Piccadilly Mill Open Space Trust (PMOST)
Westborough, Massachusetts
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Piccadilly Mill Open Space Trust (PMOST) Westborough, Massachusetts |
FAQ
There are four documents that
constitute the Trust; they are: The PMOST Summary written by PMOST Steward, Joe Pucciarelli, is a summary of the four PMOST governing documents.
These documents
are a matter of public record and can be obtained from:
The short but impolite answer is that 1) you may not have had a good lawyer/title company or 2) you may not remember the discussion amidst the haze of a typical house closing. All homes that are part of the Piccadilly Mill subdivision are deeded as part of the Trust; if you own a home then you are a part owner of this Trust.
As originally constituted, the Trust specifies that a swimming pool may NOT be built. The developer originally proposed building a public-use ball field on some of the open space but this met with strong objections from some of the abutters on Morse Street. Of course, it is possible to revisit this point. The documents, which constitute the Trust, could be amended. However, please note that when the Trust was constituted, the creators went to considerable trouble to make amending it very difficult; they were successful. Changing it will require a considerable investment in time and effort and concerted political will from a very organized group of citizens.
To use colloquial language, the
land can only be used for walking, benches and swings or other “passive”
recreation. The Conservation
Restrictions, one of the four documents, which constitute the Trust, explain
“passive” in much more detail; in fact, it spells it out in ten typed pages. When you read all the detail and summarize it, the
inescapable conclusion is that the land can only be used for very, very limited
types of passive recreation.
The Trust has a very complex history and was borne as a result of considerable political compromise between numerous parties including the original owner of the land, abutters, the Town, the State and the developer. The bottom line is this: In return for reducing the ultimate number of homes to 83 and permanently deeding pieces of land as open space, the parties were able to come to agreement and the subdivision was built. There was considerable acrimony
about developing the land as it was considered special, because of its beauty
and history, by many people in town. As
part of this compromise, land was placed into this Trust, forever deeded as
“open space”. Because of the tenor of the debate, the legal agreements were
structured as tightly as possible to prevent future tinkering or changes in
status. The Piccadilly Mill Open Space Trust was reviewed and certified by the State of Massachusetts (Executive Office of Environmental Affairs), which is especially proud of it, and views it as a model. All of this can be boiled down to the fact that the Trust is a political animal, with numerous stakeholders beyond the homeowners. It can be assumed that any substantive changes would be a political process and likely require approval from numerous town and state agencies.
Carruth Capital was the original Trustee and administered the Trust through 2001. They are required to turn over the Trust within one year of selling the last lot of the subdivision or ten years from its inception (1993). Once the Trust, according to its governing rules and constructs appoints a new Trustee, Carruth Capital has no further legal responsibility for any aspect of the Trust. During 2001 Carruth
Capital contacted homeowners to collect for the prior year’s expenses and
proposed naming Elena H. Pucciarelli of 23 Piccadilly Way as the new Trustee.
This proposal was ratified by a two-third majority of the homeowners.
While the Trust has many
responsibilities, there are many, very important, responsibilities it does not
have. Within the Piccadilly Mill
subdivision, all roads and sidewalks are the responsibility of the Town (of
Westborough). The water and sewer
mains are generally the responsibility of the town although 1) there are rights
of way on specific lots in the subdivision for underground utilities (as
documented in individual deeds) and 2) there are rights of way on some of the
open space for underground utilities (sewage mains). In addition, there is a sewage pumping station located on the
open space whose mechanical upkeep and maintenance are also the responsibility
of the town. To summarize, the good
news is that the Trust is generally not responsible for any machinery,
buildings, utilities or road maintenance.
The short answer is, yes.
When the subdivision was built,
conservation guidelines dictated that water runoff from the entire subdivision
couldn’t be any faster after construction than before.
To address this, the developer engineered three large catch ponds, which
hold runoff. These catch ponds
allow the land to absorb much of the water and meter the outflow.
These catch ponds are on Trust land. The Trust is responsible to maintain them. All of these structures are passive; i.e., pipes, gravel, etc. However, eventually, they silt up with runoff although they were originally engineered with a 20 to 30 year expected lifecycle. PMOST is liable to maintain these – and fix them when they fail.
During 2002, PMOST plans to
erect signs directing people to not use the open space land for non-passive
recreation purposes. Once these
signs are up, we encourage homeowners to report violations to the Trustee and to
the police. The Trustee acts
as a spokesman for the organization and will interact with the various town
agencies including the police to handle such issues.
