Land Locked Parcel Purchase Agreement

Landlocked Parcel Committee Report to Town Meeting September 2008 Landlocked Parcel Committee Report to Town Meeting September 2008 “How I spent my summer vacation…” Agenda Committee formation and charter Purpose of new warrant articles History of the site Summary of Patriot’s proposal Watershed protection Natural resources (habitat, vernal pools, etc.) Commercial space Recreation Site access Tax revenue Possibility of partial sale of land The process – where we go from here Committee Formation and Charter Original Warrant Article Article stated… (May 2008) “To see if Town Meeting will have a discussion and expression of views pertaining to the future development concepts of Patriot Partners, the holders of the interest in the option agreement for the so-called ‘Landlocked Parcel’….” Intended purpose… Have a “discussion” between Patriot Partners and the Town Analyze the site concepts from Patriot Analyze relevant factors Provide a recommendation (“expression of views”) to Town Meeting regarding whether to go further Purpose of New Warrant Articles New Warrant Article 14 Article 14 states… “To see if the Town, based on the report submitted by the Landlocked Parcel Committee, wishes the committee to investigate further the development proposal of Patriot Partners….” Intended purpose: decide whether Patriot’s plan is good for Town If it is, next step would be to perform further “due diligence” on the plan Engage expert analyses on relevant data (e.g. environmental engineer) Warrant Article 15: Withdrawn Article 15 states… “To see if the Town will vote to reauthorize the already appointed Landlocked Parcel Committee to seek out and explore alternative uses in addition to those proposed by Patriot Partners for the so-called ‘Landlocked Parcel’….” Intended purpose: charter Landlocked Committee to explore other possible approaches for site Decide what community wants to do (or not do) with site Community-centric, not developer-centric Seek out community input and ideas, for example: Survey/mailing Suggestion form on web site Public forum meetings Brainstorm, discuss, debate, etc. Develop a conceptual plan for site History of the Site Historical Timeline September 1985 November 1985 May 1990 June 1996 April 1997 May 2008 May 2010 Town Meeting vote to take land by eminent domain (61-11) Special Town Election vote confirmed land taking Option agreement signed Town Meeting vote to change reason for land taking to recreation failed (45-45) Non-binding referendum ballot question for golf course proposal passed (approx 2-1) LLP Committee approved at Town Meeting to have dialog with Patriot Partners Option agreement expires Significant Milestones September 1985: Town Meeting Authorized Selectmen to take Landlocked Parcel by eminent domain “for the purposes of preserving open space and protection of town’s water resource district” for a price of $810,000 – passed: 61-11 November 1985: Special Election Confirmed the September Town Meeting vote September 1989: Settlement of Lawsuit Over Value of Land Settlement for $8,200,000, subsequently approved by Town Meeting May 1990: Option Agreement Option for “right of first refusal” granted to Cadillac Fairview June 1996: Special Town Meeting Vote to change purpose for taking of land– failed: 45-45 (2/3 vote required) April 1997: Non-binding Referendum Ballot Question Three choices presented: public self-supporting multiple use (including golf course) Passive recreation – using taxpayer money Leave in natural state 2190 291 1181 Costs and Option Agreement Settlement Amount Settlement was reduced from $10.5 million to $8.2 million because of the Option Cost town approximately $14 million over 20 years, including interest Terms of Option If town is selling the property for purpose of private/commercial development, must first offer same terms to Option holder Public golf course is excluded, as is any other public use of the site Summary of Patriot’s Proposal Patriot Partners’ Concept Plan Development of a senior housing campus by Erickson Retirement Communities with up to 2500 residential units Development of a life sciences (biotech) campus with up to 2 million sq. ft. of office and lab space Remainder of site reserved as open space Could include walking/biking trails around perimeter of site Could include combination of active recreation (e.g. fields) and passive recreation (forest) Mix of uses in this area would be up to the Town Concept Plan (cont’d) Rough breakdown of acreage Senior housing campus Life sciences campus Open space Wetlands 77 50 100 20 Developed sections would include landscaped and natural areas between the structures Two separate access roads built as bridges or tunnels across Route 3 Erickson Community: Photo Erickson Community: Costs for Residents Initial entry deposit of $200k-$500k No interest or appreciation paid on deposit Returned upon leaving site or deceased Monthly fixed costs $1500-$2300 per month ($18k-$28k per year) If you run out of money you can eat into your deposit funds Can stay in perpetuity, even if all of your funds run out Life Sciences Campus: Photo Concept Plan Schematic (Larger view on next slide) Concept Plan Schematic Note: Ignore ball fields and acreages on schematic, they are not accurate. Watershed Protection Watershed Protection Landlocked Parcel Order of Taking, September 1985 “…taken for the purpose of preserving open space and the protection of the Town’s Water and Resource District and Aquifer” Definitions Zone II: area of an aquifer that contributes water to a well under the most severe pumping and recharge conditions that can be realistically anticipated (180 days of pumping at approved yield, with no recharge from precipitation) Zone III: the land area beyond Zone II from which surface water and groundwater drain into Zone II. 1996 SEA Consulting study defined Aquifer District (Zone II) Methods No measurements were taken within the Landlocked Parcel site Consultant used extrapolations and assumptions to approximate field conditions Results Significant alteration to recharge area boundaries Parcel is no longer considered part of Aquifer District (Zone II) 65 to 70% of parcel is in Water Resources District (Zone III) Ground and surface water in these areas drains into our aquifer watershed Water Zones II & III (Larger view on next slide) Natural Resources Natural Resources: Vegetation Varied topography – substantial wooded area, meadows, rolling hills, streams, vegetated wetlands, swamp areas Natural Resources: Trails Numerous trails