Deal Approved to Preserve Healey Farm

In a unanimous vote, the North Kingstown Town Council approved a deal that allows the Town of North Kingstown to purchase and preserve Healey Farm. The deal pays Healey Farm owners Lou Ann and Scott Rippin $650,000 for the development rights to the farm located at 1100 Lafayette Road.

By right, the 41-acre lot could be sold and converted into 12 single-family house lots. This purchase now preserves the land and removes the ability to build on it, restricting it to agricultural use and development.

The Rippins will maintain physical ownership of the property and continue paying taxes. Healey Farm has been in operation since 1950, growing and selling items from hay to watermelons to squash and more.

Of the $650,000 needed to purchase the rights, $327,500 came from a grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service. Another $150,000 grant came from the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management’s Agricultural Lands Preservation and $1,000 from the North Kingstown Land Conservancy. The remaining $176,500 will come from the town’s voter-approved open space bond.

The previous town council approved the purchase and sales agreement for the property back in December 2011. The final sale was delayed as the town secured the grant money from the aforementioned agencies and organizations.