OPEN SPACE INVENTORY SECTION 5 INVENTORY OF LANDS OF CONSERVATION AND RECREATION INTEREST Introduction to the Open Space System How Open Space Is Protected Brookline's open space system is a complex of Article 97 publicly and privately-owned land ranging from intensely managed landscapes to minimally man- Land is considered protected if it falls under aged woodlands and wetlands. The following inven- Article 97 or if it is protected by a conservation tory of open space parcels includes both lands that restriction or owned by a conservation land trust. are legally protected for open space uses, and The Article 97 Amendment is a provision of the some of the lands which do not have legal protec- Massachusetts Constitution, added in 1972, which tion, but are significant open space parcels. prevents the taking of public park, recreation, and conservation lands for other purposes without a Types of open spaces in Town include both majority vote of the Conservation Commission or publicly and privately-owned land. Publicly-owned Park and Recreation Commission, Board of land includes conservation areas, parks, play- Selectmen, Town Meeting, and a two-thirds vote of grounds, recreation facilities, cemeteries, school both houses of the State legislature. This inventory yards, public works facilities and traffic circles. identifies 602 acres of Article 97-protected land. Many of these are legally protected as open spaces, but others are unprotected and could be used for Conservation Restrictions different public purposes, such as additions to schools or Town buildings. Conservation restrictions are legally enforce- able agreements imposed through deeds that pre- Privately-owned lands that have open space vent development of privately-owned open space values include agricultural and recreational land, under M.G.L. c.184 s.3 1-33. Brookline holds 18 institutional lands, and private estates of significant such conservation restrictions (including a number size. While the open space on some of these pri- of private properties, and three on Brookline vate properties is protected, most is not. Conservation Land Trust properties). One parcel, Fisher Hill Reservoir, is owned by the Town, with a Vacant parcels, green frontage and streetscapes conservation restriction held by the Brookline can have special significance to a neighborhood or GreenSpace Alliance. Restricted property is gener- to the Town as a whole, particularly when they are ally taxed at a lower rate than any portion of the contiguous to other areas which have open space property which is not under a conservation restric- value in this densely populated urban setting. tion. The restriction may run in perpetuity or be time- However, these are not listed in this inventory. limited. Public access is not a requirement. Conservation restrictions allow a property owner to Taking into account all public open space, retain control of the land, but ensure most of it is legally protected or not, as well as significant private preserved as open space by prohibiting develop- open spaces, Brookline has approximately 1,375 ment. It is possible to negotiate for public access or acres of open space. This represents ~31 percent a gift of land at a future date. The same statute also of the Town's land base. However, only ~634 acres, authorizes preservation restrictions for properties just over 14 percent of the Town's land base, is with historical or cultural significance. legally protected as open space. Over 600 acres of significant open space is privately held and poten- Brookline Conservation Land Trust tially subject to development. Town-owned conser- vation sanctuaries total only 56 acres, ~1 percent of The Brookline Conservation Land Trust is a the land base. Since 2005, ~27 new acres were private non-profit corporation established for the protected as parkland (Skyline Park and Fisher Hill purpose of preserving open space. Gifts of land to Reservoir) or under conservation restrictions, and the trust are charitable donations and carry tax the Town Reservoir (<5 acres) was sold for housing. advantages. Currently, the Brookline Conservation 51 OPEN SPACE INVENTORY Land Trust protects four properties. Of these, they own three parcels with conservation restrictions held by the Town, and the fourth parcel is privately -owned with a conservation restriction held by the Brookline Conservation Land Trust. Special Taxation Programs Privately owned land which is used for agricul- ture or for recreation can be given tax advantages under M.G.L c. 61A and c. 61B. These statutes help preserve open space by relieving pressures on property owners. A condition of this preferential assessment is that the Town holds the first right- of-refusal on any sale. Allandale Farm is assessed under Chapter 