Westford’s gateway property on Boston Road is now home to four goats with five more soon to come.
The 9-acre property known colloquially as Drew Gardens is getting a vegetative cleaning of the mugwort that’s been growing there for years, ever since the parcel fell into disrepair in the hands of a previous owner.
The land at 66-68 Boston Road is now owned by Groton developer Ebrahim “Ebi” Masalehdan who is working to comply with directives issued by the Board of Selectmen to clean up the property of two collapsed greenhouses. Also on the property is a rustic building once used as a store for a garden center operation. And now there’s an electric fence with a tiny shelter and four goats inside, reminding the town of its agricultural roots.
Agriculture is at the heart of a dispute between two factions in town: those who want to amend at least one of three Agricultural Preservation Restrictions, of 3 acres each, approved by Town Meeting voters in the late 1990s, and those who argue the town spent $525,000 for the development rights to the land so that it could be preserved in perpetuity.
An amended APR would override the requirement of agricultural use of the land, and bring Masalehdan a step closer to building his proposed 19,000 square foot restaurant on the property, according to town officials, though some in town question that legal path.
Meanwhile, Masalehdan said he is using the goats to clear the overgrown vegetation on the land to the tune of $600 per week. He rented them from Central Mass Goat Rental of Lunenberg where husband and wife team Seth and Tammy Hebert have recently launched their goat rental business.
“It’s a nice chemical-free way of resetting the area,” said Tammy Hebert. “Back in the day (Native Americans) would set fire to an area to reset it…this avoids the charcoal everywhere.”
So far the goats and their pen have been moved around the property three times to allow them to continue grazing, Hebert said.
“This is our first commercial setting,” she added. “Our other clients have all been residential. A lot of people are happy with the results.”
The goats are usually hired to clear poison oak, ivy, and sumac, Hebert said. They will stay on the land until the winter weather or a frost freezes their water supply. Hebert said she’ll soon be bringing another five to join the group. The Heberts own four Nigerian dwarf wethers and five Alpine does all purchased from a Connecticut farm that cosed, Tammy said. All nine will return home to Lunenberg for the winter.
But for Masalehdan the stakes are different. He’s trying to improve an eyesore while a large population in town watches his every move.
Among them is resident Maureen George who lobbied selectmen on Nov. 1 to assess Masalehdan’s claims of agricultural activity by seeking “empirical data.”
“Mr. Masledhan is not a farmer, he’s a developer,” she said. “I am not a farmer and there probably are no farmers on the Board of Selectmen, so why don’t you ask some people who are farmers what to expect?”
George said she corresponded with Jennifer Hashley, director of the New Entry Sustainable Farming Project of Lowell, who said the following three steps should be taken by Masalehdan to prepare the land for spring: 1.) soil reclamation, 2.) site clearing and preparation for farming, and 3.) infrastructure assessment on the third APR section of the property.
Land conservationist Bill Harman who has lobbied hard for keeping the land undeveloped, noted that the use of goats covers only 0.1 acre of the parcel.
“…a negligible portion of the 9 acre farmland,” he stated.
Masalehdan said he sees other possibilities for agricultural uses of the land.
“There’s tons of options for that land to keep it agricultural,” Masalehdan said, noting he could bring chickens, cows, and pigs onto the property.
“But that’s not what I want to do. I want to do what’s best for the town,” he added.
Masalehdan estimates it will cost him about $25,000 to have a demolition company remove the remaining debris, even after giving away nine display tables this spring to local farmers, an intact greenhouse to a farmer in Dunstable, and fencing to an agricultural school in Lowell. A ton of Christmas decorations went to a Westford group which raises funds each year for the Pan Mass Challenge charitable bike ride. The greenhouses should be gone within a week, he said.
But Masalehdan had some cautionary words for selectmen.
“I will have new plans which I will bring forward. Meanwhile there will be agricultural activities over there to keep up with the APRs,” he said. “I am seeking currently legal advice to seek other options. Whatever it may be it will be in the very near future.”
Unlike those who want to keep the land undeveloped, Masalehdan sees a vision for his proposed restaurant and function room.
“I can do something so beautiful over there,” he said. “I can do something that would make people ask about Westford’s gateway.”
Follow Joyce Pellino Crane on Twitter @joypellinocrane.
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