AN ACT AUTHORIZING THE PARTIAL RELEASE OF CERTAIN LAND IN EASTHAMPTON FROM THE OPERATION OF AN AGRICULTURAL PRESERVATION RESTRICTION.
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. Pursuant to section 40E of chapter 7 and section 32 of chapter 184 of the General Laws and notwithstanding any other general or special law to the contrary, the commissioner of capital asset management and maintenance, in consultation with the commissioner of the department of agricultural resources, the latter referred to in this act as the department, may execute a certificate of partial release, releasing a certain parcel of land, approximately 1.07 acres in size, located on the southerly side of Oliver street in the city of Easthampton, that is part of a larger tract of land of approximately 40 acres that is subject to a certain agricultural preservation restriction, hereinafter referred to as APR, granted for compensation under section 23 of chapter 20 of the General Laws, by Gabrielle B. Chicoine of Easthampton, in this act referred to as the “original APR owner”, to the commonwealth of Massachusetts, acting through the department, dated February 10, 1984, recorded in Book 2463, Page 348, at the Hampshire county registry of deeds. The city of Easthampton, in this act referred to as “the city”, is co-holder of the APR. The parcel of land to be released from the APR is more particularly described as follows:
One certain parcel of land, located on the southerly side of Oliver Street in Easthampton, Hampshire County, Massachusetts, shown as Lot 1 on a plan of land entitled: “Plan of Land in Easthampton, Massachusetts, Prepared for William H. Chicoine, Final Date: 9/27/2000; Almar Huntley, Jr. & Associates, Inc., Northampton, MA”, recorded at Hampshire county registry of deeds in Plan Book 0187, Page 0158. Lot 1 contains 46,260 square feet, plus or minus, according to the plan.
SECTION 2. (a) The total land subject to the APR of approximately 40 acres, in this act referred to as the APR land, is currently owned by William H. Chicoine, in this act referred to as the APR owner, which term shall include his successors and assigns. The APR owner took title to the APR Land by deed from the original APR owner, dated March 3, 1986, recorded in Book 2685, Page 303, at Hampshire county registry of deeds.
(b) The proposed release of Lot 1 from the APR is part of and pursuant to the agreed settlement of a civil complaint filed against the APR owner in Hampshire county superior court, civil docket number HSCV2002-00177, entitled “Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Commissioner of Food and Agriculture, and the City of Easthampton vs. William Chicoine”. Release of Lot 1 is a condition and requirement pursuant to the terms of settlement of the complaint agreed upon by the parties to the complaint. The complaint filed by the department and the city of Easthampton sought to nullify and abrogate the plan, as recorded at the
Hampshire county registry of deeds by the APR owner, or in his behalf, by reason of the fact that it created two lots, Lot 1 and Lot 2, in a portion of the APR land and was a division of APR land not authorized nor permitted by the terms of the APR without approval of the department as grantee of the APR, which approval was not given. Superior Court case number HSCV2002-00177 included a counterclaim regarding compensation paid in 1984 in connection with grant of the APR.
(c) In the event that actions and conditions required to effectuate the agreed settlement of case number HSCV2002-00177 are not performed and satisfied as required of and agreed to by the parties to the complaint, including without
limitation, that the APR owner shall release claims arising out of or related to the facts alleged by or against the APR owner in case number HSCV2002-00177, whether or not the claims were alleged by him in case number HSCV2002-00177, the APR shall be reimposed on Lot 1 as described in section 1, unless in the interim the APR is released or discharged by the commonwealth.
SECTION 3. Except as partially released by the recording of an executed certificate of partial release covering Lot 1 as described in section 1, as authorized by this act, the APR shall remain in full force and effect.
SECTION 4. This act shall take effect upon its passage.
Approved August 5, 2008