Town of Westford, MA - Preservation Plan Survey

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Preservation Plan Survey

Westford Historical Commission

Preservation Plan Survey

The Westford Historical Commission is developing a Historical Preservation Plan. As part of this process, the Commission solicited the community's opinion about what they feel is important with regard to historic preservation in Westford. This survey was conducted from May 2003 through September 2003. The survey was made available during Annual Town Meeting and at most of Westford's town Buildings, namely, the Town Hall, the Westford Museum, the Parish Center for the Arts, J.V. Fletcher Library, the Water Department, Roudenbush, the Parks & Recreation Department and the Cameron Senior Center. The survey was also available as an on-line survey. We placed notices in the Westford Eagle, the Lowell Sun, and posted a notice on the Channel 8 bulletin board of this survey's existence.

We found the results to be quite interesting and useful. There were a total of 177 responses to the survey. We wish to thank our editors, who helped to make this survey as readable as possible, to the Town Boards and Departments, as well as the Historical Society, who helped to make this survey available to the town, to the Council on Aging and the Westford Conservation Trust for distributing the survey with their newsletter, to Anne Marie Janeczek, for providing the on-line version, and lastly, to the public, who took the time to complete and return the survey. The results are presented here for your review.

Question 1: Town-owned Buildings preservation - Library, Museum, Town Hall, Town Farm Building

Agree159 (90%)

Disagree 9 (5%)

No Opinion 9 (5%)

Question 2: Encouraging the alternative usage of our Mill buildings

Agree162 (92%)

Disagree 3 (2%)

No Opinion 12 (7%)

Question 3: Records & Archives preservation/storage

Agree145 (82%)

Disagree 5 (3%)

No Opinion 27 (15%)

Question 4: Education & awareness training

Agree104 (59%)

Disagree 20 (11%)

No Opinion 53 (30%)

Question 5: Evaluating & developing alternative solutions to the demolition of historically significant buildings

Agree151 (86%)

Disagree 11 (6%)

No Opinion 15 (8%)

Question 6: Increasing our inventory of Scenic Roads

Agree110 (62%)

Disagree 27 (15%)

No Opinion 40 (23%)

Question 7: Placing individual properties, not currently in an Historic District, on the National Historic Register

Agree106 (60%)

Disagree 28 (16%)

No Opinion 43 (24%)

Question 8: Assist owners of Historic property by developing funding opportunities, I.e. favorable bank loans, State and/or Federal Grant programs, etc.

Agree120 (68%)

Disagree 25 (14%)

No Opinion 32 (18%)

Question 9: If an historically significant property became available for purchase, I would like to see it used as:

Town/Community116

Private 64

Affordable 44

Other 14

Summary Table listed in Priority Order for Questions 1 thru 8 Questions with the greatest approval rating are toward the top
Question Number	Survey Question	Agree	Disagree	No Opinion
2	Alternative usage of our Mill buildings	162 (92%)	3 (2%)	12 (7%)
1	Town-owned Buildings preservation - Library, Museum, Town Hall, Town Farm Building	159 (90%)	9 (5%)	9 (5%)
5	Evaluating & developing alternative solutions to the demolition of historically significant buildings	151 (86%)	11 (6%)	15 (8%)
3	Records & Archives preservation/storage	145 (82%)	5 (3%)	27 (15%)
8	Assist owners of Historic property by developing funding opportunities, I.e. favorable bank loans, State and/or Federal Grant programs, etc.	120 (68%)	25 (14%)	32 (18%)
6	Increasing our inventory of Scenic Roads	110 (62%)	27 (15%)	40 (23%)
7	Placing individual properties, not currently in an Historic District, on the National Historic Register	106 (60%)	28 (16%)	43 (24%)
4	Education & awareness training	104 (59%)	20 (11%)	53 (30%)

Question 10: Other projects that I would like to see the Historical Commission undertake include:

Question 11: Any additional comments:

