HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 4952        FILED ON: 3/22/2022

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 5087

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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PRESENTED BY:

Sarah K. Peake

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To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
Court assembled:

The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:

An Act authorizing the commissioner of capital asset management and maintenance to grant an easement in the town of Wellfleet.

_______________

PETITION OF:

HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 4952        FILED ON: 3/22/2022

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 5087

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

_______________

In the One Hundred and Ninety-Second General Court
(2021-2022)

_______________

An Act authorizing the commissioner of capital asset management and maintenance to grant an easement in the town of Wellfleet.

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.  Notwithstanding sections 32 to 37, inclusive, of chapter 7C of the General Laws or any other general or special law to the contrary, the Commissioner of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance, in consultation with the Commissioner of conservation and recreation, may convey, for no monetary consideration, a permanent nonexclusive easement to Judith Blakeley Life Estate, Richard Blakeley, Remainderman, and Blackfish Creek Shellfish Company in a portion of a certain parcel of land located within the town of Wellfleet, under the care and control of the Department of Conservation and Recreation and held for conservation and recreation purposes, described in a deed recorded with the Barnstable County Registry of Deeds in book 3377, page 069. The easement may be granted solely for purposes of a curb cut for vehicular access, the benefited land being described in a deed recorded with the Barnstable County registry of deeds in book 15500, page 50, and shall be subject to the further requirements of this act and subject to such additional terms and conditions consistent with this act as the Commissioner of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance may prescribe in consultation with the Department of Conservation and Recreation.

The easement described in this section shall be comprised of XXX square feet of land, more or less, identified as “____________” as shown on the plan of land entitled “________________” dated _________, prepared by ___________. The plan shall be filed with the Department of Conservation and Recreation and to be recorded with the Barnstable County registry of deeds along with the easement.  

Modifications to the easement description set forth in the plan and the plan may be made by the division of capital asset management and maintenance for conformance with this act. The easement shall be granted without warranties or representations by the Commonwealth.

SECTION 2.  Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, the Commissioner of conservation and recreation may grant a license or permit for nominal consideration to Judith Blakeley Life Estate to provide Judith Blakeley Life Estate with use and occupation of the above referenced parcel, and liability and responsibility for such use and occupation, and, for the purposes of this act, such licenses or permits shall govern until the grant of easement authorized in this act takes effect.

SECTION 3.  No easement instrument conveying, by or on behalf of the Commonwealth, the easement described in Section 1 shall be valid unless such easement instrument provides that the easement shall be used solely for the purposes described in said Section 1. The easement instrument shall include a clause that shall state that if the easement ceases to be used by the grantees, or their successors or assigns, for the purposes described in section 1 at any time, the easement shall terminate and all rights shall revert to the Commonwealth under the care and control of the Department of Conservation and Recreation, upon such terms and conditions as the Commissioner may determine.

SECTION 4.   The fair market value of the easement described in Section 1, or the value in use as proposed, shall be based on independent professional appraisals, as commissioned by the Commissioner of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance. Judith Blakeley Life Estate shall compensate the Commonwealth in an amount greater than or equal to the full and fair market value, or the value in use of the easement as proposed, whichever is greater, as determined by the independent appraisals, plus the reasonable cost of such appraisal. All money paid to the Commonwealth by Judith Blakeley Life Estate as a result of the conveyances authorized by this section shall be deposited in the General Fund. The Commissioner of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance shall submit the appraisals and a report thereon to the inspector general for review and comment. The inspector general shall review and approve the appraisals and the review shall include an examination of the methodology utilized for the appraisals. The inspector general shall prepare a report of the review and file the report with the Commissioner of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance for submission by the Commissioner to the house and senate committees on ways and means and the Senate and House chairs of the Joint Committee on State Administration and Regulatory Oversight. The Commissioner shall submit copies of the appraisals, the report thereon and the inspector general’s review and approval, and comments, if any, to the House and Senate Committees on Ways and Means and the Senate and House chairs of the Joint Committee on State Administration and Regulatory Oversight prior to the execution of the conveyance authorized by this Act.

SECTION 5.  As a condition of the conveyance authorized in Section 1, Judith Blakeley Life Estate shall, in addition to any compensation from Judith Blakeley Life Estate to the Commonwealth required pursuant to Section 3, compensate the Commonwealth for the easement described in this act through the transfer to the Department of Conservation and Recreation of land or an interest therein or funding for the acquisition of land or an interest therein equal to or greater than the appraised value of the easement as determined pursuant to this act. The fair market value of any land or interest in land proposed to be conveyed to the Department pursuant to this Section shall be included within the appraisal required by Section 3. The land or interest therein or funding shall be acceptable to the Department of Conservation and Recreation and any land or interest therein, whether conveyed by Judith Blakeley Life Estate or acquired by the department, shall be permanently held and managed for conservation and recreation purposes by the department. All payments made to the Commonwealth pursuant to this section shall be deposited in the Conservation Trust established in Section 1 of chapter 132A of the General Laws.