The Open Space and Recreation Plan presents ways
Westborough can respond to increasing development pressures that are rapidly restricting
the town's ability to protect essential natural resources, preserve open space
for future generations, and meet our community's current active and passive
recreation needs.
The plan develops potential solutions and strategies
to protect the quality of open space and recreational opportunities that
attracted families into Westborough. To
this end, the plan is: (1) comprehensive in setting the open space and
recreational goals and objectives, (2) part of a continuous planning process
that is responsive to the desires of the citizens of Westborough, and (3) a
guide for prioritizing, timing, and funding preservation of open space and the
creation of recreational opportunities.
Throughout its history, the quality of life in
Westborough has been linked to the enjoyment, preservation, and conscientious
use of the town's natural resources.
Westborough's physical beauty is reflected in its rolling hills, lakes,
forests, and unique wetlands. Several
working farms have helped Westborough retain a distinctive rural
character. At the same time, the town's
location at a major transportation hub has attracted industry and commerce that
provide economic opportunities for residents.
Our community is justly proud of its friendly, inclusive, small-town
atmosphere.
Yet today Westborough's way of life is
threatened. During the last forty
years, the town has grown drastically.
While that growth has provided some economic benefits, the community has
become increasingly concerned about the associated costs of growth. In the past ten years,
half of Westborough's useable open space has been developed. Already approved residential and commercial
developments will shrink that acreage still further. At the same time, Westborough's population is growing beyond the
town's planned capacity to meet the educational, public safety, infrastructure,
public service, and recreational requirements of residents. If current rates of growth continue,
Westborough will soon reach a point where there will be no land left to support
community needs.
Westborough understands its critical responsibility
to balance growth with the provision of basic human needs and the protection of
natural resources. To this end, the
Open Space Plan proposes ways that Westborough can meet this responsibility by:
·
Maintaining open space
to ensure the preservation and enhancement of the natural and historic
resources that give Westborough its unique rural character
·
Meeting the current and
future active and passive recreational needs of Westborough's citizens
·
Protecting
Westborough's natural resources, including the town's water supply, that are
indispensable for the well being of the community and the survival of wildlife.
Our community recognizes that planning is just the
beginning of a process that ultimately should result in preservation and
enhancement of the quality of life in Westborough. To begin this process we must engage in a frank dialogue with
landowners to explore their goals for their land in relation to the objectives
of this plan. At the same time, public
and private funds will be sought to compensate landowners who participate in
preserving Westborough's natural resources and open space. By adopting and implementing this plan,
Westborough can ensure that the quality of life that has been valued by its
inhabitants will be preserved for future generations.
In 2000, the
Open Space Preservation Committee (OSPC) investigated getting the plan form an
outside agency to meet the state’s requirement for an update every five
years. The OSPC did not find the
proposals to their liking and felt the costs of an outside agency were
prohibitive. At the same time the town
was acquiring GIS capabilities that would allow the mapping to be done
easily. The OSPC made a decision not to
meet the state goal of an update every five years, and forfeit the possibility
of state grant money while the plan was out of date.
The
2001 OSPC started working on the plan collecting some of the base data that
appears in this document, the committee found it slow-going and realized that a
reorganization of the OSPC to include representatives of several town boards
and commissions would aid its work on the plan and other efforts of the
committee. The March 2002 annual town
meeting approved the reorganization of the committee, and since its
reorganization in July of 2002 most of this document has been developed.
The
document was presented to town board and commissions starting in January of
2003, with copies placed in the library and on the web for public access. A public hearing on the plan will be held on
February 12, 2003 as part of the Open Space Preservation Committee
meeting. The approval of this plan is
an article for the March 2003 annual town meeting.
This
plan would not be possible without the help of the following individuals:
Open Space Preservation Committee Recreation Commission
Evelyn Arnold George Barrette Tom
Dolan Mike Kennison
Mary Aronson Mike
Kennison Steve Rabidou Mary Stanton
Donald Burn Ralph
Keyes Beth Travis
David Freed Scott
Shumway
Garry Kessler
Conservation Commission Planning Board
Paul Baptiste Gary Bowman Skip
Ashton Brian Bush
Timothy Buckalew Edward
Brady Ralph Keyes Edward Newton, Jr.
Waren Keyes Michael
Maddocks Glenn Parker
Scott Shumway
Board of Selectman Town
Employees
Kristina Allen George
Barrette Jim Robbins –
Town Planner
Denzil Drewry Lydia Goldblatt Derek Saari – Assistant
Town Planner
John Minardi