A large chunk of land on Chappaquiddick that has been owned by an Island family for nearly a century may be preserved in its natural state.
The Potter family is looking to transfer 170 acres of its land on Chappaquiddick, known as Pimpneymouse Farm, to the Martha’s Vineyard Land Bank and Sheriff’s Meadow Foundation.
The total acreage the family owns on the small island is roughly a 221-acre area. Some of the land will continue to be in the Potters’ ownership: 26 acres consisting of existing homes, barns, and outbuildings will be distributed among family members, while 11 acres will be set aside as two future building lots.
A section of the property could go back to being used as farmland. According to the applicants, the entire area that would be preserved as it is today, including the donated portions, adds up to nearly 200 acres.
The project was presented to the Martha’s Vineyard Commission’s (MVC) land use planning committee during an April 1 evening meeting.
Pimpneymouse Farm was originally purchased in 1928 by Charles A. Welch, father of Edo Potter, who promoted conservation on Chappaquiddick. The property has been in the Potter family’s ownership for nearly 100 years.
The land to be donated consists of diverse habitats such as coastal forests, cultural grassland, and salt marshes, which act as a storm buffer and offset coastal erosion, a MVC staff report states. Additionally, there are several rare species that reside on the Pimpneymouse Farm land, such as piping plovers, imperial moths, and bristly foxtails.
The Land Bank and Sheriff’s Meadow received a $1.25 million grant from the state Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs in October to help purchase the Pimpneymouse Farm land.
The MVC will be holding a public hearing for the proposal on Thursday, May 2.
Meanwhile, the committee also looked over a proposed project that could bring more housing to Edgartown.
The Jean G. Cohen Family Trust is proposing in an application to build around 17 homes on a roughly 17-acre cluster subdivision at 15 and 33 Jernegan Pond Road. This would be subdivided into 15 vacant lots and two lots with pre-existing structures.
Additionally, 10 acres abutting Dark Woods Preserve would be donated to Sheriff’s Meadow.
According to a MVC staff report, the lots would consist of 10 community lots and seven market-rate lots. The community lots would be targeted to serve households that struggle to afford market-rate homes but earn too much to qualify under existing affordable housing programs. Mike McCarron, the attorney representing the project, said the target market would include teachers and first responders.
The lots would consist of two- to three-bedroom homes. According to the report, two-bedroom community lot homes would be offered at $190,000 and three-bedroom community lot homes would be offered for $225,000.
At market value, these lots would be between $350,000 and $400,000, the report says.
A couple of concerns raised by the commission were whether the project could connect to Edgartown’s wastewater system, and that the proposed project location is in what would qualify as priority habitat.
The subcommittee voted to waive a requirement for a traffic study, since MVC staff can do it in-house. No other decisions were made at the April 1 meeting.
