Session Laws

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:

SECTION 1. The division of capital planning and operations is hereby authorized to convey, on behalf of the commonwealth, in consultation with the department of environmental management, a right-of-way over a parcel of land in the town of Eastham to said town for the purpose of allowing access to a parcel of land owned by said town. Said conveyance shall be in accordance with the terms and conditions set out in section two and subject to the approval of the commissioner of the department of environmental management, and approved as to form by the attorney general. The property of the commonwealth is described as follows:

That certain parcel of land in the town of Eastham off the northerly sideline of Nauset road, containing twelve thousand six hundred and thirteen square feet, more or less, being a portion of the abandoned penn central railroad right-of-way acquired by the commonwealth for the purpose of conservation and recreation, bounded as follows:

Commencing at a concrete bound at a point in common with the property lines of land owned by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts (formerly by the Penn Central Corporation), the Town of Eastham and M.F. Roach Company, being the point of beginning;

Thence S 02<=-31'-30"E, a distance of 290.25 feet to a point on the northerly sideline of Nauset Road;

Thence N 55<=-36'-30"W, a distance of 50.07 feet along the northerly sideline of said Nauset Road;

Thence N 02<=-31'-30"W, a distance of 300.17 feet parallel to and 1.25 feet easterly from the baseline of the old railroad right-of-way, to a corner;

Thence N 87<=-28'-30"E, a distance of 40 feet to land owned by the Town of Eastham;

Thence S 02<=-31'-30"E, a distance of 40 feet along said land of said Town, to a concrete bound and the point of beginning.

Being shown on a plan of land entitled "Plan of Easement For: Town of Eastham Eastham, Mass.," scale: 1"=40', dated December 14, 1984, prepared by James H. Bowman, Civil Engineer and Land Surveyor, of Orleans, Mass., recorded in the registry of deeds in Barnstable county, in Plan Book 391, Page 56.

SECTION 2. In consideration for the conveyance provided for in section one, the town of Eastham shall pay fair market value to the commonwealth, which value may be based on an appraisal or appraisals done by independent, commissioned appraisers from a list approved by the department of environmental management and paid for by said town, but shall in no event be less than the proportionate amount of the monetary damages awarded The Penn Central Corporation, a corporation duly organized under the laws of the commonwealth of Pennsylvania, by said department pursuant to an order of taking dated September 28, 1984, and recorded with the registry of deeds in Barnstable county in Book 4281, Page 93. Payment may be money or land or other mutually agreeable consideration.

The department shall not restrict the uses to which the proposed easement or way may be put to less than those normally associated with town public ways unless necessary to ensure the safety of the public using the recreational trail developed on remaining land of the commonwealth.

Said town shall not use or allow uses of the easement hereby authorized which disrupt use of said trail or significantly detract from the public's enjoyment thereof. To ensure the public safety and convenience, the town shall erect and maintain a fence along the westerly sideline of the easement area described above, and shall maintain a minimum of ten feet of buffer along said sideline. The buffer shall be of trees and shrubs and other greenery to act as a screen from the potential traffic and noise attendant to the use of the way by the Town.

The easement shall not be assignable without the express approval of the department, nor may it be used to provide access to any other property than that owned by the town of Eastham.

The terms and conditions of the rights hereby authorized shall be set out in an instrument to be recorded in the Barnstable County Registry of Deeds.

SECTION 3. This act shall take effect upon its passage.