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Planning Board endorses draft 10-year Open Space and Recreation Plan
Summary
The Westford Planning Board voted to endorse the town's draft Open Space and Recreation Plan ("Where Westford Plays," 2026–2036) and asked staff to draft a letter of support for submission to the Division of Conservation Services after minor edits.
The Westford Planning Board voted to endorse the town's draft Open Space and Recreation Plan, a 10-year blueprint titled "Where Westford Plays" that outlines goals and actions for parks, trails and equitable access to green space.
Jenny Ray, executive director of the regional planning agency NIMCOG, presented the plan and said it was designed to align with Westford's strategic priorities and state guidance. "Your plan is actually called where Westford plays, and it is a 10 year plan as you can see, 2026 to 2036," Ray told the board, noting the plan includes an inventory of town lands and a detailed action section beginning on page 67 of the draft.
Board members praised the plan's breadth and offered edits intended to improve clarity and accuracy. One member asked for an additional summary table to aggregate land totals across the inventory; another asked that the plan explicitly reference Westford Academy as a volunteer partner alongside scouts and vocational programs. The board also flagged a possible assessor-database ownership mismatch for parcels referenced in the report and asked staff to verify ownership information.
Committee member Bob moved that the planning board "endorse the OSRP as presented here tonight, following changes that we've discussed," and the board approved the motion by voice vote. The presenters agreed to supply a draft letter of endorsement for staff review; the plan will next go to the Select Board and, after required letters of support are collected, be submitted to the Massachusetts Division of Conservation Services for formal approval.
The board's action is advisory and does not itself adopt the OSRP; adopting the plan through the town's formal process will enable eligibility for certain grants and help prioritize capital and programmatic spending for open-space projects over the next decade.
Next steps: staff will circulate the presenters' draft letter for the board's review and forward the final endorsement package to the Select Board and other required local partners.
