DaRos,Page,Sachs.
Saying this was an historic day for farming in Branford, First Selectman Unk DaRos handed over two checks totaling $1.325 million to the owners of the Johnson Farm, an action that preserves open space, permits farming and prohibits development.
Under a unique three-way agreement that was years in the making, three entities, each with different legal requirements, purchased the farm’s easement rights. They are the town of Branford, the Branford Land Trust,(BLT) and the Connecticut Farmland Trust.(CFT) The proposal was approved by the Board of Selectmen in May and by the Representative Town Meeting (RTM) in January. The easement is forever.
The formal closing on the property came at high noon Wednesday in a conference room at Town Hall and was the culmination of nearly two years of negotiations among the parties.
Branford also purchased outright a key 3.96 acres that will finally link two vital open space preserves—the Pisgah Brook Preserve and Supply Ponds Park, an area the town has been working to protect for more than 40 years. The Town’s ownership of the acreage that connects the two preserves will mean that for the first time, a public trail will span the entire Pisgah Brook watershed from the Supply Ponds to Saltonstall Mountain.
“The town has never done something like this before,” DaRos told about 20 people who gathered around a table and sat in chairs lining the conference room. He said the purchase required the collaboration of the town, the Branford Land Trust and the Connecticut Farmland Trust, a non-profit organization that helps preserve Connecticut Farms.
Before he handed over the first check to Stephanie Page, DaRos observed that the agreement took a lot of hard work. “To have so many people come together, to see the fruits of everyone’s labor, and to work to get this done is a giant step forward for the town. Whenever you can save a working farm, it’s great,” he said smiling.
The property at 134 and 143 Queach Rd. is owned by Page and her brother, William “Bucky” Johnson III. Page and her attorney, Gregory Sachs, sat next to DaRos and Bucky Johnson and his attorney, Robert W. Lynch sat to their right. The family retains ownership of the land, which Page has been using to grow hay for her cattle at her Maple Farm dairy operation in North Branford.
Page is expected to use her share of the proceeds to buy out the brother’s ownership because he is not interested in farming. Johnson will retain his home and a few acres so that his children may use the land to construct their homes. The only way Page can continue to farm the land is to sell the development rights so she can buy out her brother’s share.
During the closing, lawyers talked to each other, exchanged documents and had some documents copied. There were no last minute surprises. The day before the Planning & Zoning Commission met briefly on the zoning aspects of the land.
Together the parties came up with the $1.325 million, the fee agreed to for the land. The town paid $766,800, $200,000 of which came from the Open Space Fund and the rest from bonding. The BLT contributed $50,000 and the CFT contributed $508,200.
DaRos, Horne, Meg Kilgore
Bill Horne, a local environmentalist who has worked for years to preserve the Queach and surrounding areas, led the owners and the other entities in negotiations toward a purchase. He was present as was Ainsley Highman, who chairs the Parks and Open Space Authority. Together they also shepherded the project through various committees, the Board of Selectmen and the RTM.
James Perito, who represented the BLT, Cheri Phoenix, who represented the CLT and William H. Clendenen, Jr., who represents the town of Branford, (pictured below) were delighted with the final outcome.
Marcia Chambers Photo.
After the meeting ended they walked to the town clerk’s office to deliver the documents and maps. This is the filing that makes it official. We caught up with them there.
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Couldn't happen to nicer people. The Pages are hardworking , decent people. Not at all greedy. Check out the reasonable prices at her farm stand sometime.
The Pages can keep earning their living by farming. The Johnson's keep some land to build their homes on. We've preserved open space. This really is a win-win-win situation.