NEW FAIRFIELD — A town meeting will be held next month on the proposed sale of town-owned land at 8 Cameron Road.
New Fairfield resident Bailey Statucci wants to purchase the vacant 0.3-acre parcel and use it as a buffer between her Cameron Road property and a 2-acre lot where a new home is under construction, First Selectman Pat Del Monaco said during a public hearing Tuesday, May 23, on the proposed land transfer.
“It’s a very isolated area and a very isolated piece of property,” Del Monaco said. “The sale really wouldn’t impact anyone except those two abutting pieces.”
The Board of Selectmen has agreed to sell the parcel to Santucci for $3,000, according to Del Monaco. The amount is based on the property’s assessed value, as well as the sale price of an abutting 2-acre lot that sold for $10,000, she said.
Online land records show 8 Cameron Road — which the town of New Fairfield acquired by tax sale in 2004 — has an assessed value of $7,800 and appraised value of $11,100.
With an 8-24 referral from the Planning Commission, the last step is to hold a town meeting on the proposed sale. It has been scheduled for 7 p.m. June 8 in the senior center community room.
The Board of Selectmen set the town meeting date after last Tuesday’s public hearing, during which no members of the public commented on the proposed land transfer.
Selectman Khris Hall said the owner of the abutting 2-acre lot had the ability to buy 8 Cameron Road but chose not to, and she said it “makes absolute sense” to sell the parcel to Santucci.
“To me, this is a good decision,” she said. “Get it off of the town books — make it part of our tax process and get it out of our hands.”
Selectman Lori-Ann Benninson said she spoke to Santucci about her plans for the property and agreed that selling it to her would be a good idea.
“If we can accommodate, it’s a good thing,” Benninson said.
The sale of 8 Cameron Road would not be the first transfer of municipal land to a private party. Last year, a couple from Putnam County, N.Y., purchased less than an acre of undeveloped town-owned land on New Fairfield’s border with Brewster, N.Y.