1 l 1 1 1 1 The Spicket River Greenway: An Investigation of Parcels, Policies and Best Practices 1 1 Prepared for Groundwork Lawrence April 23,2003 Darien Crimmin Jennifer Lappin . Kim Sherman 1 1 2 1 / a Acknowledgements We would like to thank Kate Gormly and Marianne Paley for giving us the opportunity to participate in research relevant to the development of the Spicket River Greenway. We are also grateful to Alex at Groundwork Lawrence for helping us to visit the Spicket River and the surrounding neighborhoods. Additionally, we very much appreciated the incredible resources and support provided by the staff at Lawrence Community Works. 3 1 Table of Contents: Executive Summary Page 5 Part I: Our Methodology Page 5 Part II: Easements and Land Conservation Page 7 Part III: The Rivers Protection Act Page 16 Part IV: Real World Example Page 17 Recommendations Page 18 Conclusions Page 18 Appendixes Page 20 4 1 Executive Summary The objective of this report is to provide Groundwork Lawrence with land parcel deed research, procedural recommendations, and case studies relevant to the process of developing a 2.3 mile greenway along the Spicket River in North Lawrence. Specifically, this report summarizes our methodology in identifying relevant land parcels, investigating ownership and contamination status, and storing information in GIS maps and excel databases. Additionally, our report provides preliminary recommendations for approaching the process of obtaining the land easements necessary to the prospective greenway's development. Finally, the report includes reflections and recommendations from a seasoned greenway planner. Our recommendations can be summarized as follows: 1. Prioritize objectives for obtaining easements. 2. Anticipate landowner questions regarding liability, safety, property values, tax implications, and perpetuity of conservation restrictions. 3. To strengthen the permanence of conservation restrictions, consider having more than one entity hold the fee title and conservation restriction for a parcel. With more than one entity involved, reversing a conservation restriction becomes much more difficult. 4. Develop a sound maintenance and greenway management plan including appropriate signage, lighting, and security. 5. Communicate with land trusts, other greenway developers, and legal experts to discuss nuts and bolts details of land acquisition and real-world greenway development strategies. Next, we downloaded and overlayed a Overlaying Part I: Our Methodology hydrology layer from MassGIS. a map with hydrology enabled us to select Step 1: Identifying Parcels In order to identify relevant parcels and research ownership status, The Tufts' Groundwork Lawrence Greenway Team began with a GIS parcel map of Lawrence parcels that were adjacent to the Spicket provided by Lawrence Community Works. River (on both sides of the river). Our GIS 5 map is attached in Appendix A and is also a simple record of the deed' s existence; for provided in a CD. other parcels there was an actual copy of the deed online. We found a copy or record of ~ Step 2: Creating a Database the deed online for about one third of our Next, we exported the GIS attribute table for parcels. We found additional deeds at the the selected parcels into an excel document, office of the Registry of Deeds in Lawrence. thereby creating the beginnings of our The oldest deeds (pre-1870) are stored in greenway database. The attribute table Salem. Appendix B includes copies of all included the map and lot number for each available deeds. parcel (also known as the Assessor Tax ID number), the address or location of that Step 4: Identifying Department of parcel, as well as the names and addresses of Environmental Protection Hazards the grantors and grantees, if known. We After creating a database of parcels adjacent used the Lawrence tax assessors' database, to the Spicket River, we obtained a provided by Lawrence Community Works, Massachusetts Department of to add book and page numbers, indicating Environmental Protection (DEP) database where in the city' s records the deeds for that indicated which Lawrence parcels are particular parcels could be found. The contaminated. The database also indicates assessor's database did not list book and the particular type of contaminant found in page numbers for all of our parcels; we each parcel. By comparing the DEP added the information, if it was available. database with our Spicket parcels database, we were able to identify parcels adjacent to Step 3: Deed Research the Spicket River that were recently Having created a preliminary database, we contaminated. We indicated contaminated began the process of uncovering the deeds parcels in our database on an attached for our parcels. Fortunately, some deeds worksheet. Information on contaminated were available online at parcels should help inform the process of Lawrencedeeds.com. The site allows greenway development along the Spicket. visitors to search for deeds by grantee or grantor, parcel address, or book and page