City Council OK's Land Sale

The city council Tuesday approved the sale of a 2,800 square foot lot owned by the city to the abutters of the property.

The abutters will split up the land evenly between them, which is located at 0 Washington St., City Solicitor Mark Rumley told the council Tuesday. The land will be sold for $3,868, a figure arrived at by the city's Assessors Office.

The sale will benefit both the city and the property owners because it will give the properties more space, but will also increase the property values, leading to an increase in taxes for the land owners, City Councilor Paul Camuso said Tuesday.

"Ultimately the taxpayers of this community are going to benefit," Camuso said.

The land was put out to an open bid, but it isn't a buildable lot and an opportunity to buy it was offered to all abutters, Camuso said.

"Only a handful of people could have benefited," he said.

The sale was approved by the council unanimously.