Sudbury Board of Selectmen, issued the following statement regarding the purchase of Johnson Farm land.

The Board of Selectmen have been negotiating with Mr. Robert Moss regarding purchase of the Johnson Farm land over the last several weeks, and are optimistic that a mutually acceptable agreement is possible in the near future. The Town of Sudbury values this property for its connectivity to adjacent open space and conservation land, for its abundance of wildlife and natural resources, its proximity to the Town’s drinking water wells, and the loss of these features if it were developed.

The property is on the town’s 2009 Open Space and Recreation Plan, and the town attempted to purchase this property in 2007 to no avail. The environmental sensitivity of the property has not diminished since that time, and the development plan proposed could prove detrimental to the natural resources in the area.

As with all land preservation projects, the details are complex as the town does not have unlimited financial resources to preserve every parcel of land that is threatened with development. Community Preservation funds are especially limited at the current time due to major land preservation projects in the past 7 years, including the Nobscot reservation and Pantry Brook Farm, totaling over $15 million.

The selectmen are crafting a solution for Johnson Farm that may include several funding sources, including but not limited to CPA funds, a debt exemption and private fundraising, along with the sale of 2 frontage lots on Landham Road for the construction of 2 single family dwellings. This multi-faceted approach to preservation seeks to balance the desires of the community with the reality of municipal finance, and we hope that the community understands this. The Board anticipates bringing this project to the voters later this year, or early next year, for both a town meeting and ballot vote. The full details of the agreement will be made public once an offer is accepted in writing by the parties.