Last year, the city acquired the conservation land along the southwest branch of the Housatonic River to permanently protect it from development. It can be used for passive recreation such as bird watching, hiking, fishing, and other activities that have a mundane impact.
The city has been working with and will continue to work with Berkshire Natural Resources Council to manage the property, enforce stewardship values enunciated in the conservation restriction, and act as a "backstop" to the city.
The Trustees of Reservations will buy the development rights for the parcel from Rural Lands, placing a farm-forward conservation restriction on it, thereby preserving the land in perpetuity.
The non-profit conservation trust succeeded in November in convincing the Select Board to assign the town's right of first refusal on the property, which has been conserved under the commonwealth's Chapter 61 program since the 1980s.
No matter how many homes actually get built, the assessed value of the property — and subsequent tax revenue to the town — would go up significantly if the private sale goes through and the acreage is removed from the Chapter 61 program.
The Planning Board last week advised the Select Board to assign to a local non-profit the town's option to buy a 10-acre parcel of farmland on Oblong Road.