Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Step in the right direction

On Monday night at the Selectmen’s meeting, the ballot question was not supported by the board. The BOS voted 3 to 2 not to approve the question to sell and develop the landlocked parcel. The proponents will now have to gather 1615 votes to have the non-binding question placed on the ballot. In my opinion, this is a victory for the town. It is important that we keep our town-owned land for future municipal use only. We have millions of square feet of class A office, retail and biotech space already permitted and waiting for tenants to occupy. I urge you not to sign the petition as this is the last large piece of beautiful forest in our town.

Friday, November 6, 2009

Let it Run Out

Landlocked Forrest will be on the Selectmen agenda on Monday, Nov 9 ay 7pm. This is a last ditch effort by a small group of Town Meeting members and a couple of other people who think selling Burlington’s jewel of real estate is in the community’s best interest. This group clearly represents the interests of Patriot Partners, the developer who has a first right of refusal on this 247 acres of prime land. Burlington took the land in 1985 to prevent over development, protect the water supply and add open space to our municipal portfolio. Right now, we have 5 planned development districts and just over 4.5 million square feet of office, biotech and retail space waiting for tenants. In this economy, who knows how long it will take for the current property owners to get tenants to lease these spaces. We currently have a 20% vacancy rate in town. I anticipate a full court press by Patriot Partners to convince the residents of Burlington that developing this land is in the best interest of the town. Why should our town allow further development when we have planned development districts in process and a high vacancy rate? Keep your eye on this one. Contact your Selectmen and Town Meeting Members and tell them let the Patriot Partner’s first right of refusal option run out .We do not need to sell town-owned land.