MMA letter to Environment Committee in opposition to “Public Lands Preservation Act”

The Honorable Anthony W. Petruccelli, Senate Chair
The Honorable William M. Straus, House Chair
Joint Committee on Environment, Natural Resources & Agriculture
State House, Boston

Dear Representative Straus, Senator Petruccelli and Members of the Committee

On behalf of the cities and towns of Massachusetts, the MMA is writing to express the very strong opposition of the municipal community to the so-called Public Lands Preservation Act (PLPA, H. 3438), and to urge your committee to issue an adverse report on the measure.

This legislation proposes a completely unwarranted and unnecessary burden on cities and towns across the state. A clear process already exists to protect public lands, as established by an amendment to the Massachusetts Constitution in 1997. That amendment states that “lands and easements taken or acquired for such purposes shall not be used for other purposes or otherwise disposed of except by laws enacted by a two thirds vote, taken by yeas and nays, of each branch of the general court.”

H. 3438 would go far beyond that strong constitutional standard and undermine local decision-making authority regarding municipally owned land by imposing severe restrictions on cities and towns, by requiring that municipal public land acquired for natural resource purposes (Article 97 land) not ever be disposed of or converted to other uses without a costly demonstration process to prove that there is “no feasible alternative,” and by requiring comparable natural resource land to be provided if land is transferred.

This legislation would place an undue, unnecessary and costly burden on our communities and local taxpayers, who already face some of the highest public construction and land acquisition costs in the country. H. 3438 would unquestionably drive the costs to taxpayers even higher. Requiring communities to engage in and fund a state-mandated feasibility study, and to purchase new land or pay mitigation for land they already own, would impose overwhelming financial costs, escalating the burden on taxpayers to implement locally voted and approved land use decisions. This bill would create another large unfunded state mandate on localities.

Under current law, the transfer of these lands requires a number local votes, including votes by local commissions, legislative bodies and executive officers before going to the Legislature and finally the Governor. We firmly believe that it is important to trust local government, the Legislature and the Governor to make these decisions, and we ask that you reject the unnecessary conditions and burdens that H. 3438 would place on our communities and taxpayers.

Nearly 60 percent of undeveloped land in the Commonwealth is privately owned and unprotected. Many private acres are lost daily due to developments that could be planned more effectively. To ensure the preservation of our most critical natural resources, the state must employ a variety of tools, from improved local zoning and increased capital investments in land protection, to enhanced tax incentives for voluntary land donations by private landowners. The municipal community has worked hard over the past few years to help pass both the Environmental Bond Bill and Massachusetts Land Conservation Incentives Act. Most recently, local officials testified in favor of Senate 90, An Act to Sustain Community Preservation.

In fact, these measures have worked. In the past two years alone, Massachusetts has protected nearly 54,000 acres of land, including 22,353 acres in fiscal 2009, the equivalent of 60 acres a day, or three times the amount of land that was developed over the same time period. Much of this land would not have been preserved without the efforts of municipal governments and the many volunteers and staff responsible for their conservation efforts, as well as the Commonwealth’s land trusts and environmental organizations and the many landowners across the state who donated property.

The Community Preservation Act has been an extremely successful local and state partnership, with 142 communities protecting over 8,000 acres of open space. We are very pleased that the Committee on Community Development and Small Business has reported out S. 90 favorably, and we are supporting the measure as it is before the House Ways and Means Committee.

As stewards of public lands, local officials discharge their responsibilities with great care, acting in the public interest. H. 3438 is completely unnecessary, proposes an unprecedented and undue burden on taxpayers and municipalities, and seeks to interfere with the local democratic process that is most appropriate to make decisions on municipally owned land. We strongly urge you to reject H. 3438.

Sincerely,

Geoffrey C. Beckwith
MMA Executive Director