By David Fortier
The president of an organization whose mission is to protect the Hoppers-Birge Pond Nature Preserve would like the city to purchase private property abutting the preserve along Perkins Street rather than for a proposed project for 16 homes to go forward.
“We think it would be best if the city would step in and buy the land,” said Michelle Rudy, president of the Friends of the Hoppers-Birge Pond Nature Preserve.
However, in a meeting earlier this year with Mayor Jeffrey Caggiano, Rudy said, the mayor was not inclined to pursue the property.
“He basically said that they (the city) spent way too much money on the Pigeon Hill preserve,” Rudy said. “They (the city) have no more money to spend on conservation.”
In addition, the mayor said the chances of get a grant from the state were low, especially after the Pigeon Hill purchase.
“And he said that even if they had enough money to buy the land, he wouldn’t do it anyway because he thinks that there is enough open space already at the Hoppers and he would prefer to use the money somewhere else,” Rudy said.
TBE reached out to the mayor for comments about the meeting and to confirm Rudy’s characterization of his position, but the mayor failed to respond.
The meeting with the mayor took place after the original contract with P & B Properties expired, prior to the eventual purchase of the property.
P & B Properties is proposing to build 16 homes on the 10-plus acres formerly owned by the Schaffrick family on Perkins Street. The builder’s inlands wetlands application comes before the commission tonight at 6:30 p.m. in council chambers at city hall.
The application first came before the commission last month, and the commission asked the builder to address several issues before its next meeting.
The Friends of the Hoppers, Rudy said, will be at tonight’s meeting to observe, but most likely will not raise any issues regarding the inlands/wetlands application.
“We are waiting to meet until after the formal inlands wetlands meeting,” she said. The group would be taking a more active role when the plan comes before zoning, which has more discretion when it comes to deciding the fate of such projects, she added.
She said she expects the commission to set the date for a public hearing and site walk this evening.
“We have no ill will whatsoever against the developer,” she said. “We just think the plan is not well thought-out and that it’s not to the benefit of the greater community.”
She said, “benefit of the community would be if you dropped the plans.”
The meeting with the mayor, Rudy said, came at the request of the mayor who asked for Rudy to provide information on why this particular piece of land is special.
“The meeting was held before the land changed hands,” Rudy said. “We were trying to get the city to slip in there and make an offer.”
At the meeting, Rudy said, she explained to the mayor that it wasn’t a question of the amount of the land that is at stake.
“It was a question of the quality of the land and what that particular piece of land meant to the preserve,” she said. “It’s like a piece in the puzzle and if you take it out the puzzle is not whole anymore.”
She said she thinks that there is a good chance of getting state funds for the property even though the city had already received a grant to help with the purchase of the Pigeon Hill Preserve properties.
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