Land at 91 Burnham Road, from the package shown to the council. Courtesy image
SCARBOROUGH — In a second and final reading, the Scarborough Town Council unanimously approved the expenditure of up to $140,000 from the Land Acquisition Reserve Fund to purchase property located at 91 Burnham Road from private owners. The town manager is now authorized to execute all documents necessary to protect the town’s interest. The purchase was recommended by the Parks and Conservation Land Board and the Scarborough Land Trust.
Land conservation is a priority in Scarborough, said Scarborough Land Trust Executive Director Andrew Mackie. “We feel like we have about a 10-year window (to conserve land), might even be less than that, where we’re competing with the development that’s going on in Scarborough,” he said.
The property is 7.8 acres of mostly forested land that borders the 220-acre Fuller Farm on two sides. A private trail system already existing within the parcel’s borders can easily be connected with the Fuller Farm trails, according to trust representatives. The property contains two small streams that feed into the wetlands that are shared with the larger property, as well as vernal pools with active wood frog populations. Vernal pools are also associated with rare and endangered species such as blue spotted and spotted salamanders and four-toed salamanders.
The land acquisition would also help the Scarborough Land Trust with its goal of connecting Fuller Farm to Broadturn Farm.
“The more land we can conserve in Scarborough, the better,” said Councilor Jean-Marie Caterina on Dec. 7 when the purchase was given preliminary approval. “We can talk all we want about wanting to make sure land is preserved, but unless we own it, there’s no guarantee it’s going to be preserved. So, it needs to be either under the land trust or (protected) in some other fashion because of private property rights.”
Although the purchase is not a done deal, the town funding will help move it forward, said Mackie who said he is confident of a positive outcome. “This project is definitely moving forward,” he said. “We are very close to closing in 2023, hopefully the first quarter.”
In the first hearing on Dec. 7, Council Chair Jonathan Anderson voiced his approval of the purchase.
“I know as a council we keep talking about conservation, and I think hopefully next year this will become a bigger topic for us to explore,” Anderson said. “So whatever the (Parks and Conservation Board) and the Scarborough Land Trust would like to do to partner with us to figure out how we can expedite this a little more to get as much conservation as we can, I think that’s something that I would really like to see.
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