Larry LeBlanc's Land - A new chapter

The hottest piece of property in Charlestown is Plat 17, Lot 186. Registered Owner LL Properties LLC. Located right on the northside of Route One, this 98.6 acres has a current assessed value of $1,019,400.

But for a number of Charlestown residents, this is land where monsters might roam. This parcel belongs to developer Larry LeBlanc and a site where he has proposed to build industrial wind turbines or a plat of affordable housing or might deal it to the Narragansett Tribe for use as a casino, or, if the price is right, he might sell it to the town.

LeBlanc land is triangle of undeveloped space in the center of Google Earth image

The Town Council will once again discuss this land. It’s on the agenda for the Wednesday, June 15, regular Council meeting.

The Council discussed the land – and a verbal offer/trial balloon LeBlanc floated that the town buy the land for $3 million – at its June 1^st Special Meeting. Prevailing sentiment both within the Council membership and in the small audience that came out in the middle of a major thunderstorm was that there was “no compelling reason” to consider buying LeBlanc’s land, despite the amazing amount of controversy connected to it.

Nonetheless, the Council said it could not make a fully reasoned decision without a new appraisal and without a more detailed assessment of whether the land would be a good addition to the town’s open space inventory.

The Town Council now has a new appraisal and two opinions about the land’s environmental potential. These new documents will no doubt be major features at Wednesday’s Council meeting.

Here’s what those new documents say:

Appraisal. Appraisal Resource of East Greenwich sent the Town a new “as is” market value figure of $825,000 for the land. LeBlanc bought the land in 2003 for $1.1 million.

Environmental Value: Opinion of the US Department of Interior. The town received a detailed analysis of the land from Charles Vandemoer, manager of the Ninigret National Wildlife Refuge. He makes a strong case for acquiring the land because it connects other protected wildlife areas as well as containing important features. These include important wildlife breeding areas (possibly including some endangered or threatened species) and “mixed conifer forest habitat which is in relatively short supply in the state of Rhode Island.” Vandemoer also notes that the heavy deciduous forest provides valuable nesting and resting spots for migratory song birds.

Environmental Value: Conservation Commission. Members of the Conservation Commission did a walk-about on the site on June 4^th. According to their report to the Council, they were less impressed. They reported that dense growth on the land made a complete tour impractical. They did go through the vernal pool area (highlighted in Vandemoer’s comments) but said they were mostly dry at this point and “not that significant.” They noted “extensive fieldstone walls” from farming and grazing generations ago now overgrown with mature trees, laurel, ferns and briars.

They said the land scored “below average” as open space because it did not have historic significance, wasn’t farmland, wasn’t near other protected areas and “would require a major expense to install parking areas and develop even a modest number of trails because it is so densely foliated.”

Comments: The new appraisal of $825,000 sounds right. This is consistent with the 20% average cut in value other $1 million-plus properties in Charlestown took in the reassessment. So Larry has floated a $3 million asking price. To me, that’s where the negotiations start. A fair and final price should be somewhere between $3 million and $825K.

Map provided by Interior Dept official Vandemoer

As to the two very different assessments of the land’s environmental value, I find the federal wildlife guy Charles Vandemoer’s opinions to be more persuasive. There are some disputes of fact between the two opinions, most notably whether the land is or is not near other important protected areas and whether the dense growth is a plus or a minus. Vandemoer strongly suggests LeBlanc’s land will connect such lands; the Conservation Commission bluntly says the land is not near other protected land.

Vandemoer places a premium on the dense growth for its habitat value. The Conservation Commission takes points away because of the dense growth since it would make the chore of hacking out a parking lot and walking trails more difficult and expensive. Again, I think Vandemoer’s points are more persuasive since unspoiled open space doesn’t necessarily need a parking lot and trails to make it valuable.

But even if Larry LeBlanc’s land was a junkyard covered with twenty foot high stacks of crushed busses, I think Charlestown would have one less source of extreme emotional distress if we taxpayers bought the land and took all the issues that go with it off the table.

Let’s hear from some of our prominent town open space advocates. Cliff? Ruth?

Author: Will Collette