Haverhill City Councilors authorized a $75,000 “friendly” taking of a 6.2-acre parcel on Brandy Brow Road along the East Meadow River on Tuesday, as part of the city’s ongoing efforts to buy land in the name of water resource protection. “We purchased, not too long ago, some property from D&D Realty Trust, so this is the last piece of that puzzle to own,” Public Works Director Robert E. Ward said. “It locks in an area along the East Meadow River in that upper area.”
Because the landowner, Fermata Limited Partnership, agreed to the sale, the city deemed the land purchase “friendly.” In the past, the city has made similar purchases through eminent domain, as in the June 2022 “unfriendly” taking of a $240,000 parcel that James E. Young Jr. and Victoria Angers did not want to part with. Ward explained to councilors on Tuesday that the Millvale Reservoir supplies more than half the city’s drinking water. The lot is one of the watersheds for the East Meadow River, which feeds the reservoir.