Some of the land at the historic Merrylegs Farm on Elm Street may be sold off to help keep the farm going, members of the Planning Board heard at a virtual meeting on June 15.

Property owner Laurel Owen plans to sell a little more than seven acres of land in order to keep up with farm costs after experiencing a decline in health, said Owen’s brother Christopher at the meeting.

To maintain the farm and pay for Laurel’s care, land is currently being rented out to other farmers and CSAs like Flying Carrot, Owen said. But that is not enough.

“The whole point of this is to save the rest of the farm,” he said. “This was not an easy decision.”

The owner needs town approval to sell the land due to an agricultural restriction on it.

The restriction offers local tax benefits in order to preserve farmland and promote active agricultural and horticultural land use. If the land is sold for nonagricultural use, the town has the option to buy it.

Planning Director Christine O’Grady said the land has previously been subdivided with an intent to sell for residential use.

Owen added that most of the land being sold is not buildable and would be maintained as wetland and forest. The remaining parcel of land would continue to be rented to Flying Carrot.

“We want to keep it as agricultural land and retain its value and open space,” he said.

Planning Board member Stephen Taylor suggested that the family enter a definitive conservation restriction, but board chair Lorri-Ann Miller opposed the idea.

“Steve, you cannot hold a landowner hostage by guaranteeing them one thing as they do something else,” she said. 

Taylor responded that he was simply wondering if the landowners would do that out of a “good faith initiative.”

“This is not hostage of any kind,” he said. “I’m asking the landowner a good faith, big picture question that will have a lot more impact on the town of Dartmouth 20 years from now than these next 20 minutes.”

Ultimately, the Board voted 4-1 in favor for the Select Board to make a decision. Taylor was the lone dissenting vote, saying that he felt the Select Board should buy the land for preservation instead of being sold for residential use. 

At the same meeting, the board discussed a proposed five-lot subdivision off Jason Drive.

Engineer Steve Kohm said the proposed development would allow for an open space layout.

“We are preserving quite a bit of open space that will remain intact,” he added.

Member John Sousa said that while he had some concerns with regard to public access, he noted the subdivision could be built while following the town bylaws.

“They have the right to put up five houses,” he said. “I’d rather have no houses, but we don’t have that option.” 

Member Margaret Sweet voted against the plan, saying she was not a fan of its current form. She added that she did not like the lack of frontage on two of the lots, along with how squeezed in the proposed homes would be.

“I would rather see a regular subdivision,” she said.

Taylor abstained, saying that he also was not comfortable with the current plan.

While there was a majority vote, the plan was rejected, as the board needed a supermajority to approve of a new subdivision.

“They’ll have to come back with the conventional plan and start the process all over again,” Sousa said.