Southampton planning board conditionally endorses land conveyance for conservation

The Town of Southampton Planning Board on May 6 endorsed the conveyance of a parcel at 156 Form Homer Road to the town for conservation, conditioning its approval on required state/title certification and clarification of boundary lines.

The board’s action followed a presentation describing negotiations with the Flora/Florrick family and a funding plan that uses 34% from the town’s CPA open‑space allocation and about 66% from a state land‑grant program. Scott, the town administrator, told the board, "If we're gonna do this, it has to be finished by 06/30/2026." The parcel is expected to be owned by the town with a conservation restriction held by Kestrel Land Trust.

The presentation said the ANR (Approval Not Required) filing combines two parcels; no additional subdivision is proposed. The applicant and town staff are working to obtain boundary‑line agreements with adjacent landowners, though one small, roughly one‑acre piece is underwater and owned by an out‑of‑state family (Brian Murphy), which complicates rapid title work.

A planning board member moved to endorse the ANR "as shown" with the condition that the town receive the state/title sign‑off and that the eastern boundary issue be resolved; the motion was seconded and approved by voice vote. Votes were recorded in the meeting record as affirmative by the board members present.

The board and staff discussed next steps for final recordings: the town will coordinate signature logistics for the required submission to the registry of deeds and asked the applicant to provide a definitive final map after negotiations conclude. The presenter also asked whether the routine $125 application fee could be waived because the acquisition is a town‑initiated conservation project; the board signaled approval of a fee waiver for this filing.

Why it matters: the endorsement preserves the parcel for conservation and uses a mix of local and state funds subject to an imposing administrative deadline. The board’s conditional endorsement allows staff to continue closing steps while making clear the conveyance cannot be recorded until the required state/title certification and boundary clarifications are in place.

What’s next: Town staff said they will complete coordination with the town lawyer and the state land‑grant contact, finalize any required boundary agreements, collect signatures for registry submission, and expect to return a final map if the surveyed plan changes during negotiations.