Around town in Westwood.
What the year looks like here, who runs what, and the things nobody tells you until after you move in.
A town that still
votes in a room.
Westwood was set off from Dedham in 1897, and almost a hundred and thirty years later it still decides things in a room. The budget, the zoning and the fire station all pass or fail at Open Town Meeting, where any registered voter may speak and vote.
Prices, inventory and what is for sale live on the Westwood page.
Practical Westwood
Check with the town before you act on any of it.
Trash and water
There is no transfer station. Everything is curbside, contracted to Waste Management, barrels out by 7 a.m. A second trash barrel is $150 a year and a second recycling barrel a one time $60. Water comes from the Dedham Westwood Water District and sewer is MWRA.
Permits and building
Building Division, 50 Carby Street. Applications go through ViewPoint Cloud online and are reviewed within thirty days. Westwood has enforced the Massachusetts Stretch Energy Code since January 2013, which matters on any renovation.
Voting and licenses
Five precincts, one polling place: the high school gym at 200 Nahatan Street. Dogs are licensed by March 31 each year, $15 spayed or neutered and $20 if not, and the town wants the rabies certificate with it.
The Westwood year
The same things happen in the same months.
Spring
Annual Town Meeting in May settles the budget and the bylaws. The Community Chest holds its Gala of Giving in April. Memorial Day closes the month with a parade.
Summer
The farmers market runs Wednesdays from June into mid October in the St. Margaret Mary lot on High Street. Recreation and the fire department stage the Firefighter’s Foam in July.
Fall
Westwood Day fills the high school on a Saturday in September, with a 5K first thing. A fall Town Meeting sits on the second Monday in November when enough articles come in.
Winter
Luminary Night lines the streets on the first Sunday in December, twenty dollars a kit, the money going to Community Chest grants. Fireworks close the year at the high school.
One evening in March 2026 raised more than fifty thousand dollars for grants to people who live here.
That is the Gala of Giving, run by the Westwood Community Chest, which has made short term, confidential grants to Westwood households since 2006. Roula Bakis serves on its board.
Where the town takes care of itself
Eight of the organizations that keep the town running.
Westwood Community ChestEmergency help, decided by neighbors
Run by a volunteer board and confidential by design. A household that needs help with rent, heat, a car repair or a camp fee applies to neighbors, and the board votes on the application by number rather than by name. Short term assistance for Westwood residents facing unexpected hardship.
How the Chest works, and how to share it·westwoodcommunitychest.org ↗Westwood LivingThe town magazine, in print
Published by Best Version Media and delivered free in print. Profiles of residents and business owners month after month, plus local stories, events, digital media and podcasts.
westwood-living.com ↗Westwood Youth & Family ServicesA town department, not a charity
Running since 1986 out of Wentworth Hall at 273 Washington Street. Licensed clinicians, counseling, mentoring, youth programs, family support and referrals for Westwood children and families.
Read the full page →Westwood Food PantryFood assistance for residents
Food and essential support for residents of Westwood experiencing temporary or long term food insecurity.
westwoodfoodpantry.org ↗Westwood Historical CommissionHistoric resources and demolition review
An advisory body on the history of the town, with review authority over proposed demolitions of structures built before 1911. Meetings, records and preservation matters.
townhall.westwood.ma.us ↗Westwood Land TrustOpen space, held in trust
Promotes the protection and stewardship of open space and natural resources in the Town of Westwood.
westwoodlandtrust.org ↗Westwood Council on AgingPrograms for residents 60 and older
Programs, information, referrals and support for Westwood residents age 60 and older. Outreach social services are available regardless of age.
townhall.westwood.ma.us ↗Hale EducationCamp, trails and ponds
Robert Sever Hale opened his land to scouts in 1918; Today it runs summer camp, school programs and mountain biking across the woods and ponds west of town. In 2026 The Trustees of Reservations took a conservation restriction over the Hale woods and ponds across Westwood and Dover, the largest piece of land protected in Massachusetts in over a century, paid for with private gifts rather than town money.
hale1918.org ↗Questions people ask
before they move here
How does Westwood actually make decisions?
At Town Meeting. Westwood has an Open Town Meeting, which means any registered voter can turn up and vote rather than elect a council to do it for them. A hundred and seventy five voters make a quorum. The annual meeting sits in May, and a fall meeting on the second Monday in November when there are enough articles to warrant one. A three member Select Board and a Town Administrator run things in between.
Can I rent out a house in Westwood short term?
Only if you live in it. Town Meeting adopted Article 30 in May 2026, and it requires the owner to occupy the property for at least nine months of the calendar year to offer it as a short term rental. If you are buying with rental income in mind, read that article before you write an offer and talk to the Building Division.
What is the difference between Westwood and Islington?
Islington is a village inside Westwood, not a separate town, on the eastern side toward Norwood. It has its own commuter rail stop on the Franklin line, a town services office in Wentworth Hall, and a small commercial center that was rebuilt over the last decade with housing, shops and a new town building.
We are moving in. Where do we start?
Tell us the month you arrive and what is still unsorted. Trades, school registration, what the town needs from you in the first weeks, which leagues and clubs are still taking names. Call, email or write, at the bottom of this page.
New to Westwood
This is not a home search. If you have already bought here, or the closing is behind you and the move is ahead of you, tell us what is still unsorted and we will answer it as neighbors.
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