Sunderland seeks partners in land buy

By BEN STORROW Staff Writer

Published on November 06, 2009

SUNDERLAND - Sugarbush Meadows, the 150-unit apartment complex proposed for Plumtree Road and Route 116, might not be built after all.

Instead, talks this week will continue on whether the land could be conserved as a water resource for the towns of Amherst, Hadley and Sunderland.

On Oct. 5, the Sunderland Board of Selectmen wrote the Hadley Board of Selectmen and Amherst Select Board, along with the Sunderland Water District, itself an independent body, to gauge interest in a joint purchase of the property owned by Amherst developer Scott Nielsen. A working group made up of representatives from each town met Oct. 28 to discuss the proposal.

The proposal to conserve the land might have seemed unlikely a year ago, when the town and Nielsen feuded over development of the parcel. Yet the relationship between the two parties has thawed of late.

Town officials and Nielsen agreed to explore the idea of conserving the property as a water resource, noting that it could be a valuable asset in future years.

"I always try a cooperative approach, so I'm open to listening and working with anyone who is willing to cooperate with me," said Nielsen.

Scott Bergeron, Sunderland selectmen's chairman, said conserving the property could be in the town's and Nielsen's best interests.

"This idea came out of our mediation discussion," Bergeron said in an interview Tuesday. "There are potential freshwater well sites on that property."

Bergeron said the town has put feelers out to the state and federal government, in addition to a host of local land trusts, to see if they had any interest in helping to conserve the land. Now, the property is unused farmland.

Testing on the site showed that the property could provide up to three to four million gallons of water per day, Nielsen said. That amount would be a valuable supply to towns in future years, Nielsen said.

"This will be a very valuable water resource for the next 100 years," Nielsen said. "Towns that plan now will be able to care for their children and grandchildren and, potentially, provide water to other areas. I applaud (Sunderland) for trying to make this a regional effort, because in the future we have to go beyond our own town's benefits."

That assessment was shared by Hadley Town Administrator David Nixon.

"We don't see a direct need for drinking water currently, but with respect to future water resource conservation, that is something we are always interested in, especially since it might affect our zoning decisions," Nixon said.

On Oct. 29, Nixon reported the meeting had been positive. He said he would give a report to the Hadley Board of Selectmen at its next meeting and that Sunderland would continue to research the project before moving forward. Bergeron said it seemed to make sense to try to involve Hadley, Amherst and the water district, because each has a shared interest in conservation of the property.

"The reason the letter was put out to our neighbors is that we have a common interest in identifying mutual needs - infrastructure, water sources, conservation. And if there a common interest, is there a way that we can collaborate to transfer that property?" Bergeron said.

He said the working group consists of Nixon, a representative from the water district, the Hadley Board of Selectmen, Sunderland Town Administrator Margaret Nartowicz, Amherst Conservation Director David Ziomek and himself.

Ziomek, who was appointed by the Amherst Select Board to be the town's point man on the project, could not be reached for comment.