Question No.	Category	Comments	Total similar repsonses	Total Replies	%
11	Alt Use	Alternate usage of a historically significant property would depend upon the property in question: private home, affordable housing, town/community use, other	9	153	6%
10	Alt Use	Public use in Mills: restaurants	4	153	3%
10	Alt Use	Public use in Mills: shops	4	153	3%
10	Alt Use	Public use: shopping	4	153	3%
10	Alt Use	Public use: Town/Community	4	153	3%
11	Alt Use	Mills: support use of Condos	3	153	2%
11	Alt Use	1st priority to be given for affordable housing. 2nd priority to be given to Town/Community Usage. For affordable housing projects, consider working with Habitat for Humanity for high quallity, community-based rehabilitation.	2	153	1%
10	Alt Use	Public use: Town Farm to Town/Community	2	153	1%
10	Alt Use	Public use: Museum	2	153	1%
10	Alt Use	Old Highway Barn: Exhibit space - see above	1	153	1%
10	Alt Use	Old Office Space: Exhibit Rooms; Apart from historical properties, there are lother large items of historical interest that would be a problem to house. For example, old hay rakes, orchard equipment, etc. from the town's farming days, antique fire and road equipment and so on. Perhaps this could b a use for the old highway barn. It would be a non-invasive use of the property and the building is perfect for large exhibits. The old office space would be good for smaller exhibits and/or meeting space.	1	153	1%
10	Alt Use	Public use: recreation	1	153	1%
10	Alt Use	Develop historical sites to encourage public use. Incorporate recreation, historical, shopping opportunities to integrate their use into everyday life without altering their historical or asthetic appearance. Encourage tourism like Lexington and Concord.	1	153	1%
10	Alt Use	Using the museum as a way to raise funds for these worthwhile projects. May Westford Museum sponsored festival where monies could be raised. Maybe around patriotic holidays. Use of PCA (historic building) has been great. Great community involvement.	1	153	1%
10	Alt Use	Please use the mill houses as places to live rather than building more developments. The mills would be much nicer homes than something by Ranchero de los Amigos. Converting the mills would help preserve older architecture and serve as historical reminders of the town's roots.	1	153	1%
11	Alt Use	Mills: support use for office space	1	153	1%
11	Alt Use	Move the Reed Barn from current location	1	153	1%

	Alt Use Total		42	153	27%
10	Archeology	I would like to see more reminders of the Native American people who lived here before the settlers came over. I know I have ancestors that lived here but I know nothing about them. I look at the oldest trees and imagine that they once looked at the same tree. Ifind no other connection.	1	153	1%

	Archeology Total		1	153	1%
11	Architecture	Provide design guideline input to Planning Dept/Board to help influence character of town.	1	153	1%
11	Architecture	Preserve the mill buildings and use for homes. This will help to preserve our town's past as well as preserve the architecture	1	153	1%

	Architecture Total		2	153	1%
11	Character	I have never seen so many ugly homes being built in town over the last few years. Too many people want to live in a castle, which undermines the character of my town.	1	153	1%
11	Character	Westford is a beautiful town. Let's keep it that way.	1	153	1%

	Character Total		2	153	1%
11	Communicate	Providing grant/funding information to homeowners	2	153	3%
10	Communicate	Maintain a WHC Web Site to help with communication	2	153	1%
11	Communicate	As the town considers how to celebrate its anniversary, perhaps this would be an occasion to revisit our history, to increase our exhibits and exhibit space.	1	153	1%
11	Communicate	A map of all historical events and locations printed up in a brochure style. Would be especially useful to new residents, employees and volunteers.	1	153	1%
10	Communicate	Communicate Westford's history in the schools, possibly in the form of a field trip. (Especially interesting with 275th anniversary approaching).	1	153	1%
11	Communicate	Education: Let people know what you're doing by using Channel 8. Make video copies so that meetings and/or awareness sessions can be borrowed from Fletcher Library.	1	153	1%
11	Communicate	Insure Preservation Plan gets integrated with Town's Master Plan! Preservation Plan great idea!	1	153	1%

	Communicate Total		9	153	6%
10	Concern	I have serious reservations concerning making basically, every "special interst" sections of town as "historically" significant. This gives certain individuals tax breaks that the politically incorrect will have to make up. I am seeing this more and more.	1	153	1%
10	Concern	Believes that the Town owns and restricts too many properties.	1	153	1%

