Sheriff’s Meadow to demolish house at new Chappy property

By
Brian Dowd
-
12
An aerial view of the new Sheriff's Meadow property on Chappy.

The Sheriff’s Meadow Foundation is the new owner of a 5.7-acre parcel of land on Chappaquiddick that will soon be open to the public.

In its winter 2019 newsletter, Sheriff’s Meadow announced that on Dec. 28, Norman Champ gifted his Chappy property to the conservation organization.

The property sits atop the North Neck Bluffs and offers views of Edgartown Harbor, Oak Bluffs, Cape Poge, Cape Cod, and, on clear days, Nantucket.

When Champ gifted the property to Sheriff’s Meadow, he made a condition that the five-bedroom, 4,776-square-foot house on the property be demolished and the land returned to nature.

Sheriff’s Meadow Foundation executive director Adam Moore told The Times he is working with Habitat for Humanity to clear the home and reuse and resell some of the house items. Once the house is removed, Sheriff’s Meadow will restore the land so there is natural vegetation, and create a trail from North Neck Road up to the summit.

Moore said there will not be a staircase from the bluffs down to the water, because it is too steep and the bluffs are eroding too rapidly. He hopes to have demolition and restoration done this spring. The property was previously listed with Peyton Wallace for $2.7 million.

“It’s going to be a lovely property. It’s wonderful to think that a family can walk up there and enjoy the property and have a nice outing. We feel great about it, and we’re really excited,” Moore said.

12 COMMENTS

  1. It is little wonder the rich stay rich, at the expense of the poor. This tax scam is a prime example. The rich get to unload a rapidly disappearing property to the Sheriffs Meadow, for a value never to be accepted by the open market. If it was worth anything near that previous asking price, it would have already sold.
    I wish I had that sort of benefit under the tax code for rapidly depreciating assets I own. Like my car, bicycle, clothing.
    This sort of “generosity” by Norman Champ ought to be seen for what it really is, a shameless attempt to unload a soon to be worthless property.

    • So true, James. It ‘s a scam. That soon to be worthless property is soon to be mostly underwater. And Sheriff’s Meadow is right there to be the vulture on a carcass, making feel-good, squawking noises about how they’re going to donate what they can’t use. The island needs housing, not tax write-offs for the rich.

      • jackie– I fail to see the connection between affordable housing and this donation.
        Would you rather the Sheriffs meadow not let habitat for humanity salvage usable items in this house ? I don’t see them ” making feel-good, squawking noises” they are simply noting that they are trying to salvage some materials that will likely end up in affordable housing.

        • I would “rather” the greed and competition among all the different island land conservation orgs be put aside and that they’d work together to conserve what they already have– One group or another, acquiring more and more property, while the housing crunch is ridiculously out of control, doesn’t make theses orgs look good, as they “donate” stuff they don’t want or can’t use. Ergo, my “squawking noise” comment.

    • Kozak, the rich may remain rich but it aint at the expense of the poor. The rich pay 40 percent of IRS revenue and the poor dont pay income taxes at all. If we didnt have the rich the economy would be in the doldrums. They are the productive ones who risk capital and produce things and offer jobs and raise wages. If you dont like the tax code go after the IRS or tell the sheriff meadow foundation to refuse the land. I personally think Jackie is correct —use it for housing. It is not going to be underwater in your lifetime..—Oh sorry, 12 years.

      • Andrew– I notice you have lately been parroting some kind of “12 year” babble.
        I am curious what that is about . Perhaps that’s when Jesus is returning ? Planet Nibiru arrives ? The “real” end of the Aztec calendar ? Please, fill us in as to what you are talking about with the 12 year thing.

        • AOC clearly says it will end in 12 years. Think twice about having children, reparations, green deal at trillions of dollars. Last I looked many Dems including those running for President have climbed on board. Bovine flatulence reduction by eating veggies—its all part of the Democratic platform. Do you deny this?

      • The working class is poor in the eyes of the rich. And last I checked, the working class pays taxes. Just saying.

        Raising wages. 36 years ago Reagan gave his blessing to corporate America to pay the working class as little as they could get away with; just tell us paycheck types to be grateful we have jobs.

        • newenglander. I said poor not working class. Reagan did more to lift up the economy than anyone. Trump is second. Are you in denial that the economy is humming along very well or are you insisting it is Obamas economy?

    • James- you can donate your car to NPR, your bicycle and clothes to the thrift stores, and take a tax write off.

  2. Unlike in the past, the IRS does scrutinize ‘donations’ a lot more than in the past. It’s always been a ‘scheme’ to donate boats, cars, airplanes etc. that do not sell at what their owners ‘perceive’ as market value. If its a high ticket item with a big number it will more likely than not attract an audit to determine its authenticity. If some clerk at the IRS can’t look up a ‘blue book value’, then real appraisals would be required by any competent accountant unless you want an audit. I saw an example of the ‘donation’ process when visiting an off-island relative a few years ago. The house across the street lingered on the market for 4 years until some fool paid the asking price in order to get the land since it was a wider lot than most on the street, and could accommodate the fools vision of a ‘mc-mansion’. Rather than demolish the house and take it to the dump, a ‘specialty dis-assembly’ company was hired as part of some tax scheme. The house had ZERO historical significance. I asked the foreman what the deal was- The owner paid this outfit less than 30k to take the place apart, piece by piece, and put it into the never ending stream of roll-off dumpsters at the location. It took a few weeks, and the only items of significance saved were a few wooden beams. Everything else went to the dump. So this faux-disassembly netting the owner a big tax write off and maybe a few kitchen cabinets went to the local habit-for-humanity. I doubt the beams remaining were even worth the 30k it cost, but im sure they yielded a big tax savings..until an audit. The company doing this has a big website promoting this stuff so it apparently happens all the time, at least off island.

Comments are closed.

Previous articleA response to the story of two infants
Next articleTim Roberts named Google Cloud Academic All-America Team Member of the Year

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR