5 | Open Space and Recreation inventory

5I OPEN SPACE AND RECREATION INVENTORY

This section details information about open space and recreational lands in the Town of Lexington. According to the Massachusetts’ Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs, open space is: “conservation land, recreation land, agricultural land, corridor parks and amenities such as small parks, green buffers along roadways or any open area that is owned by an agency or organization dedicated to conservation.” The inventory provided here includes conservation and recreation land owned by the Town of Lexington, large tracts of private land, land that falls under Chapter 61, large state-owned properties, and National Park Service land. Additionally, land owned by the Town of Arlington (the Great Meadow) and the City of Cambridge (Cambridge Reservoir) has also been included. Determinations of each site’s condition, recreational potential, and public access were made based on observations by Town staff. Preservation of open space is extremely important to the residents of Lexington, the region, and the Commonwealth from several different perspectives. Locally, Lexington places a great deal of value in its historic and cultural resources, particularly in regards to the Town’s significance in the American Revolution. A number of these historic and cultural sites also serve as important open spaces, including the Battle Green and the National Park Service’s Minuteman National Historic Park. Additional land is owned and protected in Lexington by abutting communities, including the Town of Arlington (Great Meadow), which was originally preserved as a reservoir site, and the City of Cambridge (Cambridge Reservoir), which owns hundreds of acres of land in Lexington, Lincoln, Waltham, and Weston. Much of the land listed in this inventory provides extensive passive and active recreational opportunities. There are a number of existing open space and trail networks among the preserved parcels, and with careful planning and additional acquisition, these networks can be further enhanced. The Greenways Corridor Committee oversee the creation and maintenance of the ACROSS Lexington (“Accessing Conservation land Recreation areas Open spaces Schools and Streets”) trail network, which develops and marks pedestrian and bicycle trails connecting open space areas using new and existing trails and on-street sections. Currently, the network is established between most open space areas east of Route 95/128 and north of Route 2. The network is being continually expanded to reach additional neighborhoods and open space areas, and universally accessible sections are being introduced. Significant environmental challenges will need to be met in establishing portions of this trail network as portions of the area are subject to protection pursuant to the Massachusetts Wetlands Protection Act and Lexington Wetlands Protection Code. Further, a majority of the area between Bedford Street and Wood Street falls within FEMA-mapped Zone A floodplain areas. Note that within this study area, the Town landfill is located between Tophet Swamp and Katahdin Woods. The landfill is now capped and currently serves as a compost facility, solar farm, and recycling transfer station. Although the landfill cannot be considered an open space at

this point in time, it may play an important role in connecting these open spaces at some point in the future. Furthermore, the Town will continue its efforts to determine where conservation restrictions may be appropriate to further protect valued open spaces in the Greenway area. INVENTORY OF OPEN SPACE AND RECREATION RESOURCES

The Lexington Inventory of Public and Private Open Space presented at the end of this chapter includes public and private recreation and conservation land. The information contained in the inventory is based on information in the 2009-2015 Open Space and Recreation Plans, survey work of open spaces and recreational facilities by staff at the Conservation Division and Recreation & Community Programs Department, and Assessor’s data updated through fiscal year 2022. The Open Space Matrix can be found at the end of this chapter. The column headings are defined below.

Name/Location/Map/Lot

Names the open space site and identifies the map and lot numbers on the Town assessor’s maps. Acres Gives the site’s acreage or an approximation in cases where specific information was not attainable. One acre is 43,560 square feet or 1/640 of a square mile. Ownership/Management Indicates the owner of the property and the agency or department responsible for managing and maintaining the parcel. Usually the two are the same.

Current Use

Details the main uses for the site.

Condition

Public Access

ADA Accessible Recreation Potential

Zoning Protection Status/Deed Restrictions

Grant Received

Identifies the site condition (excellent, good, fair or poor). Town-owned open spaces and parks were surveyed to obtain a general sense of the condition of the property and any facilities located on it (parking, fields, playground equipment, etc.). Indicates if the public can access the site. “LIMITED” denotes sites where public access is restricted or controlled. ”FEE” denotes sites that require payment or membership for public access. Indicates if people with disabilities can access the site or its amenities. For land not used for recreational purposes, potential for recreational activities is identified. Conservation land is generally deemed to have limited recreation potential except for passive recreation such as hiking and walking. Cemeteries and other similar lands are presumed to have no recreational potential. Identifies the zoning district in which the parcel is located. Indicates if the site, either by virtue of its zoning, ownership, existence of deed restrictions, or by the fact that it has received state or federal funding, is protected against conversion to some other use (see below). Where applicable, identifies the source of funding for the acquisition of the parcel, including public grants, private donations, deed restrictions, etc.

The inventory shows approximately 2,112 acres of Town-owned conservation and recreation land. About an additional 148 acres of recreational land is privately held, including the Hayden Recreation Centre, Lexington Golf Club, and Stone Meadow Golf. Additional properties of privately-owned open space represent approximately 204 acres. There are also two privately-owned properties that fall under Chapter 61A, totaling approximately 18 acres. In addition, there are six properties that fall under Chapter 61B recreational land, totaling approximately 188 acres. All properties identified in the inventory are depicted in MAP 9.

Types of Open Space and Recreation Land

Determining where the open space and recreation land is located in Lexington is the beginning stage of fully understanding what resources the Town has and where they are located. Once this land has been identified, it is important to ensure its protection and maintenance into the future to help guarantee that many more generations of residents can enjoy them. According to the Massachusetts Division of Conservation Services, land within a community is protected in perpetuity if it is owned by the local