One of the most developed towns in South County, Westerly has few remaining areas of undeveloped land suitable for growth. As a result, competition is stiff between the town, preservation groups, and developers. Most of the currently undeveloped land is comprised of wetlands and forests in the northeast section of the town. Wetlands are considered to be land unsuitable for development under town and state regulation and therefore do not require formal open space protection. Town regulation also cites in their Site Design Standards that "significant trees or stands of trees or other vegetative species that are rare to the area or are of particular horticultural or landscape value are preferred areas of preservation in site design". Some of these forests are already protected as open space, however others might be considered in the future. Additionally, based on the town's comprehensive plan, the council has adopted regulation to protect and care for trees along roadways and other publicly owned property to maintain and enhance the aesthetic quality of Westerly.

(click on map to enlarge) Source: RIGIS