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1-11-2026 10:42pm
Over 500 Sign Petition Supporting Select Board and Bean Family Farm in Land Trust Lawsuit
Darlene Cancell
Editor
As of Sunday evening, January 11, 2026, 568 people had signed onto Westwood resident Andy Moore’s Change.org petition, “Save Farming in Westwood, MA” - a petition that Mr. Moore told Westwood Minute that he started to “gauge and document” support among Westwood residents for Westwood Select Board’s lawsuit against Westwood Land Trust that seeks to compel the nonprofit to allow the town to put eight of 28 acres of town-owned conservation land to agricultural use, under a conservation restriction (CR) that is enforced by the land trust.
Mr. Moore thought it was a good idea to start the Change.org petition based on the response he received to a previous Change.org petition that he undertook in 2024 to protest the prohibition against off-leash dog walking in Westwood’s Lowell Woods.
Mr. Moore described the experience of watching the signatures accumulate. “Initially, it wasn’t that fast, but then the signatures started coming in quickly,” he said. By January 7th, about one week after he started the petition, his petition had collected over 500 signatures. Mr. Moore recognizes that not all signatures are from Westwood residents. Under Change.org rules, a petition cannot be limited to Westwood residents or registered voters, he explained.
According to a graphic on Mr. Moore’s Change.org petition, as of January 11th, 63 percent of the 568 signatories are from zip codes 02090, 02062, and 02081 (respectively, Westwood, Norwood, and Walpole). The graphic appears to show that signatories are drawn from a general area that is pictured as far north as Waltham /Medford, west to Ashland/ Milford, south to North Attleboro/Brockton, and east to Weymouth/Rockland.
This OpenMapTiles map image capture (1/11/2026) from Change.org shows the approximate area where signatories to Mr. Moore's petition are from. It is made available under the Open Database License: http://opendatacommons.org/licenses/odbl/1.0/. Any rights in individual contents of the database are licensed under the Database Contents License: http://opendatacommons.org/licenses/dbcl/1.0/
Mr. Moore’s Change.org petition, created on December 30th, supports Select Board and The Bean Family Farm – the potential farmer of the conservation land – and is positioned on the opposite side of the fence to a December petition sponsored by fellow Westwood resident Erin Sibley. Ms. Sibley’s petition questions Select Board’s decision to enter litigation against Westwood Land Trust. It also calls for greater transparency by town officials. Ms. Sibley's petition ultimately was successful in gathering about one and a half times the number of signatures needed to meet the goal of calling a Special Town Meeting to force a townwide discussion on the Select Board’s decision to litigate. At the Special Town Meeting on February 2nd, residents on both sides of the issue will have a chance to discuss and vote on what they view to be the path they think Select Board should take.
Representatives of both sides of the arguments have been vocal in media and in public comments. They have taken advantage of the short time reserved for public comment during the start of recent Select Board meetings to air their opinions and grievances. However, under a recently implemented policy announced by Chair Robert Gotti at the board’s meetings of June 9, 2025 and June 23rd, 2025, and first fully implemented at the board’s meeting on July 9, 2025, the public may comment, but should not expect reply from Select Board during that window of time.
At Select Board’s remotely held meeting via Zoom of January 5th, Select Board Chair Robert Gotti noted a “long list of people” in attendance, as he called on residents to speak during the designated 15 minute public comment period.
Lynne Viti, inaugural Poet Laureate of Westwood, began the comments by questioning why Select Board has continued remote public meetings when social distancing from the covid pandemic is no longer needed. She expressed frustration that the meeting format used by the board provides no chat function for residents to communicate, no indication to public attendees of the number or identity of who is the public is attending. She suggested that the board adopt an in-person or hybrid format.
Several residents commented in support of Select Board and The Bean Family Farm:
- Terry Connaughton noted that the town he loves has recently changed, and he called the land trust’s campaign “misleading” and “divisive.” He believes that WLT's purpose and mission has changed from feeling “genuine” and “well-intentioned” to feeling like a marketing campaign against The Bean Family Farm, which could potentially be allowed to farm the conservation land if Select Board wins in litigation. Mr. Connaughton questioned why the land trust is not honoring what he says should be a plain reading of the CR.
- Brian Kelly began by complimenting WLT for its past preservation effort, but said, “Nobody is perfect. . . . In this instance, this Prout Farm matter, they are simply flat wrong and they are being entirely unreasonable,” he said. “The citizens of Westwood should not have their land hostage by a handful of volunteers who are being unreasonable . . . I hardly think growing tomatoes and carrots are going to destroy our ecosystem in Westwood,” he said, adding that he hoped WLT drops its opposition to the town’s plans to use town-owned land for agricultural purposes. He blamed the costs of litigation on WLT's refusal to cooperate with Select Board's request.
- John Cronin, Jr. disputed the labelling of the disputed area of land a “meadow,” stating that the land has been known as a farm and that the term “meadow” is not used in the CR and is a “fictitious” term. He called WLT’s rejection of idea that farming is compatible with land conservation is incorrect, and called the land trust's arguments against the farming as “sad” and “desperate.” He predicted a “tidal wave of support” for the Bean Family Farm when the public shows up to the upcoming Special Town Meeting.
Residents also articulated their views in support of Westwood Land Trust:
- Matt Eckerle read a letter previously delivered to Select Board on behalf of the Westwood Environmental Action Committee, which unanimously urges the board to drop the lawsuit against WLT. Among other points, WEAC argues that The Bean Family Farm’ has failed to show that its plans to farm the land would be better for the existing ecosystem.
- Claire Galkowski questioned the utility of the town spending money on this lawsuit, noting that health insurance costs and pension liabilities are strained. She asked where the money would come from.
- Real estate attorney Dan Bailey spoke on behalf of Duncan and Ellen McFarland, who in 2001 donated to the Town of Westwood the land in question, which he referred to as “Clapboardtree Meadow.” (The land at issue is alternately referred to a meadow or “Prout Farm,” depending on what side of the argument one is on.) He emphasized that the issue is not as simple as has been suggested, and expressed anger at “incredibly divisive” and “horrible”comments of residents suggesting that the land trust was “out of line.” He stated a wish to lower the temperature of the rhetoric.
- William Selles provided written comment that Mr. Gotti read into the record. He submitted his belief that the land trust is preserving natural land as a town resource, and that converting a natural meadow to commercial farmland does not fulfill the land trust’s purpose.
- Leslie Greffenius questioned the reason for litigation and would defer to the land trust who she believes holds the job is to resolve such matters.
As demonstrated by the comments both vocalized at this and earlier Select Board meetings, and written comments on platforms like Westwood Minute, the litigation between Select Board and WLT has fueled passions on both sides. It has also spurred thoughtful argument.
“I hope they come to a reasonable settlement,” said Mr. Moore. “I hope the Beans are allowed to farm. If they are not, they’re going to close and it’s a shame. I think it will reflect poorly on the town of Westwood if the Bean Farm closes because we want to maintain a meadow.”
