To the editor:

]Warren Citizens for Appropriate Development (WCAD) is working on many tasks related to the out-of-scale, out-of-place ‘Settler’s Green’ development proposed for the old Kinnicutt/Bettencourt Farm in Warren’s Green Belt.

In an effort to preserve the land for future generations, we have opened a line of communication with the property owner and have received a willingness to discuss a possible purchase and sale.

Partnering with the the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (RIDEM), WCAD has submitted a five-page ‘Letter of Intent’ to apply for a large National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) grant to purchase and preserve the property. RIDEM, The Nature Conservancy, Save The Bay and others helped draft the letter, which took over a month to prepare. That grant program is a part of the recently passed National Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill and is for natural habitat restoration and flood plain preservation.

WCAD will be notified in November if approval has been granted to submit the full application to NOAA in January. Notification of the actual grant award would come by March 2025.

WCAD has commissioned a comprehensive commercial real estate appraisal to document the current market value of the land. This new appraisal will reflect the recent RI Superior Court approval of the Master Plan of 120 units. This professional ‘Yellow Book’ appraisal is required for the NOAA grant application, and will accurately inform any negotiations for the purchase and sale of the property.

Coinciding with that effort, a grant application is being prepared to submit to RIDEM for funds to purchase the development rights of the property. This would potentially enable a farmer to purchase and farm the tillable land. This effort has involved discussions with several local farmers and the creation of a small farm business plan.

In our ongoing effort to find out more about the history of the farm, David and Barbara Frerichs have provided copies of some old documents related to the Kinnicutt family. There is a transcript of a 1680 deed where the first Kinnicutt in America, Roger from England, purchased the land from John and James Brown of Providence fame. Also included are several items documenting the Kinnicutt family genealogy. Roger Kinnicutt sold his farm in Malden, Mass. in 1678 to move himself and his family to then Swansey, now Warren. He chose to live here, after fighting with a Boston Company here, during King Philip’s War a few years earlier. He was a carpenter and built a house on the farm in 1690, which was gone by 1900. Learning this history of the farm will help with its preservation.

Over the next few months, the group will be reaching out to other sources of funding and support of all kinds to preserve the land. However, WCAD also intends to participate in the upcoming Town review process when the Settler’s Green proposal is brought back to the Planning Board for Preliminary Plan review. The development review process will continue unless and until buyer and seller can reach an agreement.

In about five years, the historic Kinnicutt/Bettencourt Farm will turn 350 years old. Let’s work to preserve it for that anniversary in 2030, and for the next 350 years. Let’s focus Warren’s affordable housing needs in areas of town where there is good access to public infrastructure, like sewers, water, and transit for work.

This organization is grass-roots, Warren-based, and depends entirely on the volunteer time and funds of its members. Membership is free and easily accessible on Facebook at ‘Warren Citizens for Appropriate Development’. Together, we can and will make a difference, to steer development where it is appropriate, and to preserve Warren’s incredible natural and historic resources.

David Oliveira
President
Warren Citizens for Appropriate Development