During Tuesday morning’s special meeting, the Woodstock Selectboard voted unanimously to sign a Purchase and Sale Agreement for the Vondell Property that will allow it to pursue a $604,500 grant from the Vermont Housing and Conservation Board (VHCB) and the Vermont Land Trust.
The Vondell Property — a 358-acre parcel in West Woodstock that houses a reservoir, water tank, and parking lot — was purchased by the town in December 2024 for $1.6M.
Since then, after public meetings and informational sessions, the board has come to the conclusion that the town’s desire is to conserve a significant portion of the land, according to chair Susan Ford.
Following Tuesday’s selectboard meeting, the Standard spoke with Ford about the board’s decision to sign the agreement and what Woodstock residents can expect to see moving forward.
“The Purchase and Sale Agreement is necessary for the Vermont Housing and Conservation Board to consider the grant,” Ford said. “This agreement does nothing other than to tell the VHCB that we are interested in receiving a grant. [The Conservation Board] will meet in May, and they’ll hopefully offer us the $600,000. If we accept their grant, we would be deeding a conservation easement and the development rights for 323 acres of the Vondell Property to the Vermont Land Trust and the Vermont Housing and Conservation Board in exchange for the $604,500 grant.”
Ford further explained, “The title ‘Purchase and Sale Agreement’ can be confusing. If we go through with this, we are going to convey away the right to develop most of the property, but the Town of Woodstock will remain the property owner. You can think of it like a mortgage. There’s going to be a lien on the property forever, saying these areas can only be developed in conjunction with the agreement made between Woodstock and the Vermont Land Trust and the Vermont Housing and Conservation Board.”
Acceptance of the grant by the town is contingent upon the Town of Woodstock raising an extra $400,000 in private funding, a venture led by Woodstock residents Tom Debevoise and Mark Harris, according to Ford.
The selectboard will know the status of the grant in May. Ford told the Standard that a more definite decision regarding the conservation of the Vondell Property land will come at a later date.
For more on this, please see our April 9 edition of the Vermont Standard.
