RICHMOND — What began as one family's decision to sell longtime forestland has evolved into one of Richmond's biggest land-use debates in years.

This property on Furnace Brook Road is for sale. It sits between Richmond and West Stockbridge.

Property owner Robert W. Liston Jr. of Wilbraham has put 118 acres of woodlands at 0 Furnace Road up for sale, most of it in the Richmond Furnace Historical and Archaeological District.

Furnace Brook runs through the property, which sits partly in Richmond and West Stockbridge. Asking price for the 91 acres in Richmond is $867,379. The total asking price, including the adjoining 27 acres in West Stockbridge, is just under $1.1 million.

Property owner Robert W. Liston Jr. of Wilbraham has put 118 acres of woodlands at 0 Furnace Road up for sale. Nearby residents say building homes on the road will change the town's charm, but officials say it could help residents' tax burden.

Since the land is under the state’s Chapter 61A forested land conservation restriction, each town has the right of first refusal to buy it. Or Richmond could assign it to a non-profit such as the Richmond Land Trust.

But a proposed subdivision from a Texas-based developer with Berkshire roots has divided Richmond residents over whether the town should embrace new growth to ease its tax burden or protect a historic landscape from development.

The towns' 120-day window to buy the land closes on Sept. 17.

The West Stockbridge Select Board already has given up its right of first refusal to buy its portion of the forest because its acreage is inaccessible due to wetlands, said Town Administrator Marie Ryan.

At the same time, a land development company has begun the process to purchase the land and create 15 to 18 residential lots, which would require minimum lot sizes of 2.5 acres with 250-foot road frontage.

The land was bought by Liston's father in 1958 and has been in his family since.

“I thought eventually I would build a house there, but it didn’t work out,” he told The Eagle, and then Liston’s son moved to Maine. “I thought if I could sell this [land], I could give him some money because he’d like to buy a house up there but can’t afford it.”

A Texas-based developer has a purchase-and-sale agreement with the landowner of 0 Furnace Road, but the town of Richmond has right of first refusal to buy the property.

Liston said his family has been good stewards of the land for decades, but he also believes Richmond needs growth and new housing.

Last month at the first of two public hearings, Kate Riley of Spring, Texas, managing partner of the investment group looking to buy the land, told the Select Board that the plan to clear space for up to 18 residences would include a home site for herself and family members.

According to documents filed with Richmond Town Hall, Riley has a purchase-and-sale agreement with Liston.

In interviews with The Eagle by phone and email this week, Riley described Sweetbrook Development as "a small, family-owned land development firm that my husband and I own and operate in Texas."

Riley, who attended Mount Greylock Regional High School, earned a master's degree from MCLA and previously taught at Lanesborough Elementary School before moving to Texas. She said she had been looking for property in Berkshire County after her parents sold their home.

Riley said Sweetbrook Development entered into a purchase-and-sale agreement with Liston and later partnered with National Land Partners, whose Williamstown office operates as Inland Management, to help finance and market the subdivision.

Riley described the development concept as a rural residential community "designed to preserve the property's character."

Along with the homesites, a wooded buffer along Furnace Road would retain "the existing forested appearance and rural feel of the roadway," Riley said.

She said the proposal is limited to subdividing the property into rural residential lots, not building homes, meaning there would be little construction initially.

"Our goal has always been to create a small enclave that respects the natural landscape while allowing our family — and others — to enjoy living in the Berkshires," Riley said.

Furnace Brook runs through the property, which sits partly in Richmond and West Stockbridge. Asking price for the 91 acres in Richmond is $867,379.

Several town leaders have offered mixed responses to the potential land deal.

“We cannot overlook that we need new growth, tax monies, development,” Select Board member Roger Manzolini said. “We have existing taxpayers burdened quite heavily. There’s a benefit of having this developed that we can’t overlook. So, there’s both a good side and a bad side.”

Manzolini added that “clearly, the town’s not going to buy it.”

Selectman Neal Pilson said he was also skeptical that the town would support buying the land.

"We have to look at ways of generating more revenue for the town to pay for the next fire engine, the next dump truck, the salaries at the school and Town Hall," Pilson said.

But Pilson emphasized that “we’re not going to rush to judgment” on the proposal.

Some nearby residents have spoken out against the proposed development.

In a letter to the Select Board, resident Christopher Thomas, organizer of the 0 Furnace Road Conservation Group, said the board has a duty to stop corporate real estate developers from cutting up the land into lots.

“Allowing a Texas developer to strip-develop this land is entirely contrary to Richmond's Master Plan and will forever diminish its bucolic character,” Thomas wrote.

Thomas urged that the right of first refusal be assigned to the Richmond Land Trust or a similar non-profit to “completely preserve the 91 acres of natural Richmond landscape without spending a single dollar of taxpayer money or depleting town reserves.”

Longtime resident Sarah Novak cited the walkers, runners and kids on bikes who enjoy Furnace Road, calling it "part of the essence of Richmond."

"If a big developer goes in there, that essence of Richmond will be gone, and I don't see any way of getting it back," she said.

Calling the land development plan “a big change from what we’re used to,” Rebecca Augur, president of the Richmond Land Trust, suggested that “thoughtful development is where we all need to hang our hats.”

Land Trust board member John Mason said that he understood “the dilemma the town faces, it’s a beautiful country road. It would be a shame to see the south side of it all developed, house after house.”

This week, Mason told The Eagle that the Richmond Land Trust has made no decision yet on whether to purchase the land.

"There’s significant historical value there and it would be nice to have it preserved; however $867,000 is an awful lot of money and I’m skeptical that we could succeed in raising it," he said.

At an informal update at last week's Richmond Select Board meeting, Finance Committee member Stevan Patterson said the committee has unanimously recommended that the Select Board steer clear of the property and let it be sold to the prospective developer "due to the positive financial implications for the town."

If 15 lots were sold and homes built on them, total annual property tax revenue to the town would range from $124,000 to $155,000, according to Danielle Fillio, the town administrator.

A public hearing, including a likely vote on whether the town should exercise or assign its right of first refusal, is scheduled for July 22.

Even if the Richmond Land Trust raises enough funds to match the town's right of first refusal, the Select Board could go ahead with a sale of the woodlands to the real estate developer, Pilson said.

"The question really is, what is our decision that's best for the town?" he said.