On Monday, March 2nd the town of Holden will hold a Special Town Meeting to vote on two zoning overlays to bring the town into compliance with the MBTA Communities Act. One of the two proposed areas abutts Lilac Hedge Farm. The Farm’s owner Ryan MacKay told Spectrum News 1 Worcester that if passed, the news zoning overlay, referred to as the Trap Rock site, off of Main Street/Route 122A will hurt his operations. “Both ourselves as abutters and the owners were never notified about this going in. So we’re standing here right now in our east pasture. It’s around 75 total acres that we rely on to graze our cows during the summer time. If housing did go up on that hillside, we 100% would not have the ability to graze cows on this side of our property. Losing access to be able to graze over here would honestly sink us.”
MacKay said that if high-density housing is built his liability would be cost-prohibitive for his business. “The concern is the fact of having high density housing on that top of the hill. It is a liability risk. Whatever way you look at it, there is additional liability. Insurance is in the business of assessing risk and it can’t be questioned whether there is risk of having 100 cows out here in the pasture, two or three bulls during the summertime that there is added risk.” MacKay continued, “The liability that comes along with it would be astronomical. The options that we have for insurance in this state is few and far between already. So if someone were to be willing to insure us, it would end up meaning premiums would be astronomical and honestly financially unfeasible.”
The Working Group in Holden looking at potential sites has refuted MacKay’s claims. At a MBTA Communities Working Group Plan Community Meeting Update in Holden on February 17th Working Group member and town selectman Linda Long-Bellil said she felt the land to be re-zoned is un-buildable. “I do really think that the Trap Rock site is not going to be built in anything like the foreseeable future.”…