To The Editor:
In my opinion piece “A Modest Proposal” last week there was an editor’s note.
(“The town accepted the donation of the Flemer Field with covenants that prohibit permanent structures on it.”)
She is correct, the Flemer field does have deed restrictions on it. However, deed restrictions and covenants are not written in stone and there are many examples of deed restrictions being changed either by court decision, mutual assent or legislative action.
The most prominent example in the United State of overturning deed restrictions is the eventual outlawing of deed restrictions that kept people of color, Native Americans and those of certain religious faiths from purchasing homes in various communities. Individual cases were brought over the years to overturn these infamous deed restrictions. Finally, the Fair Housing Act of 1968 outlawed these kinds of restrictions. There are still deed restrictions that come and go -- like what colors you can paint a house in a development. These restrictions are challenged all the time in court and many are overturned in adversarial proceedings and many are taken off the property by friendly mutual assent negotiated between the parties.
(Editor’s Note: The covenants that prohibit permanent structures on the field were part of the terms of gifting that land to the town. Those covenants were drafted by the late Leslie Flemer. The issue of changing or revoking those covenants has been asked and answered multiple times since the town accepted the gift. Her family has chosen to respect her terms which the covenants reflect.)
A Flemer/Wait development could be a perfect place for affordable housing. As real estate professionals say “location, location, location.” The Flemer/Wait parcel is the perfect location and it is ready and waiting for development. What is needed is the will to begin to move a process forward. No more meetings or surveys, the select board must decide to begin negotiating with the parties involved, put a development proposal together and begin marketing it to potential developers.
Jim Boylan
Waitsfield
