Published in the April 27, 2016 edition
LYNNFIELD Moms Group member Melissa Adams presents a rendering of the proposed new playground structure for Glen Meadow Park. Their group has raised nearly $40,000 for it while Town Meeting approved $200,000 to put toward town playgrounds. (Maureen Doherty Photo)
By MAUREEN DOHERTY
LYNNFIELD — Nearly two years after voting to acquire Centre Farm to save it from development, the town’s voters spoke again and authorized the selectmen to put the property out to bid for residential use.
Voters instructed the selectmen to put the historic circa 1785-1810 farmhouse and its seven acres of land out to bid as one unit, holding true to the original intent of June 2014 Special Town Meeting vote to ensure deed restrictions are put in place to prevent the property from being subdivided and the buildings from being razed or the exterior from being significantly altered.
TOWN MEETING voters overwhelming supported Article 21 authorizing the selectmen to sell Centre Farm subject to an Historic Preservation Restriction to protect the exterior of the structures, keeping it a single family home and preventing the 7-acre lot from being subdivided. (Maureen Doherty Photo)
Some voters at Monday night’s annual Town Meeting questioned why the property that was purchased for $1.4M would likely be sold at a loss. It had an assessed value of $825,000 last year and is currently being re-appraised.
Town Administrator Jim Boudreau pointed out that this “loss” in value was attributed to the fact that the town had purchased a property with no deed restrictions in place, which meant its value in 2014 reflected the fact that it could potentially be subdivided into three to four house lots if the Rev. Mottey House and barn had been razed.
However, Boudreau explained that the intent of Town Meeting voters was to acquire the property in order to put deed restrictions in place prohibiting the subdivision of the land or the significant alteration of the exterior appearance of the farmhouse and barn. Alterations would require any future owner to obtain the permission of the town and of the state Historical Commission.
This was done to protect the character of the town’s center, its common and the adjacent historic burying grounds as they have appeared for over 230 years. The act of reducing the available house lots from three or four to one would be reflected in the appraised value of the property today, the T.A. said.
By law, this appraisal will determine the minimum bid price that the town can accept for the property, added Selectmen Chairman Phil Crawford. The town is currently having the property re-appraised and it will likely rise in value at the same percentage of every other single family lot in town, he said.
STEVE MIGLIERO hopes to be the successful bidder on Centre Farm. (Maureen Doherty Photo)
The Board of Selectmen, Finance Committee, Historical Commission, Planning Board and the Capital Facilities Advisory Committee (CFAC) each recommended passage of Article 21 conveying the authority to the Board of Selectmen to “sell, transfer, convey or lease” 567 Main St. subject to the previously mentioned restrictions “and such conditions as the Selectmen may deem prudent.”
An amendment proposed by Pat Campbell of Patrice Lane to require the selectmen to bring any bids on the sale of the property back to Town Meeting voters for approval failed.
Campbell sought to have “the final authority for the disposition of Centre Farm … retained by the Town Meeting while giving the selectmen the authority to accept bids, etc. for the sale in preparation for Town Meeting approval.”
Campbell said, “Some unknown party may outbid the gentleman who made the proposal and the selectmen are obligated by law to take the highest bid. A residence would be fine with people. We certainly want to retain the character of Lynnfield center as represented by the beautiful Centre Farm.”
Crawford explained, “Any buyer of this property will have to comply with the preservation restrictions that we have and that keeps the property as a single family home, like it has been for 350 years. Our goal, ultimately was to get a local family that would want to fix the place up and live in it. Town Meeting restricted the permission to put it out to bid to come back to Town Meeting before the selectmen can do that. At this point we are asking to do that.”
JOHN FARIA, Planning Board chairman, spoke against an amendment that would require Town Meeting approval of the final sale of Centre Farm.
(Maureen Doherty Photo)
“In the meantime the Historical Commission has been working on the preservation restrictions. That is to keep anybody from breaking this property up. It is seven acres of land. A builder would want to break it up into four house lots. That’s why the town bought it,” Crawford said. “We have to go through this piece of it to get it out to bid and that will happen very shortly after this meeting if we are allowed to do so.”
About a month ago longtime Lynnfield resident Steve Migliero proposed putting in a bid with the town to purchase Centre Farm for his own residential use. He came before the selectmen with an architect who specializes in only historic preservation projects and proposed making some exterior alterations that would correct some existing modern updates that are not historically accurate.
“I grew up in Lynnfield and lived here my whole life. I went to Lynnfield High School. I have 17 family members that live in town so I understand the historical significance that the property has in Lynnfield,” Migliero said, who lives on Tappan Way with his wife Kelly and their four children.
“If this came up for a request for proposal, we’d be interested in being one of the potential bidders. If we were lucky enough to potentially win that bid, we understand how significant the property is to the town and would look to both maintain and preserve it from both a historic and an aesthetic perspective for where it sits in the town,” Migliero said, which garnered a round of applause from the audience.
Planning Board Chairman John Faria, who is an attorney, stated that he did not believe Campbell’s amendment would work under present Massachusetts law given the length of time it would take to call a Town Meeting after the town had lined up a potential buyer. After the amendment died, the voters subsequently passed Article 21 as written unanimously.
