Last week, Fig City News reported that State Representative Ruth Balser’s nearly quarter-of-a-century effort to protect public lands came to fruition when the Legislature voted in favor of her Public Lands Preservation Act. Governor Charlie Baker has signed the bill and made it the law of the Commonwealth.
Under the new law, public lands cannot be designated for development without evaluating whether that is the best use of that land. Both the public and the Office of Environmental Affairs must be notified if a municipality wants to change the status of public lands. Under the new law, Environmental Affairs will work with local communities to find alternatives to the use of that land. If it is determined that there is no feasible alternative to using the land for another purpose, the land must be replaced with land of equal size and natural resource value in a comparable location. In limited cases, where replacement land is not immediately available, the law provides for cash payments to purchase land of equal size and resources within three years.