number. For some parcels the site contained 6 possible to envision a riverside trail. At the Step 5: Photographing Parcels and Lawrence Family Health Center site, we Hyperlinking to GIS noticed that if the guardrail in the parking lot While maps and databases are helpful tools could be moved in a few feet, there would for organizing the extensive amount of be room for a path between the rail and the information pertaining to the greenway, site river. We also noted the aesthetic and visits and photos can help bring that educational potential of some of the bridges information to life in a meaningful way. that cross over the Spicket. What if signage With that in mind, the Tufts Groundwork on these bridges encouraged pedestrians or Greenway Team made two trips to bikers to take notice of the river below? Lawrence to follow the river, photographing Finally, we met some of the shop-owners key parcels along the way. We hyperlinked and resident-neighbors of the Spicket, the photos to our GIS map; clicking on including a pre-schooler who scolded us for certain parcels with the hyperlink tool brings going too close to the river. "You're NOT up the photograph of that parcel. supposed to go down there! !" Our informal contact with Spicket River neighbors, Step 6: Reflections on Challenges and reinforced for us the idea that the river exists Opportunities Posed by the Spicket not just in an ecological context, but within Viewing the river up-close and following it a social context, too; developing the through North Lawrence added a new greenway, as Groundwork Lawrence already dimension to our understanding of the knows, is as much about the people of project. We noticed the immense amount of Lawrence as it is about the river itself. trash currently being dumped in the river. Everything from strollers to refrigerators to Part II: Easements & Land fifty-five gallon drums could be found in the Conservation river, strewn along its banks, and scattered What is an Easement? across adjacent properties. In many places, In order to create a riverside trail with buildings were built right up to the Spicket, continuous public access, Groundwork posing challenges to the river and to the Lawrence may wish to obtain easements greenway. At the same time, we prospective from landowners granting public access to encouraged to see parcels where it was were properties adjacent to the river. 7 1 Additionally, Groundwork Lawrence may does the organization plan to do with the wish to secure conservation restrictions, land? Which land uses will be prohibited prohibiting certain types of development and which uses will be permitted? How will along the greenway. the land be maintained? Why is this specific An easement (or restriction) is a legal parcel important and how will the greenway, agreement between a landowner and a as a whole, benefit the community? recipient (such as a conservation organization) that enables the landowner to retain ownership, while agreeing to specified prohibitions on use and development of the =*#,-h-* property. The specified limitations will vary, depending upon the objectives of the grantor /«'*'. and grantee. Specifications may or may not include a right of public access. An easement may be permanent or for a specified amount of time. The easement Property owners who are asked to grant easements are likely to have questions about applies to current and future owners of the liability, safety, and property values. property. The document gives the recipient organization the right to monitor the Liability Questions and Strategies property and enforce the agreement The organization should be prepared to (www.thetrustees.org/pages/44_techniques.c address a wide variety of landowner questions and concerns. Liability is an especially strong concern for many Prior to Approaching Landowners: landowners. The following sections provide Prioritize Objectives and Anticipate a brief overview of liability questions and Questions solutions. Before approaching owners, it is important to have clear objectives and a strong sense Will I get sued if someone gets hurt on my of the prospective benefits of the greenway land? project. Does the organization wish to A landowner might fear that granting public obtain a gift or an easement? What exactly access to his or her land makes him or her 8 legally responsible for injuries or accidents insurance policy is usually minimal (Morris, that happen on the land. Similarly, adjacent 2000). landowners might have liability questions Adjacent landowners also have limited concerning the possibility that greenway liability in the event that greenway users users will stray onto their properties. The wander, uninvited, onto their property. The landowner should know that a recreational organization can work with adjacent use statute provides legal protection to those landowners to reduce their liability by who open their land for public use, provided creating signage or fencing that clearly they do not charge an access fee. Without marks the boundaries of the greenway.