Cleanup plan could impact Waltham Fields Community Farm
By Mike Sullivan, WBZ-TV
WALTHAM - There is a battle brewing over a longtime farm in Waltham. Part of their land must be decontaminated, and the city may take a portion of the farm to clean it up.
"That is the heart. That is the core of our production where we plant every seed by volunteers and our staff," explains Waltham Fields Community Farm Executive Director Stacey Daley, talking about the operations on the land that may be taken. "Every ounce of food that is harvested from this field starts in those greenhouses."
Waltham Fields Community Farm has leased the land from UMass for 27 years. In March, the school sold the land to the town. As part of the agreement, they must remediate contamination on two sections of the land. The contamination on one end came from large trucks dumping construction materials. UMass has since put-up signs forbidding dumping.
In order to complete the cleanup, the city's proposed plan may restrict the farm from vital parts of their operation. They will still have roughly 8.25 acres, but Daley says they operate on more than 10 acres. The plan will restrict access to several entrances to the farm, so crews can work, but it may also overtake an area that has their greenhouses, chicken coops, storage areas, and learning garden for children. Some city council members expressed concern for the lack of information in the plan.
"It would be professional and courteous to let them know in writing whether there are any restrictions on their work. We are talking about closing two egresses, but can they not access any of that area?" questioned city council member Caren Dunn during a meeting on Tuesday. "That has never been told to us one way or another. Is it in limits or off limits?"
Nearly 150 people showed up to support the farm at that city council meeting. The group voted 8-5 to pass the proposal forward. The councilors in favor spoke about the need to decontaminate the land, and to allow the project to move forward, so the city could put the work out for bid.
"The whole point is to get the RFP proposal process going, so people can get their grants, their public and private grants. The order is pretty simple. We can vote for remediation or not, that is the task at hand. The secondary and tertiary effects aren't our role," argued city council member Sean Durkee.
There was also some concern from neighbors that the city may convert the land into something else once it is decontaminated. The land is under Article 97 protection and can only be used for open space agriculture or recreation. When UMass originally went to sell the land, a school and a hospital were interested in buying it. One city council member assured the public that the intention of the council is to keep the farm long term. He went as far as insinuating that the purchase actually saved the farm because the land wasn't sold to the other two entities.
The farm is talking with their board to figure out what to do next. They will have to re-apply for a license with the city now that the land has been sold.
