Rehoboth's draft open space plan puts drinking water first and calls for tighter subdivision rules

REHOBOTH Rehoboth's draft 10-year Open Space and Recreation Plan ranks drinking water protection "above all other concerns" and urges new zoning to steer house lots away from farmland and forest. The Conservation Commission takes up the plan Tuesday, Oct. 20.

The state requires towns to update the plan every 10 years "to maintain eligibility for state conservation and recreation grant funding," the town said when it posted the draft Oct. 1. The town called the document a "conditionally approved plan" and said public feedback will help set the order of its goals. In the draft's own words, it is a blueprint for how officials and residents "might focus their energies and resources" on conservation and recreation over the next decade.

What the numbers show

By the draft's count, Rehoboth has 6,837.12 acres of permanently protected open space, compared with 20,160.08 acres that are unprotected or have only limited, temporary protection. Farm preservation restrictions cover 773.21 acres and conservation restrictions 3,020.54 acres. The draft lists 223.17 acres enrolled in the Chapter 61 tax programs, which give the town a right of first refusal if the land is sold or converted but do not protect it for good, and 17,210.35 acres of private property with no protection.

The draft cites development pressure throughout. The town issued 445 residential building permits from 2021 through 2024, an average of 111.3 a year, a rate the draft says "substantially outpaced surrounding communities such as Seekonk (126 total units) and Dighton (35 total units)." Under the current 60,000-square-foot minimum lot size, standard subdivisions "consume large swaths of contiguous upland forest and productive farmland," it says.

All 23 people who answered the question said the town should spend public money to buy and protect more open space, and 22 of 23 supported stronger limits on private subdivisions, according to the survey results in the draft's appendix. Thirty percent of respondents called the town's open spaces inaccessible. Almost none of the town's roads have sidewalks or multi-use paths, the draft says, and 85% of residential parcels sit more than a 10-minute walk from public conservation land.

What the plan proposes

The draft sets five goals. One would "Protect Rehoboth's critical natural resources: prioritizing groundwater, aquifer, and drinking water protection above all other concerns." Under it, the town would expand its Groundwater Protection Bylaw town-wide, adopt a 35-foot "no touch" buffer around wetlands and update its dark sky rules.

To slow the loss of open land, the draft recommends an open space residential development bylaw, which would cluster homes on part of a parcel and permanently protect the rest, mostly buildable upland rather than wetland. It also calls for using the town's right of first refusal on farmland and offering new farmers economically viable town-owned land.

On recreation, the draft lists off-street parking and accessible trailheads at conservation land, linked trails for walking and horseback riding, paved paths away from roads, fenced dog parks and a feasibility study of a central municipal recreation center. A permanent open space committee would track progress, and an action plan table assigns each task a lead and a target year.

How we got here

The town hired the Southeastern Regional Planning and Economic Development District in April to finish the plan, according to the district's project page. The draft says the work rewrites the 2003 Open Space Plan from drafts prepared in 2021, and it lists a public workshop June 23 at Francis Farm. A steering committee with members from town boards, including Conservation Commission Chairman Robert Materne, directs the work, according to the district's page. The draft is dated Sept. 22 and runs 111 pages.

How to weigh in

The commission meets at 7 p.m. Tuesday at the Francis Hall / Council on Aging building, 27 Francis Farm Road. The agenda lists the open space plan for discussion, along with the commission's regulations. The town website links to the draft through the regional planning district's project page. Questions and comments go to Daniel Roach, the town planner and conservation agent, at 508-252-6891, ext. 3108, or droach@rehobothma.gov. The town's Oct. 1 notice gives no deadline for comments. The commission meets next Nov. 10.

Label: Reported by us, from the town's posted records.