Eastbayri.com

To the editor:

Someone once told me that the definition of a conservationist is, “The last person to have built their home.”

We often hear that the reason Westport is so special is because of its rural nature. People talk about preserving the town’s rural nature — it’s why people want to live here.

Certainly we have some restrictive zoning that has helped the town maintain space between dwellings. But besides the national economic situation and related housing problems, nothing has done more to preserve open space in this town than the Community Preservation Act and the funds that have been directed by townspeople to secure certain parcels.

Westport is a town ripe for development and only the present economic situation has slowed the growth. It won’t always be that way.

In addition to providing for open space, the CPC has helped this town preserve valuable historical and cultural landmarks that might otherwise have been bulldozed. The people of Westport have carefully considered allocation of funds at town meeting for years and have made good decisions on the use of these funds.

When established by the Commonwealth, CPC funds were matched dollar for dollar. While the match has shrunk from that figure, it is still matched up to 27 percent. Who would not put money into their 401K plan if their employer was matching their contribution? It seems silly to turn down such a deal.

Yet certain members of the Board of Selectmen have decided to place an article before town meeting for a referendum to revoke the CPC Act in Westport. This is not the first time that this has come up for a vote.

It boggles my mind that you can just keep trying these kinds of votes hoping that eventually there will not be enough voters at town meeting and you can “sneak one past the group.” Similar tactics have been used regarding the town’s vote on wind turbines. How many times does the town have to vote for or against something before our officials get the message?

The CPC has done excellent things for the town of Westport. There is no reason to revoke it. I encourage residents to not only show up to vote against this warrant but to be vocal with our Board of Selectmen and remind them that they tried this before and we told them no.

Brian Pontolilo

Westport