The Scarborough Town Council has given preliminary approval to spending $157,000 from the town’s Land Acquisition Fund to help purchase a 6.4-acre parcel bordering Scarborough Marsh and overlooking Pine Point.
Landowner Don Whitten has agreed to sell the property to the Scarborough Land Conservation Trust as a life estate, meaning he will be allowed to remain on the property until he passes away and the land ownership will revert to the trust.
“In Scarborough the edges of the marsh are heavily threatened by development even though they serve as the only buffer to this most valuable resource,” wrote Suzanne Foley-Ferguson, chairman of the Scarborough Parks and Conservation Land Board, in a letter to the Town Council. “This parcel creates an important link to the Scarborough Marsh and other salt marsh uplands and we are confident that this purchase represents a major contribution to lands already protected in Scarborough.”
The land is valued at $345,000, but because Whitten is remaining on the property, $110,000 was subtracted from the total leaving the total purchase price at $235,000. Other associated fees and costs for the property bring the total purchase price to $248,700, according to Foley-Ferguson.
The Scarborough Land Conservation Trust and the Friends of Scarborough Marsh will provide $62,000 in cash as well as volunteer hours and donation of professional services to help with the purchase. The remaining $30,000 will be raised separately.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