PMOST is a privately held organization and as such the land that it owns is private property. As a part owner of the property you are encouraged to contact local police and report this; also, please report it to the Trustee. The Trustee acts as a spokesman for the organization and will interact with the various town agencies including the police to handle such issues. Please keep in mind that most of the PMOST land drains into an aquifer, which provides town drinking water, and into Cedar Swamp, which is an environmentally sensitive and protected area. Please discourage everyone from dumping yard waste in the open space as it often contains high concentrations of fertilizer, pesticides and herbicides. All yard wastes can be readily disposed of at the town transfer station, which is one block away from the subdivision.
Yes, it is, for several
reasons. First, there is a town
well used for drinking water less than 400 feet from the perimeter of the
subdivision. Second, runoff from
the open space land drains into Cedar Swamp, which has been identified as an
area of critical environmental concern by the state of Massachusetts. Finally,
the subdivision is located on an aquifer, which provides drinking water to the
entire area.
The Piccadilly Mill subdivision is of course named for the former Piccadilly Mill, circa 1840, which was located on Piccadilly Pond. This land is part of the Trust’s open-space. The mill was named for the small community that surrounds it which was called Piccadilly (after Piccadilly Circus in London). During the 1700’s, this area was known for its lively social scene and this is how it earned its name. This general area has a long tradition of manufacturing (powered by the various mills on Piccadilly Pond). Through the 1900’s, one of the major products made in this area were winter sleighs. This is why the weathervane on top of Town Hall in Westborough is a sleigh.
The Piccadilly Mill was in decrepit condition and collapsed after a heavy rainstorm in 2000. It was over 150 years old. While at one level, this is a loss. It is important to note that the building was in terrible shape and would have cost >$500,000 to rehabilitate. Once it was rehabilitated, the question is, how would it be used and for what purpose? The town had no interest in spending money to fix or preserve it. Hence, it fell into disrepair and ultimately, ruin. There are still numerous
foundations from the various mills built on Piccadilly Pond.
These foundations are protected by preservation restrictions.
If the homeowners choose to pursue it, there are several options
available to clean-up, preserve and otherwise enjoy these artifacts.
As a homeowner, it is your right to ask people not to trespass on your private property. Adjacent to some lots, there is a six-foot wide finger of Trust land that connects it to larger piece of Trust open-space. Most adjacent homeowners graciously maintain these fingers of land although they have no obligation to do so. Every resident of
Piccadilly Mill is entitled to free use of the Trust’s open space, including
these access ways, anytime. At the
same time, they are bound to respect the rights of abutting homeowners. A map of PMOST trails is
available on the website: www.picmill.org.
One of the first issues the Trust will address during 2002 will be the maintaining of the open-space adjacent to the two entrances to Piccadilly Way from Morse Street.
Most of the homes on Belnap
Street abut one of the pieces of open space.
Your rights are no different from those of any other Piccadilly Mill Open
Space Trust owners.
Annual costs have averaged ~$150 to $200 and provide for insurance, taxes and upkeep. During 2002, additional funds will be raised to provide for signs marking the space, the creation of a website to provide information and to organize a general clean up.
The Trust has had a handshake agreement with a local farmer to hay the field. That is, the farmer mows the field, picks up the hay and gets to keep it. If the Trust chooses not to hay the field, it will be overgrown and require additional maintenance.
Yes, there are three major types of risk the owners of PMOST are subject to: a. Any party claiming injury due some negligence or malfeasance can sue owners of the Trust – for instance, if a child is hurt playing on the land. For the reason, the Trust maintains insurance. b. The Trust is required to administer a lot of rules on behalf of the various organizations that created it. To the extent that it doesn’t do this well, there is a risk that the town could step in, perform the work and then assess the cost of performing these tasks back to the owners. To manage this risk, you should participate in the Trust’s activities by attending the annual meeting. c. There is financial risk beyond the typical operating costs of ~$150 to $200 annually. If [when] the catch basins (of which there are three located on land deeded to PMOST) need maintenance or cleaning, this will be a major expense. Of course, the 83 owners will share the costs, but when these systems need work, it is likely to be expensive. The best way to mitigate this risk is for PMOST to maintain the land in good condition and not allow the build-up of debris, which can clog pipes and runoff systems.
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