HomeMy Public PortalAboutOSC Min 2023-11-15OPEN SPACE COMMITTEE
Wednesday November 15, 2023, MEETING (Skaket Room) 9AM TOWN OF O
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ANS jtllM CLERK
Attendees: Chair, Lynn O'Connell, Stephanie Gaskill, Hardie Truesdale, David Herrick, Christopher Keat-
ing and Patti Platten, Stephen O'Grady from the Orleans Conservation Trust (OCT), George Meservey of
the Orleans Planning Department and Andrea Reed, Liaison from the Select Board via zoom.
Call to Order: Quorum with all 6 members present. The Chair called meeting to order at 0900AM.
2. Public comment and communications: Observer:Thomas Desiervo, the new Recreation director.
3. Approval of Minutes from the 10/18/2023 meeting: Stephanie Gaskill moved to approve the October
18, 2023 minutes and Hardie Truesdale seconded. All members voted to approve the minutes.
4. George Meservey-presentation of buildout analysis for Orleans: George Meservey opened with a
slide show on a buildout analysis under existing town regulations for the updated town plan.This analysis
uses the assessor's records and GIS overlays to determine existing buildout. The town plan was last up-
dated in 2006.There were four exclusions with this analysis; Accessory dwellings, Congregates, Zoning
changes and increased occupancy. Growth would occur mostly in the downtown business district. The
CROS plan was then reviewed which calls attention to parcels for future acquisitions. The 2006 town plan
goal was to preserve 400 acres of land and as of this date 390 acres have been preserved.
5. Update on bay Ridge, Cedar Pond, new properties: The members decided to keep $5,000 allocated
for the 10 Cedar pond lot for future acquisition. The Chair then stated that the Select -Board had approved
appraising the Bay Ridge lots. The members agreed to move ahead with the appraisals. The Chair stated
that the owners of the 151 Barley Neck Road and 32 Locust Road have not responded to efforts to contact
them. The Chair will followup with a phone call to the owners of 32 Locust Road. Stephen O'Grady updat-
ed the committee on 4 Pecks Way and his efforts to contact the owners. David Herrick noticed that the
property had been delisted off Zillow. David then asked if we could have some kind of battle plan for fu-
ture acquisitions. The members discussed having quarterly meetings. The members agreed to meet in
January. David agreed to followup with George Meservey for GIS maps and lists for priority parcels.
6. Open Space funding discussion: The committee again discussed having Trust funds available to the
OSC. Christopher Keating reviewed the past meeting with Alan McClellan and that the timing may not be
right in creating a Trust with the ongoing housing crisis on Cape Cod. Alan did express optimism that this
crisis is ongoing and fluid with the state of the current economy. The Chair did not see any open space
trusts on Cape Cod, but found that the town of Ipswich had a great funding program to possibly emulate.
Stephen O'Grady noted that they are fortunate that the Cape Cod Compact can move quickly on proper-
ties, but they only act when they receive assurance from the OCT that funding is forthcoming.
7. CPC 2024 grant application discussion: The liaison to the CPC, Stephanie Gaskill updated the
members on all the applications ($2,000,000) coming before the. CPC in November. Stephen O'grady
then went over the debt service($125,000) for open space that the CPC is still obligated to fund at 10% of
total CPC funding. This includes old Land Bank properties ($75,000) that were bonded and will be paid off
in 2027. The recent purchase of the Peck property ($50,000) was the last property bonded.
8. OSC Website: The Chair stated that the OSC website may need updating. We could look at other town
websites or the OCT for examples. The Chair suggested that We should at least have a connection to the
OCT site and a trail map. The members agreed to look at other town OSC websites for comparisons.
9. Next meeting scheduled: December 20, 2023 was discussed as a tentative date for the next meeting
without agreement among the members. The Chair will send out an email discussing possible dates.
10. Adjourn Meeting: A Motion was made to adjourn the meeting by Hardie Truesdale at 10:21AM.
Christopher Keating seconded. All five members present approved.
Respectfully Submitted, Christopher Keating,Clerk