Town Meeting rejects CPA surcharge cut, 291-89

Town Meeting · Meeting of October 26, 2026

Westford Special Town Meeting rejected a citizen petition to cut the Community Preservation Act surcharge and adopted a new energy code for new construction. Voters defeated sponsor Dennis Galvin's proposal to lower the CPA surcharge from 3 percent to 2 percent by a vote of 291-89, after Finance Committee Chair Christina Green said the plan carried too much financial risk and "would not automatically provide any relief" to the operating budget. Opponents including the Affordable Housing Trust, Historic Commission and Parks and Recreation Commission warned the cut would roughly halve the fund's annual spending power.

Separately, voters adopted the state's specialized energy code for new construction effective January 1, 2028, by a vote of 251-173, after debate over costs and reliance on National Grid. Town Meeting also approved $1,798,064.98 in PFAS settlement spending, new battery-storage zoning standards (362-50), and a sewer easement for a 35-unit senior housing project at 35 Town Farm Road (348-32).

In the full story:

• Housekeeping and Opening Business
• Article 1: Small Clean Energy Infrastructure Facilities Zoning Bylaw
• Article 2: Specialized Energy Code
• Article 3: FY27 Operating Budget Adjustments
• Article 4: PFAS Settlement Fund Appropriation
• Articles 5 and 6: DPW Fueling Station Revolving Fund
• Article 7: Capital Appropriations and Digitization Transfer
• Article 8: Sewer Easement for 35 Town Farm Road
• Article 9: Additional All-Alcohol License for Gutierrez Company
• Article 10: Citizen's Petition to Reduce the CPA Surcharge
• Who Was There
• Organizations And Documents Referenced
• The complete report: 3,686 words

Source: the Town Meeting meeting of October 26, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.

Checked against the record: before publication this article was automatically compared with the meeting transcript.