Following anticipated Legislative Council approval that was expected after the April 21 Newtown Bee print deadline, the town plans to move forward financing a conservation easement that will add more than 20 acres to an already huge expanse of town-owned and Newtown Forest Association land in the vicinity of Boggs Hill Road just north of Head O’ Meadow School.

The addition of that 76 Boggs Hill Road parcel to Newtown’s growing inventory of open space will create a contiguous tract of public land extending from the Cherry Grove Farm property at the intersection of Palestine, Platts Hill, and Beaver Dam roads to just south of the intersection of Blanches Walk and Shepard Hill Road.

On April 19, the expenditure of $100,000 to secure the easement was unanimously approved by the Board of Selectmen.

First Selectman Dan Rosenthal explained that the Newtown Forest Association negotiated the acquisition with the property owner and will become the actual owner of the new parcel, which the NFA will also maintain.

“Based on the appraisal, the total value of the land is around $300,000,” Rosenthal said, adding that the already approved and appropriated funds are coming from a surplus previously bonded for a similar easement at Castle Hill Farm. That appropriation was authorized in 2017 before a more recent change was made in the initial easement with the Paproski family, which owns the farm.

“That preservation was $450,000, and the grant protecting Castle Hill Farm changed, so the town’s share [became] $300,000,” the first selectman said. At its April 7 meeting, the council amended the bond resolution for the original issue, expanding it to include added open space.

“Working with NFA, the Conservation Commission did recommend the town move to preserve [the new parcel]. So it seemed like an elegant solution where we get to preserve a substantial amount of open space for a fraction of its value,” Rosenthal said.

At closing, the $100,000 will be transferred to NFA and the town will hold the conservation easement, which by design is similar to the program that is preserving a substantial section of Cherry Grove Farm.

Deputy Director of Planning Rob Sibley told The Newtown Bee after the selectmen’s action that he recently hiked the contiguous open space between Cherry Grove Farm and an adjacent parcel to the one Newtown hopes to soon acquire.

“As the crow flies, that’s about 1.6 miles,” Sibley said.

Similar to the Cherry Grove arrangement, NFA will never be able to sell or parcel off the land without the town’s agreement in perpetuity. The group is also expected to improve or create new trails on the parcel over time.

Rosenthal said when new subdivisions are developed, required open space segments typically negotiated as part of those projects will be conveyed to the NFA, with the town holding a conservation easement.

“Then, the town does not have to maintain it, but the public still has access to the land,” he said. “We have an interest in the property by virtue of the easement. NFA would have ownership interest, and the town would have the right to block any [future] development.”

Upon anticipated approval by the council, the closing on the property will be transacted in the coming weeks.