The property located at 1705 VT Route 128, (1705 property) also known as the Pigeon property, was a former service station and bus garage. The Town is partnered with Vermont River Conservancy, Champlain Housing Trust,  Green Mountain Habitat for Humanity and Chittenden County Regional Planning Commission to investigate the possibility of a multi-goal project of conservation, providing public access to the Browns River, development of affordable home ownership housing, expansion of the Town Office and Public Library property, and environmental improvements. The Town and residents are uniquely positioned to play a leading role in shaping the development of the property.

The results of public surveys and outreach conducted by the Westford Planning Commission, show a clear majority of citizens support and desire a vibrant village that offers amenities and services to meet the community’s needs. Citizens overwhelmingly support preserving Westford’s rural character and oppose random chain-store development. 

The 1705 property is one of the most visual and important pieces of real estate in the village. Development of this parcel can offer the Town the opportunity to obtain many community benefits and will help set the tone for all future development around the Town Common. By becoming involved in the redevelopment of this property, the Town can realize many benefits for citizens including: 

1. Public Access to the Browns River: The Browns River is a lovely natural amenity that runs through the heart of the village, but very few people have access to it or its recreational opportunities. The Town will work with partners to secure river access.
2. Affordable Housing: The need for affordable  housing in Vermont has reached a crisis point. The Vermont River Conservancy (VRC) and the Town have partnered with Green Mountain Habitat for Humanity and Champlain Housing Trust (CHT) in hopes that a portion of the property can be used  to construct perpetually affordable home ownership units to be enrolled in CHT’s Shared Equity Program.
3. Municipal/Public Facility Needs: The Town Office is rapidly running out of space, including vault space for the safe (and legally required) storage of vital town records, including all property transfer documents for each parcel of land in Town, (i.e. deeds, permits and mortgages). The 1705 property provides an opportunity to acquire land adjoining municipal property in order to meet current and future needs.
4. Improved Parking & Pedestrian Safety: The Town can assure the property will incorporate an appropriate streetscape design that will include walkways, traffic calming measures, and adequate parking to best accommodate town center activities.
5. Environmental Improvements: The property was used for many decades as a gas/service station and a bus garage. As a result, residual contaminates exceeding acceptable levels have been identified on the property. Municipal and/or nonprofit organization involvement provide access to funding sources for cleanup, not otherwise available to private individuals.
6. Stormwater Management: Integral with the redevelopment of the 1705 property will be a stormwater collection system that will serve the entire Town Common Area. this system will collect and filter the runoff that accumulates in the Town Common Area prior to discharge into the Brown’s River. As well as improving the river water quality, this will create a long term solution for protecting our library basement from flooding and alleviate water saturation on the Common.

The Town is researching several different ways that it may be involved with the development of the 1705 property.  It appears that the Town will not need to take ownership of the entire parcel in order to guarantee the establishment of community benefits including river access, potential for expansion or replacement of Town office, and improved parking and streetscape design. One promising avenue is for the Vermont River Conservancy to purchase the entire parcel from the current owners, subdivide the parcel, establish permanent conservation easements w/ public river access, and then deed a subdivided parcel(s) to the Town for One Dollar. This parcel(s) can then be used for civic purposes, including expansion of the Town Office.  The parcel(s) for affordable housing could then be transferred to Green Mountain Habitat for Humanity. Ownership of the parcel containing the historic Pigeon home has yet to be determined.

The Town is currently in discussions with the Vermont River Conservancy (VRC). The VRC’s business model is to buy private land that can provide public access to Vermont’s rivers and ponds. It obtains funding to purchase these parcels through the Vermont Housing and Conservation Board and fundraising. Once the VRC has purchased a property, it establishes permanent public river access through conservation easements. Once permanent public access is established, VRC could deed property to the municipality for one dollar ($1.00). At this time, VRC and the landowner are discussing VRC purchasing the 1705 property.

Based on all available information, it appears that the waste disposal line is likely connected to the same leach field that services the Town Office and Library and is located under the parking lot for the Town Office. Based on current soil mapping, it is unlikely that capacity of any significance is located on-site and it appears that the property does not have  a location for expansion or construction of a leach field in full compliance with the State of Vermont Environmental Protection Rules. 

The Post Office was located in the Town Common Area until the early 90s, when it was moved away from the Common onto Route 128.  For many years, the Westford Town Plan has stated, “The Town would be better served if the Post Office were relocated back to the Common.”  The community wastewater project and 1705 property would be critical to relocating the Post Office to the Town Common Area. Unfortunately, existing public and civic buildings already require more wastewater capacity than is available in the Town Center Area, meaning that they are likely insufficient to provide the additional capacity needed for a new Post Office.  

The Town has received a planning grant to further research the potential of the 1705 property, and relocation of the Post Office to the 1705 property and/or a new mixed-use Town Office could be considered as part of the long-term planning process. The leach field for the Town Office and Library is located underneath the Town Office parking lot, making it extremely difficult to expand the footprint of the Town Office without relocated the septic system. Additionally, the drinking water for the Town Office is challenged, and the Post Office may be reluctant to locate in a building without potable water. The 1705 property may provide options for additional parking and potable water, if so desired, which could significantly improve the feasibility of relocating the Post Office to the Town Center. 

The two projects are connected in that they will both benefit from each other. However, the community wastewater project can move forward without the 1705 VT Route 128 Property Project coming to fruition. In other words, the community wastewater project is not dependent on the development of the 1705 property. If the community wastewater project is not approved by the voters, then future development of the 1705 property can still occur but what kind of development will be controlled by the current septic availability on the property. 

A partner is a public or private entity that the Town will work with to improve part or all of the property. The Town is working  with Vermont River Conservancy as a potential “bridge-owner” as well as  Green Mountain Habitat for Humanity and Champlain Housing Trust regarding possible development of much needed affordable home ownership dwelling units.

Westford adopted a form based code for the Town Center Area in 2016. The form based code includes detailed design standards to help ensure that any new development honors the character of the Town Common Area. By being involved with the improvement of the property, the Town will further ensure that any future use of the property meets community objectives and enhances rather than detracts from the character of the Common.

In 2020, the Town  received a Vermont Community Development Program Planning Grant to analyze and research the property, specifically how the property can be used and seeking to identify what steps need to be taken to prepare the property for improvement and what the cost of that work would be. The purpose of this analysis is to determine if it is advantageous for the Town and partners to work with the landowners to plan for future use of the property. In order to explore this possibility further, the Town needs to develop a preliminary site plan that will identify and address many site-specific issues including, river conservation and access, parking and streetscape, potential for town office expansion, possible redevelopment, and contamination cleanup. The Town is in the process of developing a conceptual plan that includes community input. Once the conceptual plan is fully discussed, the Town and its consultants can prepare a preliminary site plan that can be used to secure funding for purchase and improvement.

If you have questions, you are encouraged to attend a Planning Commission meeting or communicate with the Town Planner, Melissa Manka at planner@westfordvt.us.