Million-dollar
deal locks up 245 acres of Richmond forestland
By Will
Collette
Last Friday, I wrote an article calling on Charlestown to get
serious about acquiring Larry LeBlanc’s nearly pristine 81 acres of land spanning
Route One along the Charlestown moraine.
The
land is the proposed location of either an industrial wind farm or an
affordable housing complex. LeBlanc has proposals for both before the town.
Both projects are currently the subjects of complex and expensive litigation.
In
2008, LeBlanc implied that he might sell the land to a casino developer, and of
course, everyone read between the lines and assumed this was the Narragansett
Indian Tribe.
In my
article, I said that if the CCA-controlled town government was really opposed
to Whalerock, or LeBlanc’s affordable housing project, or the specter of a
Narragansett Indian casino, a very simple solution would be to buy LeBlanc’s
land to set aside as open space. By doing that, the town would take the land –
and all those unwanted projects – off the table.
I posed
the question to the CCA – do you want to end
these projects you say you fear, or do you just want to have bogeyman political
issues you can exploit?
I even
suggested that the RI Department of Environmental Management might be
interested in doing the deal, if Charlestown doesn’t want to soil its hands by
negotiating with LeBlanc.
Turns
out DEM just demonstrated – again – how skillful it is in working this kind of
deal. I have reprinted their news release in full on their just-completed
acquisition of 245 acres of forest just behind the Washington County
Fairgrounds in Richmond.
As for
the CCA, their answer came with another column by the “Voice of the CCA,”
Mike Chambers, who explains that the CCA operates like an ant colony that
responds to environmental stimuli. Thus they are driven to blindly attack the
Narragansetts to make sure that at every single level of government, they close
down every contingency, however remote, that the tribe might resurrect a
Charlestown casino proposal. (The last time the Tribe made such a pitch to
Charlestown was 20 years ago.)
Actually,
I thought my suggestion that Charlestown should buy the LeBlanc acreage (or try
to get DEM to do it) would be just the thing for a group with an ant colony
mentality, since it appealed to the CCA’s single-minded devotion to adding more
open space to the town property rolls. And it would end not one, not two, but
three threats in one fell swoop.
In his CCA column, Chambers says there is a mandate for town leaders to “do everything possible to oppose actions and legislation that
could possibly result in gaming facilities in town.” But I guess that doesn’t
include removing what is probably the single most important piece of land any
casino project would need from the market.
I guess
the CCA prefers to keep the bogeymen alive and hiding under the bed, to be brought
out every time the CCA wants to scare the bejeebers out of people or remind
them why the only way for Charlestown to remain Charlestown is if the CCA stays
in power to keep the monsters at bay.
Here’s
DEM’s description of its most recent land coup, which if sensible minds
prevail, we might try to get them to do with the LeBlanc property…
RIDEM News Release
PROVIDENCE
- The Department of Environmental Management, in partnership with The Nature
Conservancy, announces the permanent protection of 245 acres of forestland in
Richmond. Located off Richmond Townhouse Road, behind the Washington County
Fairgrounds, the property abuts the Conservancy's 180-acre Grass Pond Preserve.
DEM purchased the property for $1 million from Delbonis Sand and Gravel, with funding provided by the U.S. Department of Transportation ($500,000), The Nature Conservancy ($300,000), and State open space bonds ($200,000). The Nature Conservancy acquired a conservation easement on the land with a grant from The Champlin Foundations, providing additional legal protection and land management rights. The preservation of the Delbonis property creates a 424-acre conservation area open to the public for recreational activities.
The property had been slated for development as the third phase of Richmond Hills. In 2007, the Town of Richmond gave master plan approval for 53 single-family homes on three-quarter-acre lots, with the remainder held in open space. Conversion to residential development would have altered water flow, increased stormwater runoff, and contributed to groundwater pollution in the area through the addition of impervious surfaces and construction of 53 new septic systems.
"This beautiful forest is now available for the public to use for hiking, bird-watching, and just being outdoors enjoying nature," notes DEM Director Janet Coit. "I am so pleased that the Department was able to protect another part of a priority habitat near the state's Carolina and Great Swamp Management Areas. I hope lots of folks will get out there to explore this gorgeous piece of land and the stunning views from its many ledges."
"Protecting the Delbonis property more than doubles the size of our Grass Pond Preserve," added Terry Sullivan, State Director of The Nature Conservancy in Rhode Island. "Instead of 53 more houses, this land will continue to provide all the benefits of nature to the residents of Richmond and beyond: from storing and filtering the waters we drink to providing a wonderful place to enjoy a hike with family and friends. We encourage all Rhode Islanders to come on out and enjoy this preserve!"
DEM and the Conservancy plan to use existing paths and roads on the Delbonis property for hiking trails that will connect to the Grass Pond Preserve. Starting as early as 2013, DEM will open the property to hunting for white-tailed deer.
The Nature Conservancy identified the Delbonis parcel as a high priority tract for conservation in South County, and had sought to acquire the land for more than 15 years. Its forested wetlands play an important role in absorbing stormwater and protecting water quality downstream. In addition, the property represents a classic example of Southern New England forestland with rolling hills, rock outcroppings and old stonewalls. The forest and wetlands supports an array of native plants and animals.
DEM purchased the property for $1 million from Delbonis Sand and Gravel, with funding provided by the U.S. Department of Transportation ($500,000), The Nature Conservancy ($300,000), and State open space bonds ($200,000). The Nature Conservancy acquired a conservation easement on the land with a grant from The Champlin Foundations, providing additional legal protection and land management rights. The preservation of the Delbonis property creates a 424-acre conservation area open to the public for recreational activities.
The property had been slated for development as the third phase of Richmond Hills. In 2007, the Town of Richmond gave master plan approval for 53 single-family homes on three-quarter-acre lots, with the remainder held in open space. Conversion to residential development would have altered water flow, increased stormwater runoff, and contributed to groundwater pollution in the area through the addition of impervious surfaces and construction of 53 new septic systems.
"This beautiful forest is now available for the public to use for hiking, bird-watching, and just being outdoors enjoying nature," notes DEM Director Janet Coit. "I am so pleased that the Department was able to protect another part of a priority habitat near the state's Carolina and Great Swamp Management Areas. I hope lots of folks will get out there to explore this gorgeous piece of land and the stunning views from its many ledges."
"Protecting the Delbonis property more than doubles the size of our Grass Pond Preserve," added Terry Sullivan, State Director of The Nature Conservancy in Rhode Island. "Instead of 53 more houses, this land will continue to provide all the benefits of nature to the residents of Richmond and beyond: from storing and filtering the waters we drink to providing a wonderful place to enjoy a hike with family and friends. We encourage all Rhode Islanders to come on out and enjoy this preserve!"
DEM and the Conservancy plan to use existing paths and roads on the Delbonis property for hiking trails that will connect to the Grass Pond Preserve. Starting as early as 2013, DEM will open the property to hunting for white-tailed deer.
The Nature Conservancy identified the Delbonis parcel as a high priority tract for conservation in South County, and had sought to acquire the land for more than 15 years. Its forested wetlands play an important role in absorbing stormwater and protecting water quality downstream. In addition, the property represents a classic example of Southern New England forestland with rolling hills, rock outcroppings and old stonewalls. The forest and wetlands supports an array of native plants and animals.