	Concern Total		2	153	1%
11	Demolition Delay	An overhaul of the demolition bylaw is in order as this has been relatively ineffective and simply adds more cost to the devloper/owner of the property.	3	153	2%
11	Demolition Delay	Extend the "delayed" timeframe beyond six months	2	153	1%
11	Demolition Delay	The process to move the barn on 110 has been an atrocity	1	153	1%
11	Demolition Delay	Strongly support Demolition Delay Bylaw and its motivation	1	153	1%

	Demolition Delay Total		7	153	5%
11	Fields	Keep unused fields as conservation land	1	153	1%

	Fields Total		1	153	1%
11	Money	Can we seek property tax break for private citizens who purchase and maintian historical properties?	1	153	1%
11	Money	Too much money spent on historical preservation will drive up property taxes	1	153	1%
11	Money	Historical properties should only be saved if this can be done at a reasonable cost.	1	153	1%
11	Money	Incur user fees to implement programs wherever possible	1	153	1%
11	Money	Strongly support user fees for High School Sports (rather than from town budget)	1	153	1%
11	Money	Support alternate usages of Mill buildings, depending upon cost	1	153	1%
11	Money	I do not want the Historical Commission to touch the CPA money. It is a tax that we are very unhappy about and should be strictly used for buying land to stop out of control [housing and commercial] development	1	153	1%
11	Money	CPA funds should not be used for Recreation, especially rollerblading or baseball fields/parks. Where is the preservation there?	1	153	1%
11	Money	Taxation is theft under threat of force, no matter what you choose to call it. While many "preservation" projects may have merit, I resent the CPA greatly. It is a vehicle by which all are required to fund the pet projects of the few. I have willingly donated money in the past to many town buildings - library, Parkerville School, historical society, PCA, etc. but this new tax infuriates me	1	153	1%
11	Money	Use CPA funds to refurbish the Town Farm Building	1	153	1%
11	Money	Use funds only for preservation issues	1	153	1%

	Money Total		11	153	7%
10	NRHP	Supports adding individual homes to the NRHP provided that the owner agrees to this.	1	153	1%

	NRHP Total		1	153	1%
10	PLANNING	Aid the Planning Department in developing strict architectural and land development standards in order to maintain the rural character of the Town	1	153	1%
11	PLANNING	Incorporate preservation work with good masterplan for town planning!!! Greenspace, walking, hub for community!!! This town really needs a hub. Walking/pedestrian oriented center!!! Refer to Lexington	1	153	1%

	PLANNING Total		2	153	1%
11	Preservation	We need to preserve more open space and the little farmland we have left. We need to preserve and restore Stoney Brook to its original state so it may once again be used for canoeing and fishing.	2	153	1%
11	Preservation	Preservation of historical property is of the utmost priority. Once destroyed, the character of Westford is destroyed forever.	1	153	1%
11	Preservation	Team up with Conscomm on Scenic Roads and saving historic buildings. Is there Open Space upon which to move a building?	1	153	1%
11	Preservation	Preserve the orchards and farmlands. They are an important part of the town's history and culture. We have very little of that left.	1	153	1%
11	Preservation	We need to limit our resources to those buildings that are historically significant; not just any building	1	153	1%

	Preservation Total		6	153	4%
10	Process	Record the "date demolished" when historical properties get demolished to help enhance historical record keeping	1	153	1%

	Process Total		1	153	1%
10	Project: 20th Century!!!	Consider developing history of Westford within 20th century! There was much change during this timeframe and should be captured before it's too late.	1	153	1%

	Project: 20th Century!!! Total		1	153	1%
10	Project: Archeology	How about an ongoing archeological dig for kids?	1	153	1%

	Project: Archeology Total		1	153	1%
10	Project: Center	Westford is fortunate that our town center has [not] been turned into a major commercial strip. That section is now a historical district with many of the buildings still display their original design. However, everytime I see a photo of buildings in the center, I see the modern power and telephone lines in these photos. It would really be nice if the utility lines could be put underground on Main Street from Depot to Granitville, on Lincoln and Boston Rd to the Museum. Also, maybe some reserach could be done to find out what type of lamps were first used to light the Common. Maybe reproductions of these lamps could be installed around the Common to light the streets in this area. I know this would be an expensive task, but if we start planning now, maybe it will be complete in the next 10 years or so.	2	153	1%

