West Street Land – MDN Jan 14, 2022 – History of Hopedale, Mendon and Milford Massachusetts

HOPEDALE — The Select Board has reversed field and now wants to reopen the Land Court case it filed to acquire 130 acres of forestland the Grafton & Upton Railroad was on track to take.

On Dec. 30, the town filed a motion to reopen the case against the railroad to proceed with its original decision to buy the 364 West St. property under state law Chapter 61, for which Special Town Meeting gave its approval in October 2020.

That property on West Street consists of 155 acres, with 130 of them classified as forestland.

In January 2021, after at least a year and a half of lawsuits, legal mediation, local and state hearings, and resident petitions and advocacy, the town and the railroad reached accord on splitting up the West Street property. Under that settlement, Hopedale was to acquire about 85 acres in the area, as well as a commitment from the railroad that it wouldn’t develop another, small section for five years. The town would pay $587,500 for 64 of those acres.

Now the town has changed its mind on the deal, citing “compelling and extraordinary circumstances,” according to its Dec. 30 motion.

More:Hopedale board’s deal with railroad is ‘procedurally defective.’ Judge explains why

On Tuesday, the town also filed an emergency motion to extend the injunction against the railroad from clearing that property further until the court acts on the motion.

During a Dec. 27 Select Board meeting, Chair Brian Keyes said the Select Board filed the suit in Land Court against One Hundred Forty Realty Trust and Grafton & Upton Railroad to counter the railroad’s claims that it effectively owns the property and to prohibit further clearing at the site.

The attorney representing 10 taxpayers who are suing the town and the railroad over the January 2021 land deal is pleased the Select Board has changed its mind.

“We are gratified that the town is moving forward to acquire all 130 acres of forestland,” said David Lurie, of Lurie Friedman LLP. “The Board of Selectmen should be congratulated for taking this next step to prevent the land from being cleared and developed by the railroad. We are optimistic that the Land Court will rule that the land rightfully belongs to the town and is essential to preservation of the watershed and the parklands.”

But attorney Don Keavany, who represents the Grafton & Upton Railroad and One Hundred Forty Realty Trust in the lawsuit, said they’re prepared to fight.

“My client was surprised and extremely disappointed that after a year of defending the settlement agreement and the dismissal of the Land Court case, the board has done a 180-degree turn,” Keavany told the Daily News.

He said he believes the town’s motion is “baseless” and that the railroad and trust will “vigorously oppose it in the Land Court.”

Keavany said his clients have continued to follow the settlement agreement’s terms when it comes to agreed-upon deed restrictions and will continue to do so.

“We also are reserving all options and rights under the settlement agreement — including to seek damages and attorney’s fees from the town on account of any delays in the development of the project on West Street caused by the town’s decision to pursue this frivolous motion,” he said.

Why there won’t be a new Special Town Meeting

On Nov. 10, Superior Court Judge Karen Goodwin ruled that the deal made between the Select Board and Grafton & Upton Railroad to split 155 acres of protected forestland on West Street was invalid because the proposal didn’t first go to Town Meeting.

At the same time, she ruled that only the board has the authority to exercise the right of first refusal to buy land that has been deemed forest, and therefore taxed at a lower rate.

In November, the board was given a deadline of Feb. 21 by the Superior Court to make a decision after ruling that a new Town Meeting vote was needed to validate the settlement agreement.

The board was given three options:

Call a new Special Town Meeting in January and put the settlement agreement terms to the voters.
Reopen the land court case and take the steps to proceed with its initial decision to buy the entire property.
Take no action and allow the railroad to take possession of the property. This option was not favored by the board, said Keyes.

Keyes said during the December Select Board meeting that members decided to not call a Special Town Meeting to record a new vote — which would validate the town’s settlement agreement with the railroad.

The decision was based on three main factors, one of them being that voters already unanimously supported the 155-acre acquisition during the October 2020 Special Town Meeting, said Keyes.

More:Hopedale STM draws hundreds

During that meeting, residents voted to authorize and fund the board acquiring 130 acres off West Street owned by One Hundred Forty Realty Trust and to exercise eminent domain in acquiring an additional 120 acres.

“While we were required a new Town Meeting vote to fully document the voters’ position on acquiring the 155 acres, the board acknowledges the informal public statements of several hundred voters through social media and petitions in favor of instead attempting to pursue further land court proceedings to acquire the 155 acres, which the Superior Court has implied may be possible,” said Keyes. In that regard, the board concluded that Town Meeting voters would likely vote against acquiring the 85 acres pursuant to the settlement agreement itself, he said.

“In addition, and perhaps most significantly, the current status of the COVID-19 pandemic with the delta and omicron variants rapidly spreading throughout the commonwealth and country makes it clearly unacceptable with public health risks to have a large number of voters attend an indoor Special Town Meeting at this time,” said Keyes.

Throughout the last 14 months, the Select Board’s intention has been for the town to acquire as much of the 364 West St. property as possible, said Keyes.

“At this stage, it’s really in the hands of the land court and we’re hoping that we’ll have a diligent reply in regards to reopening the case,” he said.

More:Judge rules Hopedale Select Board has final say in protecting forestland

Lauren Young writes about business and pop culture. Reach her at 774-804-1499 or [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @laurenwhy_

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