City Buys 1940's Poultry Farm for $450,000

The city of Shelton has purchased a 13.1 acre property on Old Town Road to be preserved as open space. Conservation Agent Teresa Gallagher described the former Dikovsky poultry and egg farm, off Buddington Road as a "vulnerable stretch of land" along the Shelton Lakes Recreation Path.

"About a quarter mile stretch of the popular trail near Wesley Drive overlooks a scenic wooded valley that was part of the farm and could have been subdivided by the owner, Basil Dikovsky," the press release reads.

The City is paying $450,000 for the old farm in three installments with the final payment to be made in July of 2014. Although the City will not take title to the property before the final payment, it will have use of the land and has the option of removing a large chicken coop that is in disrepair. Mr. Dikovsky has kept a portion of the farm for his home and also retains life use of all the farm buildings except for the coop that may be removed.  

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Open space purchases in residentially zoned areas are often used as a tool to keep local tax rates from increasing. The cost of City services required by most new subdivisions, especially the cost of school services, is greater than the amount of tax revenues collected from new residents. Open space purchases in residential areas therefore pay for themselves over time.

To read more about Basil Dikovsky and the history of the land, check out the Shelton Trails Committee blog.