A piece of town-owned property in Temple is going on the market, after the Planning Board approved a lot-line adjustment to create a bigger building lot and preserve a 50-foot access to a connecting piece of conservation property.
The lots were part of a group of four lots on Route 45, south of Peterborough Road, which were taken by tax deed in the 1980s, according to Select Board Chair Bill Ezell. Two of the wooded lots have already been sold by the town, and the town also intends to sell most of the remaining land.
According to Ezell, the pieces of land have never been developed, and are currently wooded. The town does not currently use the land.
The remaining two lots were both technically buildable, according to Planning Board Chair Christine Robidoux, but both have steep and rocky areas. It was recommended by the town’s Land Use Committee to merge the majority of the land and sell it as one lot.
During Town Meeting this year, voters approved selling the lots, and using those funds to cover the costs of relocating the Highway Department, and also approved giving the Select Board the authority to buy or sell land or buildings.
However, one strip of the land is an access point to a piece of conservation property, and the town also wanted to see that access preserved. As part of the lot-line adjustment, the town preserved a 50-foot swath to the south of the property as its own lot to preserve that access. The other lot is now a single building lot of 6.9 acres.
The town intends to sell the building lot and retain the 50-foot trail access under a conservation easement.
Temple Conservation Commission Chair Scott Hecker said there aren’t immediate plans to create a trailhead through the property, but it is a consideration for the commission in the future.
The property connects to a 200-acre piece of land that is already conserved and held by a third party, according to Hecker. That land already has trails built on it, and abuts other conservation properties, including the Wapack Trail.
“Right now, you can walk on it as town property, and use it as access. Our first goal was to maintain that right of way, with the ultimate goal of creating a trail some time in the future,” Hecker said. “It’s a way of preserving access so that off in the future, that slice will be there and there won’t be any question about it.”
Ashley Saari can be reached at 603-924-7172 ext. 244 or asaari@ledgertranscript.com. She’s on Twitter @AshleySaariMLT.