	Project: Center Total		2	153	1%
10	Project: Museums	Museums for visitation. Preservation of artifacts for display in the library or Town Hall	1	153	1%

	Project: Museums Total		1	153	1%
10	Project: Signs	Get a sign/marker program of historical items going	2	153	1%

	Project: Signs Total		2	153	1%
10	Project: with WHS	Work collaboratively with the Historical Society by setting joint goals for historic preservation, and receiving grant money to defray costs.	1	153	1%

	Project: with WHS Total		1	153	1%
11	Records	Would like to see WHC add to inventory of records and archives and to improve the current methods to save them.	3	153	2%
10	Records	Strongly support preservation and storage of our Town records and archives	2	153	1%

	Records Total		5	153	3%
11	Roads	Developing historical links to our trails, i.e. old road on the Tom Paul Trail, road to Schoolhouse No. 2?	1	153	1%
11	Roads	Set up trails on old, unused roads	1	153	1%
10	Roads	Maintain Route 110 by restriction on Commerical Developers	1	153	1%
10	Roads	Route 110 Master Plan should be updated to reflect the times. Traffic lights on 110 is OK. Really!!	1	153	1%

	Roads Total		4	153	3%
11	Scenic Roads	Strongly support increasing number of Scenic Roads	3	153	2%
10	Scenic Roads	The safety of our roads should be a higher priority than making them Scenic Roads.	3	153	2%
10	Scenic Roads	Limiting traffic on route 225 (scenic road). Stop the industrial/commercial development in the town.	3	153	2%
11	Scenic Roads	Protect our trees	2	153	1%
11	Scenic Roads	Support scenic road development only when it is safe and practical to do so.	2	153	1%
10	Scenic Roads	Protect our stone walls	2	153	1%
10	Scenic Roads	Protect our environment.	1	153	1%
10	Scenic Roads	Only support development of Scenic Roads if the promotion of public tranportation as a means to decrease traffic were also in place.	1	153	1%
11	Scenic Roads	Scenic roads are nice, but we have to live with the reality of growth. Concentrate the efforts on the roads in the already established historic districts. I think that is where we will be able to get the best return on investment.	1	153	1%
11	Scenic Roads	Increased involvement in the preservation of scenic/historical roads and areas - e.g. Protecting the existing portion of Concord Road as pertains to the developers proposed 'Rt 225 Bypass' and the Power Rd/Concord Rd/Littleton Rd triangle.	1	153	1%

	Scenic Roads Total		19	153	12%
11	Schools	You need to build one more school for the over growing population!?	1	153	1%

	Schools Total		1	153	1%
10	Signs	Granite sign posts to use as directions to various historic sites	2	153	1%

	Signs Total		2	153	1%
11	Thank you	Support the work that the WHC is doing	4	153	3%
11	Thank you	Historical Society has made numerous contributions to our community	2	153	1%

	Thank you Total		6	153	4%
11	Town	Support preservation of the Museum	3	153	2%
11	Town	Support preservation of the Town Farm	3	153	2%
11	Town	Support preservation of the Town Hall	2	153	1%
11	Town	Purchasing private property offerred to the Town for conservation purposes whether donated or asking a price.	1	153	1%
11	Town	Support preservation of the Library	1	153	1%
11	Town	Do not support preserving the Library (with preservation funds)	1	153	1%

	Town Total		11	153	7%
11	Town Farm	Do not support preserving Town Farm Building	5	153	3%
11	Town Farm	Town Farm should be priority one since the building is being vacated by the Schools. Why not use the opportunity to do a makeover for a municipal purpose with CPC monies?	1	153	1%

	Town Farm Total		6	153	4%
11	Vision	Currently Westford is disjointed. The town center is dead (very little vibracy) and shopping is very inconvenient. Development within Westford could be done in keeping with its history and encourage more of a community feeling. Perhaps small shops and small coffee shop would support center-related social activity.	2	153	1%
11	Vision	Develop a Town-Recreation Park area on land to be vacated by Reed Barn	1	153	1%
11	Vision	Would like to see the town purchase historically significant property for adult activities - sponsored by town permit only	1	153	1%
	Vision Total		4	153	3%
	Grand Total		302


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