Six acres of land will cost Barrington $1.125 million

Developer had plans to build homes on George Street

Posted 6/21/19

About a month ago, hundreds of residents voted to approve the purchase of 6.8 acres of open space in the Nockum Hill section of Barrington.

That land acquisition, which will cost residents more …

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Six acres of land will cost Barrington $1.125 million

Developer had plans to build homes on George Street

Posted

About a month ago, hundreds of residents voted to approve the purchase of 6.8 acres of open space in the Nockum Hill section of Barrington.

That land acquisition, which will cost residents more than $1 million, will likely be finalized later this month, said Barrington Town Manager Jim Cunha.

"The financing should be complete today or tomorrow," said Mr. Cunha, during an interview on June 20. "The closing paperwork is complete, and we should close on it before the end of the month."

The property — about two acres of the parcel is designated wetlands — is often called Lot 3A and is located on George Street. Years ago it served as a riding area for a nearby horse farm, but more recently it was purchased by developer Ron Chofay. 

Initially, Mr. Chofay submitted a plan to build four multi-unit buildings on the property. He later submitted a plan that includes more than 20 single-family structures. Despite objections from the town, the plan earned the approval of the State Housing Appeals Board.

Environmentalists, preservationists and others opposed Mr. Chofay's planned development, and questioned the impact it would have on endangered diamondback terrapins which nest in nearby Nockum Hill.

"It is not hard to imagine the adverse effect that this unacceptably dense development could have on the habitat of the Northern Diamondback Terrapin or the negative environmental impacts to the Rayner Refuge that would result from a failure of the complex’s septic system," wrote land trust official Melissa Horne in a letter to the editor.

Earlier this year, town officials began negotiating with Mr. Chofay over the potential sale of the property, and at the May 22 financial town meeting officials announced that they had struck a deal with Mr. Chofay. Barrington Town Council President Michael Carroll said the town and Mr. Chofay had signed a purchase and sale agreement for $1.1 million. 

A few residents questioned the sale price — it is more than $600,000 higher than the current assessment and about $300,000 higher than a recent appraisal. But voters at the May financial town meeting approved the expenditure of $1.125 million by an overwhelming margin.

Mr. Cunha said town officials will soon hold public hearings to discuss the future of the property. The town is considering a few different options — Barrington can lease the land to be farmed or use it in a swap with current farm land to expand refuge property. There is grant money available for both options, but Mr. Cunha said the grant money for agricultural use is about double that for open space. 

"One way or another, the land will be preserved," said Mr. Cunha. 

"It cost more money than we wanted to pay, but it was something that people at the FTM were very in favor of."

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