Easton voters will head to the polls on Tuesday, Dec. 13 to answer “Yes” or “No” to the following referendum question: “Shall the Town of Easton restrict the use of a town-owned, 10.9-acre parcel of property located at 18-22 South Park Ave., as set forth in the proposed Conservation Restriction?“
Voting will take place at Samuel Staples Elementary School from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m.
The proposed restriction is being brought to voters after a group secured more than 700 petition signatures in May requiring town officials to convene a Special Town Meeting to vote to place “a permanent conservation easement” on the parcel.
A meeting was held on May 31 during which, according to the official meeting minutes, the town instructed the Board of Selectmen to “place a permanent conservation easement or restriction on the remaining portion of the real property.”
There was no vote taken to approve the specific content of the restriction proposal document at the meeting because the town leadership felt that some of the specific details included in the document required additional clarification.
Since the May 31 meeting, the restriction document has undergone several draft revisions and edits by the Board of Selectmen, the town attorney and representatives from the petitioners, along with input from the local conservation group Citizens for Easton.
The revised restriction document to be voted on Dec. 13 is included below. It refers to the “Special Town Meeting held on May 31, 2022,” and states that “a resolution was adopted to place a permanent conservation restriction (this Restriction) on a portion of the property knows as 18-22 South Park avenue….”
The revised conservation restriction document is now being brought to town voters to either approve or reject on Dec. 13.
A copy of the conservation restriction document that is being voted on can be accessed on the town website at https://www.eastonct.gov/sites/g/files/vyhlif3071/f/pages/conservation_restriction-bos_approved_9.15.22.pdf and is also included below for reading or downloading.
