York Town News
Take a walk at the Town Farm this Sunday
By Jennifer L. Saunders
YORK VILLAGE - This Sunday, Jan. 21, you can see for yourself the land the Board of Selectmen has agreed to work toward preserving for the future.The Historic District Commission will host a site walk of the Town Farm property, accessible at 178 Long Sands Road, at 11 a.m. on Sunday.
The site walk comes on the heels of last week's meeting, where the selectmen voted unanimously to cease all discussions of selling approximately three acres of what, with the donation of a parcel by local resident and developer Duane Jellison, has grown to include about 32 acres of contiguous land spanning the center of York Village into York Beach.
Voters will have the chance to approve the 17-acre Jellison donation at the polls in May, but a plan to sell the land that currently houses the York Community Gardens to raise funds to offset municipal infrastructure needs is off the table.
Instead, the selectmen are considering ways to preserve the historic Town Farm land and the interconnected open space for the best future use.
The board has asked residents interested in the preservation of the Town Farm to come back with a plan, with an eye toward including a ballot item on the November referendum to let the voters decide the best use for the property.
Residents have discussed options with the Old York Historical Society and the York Land Trust in recent weeks, with preliminary ideas that include maintaining the gardens, using a portion of the land for a neighborhood park and creating a trail system through the property.
The Historic District Commission site walk is open to the public. For more information, call Town Hall at 363-1000 or visit www.yorkmaine.org.
