WESTFORD — Welcome to the March 17 edition of Weekend Wrap-Up. Here, we highlight the most important news you may have missed this week in Westford.
PSA: Attend the 2024 Annual Town Meeting
Hear from Town Moderator Angela Harkness regarding this year’s Annual Town Meeting.
22 articles are slated to be discussed on this year’s warrant, including two proposed budgets, a multi-family zoning bylaw and a citizen’s petition regarding Columbus Day and Indigenous Peoples Day.
Free childcare will be available through the Westford Recreation Department. Free transportation will be available through the Council on Aging. Register for either service by March 21.
Additional parking will be available at Robinson Elementary School and Crisafulli Elementary School. A shuttle bus will be available to transport voters from the auxiliary parking lots to Westford Academy.
26 accessible spaces will be available in front of the voter entrance for residents with placards.
Annual Town Meeting will be held on March 23 at 9 a.m. at Westford Academy. Voter registration will begin at 8 a.m.
Westford, Acton to partner for Pride event
The Town of Westford will partner with the Town of Acton for a Pride event this summer.
According to a presentation from Westford LGBTQ+ Friends and Allies, the event will host several vendors, children’s activities, town committees and organizations, as well as live music from “The Femmes,” described as an all-woman and nonbinary wedding band.
“It’s just going to be a Pride festival with tables, live music for three hours, vendors who are maybe selling things or food, tables, and any community groups such as ours would be welcome,” Wendy Gloyd, a member of Westford LGBTQ+ Friends and Allies said during a Feb. 28 Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee meeting.
She added,” they just want to encourage it to be a family-friendly day.”
The event will have “no town money involved,” according to Gloyd, with Westford LGBTQ+ Friends and Allies contributing $2,275 to cover costs related to the event. These funds will also cover a banner that will be flown near Abbot Elementary School.
DEI Committee recommends proposals
The DEI Committee previously voted 12-1 to recommend that the Select Board approve the town seal to be used on a promotional flyer, a banner to be hung near Abbot Elementary School and to hoist the pride flag on June 15 during the committee’s Feb. 28 meeting. Member Cynthia King cast the dissenting vote.
“The fact that this event will make a difference for children who are struggling with their sexuality, for children who are perhaps raised in a home where it is not safe to come out. I will say through my work I have worked with a lot of students on the LGBTQ continuum, I will tell you it is not safe for all kids.” DEI Committee member Mariclaire O’Neal said.
She added, “if we can do our part as the Diversity, Equality and Inclusion Committee, then we absolutely have an obligation to do so.”
However, King cited concerns over “promoting transgender for children” at the event, citing a separate drag show hosted by Acton Pride in June.
“I don’t agree that it should be presented to children, that it’s something that should take place when they’re 21 if that’s an issue, King said.
Gloyd said that Westford LGBTQ+ Friends and Allies “is not part of the drag show,” and later clarified that the show is “not an adult thing, it’s 9th grade and above” during a March 12 Select Board meeting.
Select Board discusses proposals
According to data from the American Civil Liberties Union, there are 479 anti-LGBTQ bills pending in U.S. legislatures, including two in Massachusetts that could impact school curriculum.
“It is a time, I believe, where the LGBTQ community needs to have support and feels welcoming to see a flag raised, to see a pride event, to feel like we belong,” Gloyd said.
Members of the Select Board expressed their support for the proposals.
Select Board Chair Tom Clay said the event is “one more way that we can demonstrate the values of the community in being inclusive.”
“I think that in terms of Westford being a welcoming and diversified community that we bill ourselves to be, that this is something for a group of our citizens that we should be involved in and support,” member Andrea Peraner-Sweet said.
Select Board member John Cunningham gave his support for the proposals, but also noted concerns with using the town’s seal on promotional flyers.
“It’s opening up a little bit of a door there for bad, it’s just the use of the seal that I am concerned about, not the organization” Select Board member John Cunningham said.
Vice Chair Scott Hazelton said he consulted town counsel regarding use of the town seal, and said he believes that the town “could say no in the future” if an event comes forward that is not supported by a town committee.
Raising an umbrella in support
Resident Gloria Miller later raised her umbrella in favor of the event.
“One of the things my kids taught me in the LGBT community. In the faces of fear and hate, you turn your back to it and raise your umbrella and proudly fly your colors,” Miller said on March 12.
The Select Board unanimously approved the three requests during a March 12 meeting. The event will be held on June 15 from noon to 3 p.m. at Nara Park in Acton.
Select Board approves liquor license change for Burtons Grill
Burtons Grill will now offer brunch in Westford.
The Cornerstone Square restaurant applied to change the hours of its liquor license on Feb. 12. The change will allow the restaurant to open for brunch at 10:30 a.m. on weekends.
The Select Board voted unanimously to approve the change during its March 14 meeting.
The restaurant will now open from 10:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. on Saturdays and 10:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Sundays, according to its website.
Planning Board recommends multi-family zoning bylaw proposal
A zoning bylaw amendment that could allow for additional multi-family housing in Westford has received support from the Planning Board.
The Planning Board voted unanimously to recommend the proposal during a March 4 meeting.
What’s in the proposal?
The proposal would create an overlay district for additional multi-family housing in Westford.
The proposal comes after a state-issued mandate that requires MBTA or MBTA-adjacent communities to create a new zoning district that allows for additional multi-family housing as of right. However, the town is not obligated to build additional housing stock — it only needs to make space for it.
“It’s not even mandatory to build one unit. We have to create the opportunity to build the units,” Planning Board member Robert Shaffer said.
The 45-page proposal would create a new overlay district along sections of Littleton Road, Robbins Road, Concord Road, Powers Road and Technology Park Drive.
The draft proposal exceeds, but closely follows state-required minimums for acreage and unit density.
Officials recently hosted a Lunch and Learn at the Cameron Senior Center, fielding several questions from residents ahead of Annual Town Meeting.
Non-compliance
WestfordCAT has previously reported that if the town does not adopt the proposal by the end of this year, it could face civil action from the state and risk liability under state and federal housing laws.
The town could lose several grant opportunities and additional state aid could also be at risk. The Town of Milton recently voted to repeal its zoning bylaw and lost an approximately $140,000 grant for seawall and access improvements.
The proposal requires a simple majority at Annual Town Meeting. Annual Town Meeting will be held at Westford Academy on March 23 at 9 a.m.
