Land Use Study Committee
Town Hall, c/o Planning Board Office
18 Main Street
Hopkinton, MA 01748
508-497-9755

Welcome to the Land Use Study Committee website.

The Land Use Study Committee was formed by the Board of Selectmen in response to the proposed sale of 615 acres of agricultural land (Chapter 61A) on the eastern side of Hopkinton, currently part of the Weston Nurseries operation, and to review other Chapter 61 parcels as they may come available. Our goal for this website is to provide periodic information updates, answer frequently-asked questions, and to keep townspeople informed about the process, current status, and plans for these sites. We hope you find the site informative and helpful. If you have questions, comments or suggestions, please call or email one of the members listed below.

 

The Current Choices Before the June 11th Town Meeting:

The Weston Nurseries land being sold is shown here (click for larger image). Hopkinton's 61A rights give the Town the following options:

a.      Buy the land outright and take our time planning its ultimate disposition and/or development;

b.      Partner with a Master Planner/Developer (now identified as Taurus New England) and Land Conservation Organization (The Trust for Public Land) to permanently protect and preserve 2/3 of the land as Open Space, and engage the Town in deciding what features and types of growth would be most desirable on the remaining portions;

c.       Allow a Master Plan Developer (the buyer: Boulder Capital) to pursue development on the private side, recognizing that such a process will require a strong public/private bond that balances the planning and regulatory influences to create a desirable outcome.

The Committee is now formulating its recommendations for the Town Meeting. We urge all residents to attend, since whatever happens on this large tract of land will significantly affect the future of Hopkinton.

Weston Nurseries timeline from Selectmen.

Relevant links: bouldercapital.com, tiholdings.com, tpl.org

Background on Weston Nurseries

Weston Nurseries comprises +/- 920 acres of land (more than 5% of the total land area of Hopkinton), and because of this, the nursery in many ways defines the character of the entire northeast quadrant of the Town. For the last several years the owners of the property have been quietly investigating ways to extract value from the land to enable the business to re-invent itself for the next generation of the family. More recently, there has been a very public offering and sale of 740 acres of nursery property.

This sale has presented Hopkinton with an enormous opportunity to do the right thing. The challenge will be to figure out what is the right thing, and what the net cost will be to the Town over a 10- to 20-year period.

Each of the possible uses has pros and cons, and each has significant future costs associated with it, whether for acquisition, for developing future services (schools, water, sewer), or for commercial or residential development.

Options that have been discussed include:

  • Preserve the land as undeveloped open space
  • Preserve the land as part open space and part recreation facilities
  • Full residential development as permitted by the underlying zoning, consisting of primarily single-family homes
  • Full development of a master-planned community involving a re-zoning or overlay zoning, and including  various residential mixes (single- and multi-family, town homes, and rental apartments) along with a significant commercial and office component tied to the existing nursery operation
  • Mostly open space, with limited development

The following links show the two development options currently before the Town in conjunction with exercising our Chapter 61A rights.  

What is the Land Use Study Committee?

The Land Use Study Committee is composed of eleven volunteer members, appointed by the Board of Selectmen. It was initially established to assess options regarding the Weston Nurseries parcels and to make recommendations to the Board of Selectmen regarding the Town's Chapter 61A rights, and further to make recommendations regarding the disposition and/or development of this large tract of land. Other properties may be brought before the Committee by the Board of Selectmen whenever deemed necessary.

What gives the Town the right to be involved in the Weston Nurseries sale?

  • The town has a Right of First Offer to purchase some or all of the land as part of a Chapter 61A tax relief granted to the owners.  The nursery has operated under a State-tax relief program (where the land is valued solely according to its agricultural and horticultural use) for years, subject to the provision that the owners would grant the Town the opportunity to match any offer. 
  • The Town has a responsibility to concern itself with the potential development of such a large parcel (3.4 %) of the total land area of Hopkinton.

What are the LUSC's primary goals?

  • Any development to take place on the property will be revenue positive
  • Any development to take place on the property will be an improvement to the quality of life in Hopkinton.

Prior Work of the LUSC:

Initially the LUSC sought to create an opportunity to choose our own development partner.  In spring 2005, The Town prepared and issued a Request for Interest. Respondents included a total of 15 individuals, developers, conservation organizations and non-profit organizations interested in working with the Town to acquire and/or develop 582 acres of land in Hopkinton. Copies of the RFI and supporting maps may be downloaded from one of the links below. A copy of each submittal is on file in the Planning Office, and may be reviewed at the office. (Download RFI information)

This effort came to naught as the owners of the Weston Nurseries property could not agree on the form of sale that might include the Town, but it proved to be a very instructive process in introducing the Town to a variety of players in the land development business, and the ways in which development “deals” can be done.

In 2006, LUSC under supervision of the Planning Board initiated the East Hopkinton Master Plan study. This project was approved by the voters at the May '06 Special Town Meeting, and has been carried out under a contract between the Town and Sasaki Associates Inc., an architecture and planning firm with headquarters in Watertown Massachusetts.

The aim of the EHMP was to give residents the opportunity to hear about and discuss options within and beyond existing zoning that will define the population and quality of life in the eastern quarter of the Town over the next generation. Much information on the EHMP is located on the Planning Board section of the Town website.

Other documents and related links may be found at the bottom of this page.

Online Resources

Other Useful Links

Land Use Study Committee Meeting Minutes

Other Useful Memos

Download the Weston Nurseries RFI and Supporting Maps

Where can I send thoughts or suggestions for use of the land?
  • Email your thoughts, comments and suggestions to Hopkinton Planning Director, Elaine Lazarus.
   Who are the members of the Land Use Study Committee?   
Chairman Finley Perry Economic Development email
Member John Coolidge Planning Board email
Member Muriel Kramer Board of Selectmen email
Member Nancy Peters Board of Health email
Member Stuart Cowart Appropriations Committee email
Member Steven Radel Conservation Commission email
Member Andrew Branz Member At Large email
Member Mavis O'Leary Member At Large email
Member Liisa Jackson Member At Large email
Member Eric Sonnett Member At Large  
Member Rebecca Robak School Committee  
Planning Director Elaine Lazarus Planning Director email
Town Counsel Richard DeAngelis Town Counsel email

 
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