This post expresses the views and opinions of the author(s) and not necessarily that of Westwood Minute management or staff.
I’m writing this because I think it’s really important to correct a mistruth that is being spread about a meadow on Clapboardtree Street.
I’ve recently seen that Bean farm has put up an excessive number of signs campaigning to take Clapboardtree Meadow, which is currently managed by the Westwood land trust, because they turn a beautiful meadow into farm land for their own personal use. The Bean’s website contains misleadingly presented information about the terms of the conservation restriction, which is a legal, permanent restriction that protects the land from development or farming unless approved by the Westwood Land Trust (who did not approve turning the meadow into farmland because it would hurt the ecological and environmental benefit of the meadow, which supports birds, butterflies, and bees), and in a recent meeting, I heard Westwood’s town selectmen said they are currently using Westwood taxpayers dollars to sue the Westwood Land Trust to personally benefit the private, for-profit Bean farm. This means Westwood is wasting our taxpayer money on a costly lawsuit that could put all land under conservation in the U.S. at risk by creating a dangerous precedent, and doing it without the permission (or knowledge of) of most Westwood taxpayers. Converting a legally protected meadow into a farm plot would not increase the town’s tax base, and it would be against the wishes of the individuals who donated the land and put it into conservation. Why is the town wasting money in an attempt to turn a legally protected meadow into a farm for the use of a for-profit private company? How can the town can take this kind of action without any approval by Westwood residents?
I love Westwood because of how beautiful it is, the amount of walking land, the people, the views, the birds and wildlife, and the fact that it’s a private place to live, and the land in Westwood that's protected by conservation restrictions and can’t be developed or farmed makes the town as beautiful as is.
I can sympathize with the challenges of running a farm in a town with our tax rates, but converting currently conserved meadows into farmland for the private use of a for-profit company is not the answer and puts all conserved land throughout the country at risk. Why would the Westwood Planning/Select Board ever even consider this as an option, especially given that private residents recently offered to pay the town almost half a million dollars to repurchase and protect this meadow, which was already purchased and legally protected once, because the private citizens were afraid that the town’s lawsuit could threaten conservation restrictions across the country by creating a dangerous precedent? Inexplicably, the Select Board said no to their offer of nearly $500k, choosing instead to spend taxpayers money sue to turn a legally protected meadow into a farm. Why? Who asked the town to do this, except for the Bean farm? Nearly $500,000 could go a long way to help the less affluent members of our town, support the Westwood food pantry, or lower the tax increases for 2026, and all it would take for the town to get that money would be to leave the meadow exactly the way it is. Why would the Selectmen turn that down to try and give the Beans more farmland?
I’m not comfortable with what the town is doing, and I’m absolutely not comfortable with the narrative that’s being broadcasted by the Bean farm.
Please do not accept the simple story that is being told by the Bean farm this is a clear matter of a small farmer against a very challenging economic environment for farmers, that destroying the meadow would give the Bean farm its only chance to survive, and please do not believe that the land was purchased and put into conservation so it could be turned into a farm. If farming the land was the intent of the conservation restriction, there would be no reason for the town to have to sue, and the land would already be used as farmland instead of being a beautiful meadow.
The town is acting against the best interest of nature, conservation restrictions across the country, the taxpayers in Westwood, and the donors who purchased and protected the land with a conservation restriction.
If Westwood wishes to support the Bean farm, there are so many other ways they could do that, ways that would not put all land that is currently under conservation at risk. Please tell the town that we do not want them to turn a protected meadow into a farm for the private interest of a for profit company. Learn more at https://www.saveclapboardtreemeadow.com.
14° and Clear
