AN ACT AUTHORIZING THE MASSACHUSETTS DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION AND THE TOWN OF KINGSTON TO EXCHANGE CERTAIN PARCELS OF LAND.
Whereas, The deferred operation of this act would tend to defeat its purpose, which is to provide forthwith for the exchange of certain parcels of land in the town of Kingston, therefore it is hereby declared to be an emergency law, necessary for the immediate preservation of the public convenience
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 Massachusetts Department of Transportation shall conduct a review and approve plans for the construction of a ramp in the town of Kingston to provide access from public ways serving the Kingston MBTA station and land in the towns of Kingston and Plymouth in the vicinity of state highway route 3 southbound. Upon completion of its review and its approval of plans, the department shall notify the board of selectmen of the town of Kingston. The notice shall include plans depicting: (1) the layout of the ramp; (2) the extension of Cranberry road as approved by the town of Kingston planning board as provided in section 3; and (3) necessary easements, both construction and permanent, within the boundaries of the town’s land described as follows: (a) parcel 1 being a portion of Kingston assessors’ map 66, lot 50; (b) parcel 2 consisting of portions of map 66, lot 50 and map 75, lot 11; (c) parcel 3 being a portion of Cranberry road right-of-way; and (d) parcel 5 consisting of portions of map 66, lot 50 and map 75, lot 11 on the plan identified in said section 3. The layout of the ramp, the extension of Cranberry road and the easements shall not require the relocation of the town’s existing sewer treatment and recycling facilities.
SECTION 2. Notwithstanding sections 40E to 40J, inclusive, of chapter 7 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 Massachusetts Department of Transportation following the acquisition of the land and easements described in section 3, shall convey to the town of Kingston for municipal purposes the portion of land shown as parcel 6 on the plan described in said section 3 located south of the layout of the ramp, including any and all rights-of-way and easements appurtenant thereto, currently owned by the commonwealth and under control of the department, which is no longer required for highway purposes. The parcel shall not be less than 30,000 square feet, shall be contiguous to parcel 4, consisting of portions of map 66, lot 50 and map 75, lot 11, and shall be described in the notice given to the board of selectmen under section 1. The exact boundaries of the parcel shall be determined by the commissioner of capital asset management and maintenance in consultation with the Massachusetts Department of Transportation after completion of a survey. The parcel shall be conveyed by deed without warranties or representations by the commonwealth.
SECTION 3. Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, the board of selectmen of the town of Kingston, upon receipt of the notice required under section 1 and as requested by the division of capital asset management and maintenance in consultation with the Massachusetts Department of Transportation, shall either convey by deed to the commonwealth, acting by and through the division on behalf of the department, or release the town’s interest in, and the commonwealth acting by and through the division on behalf of the department shall acquire by deed, eminent domain or otherwise, the land required for the ramp to be laid out as a state highway in the following described parcels of land owned by the town: not more than 1.95 acres of the town’s land described as parcels 1, 2 and 3 on that plan of land entitled “Plan of Land Parcels in Kingston, Massachusetts to be Exchanged between the Town of Kingston and the Massachusetts Department of Highways,” dated August 6, 2007. The deed or release shall also include such easements in said parcels 1, 2, 3 and 5 as described on the plan as the department requires in connection with the construction and operation of the ramp. The department, in accordance with section 7A of chapter 81 of the General Laws, on behalf of the town of Kingston, shall alter Cranberry road to create its extension as approved by the planning board of the town of Kingston as a roadway to the ramp. The extension shall be located within said parcels 2 and 5 as shown on the plan. The extension of Cranberry road shall be designed and constructed in accordance with the design standards adopted under the town of Kingston smart growth zoning by-law and approved by the planning board of the town of Kingston.
SECTION 4. The board of selectmen of the town of Kingston shall apply for the permits and approvals required from the department of environmental protection to use the lands described in section 3 for the purposes provided in section 1 and said section 3. The route 3 southbound ramp shall be designed to meet desirable state and federal standards and to operate at acceptable levels of service.
SECTION 5. Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, upon completion of the ramp in accordance with the approvals issued by the Massachusetts Department of Transportation, the department shall notify the town of the completion and shall take control of and operate the ramp as part of the department’s highway system.
SECTION 6. The plan referred to in section 3 shall be kept on file with the chief engineer of the Massachusetts Department of Transportation and with the town administrator of the town of Kingston.
Approved November 23, 2009.