used by mountain bikers, walkers, and runners Natural Resources: Streams and Pools Numerous streams on site 2 stream crossings Four certified vernal pools Numerous culverts under Route 3 with water running from west to east towards Northwest Park Natural Resources: Wildlife Deer, turkey, hawks have been seen, likely others there as well Patriot proposal would likely have an impact on wildlife habitat and food sources Open Space Proposed by Patriot Partners Patriot’s open space concept: Wetland Areas Community Accessible Within Developed Campuses 20 acres 100 acres 50 acres Wetland resources not reviewed by Conservation Commission Wetland areas do not account for all resource areas Locally regulated wetlands Riverfront area Protection zones around vernal pools Land subject to flooding and inundation Other possible factors Additional buffer may be needed around residences and wetlands Plan depends on ability to bury power lines Results* of 2004 Town Survey on Open Space and Recreation * Figures below are percentage of respondents, based on survey response rate of 9% QUESTIONS ANSWERS Need to preserve open space 90% yes Importance to preserve open 83% important space Top 4 needs Natural areas, bike trails, indoor swimming, hiking trails Land acquisition, conservation restrictions, donate money to buy land 66% agree Top 3 actions supported Too much development in Burlington Commercial Space Pending Future Commercial Space Existing commercial space in various stages of approval in Burlington: AREA South Ave Northwest Park Sun Microsystems Palomar Wall Street Wheeler Road Burlington Woods Tremmel Crow TOTAL SPACE SPACE (sq. ft.) 600,000 2,150,000 300,000 200,000 170,000 250,000 100,000 227,000 3,997,000 Proposed biotech campus might not compete directly with existing sites Biotech requires special infrastructure for labs Typical biotech campus is about half labs, half offices Some of existing sites could be outfitted for biotech, including portions of South Ave and Northwest Park Regular office space in town is at around 20% vacancy rate Recreation Recreation Plan From Town’s Open Space and Recreation Plan (2005) “Two parcels remain of critical concern: Boston Property (Mary Cummings property) and the Landlocked Parcel – the town hopes to protect and utilize both of these parcels for public recreation and/or conservation purposes.” Recreation Needs: Fields There is a severe shortage of fields in town Many programs, increasing in quantity Our fields are used 5-10 times more than standard recommendations Fields become unusable and must be closed for “rest” and costly repairs Desired new field spaces A complex of 4 multi-purpose fields With parking and facilities A complex of 4 baseball/softball fields With parking and facilities 3 artificial turf fields 6 tennis courts Acreage for Field Usages Usage complex of 4 multi-purpose fields, plus parking (100 cars) complex of 4 baseball/softball fields, plus parking (100 cars) 3 artificial turf fields 6 tennis courts Total Metric 1.5 acres/field 2.5 acres parking 1.5 acres/field 2.5 acres parking 1.5 acres/field .5 acres/court Acreage 8.5 8.5 4.5 3 25-30 How Big Could Fields Be? Box is approx. 30 acres Could not be contiguous due to location of wetlands (Larger view on next slide) How Big Could Fields Be? Site Access Site Access Pedestrian access points – none from Burlington Lexington: walk in under power lines Legal parking for 10 to 12 cars Bedford: no “legal” access at this time Public does use end of Reeves Road Lexington and Bedford are both in discussions to acquire additional pedestrian access points Vehicle access points – no current road access at all Proposed Northern access road – bridge over Route 3 2-4 lanes, with sidewalks and bicycle accommodations Connecting to Middlesex Turnpike Cost: $10-15 million Proposed Southern access road – bridge or tunnel across Route 3 Possibly connecting to Second Avenue on Northwest site May involve Route 3 access and/or integration with Route 128 interchange Cost: $15-40 million Need 2 roads because wetlands divide site across the middle If southern access point cannot be created, may wish to build a road within the site to run north-south across the central wetlands Site Access: Location (Larger view on next slide) Tax Revenue Tax Revenue vs. Cost to Town Expect full build-out to take until 2023 At full build-out… Patriot projects property value to be assessed at $850 million Annual property taxes would be $14 million Using average of recent years’ tax rates Patriot projects municipal cost to be 20% of the tax revenue level, or $2.8 million Possibility of Partial Sale of Land Current Proposal is for Complete Purchase Patriot Partners has proposed to purchase entire site Original Option Agreement… Only contemplates sale of entire property No consideration for possibility of a partial sale That doesn’t mean it couldn’t be negotiated Would be open to discussions of buying the two development sections, leaving the open space areas to be owned by the town Must include doing both components (Erickson and life sciences), not interested in just one part Other possibilities not discussed in detail The Process – Where We Go from Here Reminder: Warrant Article 14 Article 14 states… “To see if the Town, based on the report submitted by the Landlocked Parcel Committee, wishes the committee to investigate further the development proposal of Patriot Partners….” Intended purpose: decide whether Patriot’s plan is good for Town Perform further “due diligence” on the plan Engage expert analyses on relevant data (e.g. environmental engineer) Article 14: Next Steps Engineering studies need to be done Surface and ground water (hydrogeologist) Natural resources (habitats, vernal pools, etc.) Determine whether power lines can be buried Land value Need to hire consultant(s) to… Study the site and available information Confirm that the above steps are what is needed Map out the details of the studies needed Assist the town with hiring and/or writing RFPs Expected cost for next phase: $50k This is an approximation – no estimates obtained yet Later, in the following phase, when the engineering studies would be done, costs may be several hundred thousand + Our Recommendation: No We voted 6-3 against the Patriot proposal and against Article 14 Most do not want a full build-out of the site Prefer a more scaled back project Once you build, you cannot “unbuild” Would consider a smaller-scale project, but Patriot was not interested in that First need to figure out what the community wants to do with the site