SAUGUS — The Board of Selectmen this week signed off — literally — on placing a conservation restriction on Lynn Woods, a part of which stretches into the town.
Essex County Greenbelt Association Vice President of Conservation Operations Chris LaPointe told board members that the association, along with the Department of Conservation and Recreation, the City of Lynn, the Lynn Water and Sewer Commission, and the Friends of Lynn Woods, spent more than a decade working to restrict Lynn Woods, which comprises 2,200 acres. The restriction will ensure the woods remain protected permanently for the uses they currently fulfill: water supply, public recreation, a golf course, and more, LaPointe said.
LaPointe said that by the time the restriction reached the selectmen, it had been reviewed and approved by all parties, including the secretary of energy and environmental affairs; Lynn; Lynnfield, which also hosts part of the woods; the LWSC; and the Greenbelt Association. Thus, Saugus’ role was essentially procedural. The restriction required Saugus to approve that labeling the position of Lynn Woods in town as such was in the public interest.
Board of Selectmen Chair Debra Panetta said the restriction also received unanimous approval from the Conservation Commission and was signed off on by town counsel through Town Manager Scott Crabtree’s office. Panetta acknowledged the long process undertaken by the association and other parties.
Selectman Michael Serino, the former chair of the Conservation Commission and Saugus’ Open Space Committee, thanked the association for its hard work.
“Open space is very important in everybody’s life,” he said.
A motion to approve the restriction made by Serino passed the board unanimously, and members recessed their meeting to sign the document.
