Conservation Scorecard case study - Acushnet
The town of Acushnet is located in southeastern Massachusetts, approximately 50 miles south of Boston and 35 miles southeast of Providence, Rhode Island. It is bordered on the north by Freetown, on the east by Rochester, on the south by Fairhaven, and on the west by New Bedford. (Source: Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development)Click for more details about the town
Click for photos of the town
Acushnet still retains much of its open space; however, like many other communities in the region, it is under pressure from development. Manomet's Regional Conservation Planning Program worked with the Acushnet Conservation Commission to apply tools that can help make educated decisions about the future of the town's remaining open space. The Conservation Scorecard viewer and worksheet was used in autumn 2005 to determine the relative conservation value of a 10-acre parcel that became available to the town as right of first refusal.
The owner sent a letter to the town in September 2005 offering the property under right of first refusal for an asking price of $900,000. In addition to the 10 acres of land, the property includes a house, the maintenance and potential liability of which was of concern to the town. Also, a site visit revealed that there were a number of items that would need to be disposed of in order to create a network of trails. On the plus side, however, the property abuts an existing open space, namely, Davis Park.
Acushnet's conservation agent used the Conservation Scorecard viewer and worksheet in conjunction with a site visit to determine the relative conservation value of the parcel. The final score was 57-a "moderate to good" conservation value.
Click for a copy of the completed scorecard
Following completion of the Scorecard, the Conservation Commission sent a letter to the Board of Selectmen, Board of Assessors, Town Administrator, and the Community Preservation Committee. The letter indicated that the town should not acquire the land due to the following:
Fairly extensive clean-up would be necessary;The existing house posed issues regarding maintenance and future ownership; The conservation value was relatively low given the other possible parcels that could be acquired in Acushnet.Click for a copy of the letter to the selectmen
The parcel will most likely become a 3-lot subdivision, in addition to the existing house.
