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Date: 12/16/2021
CHICOPEE – The Slate Conservation land continues to generate debate throughout the community, with the Finance Committee opting against placing two parcels of Burnett Road property under Article 97 protections during their Nov. 22 meeting.
Mayor John Vieau and Planning Director Lee Pouliot advocated on behalf of the city to prevent the land parcels from being placed in conservation. Vieau expressed to concerned constituents that the city has no intention of developing projects on Burnett Road property. “I can tell you as mayor, this current administration has never had intentions of developing these two particular parcels … We want to be open and honest with everything we do,” said Vieau.
The mayor presented images of the parcels, detailing how one of the city-owned properties is distinguished only for residential building. Despite not wanting the space for development, the mayor still considers the parcels as an asset for the city.
Pouliot further detailed how the city wants to utilize the land as a part of their bank for land swaps. “We can’t know in 20 years from now what the infrastructural needs of the city might be or how having this property in our back pocket for negotiations with the commonwealth is useful for us,” said Pouliot. The planning director connected the Burnett Road parcels to a similar land swap situation, with the city trading parcels of land towards fixing the redundant waterline.
Ward 6 Councilor Derek Dobosz continued advocating for the land to be placed under Article 97 protections during his presentation to the committee. While the councilor thanked the mayor for assuring the land would not be developed, he argued that the best course of action would be placing the land in conservation to receive carbon credits from the state annually. “[The carbon credits] can be a considerable amount of money that the city could get from the state every year. It could be added to the budget and help the city a lot long term,” said Dobosz.
Dobosz also critiqued the city’s current plans to utilize the land for a land swap, stating that his plan would have a more beneficial impact. “The city would essentially get nothing out of it. We don’t want to give a city-wide asset away for nothing,” said Dobosz.
Department of Public Works Superintendent Elizabette Batista countered Dobosz’s claims, sharing that the city has already tried to utilize the land for carbon credits. “The state does not accept just anything. We initially attempted to give them that parcel and they said no,” said Batista.
After a lengthy public input session that featured impassioned defenses for Burnett Road land to receive conservation status, the Finance Committee decided not to place the parcels under Article 97 protections. Instead, the council opted in a unanimous vote to continue the discussion during a joint Finance and Utility committee meeting on Dec. 16.
In an interview with Reminder Publishing, Dobosz discussed his reflections on the meeting. “Yes, it was discouraging, but I don’t think the battle is completely over. I am still trying to win votes; I am still optimistic that I can get this passed. I am looking for any avenue possible,” said Dobosz.
As chairman of the Utilities Committee, Dobosz said he will utilize the upcoming meeting to present more information about the city’s attempted land swap with Westover Metropolitan Development Corporation and to advocate for the carbon credit trade. “Even though I’m only proposing 30 acres here, that could be roughly as much as $40,000 to $50,000 a year in carbon credits. I think that would be more appealing to the mayor’s office and the rest of the councilors,” said Dobosz.