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Article from the Eagle-Tribune, September 25, 2005
Committee honored for open-space preservation
By Davin Wilfrid, Staff writer
NORTH ANDOVER — The town's Community Preservation Committee will be honored next month for its efforts in preserving nearly 100 acres of pristine open space for public use.
"They were one of the first communities that did important work in that area," said Katherine Roth of the Community Preservation Coalition, a statewide organization that advocates for the state-funded program.
The coalition will honor the local committee at a fundraiser in Waltham on Oct. 6. The event will celebrate the fifth anniversary of the Community Preservation Act, which provides matching state funds for towns that implement a surcharge of up to 3 percent on local tax bills to pay for efforts in open space preservation, historical preservation and affordable housing.
North Andover, which adopted the act in 2001, will be honored for its role in securing wide swaths of land on Carter Hill in 2001 and a multiphase effort to secure Half-Mile Hill in 2002 and 2004. The total cost of those projects is nearly $7 million, paid for with local and state CPA money and some private fundraising.
Town Meeting must approve the projects, which have also included replacing steps at the Stevens Memorial Library, restoring the Old Burying Ground and the renovation of Town Hall.
Carter Hill and Half-Mile Hill both overlook Lake Cochichewick, and are renowned for their expansive vistas, sledding slopes and meadows.
But preserving the areas does more for the town than provide recreational options, said Felipe Schwarz, a member of the preservation committee.
It also provides a buffer zone around much of the town's drinking-water supply. "It goes a long way toward helping protect our watershed," Schwarz said. "It's kind of a long-term goal for the town."
Schwarz said the committee has no immediate plans to buy more land through the CPA, but is actively looking for appropriate places to do so.
His committee is one of three that will be honored at the event. A Bedford committee will be recognized for its advances in promoting affordable housing, and an Aquinnah committee will be awarded for its successes in historical preservation.
The Community Preservation Coalition is sponsored by groups such as the Trust for Public Land, the Citizens Housing and Planning Association and the Keen Charitable Foundation.
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