Harwich Committee Calls for Eminent Domain on 19-Acre Conservation Parcel

HARWICH — July 17, 2026 — Harwich conservation panel urges eminent domain for 19-acre water-supply parcel. The Harwich Real Estate and Open Space Committee voted no formal actions but reached consensus July 17 to press the Select Board for an eminent domain taking of the 19.76-acre Little Shaver Lane owners-unknown parcel, which came onto the town tax rolls for the first time as of July 1, 2026. Members named a second priority — a cluster of owners-unknown parcels south of Route 6 in the Jay-Z Drive sand pit area, bounded by Hawksnest State Park, Queen Anne Road, and Oak Street — and referred the fragmented Hall's Path northeast sector to the Affordable Housing Trust and Water Department as unsuitable for near-term conservation action. Of a $500,000 town meeting appropriation for owners-unknown research, approximately $480,000 remains unspent, and KP Law billed roughly $2,700 for title work on Little Shaver Lane. A committee member volunteered to draft a letter to the Select Board before traveling in early August, with the draft to be discussed at the August 21 meeting.