Select Board discusses Sure-Cran land purchase

Mar 29, 2022

To buy or not to buy: That was the question up for discussion at Tuesday’s Select Board meeting as members considered whether the town should waive its right of first refusal to purchase current farmland.

Sure-Cran, a cranberry company, is looking to convert some of its property from agricultural use in favor of using the space for a small solar project.

Converting the land’s use will take it out of Chapter 61A status, which is a program that taxes land restricted for agricultural use at a lower rate. To use the land for a different purpose, the owners must give the town the option to purchase the land through what’s called “the right of first refusal.”

Other town committees, including the Open Space Committee, the Community Preservation Committee and Planning Board voted that the town should pass on the land. Select Board members generally agreed, but Town Administrator Derek Sullivan brought up a concern that the landowner currently has an easement that goes over town property.

Sullivan asked the board to give him time to resolve the access issue with Sure-Cran before the members vote on the purchase.

The Select Board decided to grant Sullivan up to 45 days to work with Sure-Cran.

The company is seeking to convert just over an acre of its land from agricultural to commercial use. The farm is looking to use a small part of the land for solar panels to supplement its energy needs.

The land in question is a 1.25-acre parcel that extends between active cranberry bogs, located near Charge Pond Road and Rte. 25.

The solar project would be small enough that it would be allowed by right.