It Takes a Hamlet…

by Nancy Kane

November 20th was a Good News Day for Springs. The Town Board held hearings on the proposed purchase of 26 acres of the Nivola property on Old Stone Highway and the one acre Potter parcel, almost hidden behind an historic house on Fireplace Road and located on Accabonac Harbor. Many supporters were in attendance. The Board decided to purchase both parcels.

Both acquisitions are important for Springs, and both are important for the health of Accabonac Harbor. People tend to concentrate on those properties that abut the harbor and sometimes forget that other properties located within the Accabonac watershed area, like the Nivola parcel, can also have a direct effect on the waters of the harbor and the plants and living creatures that dwell within those waters.

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Aerial view of the Potter Property (with proposed house and pool drawn in), The parcel was recently slated for acquisition, thanks to outstanding community effort.

The Accabonac Protection Committee was especially involved in the community effort that led to the purchase of the Potter property. Existing Community Preservation Funds were already allocated for other projects, and it was expected that incoming funds would be extremely limited. Architectural Review Board approval was necessary because the parcel was located in the recently created Springs Historic District, but the ARB had already passed on the proposed house that the out-of-state owners were planning to build.

The guidelines for the historic district specify that “New Buildings should be compatible with the historic buildings and with the character of the historic district.” The proposed house was 5,000 square feet and very up-to-date, not at all compatible with the adjoining Pollock-Krasner House which is a designated National Historic Monument. Things definitely took a turn for the better when the ARB decided to re-open the hearing. Fourteen members of the community were in attendance, many of them from the APC, and letters came from an additional eleven individuals. The applicants suddenly realized that they might have a problem.

The proposed driveway was right up against the property line of Pollock-Krasner, and the backyard historic view-shed would never be the same. On the waterside, the Potter parcel borders several properties owned by The Nature Conservancy; and they, too, would be compromised. Furthermore, Accabonac Harbor has been designated as a Scenic Area of Statewide Significance, and the views from both water and land would be much diminished.

From the first, the push to purchase was a community effort. Helen Harrison, director of the Pollock-Krasner House, initially led the charge. When the Town Board finally agreed to pursue the purchase, it did so conditionally. The community would be required to raise half of the funding. Helen got right to work and did some fundraising of her own. The Nature Conservancy, under the direction of Marion Lindberg, raised a great deal more; and the APC helped with a donation and an appeal to its own members, and several of them gave generously as well.

Springs is usually pretty quiet, a welcome refuge from summer traffic and crowded beaches. The community has seldom been in such accord. We are all winners, and the preserved land will remain as a lasting legacy.