At the March 24, 2018, Annual Town Meeting, voters approved as part of Article 13 the Community Preservation Committee’s recommendation to approve the appropriation of $1,163,000 from the CPC’s undesignated fund balance for the Saltbox Farm Conservation Restriction.
In response to a request from the floor, Ellen Harde gave this presentation to the meeting, Click on any picture to enlarge and view slide show..
The Westford Land Preservation Foundation
The Westford Land Preservation Foundation was founded in 2001. We do not own land. We work with Westford landowners to educate them about how to conserve their land as open space, and then work with them to find the money to make that happen.
Our first project in 2005 was to raise private funds and do community education to preserve East Boston Camps and encourage Town Meeting to expend Community Preservation money to keep it open. Our board holds the Conservation Restriction on that 287 acres. We next negotiated with the Laughton family and builder Kirk Ware to reduce the number of house lots on Gray Fox Lane and preserve 13 acres as open space along Stony Brook. Then in 2012 we worked with you and the Sudbury Valley Trustees to purchase a Conservation Restriction on the 23 acres O’Brien Farm in Parker Village.
Town GIS Map
Today we present our plan to purchase a Conservation Restriction on the 51-acre Salt Box Farm off Hildreth Street in Westford Center.
Salt Box Farm is situated between the 8-acre Prospect Hill Wildlife Sanctuary and Town-owned land on Prospect Hill on one side of Hildreth Street and 65 acres of Town-owned land abutting the farm plus the open space set aside when the Hildreth Heights condominiums were built.
LandTech Map
The 45 acres that will be protected when this CR is acquired are shown in the shaded area.
The existing 17th century farmhouse and six acres that will be retained by the Collins family are not covered by the proposed CR. They are located at the end of Willey Wright Lane.
The Conservation Restriction
The CR would be purchased from the Collins family, and the Town’s portion of the purchase price would be equal to or less than the appraised value, which will be determined by an appraiser retained by the Conservation Commission. Public funding will be supplemented and minimized by a private fundraising campaign led by WLPF – more about that later! The Conservation Restriction, which will be held jointly by the Westford Conservation Commission and the Sudbury Valley Trustees, will prohibit development of the 45 acres of pasture and woodlands in perpetuity – forever, while allowing the Collins family to retain ownership of the land and continue with certain limited uses such as forestry and agriculture. The CR would be recorded at the Registry of Deeds, and it will apply to any future owner of the property.
The CR provides for extra rights in three special areas: two are for agricultural and one is a scenic buffer. In the Scenic Buffer, only low growing vegetation will be allowed in order to permently preserve the scenic views of Salt Box Farm from Hildreth Street. Maintaining this scenic buffer was the first and foremost goal of our Foundation,
Agricultural Areas
In Agricultural Area #1, the CR allows for all types of agriculture, including grazing of cows and goats, planting of fruit trees, planting of crops, etc.
In Agriculatural Area #2, the CR allows for the open meadows and fields to be maintained. All agricultural uses in both areas must be carried out in accordance with a USDA Farm Conservation Plan.
Forestry
The CR also allows the property owners to continue forestry uses, provided they are following an approved forestry management plan.
Salt Box Farm has supported both forestry and agricultural uses for decades.
Public Trail
A public trail will be created along the stone wall at the southern-most end of the property.
Small Off-Street Parking Lot
This trail will connect a parcel that has just been obtained by the Westford Conservation Trust where they plan to create a small off-street parking lot, so residents can park here and walk on the new trail to the existing Burns Hill Trail.
Our Pledge
Our Foundation has pledged to raise $200,000 from your donations and from grants. The motion before you asks Town Meeting to appropriate the balance of up to $1.13 million – depending on the appraised value – from Community Preservation money already set aside for conservation and open space.
If this CR purchase is approved, Westford will have almost 150 acres of contiguous open space parcels in Westford Center
Thank You for Your Support
Our board, the Community Preservation Committee and the Conservation Commission unanimously support this appropriation. We fervently hope that you will support it as well by voting in favor.
Want to Help?
Please help conserve this beautiful property by making a tax-deductible gift to:
The Campaign to Conserve Salt Box Farm
Checks should be payable to the Westford Land Preservation Foundation and mailed to:
PO Box 235, Westford MA 01886.
For more information email WLPF board member Ellen Harde at 39mainstreet@gmail.com.