Cochituate Rail Trail Connector Trail

At a glance

What: Friends of Natick Trails asks for $42,375 in Community Preservation Act funds for a connector trail and native garden linking the Cochituate Rail Trail to the Modera complex.
Where it stands: Hearing held July 21, 2026, continued to August 4, 2026 at 6:30 PM. No vote yet. A signed maintenance agreement with Modera was not yet in place.
Open points: Modera's plowing and maintenance commitment, the NOPI sponsor fee, and survey representativeness.

Application CPA-26-2 from Friends of Natick Trails (FONT) asks for $42,375 to build a connector trail between the Cochituate Rail Trail (CRT) and the Modera housing complex on North Main Street, with a seating area and native plant garden. Ostroff, FONT's president, presented with directors Jan Henderson and Adam Pletz and landscape architect Scott Landgren, who is donating his services.
FONT was founded in 2016 and is a project of a financial sponsor, the National Organization for Philanthropic Initiatives (NOPI), which keeps 10% of FONT funding (included in the budget; a public speaker put it at $4,000). FONT has a bit more than $200,000 in a revolving fund, about $25,000 of it unrestricted.
The path would cross two slivers of town land: 11 Mechanic Street (acquired by the Conservation Commission in 2007) and the rail trail itself. Review by Community and Economic Development and the Conservation Commission is required; FONT will work with Conservation Agent Rundelli on invasive plants. Soil must stay on site because of contaminants.
Modera would maintain the connector under an agreement with the Department of Public Works. The Town has no leverage over Modera because the complex was permitted before the CRT was built; FONT decided equitable access mattered most even though Modera arguably should pay. A stub connection was in an early CRT design but removed.
Timeline: construction in spring, completion the following summer. Over 1,000,000 people have used the CRT since 2021.

Montemayor: why not use the front sidewalk (answer: adds a quarter to half a mile) and whether non-residents could cut through (unlikely to save time; e-bikes and scooters are a legitimate concern); why this over a restroom or trash cans (accessibility; the CRT is carry in, carry out).
Krentzman: what if costs run over (FONT does not expect to return; plantings could be delayed; a contingency is included). He also questioned the survey, in which 30 residents responded over two weeks (publicized by flyers, QR codes and email).
Hanna: how confident FONT is that Modera will honor a maintenance agreement. Ostroff does not expect Modera to back out after public statements.
Downey: who pays legal costs of agreements. Town Counsel is handling it and FONT will check whether it is ready before Town Meeting.
Chair Ramage: a letter from Modera received the Monday before said it is willing to enter an agreement on winter plowing; no agreement is signed. Some construction on Modera property might be paid by Modera, possibly done by FONT and billed to Modera.
Evers thanked the donated design work. Letters of support came from some Modera residents and the Commission on Disability.

Angelo Ciosi, a Modera resident, said he has disabilities and uses the trail several times a week; ice makes the area unnavigable and the connector is needed.
Kathryn Doran objected to paying NOPI $4,000, saying FONT should form its own nonprofit and calling it wasteful of taxpayer money.

Chair Ramage continued the hearing to August 4, 2026 at 6:30 PM. No vote taken.

Hearing opened on CPA-26-2; questions on Modera's maintenance agreement, sponsor fee, budget and survey; two residents spoke; continued to August 4.