Setting the Record Straight

There has been growing public discussion about the future of the meadow at 665 Clapboardtree Street, along with a healthy dose of misinformation, and we want to set the record straight.

The conservation restriction on this property was put in place by private donors to ensure the land would remain permanently protected open space. As the owner of the land, the Town is legally bound by that restriction. The restriction is designed to prevent development pressure— municipal or otherwise—from undoing those protections.

As Westwood Land Trust is responsible for upholding this restriction, we want the community to understand several essential facts.

As holders of the conservation restriction, we have a duty to protect the land. Regardless of intentions or enthusiasm for any proposed use, the Land Trust cannot allow a use of the land that impairs the purposes of the restriction or other significant conservation interests.

A farming use would go against the purpose of the restriction and other significant conservation interests. Among other things, it would threaten the health of the nearby stream and the meadow’s wetlands; introduce herbicides and pesticides, uproot natural plantings, and invite invasive species; destroy the habitat for many of the meadow’s important plant and animal species; and impose substantial cost to restore the meadow once farming ended.

The Bean Farm wants to lease the land from the Town. But because the Town owns the land, any lease must go through a competitive, transparent bidding process. That has not occurred. Even if it did, the conservation restriction does not permit a lessee to conduct a farming use on the meadow.

Public tax dollars are being used to sue Westwood Land Trust, a local nonprofit. Residents are thus paying to challenge protections that the Town itself agreed to years ago when it accepted the land donation.

Our dedication is to the long-term interests of Westwood: upholding the conservation commitments and the land-protection tools that benefit this community.

We offer this clarification in the spirit of transparency, stewardship, and respect for the community we serve.