by Frank Schroth

Last night the Board of Selectmen acting in their capacity as trustees signed a $5 million purchase and sale agreement with Pulte Homes to develop 30 of the 34 acre tract of land known locally as the Town Farm. The land was left to the town by Governor Stoughton in 1701 to benefit the poor of Milton. He tasked the Selectmen with serving as trustees to ensure the intent of his will was carried out.

It has been a long process (You can view a list of related posts here). Bob Sweeney, Chairman of the Board of Selectmen, began the session by thanking all those who had been involved in the process and with a summary of the P&S. The development will consist of 23 homes which take advantage of the cluster zoning bylaw and are accessed from Unquity Road. The town will retain a parcel of land of 4 acres that includes the structures on the land. One of these is the animal shelter managed by the Milton Animal League. Sweeney concluded by saying that the deal was in “the best interests of the trust and the town of Milton.”

Tom Hurley said it “was a great occasion.” He also acknowledge it was the first step and would be “fascinating’ to see how the cluster zoning bylaw played out. This will be the first development built since that bylaw went into the books. John Shields expressed his hope that Marion McEttrick who was present at the meeting and was involved in the deliberations in her time as selectmen, would continue to provide assistance along with Town Counsel Flynn as they prepare to obtain the Attorney General’s approval. The agreement requires review by Massachusetts Attorney General and will then move on to Probate Court.

Pulte was represented by Reid Blute at the meeting. He said Pulte took “pleasure and pride” in being selected and that property would be a keystone development for them. Both parties acknowledged that there were differences during the course of their negotiations but that they worked through them. “We’re glad you’re here,” said Selectman Shields.