March 19, 2015, from Wicked Local
Vote no on Article 20 "to see if the town will vote to transfer to the Board of Selectmen for the purpose of leasing and granting easements the care, custody and control of a parcel of land containing 17.02 acres, more or less, located off of Cold Spring Road, commonly referred to as the former Westford landfill. The intent of this article is to allow the selectmen to lease this Residential A parcel for use as a solar farm by a commercial enterprise.
Unlike most landfills, our landfill is located in a Residential A zone and on top of the town's water supply and is surrounded by beautiful conservation land. It's widely used by the residents of Westford for recreational use. A Solar farm is a commercial operation and belongs in a commercial/industrial zone. The aesthetics of a solar farm are undesirable for a Residential A zone. For some residents, this commercial operation would be literally in their backyard. People living in a residential zone have some expectation of protection from commercial/industrial operations. That's why we have zoning laws in place.
Although it was stated to me that a Solar Farm would not damage the landfill cap, I would not want to take any chances knowing what is contained under that cap. Prior to capping, it was discovered that toxic chemicals were dumped in our landfill and they had leached into the wetlands adjacent to the town well fields. Capping the landfill and leaving it alone as a conservation area is in the best interest of the town. You know the old expression "Let a sleeping dogs lie."
I believe that it would serve us best to amend this article to read "To see if the town will vote to transfer to the care, custody and control of the Westford Conservation Commission." Considering the bad history and fragile situation we have had in the past and still have concerning the former landfill, Stony Brook wetlands, and the abutting 32 town well field feeding into the town-wide water supply, it is more appropriate to have the Conservation Commission in control of this land, not a commercial operator. It's the Conservation Commission's responsibility to protect Westford's natural resources and to administer the Massachusetts Wetlands Protection Act. Also, it is part of their mission to acquire and manage land for the protection of natural resources and watersheds of the town. Here's our opportunity to help in that mission without costing us a dime of Community Preservation tax money. -- Stephen Young, 112 Cold Spring Road.