Westminster Boards Unanimously Oppose Returning 10 Acres to Developer at Special Town Meeting

Planning Board · Meeting of July 21, 2026

ASHBURNHAM — Westminster boards oppose returning Crocker Pond parcel to developer, urge negotiated alternative. The Westminster Planning Board and Open Space Committee voted unanimously Tuesday to oppose a citizen's petition set for an August 4 special town meeting that would transfer a 10.042-acre parcel adjacent to Crocker Pond Beach back to Crocker Pond Properties Incorporated — Robert Francis's company — for $1, reversing a transaction from approximately 2002 in which Francis conveyed the land to the town with the expectation the town would build its own road to the beach. Francis appeared before the joint boards and described nearly two decades of failed attempts to recover the land or secure compensation, saying he has maintained the private bridge and driveway the town uses to access Crocker Pond Beach at his own expense.

"This has been a battle for 19 years," Francis told the boards. "They've been using Crocker Pond, my road, and my bridge for 19 years without one person saying thank you." The boards authorized a joint statement to be drafted recommending the town instead purchase Francis's separate landlocked Parcel D at fair market value as a partial alternative remedy, rather than returning the contested parcel.

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Source: the Planning Board meeting of July 21, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.