By Peter Kelly-Detwiler

In many congested areas where it is most needed, the amount of open space continues to decrease. At the same time, the price for scarce pristine land rises, making it ever more difficult for land trusts to protect the resources that remain.
      Remaining large tracts of open land are under pressure, and as they become scarcer, they become increasingly valuable to developers. But the developer has his own pressures. In today’s economy and saturated housing market, the ability to differentiate one’s development from the rest of the marketplace is increasingly critical. This dynamic can actually work in favor of committed land trusts, if they remain flexible and on the lookout for new opportunities.
      A recent model for land protection has emerged which involves developers cooperating with land trusts to create a win-win situation in which new housing is built within a larger protected environment. Such a successful outcome recently occurred in Scituate, where the Maxwell Conservation Trust (MCT) collaborated with Design/Housing, Inc., and the Hennessey family to protect 33 acres while promoting tasteful and responsible development of 5 Two-Family dwellings.
      The process was not simple. It involved hearings with Scituate's Planning Board, Conservation Commission, Community Preservation Committee (CPC), and a Town Meeting to approve CPC funding. And without the good will of the Hennessey Family and the commitment of Design/Housing, it would never have occurred.
      In order to appreciate the outcome, some background is in order. The Hennessey parcel is a 39.6 acre tract of land that is now part of the largest contiguous open space in Scituate’s West End Bates Lane area, at just under 400 acres. It is home to vernal pools, box turtles, spotted turtles, and a variety of other wildlife. Its groundwater flows into Scituate’s South Swamp, a principal source of the Town’s drinking water. The land was all farmland in the past and returned to woodlands in the latter half of the 1900s.
      In 1998, the Maxwell Conservation Trust was formed to protect land in Scituate, and its founders began contacting families who owned large land areas. At about the same time, a publicly traded national house building company entered the picture and began signing contingency agreements with landowners in the Bates Lane area. One owner, Charles Moncy, chose to work with the MCT to preserve his land as open space. In 2002, the Town of Scituate approved participation in the Community Preservation Act, thereby setting aside monies for protection of open space. In 2003, the Town Meeting voted unanimously to partner with Maxwell Trust to jointly purchase the 76 acre Moncy property, with the Trust holding the permanent conservation restriction.
      In 2004, the agreements lapsed between the Bates Lane area landowners and the house building company. One of the landowners, John Litchfield, began to talk to the MCT about protecting his 40-acre parcel of land. The Litchfield tract became the second large parcel in the Bates Lane area facilitated by MCT and approved unanimously for purchase with CPA funding in 2006, with the conservation restriction held by the Maxwell Conservation Trust and the Cohasset Water Commissioners. John Litchfield and MCT then began conversation with the Hennessey family about potentially pursuing a similar path to protect their land.
      During these conversations, the Maxwell Conservation Trust became aware of a new model for land protection that was promoted at an annual Land Trust conference held by the Trustees of the Reservation, suggesting that one way to continue protecting expensive land was through compromise. The Trust met with the Hennesseys shortly thereafter, and began to discuss such possibilities with them. As a family, they had fiduciary responsibilities to their members, but were also keenly interested in finding a way to protect the land that they had enjoyed for years during their childhood.
      When the topic of a potential compromise with a developer was raised, the Henneseys not only expressed an interest, but went out of their way to locate a company with the values, commitment, and experience in working on such endeavors. The company, Design/Housing Inc., was located in Massachusetts and had a proven record of low impact design, developing land while protecting open space in multiple communities. The opportunity to work with the Hennesseys and protect a large portion of the open space was attractive to Design Housing. As Chairman and CEO Arnold Soloway noted: “We are interested in conservation and the future of the environment. But we also recognize there is no likelihood of zero population growth. Therefore, we need to be very careful and thoughtful in our selection of sites which should be conserved.”
      Design Housing then worked with the Hennesseys and Maxwell Conservation Trust to develop a plan involving construction of 5 two-family homes on 7 acres while protecting 33 acres for open space. The town voted unanimously at its March 2009 Town Meeting to preserve the space with CPA funds, thereby increasing the preserved open space in Scituate’s West End Bates Lane to almost 250 acres. Each year, the number of people enjoying the land grows, and with the addition of a new foot bridge, it is now even more accessible to the public.
      This latest 33 acre addition is a testament to the commitment of the Hennessey family, the values of Design/Housing, and the creativity and perseverance of the Maxwell Conservation Trust. Perhaps most of all, it is a tribute to the voters of Scituate, who had the foresight to approve town participation in the Community Preservation Act, and who have consistently and unanimously supported the ongoing efforts to protect open space in this lovely and vibrant town. As Chris Hennessey reflected: “To our parents, the return of the turkeys or a returning cardinal at the feeder were unanticipated joys. We grew up surrounded by the land they, and in turn we, loved...The spruces cut down for Christmas trees, the pond where we ice skated, and the trails for our horse will never be forgotten. Our parents would have wanted nothing more than the beauty of this land to be preserved. When we walk the trails, and we will indeed walk them, seeing their names will forever leave them a part of this land. We honor our parents by honoring the land. We know they would be proud!”

An awesome new footbridge was built the weekend of June 6, 2009 on the lower end of the Maxwell Trail in the Bates Lane Conservation Area.The bridge project was a joint venture with Scituate Conservation Commission and Maxwell Conservation Trust. This bridge is 40 feet long, spans a babbling brook and quite a large area of rocky glacial till which was very difficult to navigate on foot. More pictures of the bridge and our volunteers can be seen on our website.
      The Maxwell Bridge built entirely by volunteers is a wonderful addition to Scituate’s Bates Lane Trail system. We sincerely thank and want to acknowledge all the volunteers: Engineers and Supervisors: Frank Snow and Howard Mathews, Helpers: The Scott brothers (Paul,Ted, and Peter), Penny Scott-Pipes, Nancy Mathews, Andrew Stewart, Mike Snow, Alan Mayberry Greenberg, Tim Leary and friends, and Rick and Peg Turner. We at Maxwell Trust are pleased and proud to be part of this community where people care about their land. Thank you to all of you who have worked so diligently to make this project successful. Funding for this project was provided through Maxwell Conservation Trust using donations from the Carl Pipes Memorial Golf Tournaments. We are so fortunate to have this treasure here in Scituate and hope you all enjoy the Bates Lane Conservation Area and its trail system.

The Trust is currently facilitating the purchase of 47.6 more acres in the Bates Lane Conservation Area. The property has been owned and was farmed by the Wheelwright family of Cohasset for many years. The property consists of three parcels along the Scituate Cohasset town line in the area of the Bates Lane. The land is primarily uplands and wooded, and is potentially developable.
      The Trust submitted a proposal on November 1st to the Scituate Community Preservation Committee to consider purchasing, with CPC funds, the 47 acres. As with other Maxwell projects, if the CPC recommends the Wheelwright proposal, it will proceed to Town Meeting for your vote. If successful, this purchase will bring the total conserved property in this forest to almost 300 acres!