Town Council Accepts Donation of Land From Mary Lucey

At their February 9th meeting, the Charlestown Town Council voted to accept a generous donation of three parcels of land totaling about 30 acres on Ross Hill Road and Niantic Highway. The land is being donated to the town at no cost by the owner, Mrs. Mary Lucey.

The Council had received preliminary advisories on the land from the Planning Commission and Conservation Commission. An excerpt from the Planning Commission advisory follows:

By unanimous vote the Commission recommends that the Town of Charlestown accept these lots

As part of their discussion, the Planning Commission considered the land acquisition criteria in the Open Space and Recreation element of the Comprehensive Plan.

Due to the recent donation by Ms. Lucey of the adjoining land to the Town of Westerly, the property has a public lands connection to the Woody Hill Management Area in Westerly.  It is also undeveloped and contains wetlands.  Expanding the protected land of the management area is an important criteria for open space acquisition.  It may conform to other open space acquisition criteria, but that would require a site walk or more study.

Both the Planning Commission and Conservation Commission mentioned the recent deep snow cover as an impediment to a site walk. More definitive advisories from these and other commissions on the use the Town puts the land to will follow when the land is free of snow and more easily walked and studied.