The Board of Selectmen have endorsed a plan that will allow the town to maintain a private view easement on Standish Street.
In 2000, the Conservation Commission purchased a small lot at the corner of Standish and Marshall Streets that included a scenic view easement across the nearby Winslow property out onto Eagles Nest Bay, according to Conservation Administrator Joe Grady.
However, the view easement was never maintained by the person with the sole rights to do so. Scrub brush grew up over time obscuring the view and neighbors had to cut it back. So Grady asked that the holder of the view easement, Susan Heath Winslow, transfer her rights to maintain it to the town.
In a legal document, Winslow agreed to give the town the right to landscape the area. This transfer lets the town enter on adjacent parcels that share the view easement and cut down any vegetation in the way.
However, according to Selectman Shawn Dahlen, the town is not required to do the maintenance.
Currently, the neighbors who hold the view easement are sharing that responsibility, he said.
“Everyone has chipped in to keep it pristine,” Dahlen said.
Selectmen voted unanimously to accept and approve the view easement agreement with Winslow, which will be held by the Conservation Commission.