61A and The Country Club is assessed under Chapter 61B. These properties are not considered protected because the Town would have to come up with a relatively large sum of money in a short period of time (120 days) to exercise its right to purchase the properties. The owner may also remove the property from the program by rollback or convey- ance taxes. Therefore, the Town must assume these properties are partially or fully developable at some time in the future. Together, Allandale and the Country Club total ~300 acres. Private Open Spaces Brooklline has approximately 650 acres of private unprotected open space. This represents almost half of the Town’s current open space and is 15% of the Town’s landbase. This private, unprotected open space includes agricultural and recreational land, large parcels owned by private institutions and private residential properties over 3 acres in size. Much of this open space is inac- cessible to the public but has significant aesthetic and environmental value to the Town and the com- munity. A significant portion of open space is con- trolled by private owners who may choose to develop or otherwise alter their property. Land throughout the Town that is taken for granted as open space may well disappear over time. As a consequence, the Town would not only lose the potential for new public parks, conservation areas, and recreation facilities, but this would also pro- foundly alter the visual and social character of Brookline. 52 OPEN SPACE INVENTORY INVENTORY The following inventory of lands of conservation and recreation interest has been derived from the fol- lowing sources: Parks, Open Space and Recreation Strategic Master Plan 2006; Open Space Plan 2005 and 2000; 2003 Brookline Parks and Open Space Inventory Database; Field Use Tables provided by the Town of Brookline, Division of Parks and Open Space; other recreational facilities information provided by the Brookline Recreation Department; aerial photographs provided by the Brookline GIS program; Field Inventory conducted by the project team in fall 2004 and spring 2005 List of Properties by Category Conservation Areas Neighborhood Parks D. Blakely Hoar Sanctuary Billy Ward Playground Hall’s Pond Sanctuary Boylston Street Playgroung Amory Woods Clark Playground Lost Pond Conservation Area Judge Summner Z. Kaplan Park at Coolidge Lost Pond Reservation Playground Daniel F. Ford Playground at Emerson Garden Historic Parks Griggs Park Brookline Reservoir John E. Murphy Playground Emerald Necklace (1) – Riverway Juniper Street Playground Emerald Necklace (2) – Olmsted Lawton Playground Larz Anderson Park Lotta Bradburn Schick Park Longwood Mall Margaret E. Robinson Playground Fredrick Law Olmsted National 50 Pleasant Street Historic Site Winthrop Square Town Green School Playgrounds Community Parks Baker School Playground Amory Playground Baldwin School Playground Brookline Avenue Playground Devotion School Playground Cypress Street Playground Driscoll School Playground Daniel W. Warren, Jr. Playground Heath School Playground Fisher Hill Reservoir (in development) Longwood Playground Harry Downes Field Pierce School Playground Skyline Park Runkle School Playground Soule Recreation Center William H. Lincoln School Playground (New) Waldstein Playground William H. Lincoln School Playground (Old) Passive Parks Cemeteries Corey Hill Park The Old Burying Ground Dane Park Holyhood Cemetery Knyvet Square Walnut Hills Cemetery Linden Park Linden Square Golf Course Little Field Park Robert T. Lynch Municipal Golf Course at Mason Square Putterham Meadows Monmouth Street Park Philbrick Square Agricultural and Recreation Land Judge Henry Crowley Park at Saint Mark’s Square Allandale Farm Town Hall Lot The Country Club 53 OPEN SPACE INVENTORY Conservation Restrictions Traffic Medians, Circles and Triangles Sargent’s Pond Beacon Street Mall Hellenic Association Brington Road Island Walnut Place Corey Farm Circle 235-255 Goddard Avenue Dudley Triangle Town Houses at Larz Anderson Dwight Square Sears Estate Eliot and Crafts Road Triangle Paine Estate Francis J. Hickey Square 133 Goddard Avenue Francis X. Ryan Circle Longyear Estate Freeman Square Goddard House Hammond Pond Parkway Ivy Street, Map 9, Lot 1 Horace James Circle Ivy Street, Map 12, Lot 4A Pleasant Street Triangle 153 Rangeley Road Single Tree Road Circle Saint Aidan's VFW Parkway Median 170 Sargent Road Webster Street Triangle Fisher Hill Reservoir West Roxbury Parkway Brookline Conservation Land Trust Other Small Open Spaces Walnut Street Clark Road Land Lot 1 Sargent Beechwood Clark Road/MBTA Land Lot 5 Cottage Street Clinton Road Waterworks Land Richardson Property Health Department Lot Newton Street Parcel Reservoir Road Extension Reservoir Road Land Single Tree Reservoir Town