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Date: 4/13/2021
SOUTHAMPTON – During a public hearing on April 7, the Southampton Planning Board voted in a 2-2 gridlock for a motion to not recommend a zone change for 173-175 College Hwy.
According to Southampton Town Administrator Ed Gibson, a gridlock vote is the same as a “no vote,” which means that the request for 173-175 College Hwy. to become a Commercial Village rather than a Residential Village “is not going to move forward” at this time. The Planning Board made this motion on the basis that they do not know what is going to be developed there. Gibson added that the vote does not guarantee a zone change to occur, but rather the vote gives a recommendation to the Selectboard to put it as a warrant article, or not. Ultimately, the population of Southampton would have the ability to vote on this sometime in the future, according to Gibson.
American Dream Realty LLC, an independent real estate company located in Westfield co-owned by Emmanuel Sardinha and Paul Sardinha, was the applicant looking to change the location to a Commercial Village for developmental purposes.
Robert Levesque of R Levesque Associates Inc. in Westfield, spoke on behalf of the Sardinhas, and said that American Dream Realty wanted to get the zone change approved first before establishing a concrete plan about what type of development would go up in that location. The 1.62 acres of land, according to Levesque, is currently vacant.
“We have a contract there, we’re looking to stay there and develop that property,” said Paul Saridinha, with regard to the location.
American Dream Realty also owns properties and stores in Westfield, Northampton, Williamsburg and Easthampton, according to Levesque. They own commercial properties that are both plaza and standalone “generally associated with Dunkin’ Donuts.”
“The initial intent was for [American Dream Realty] to locate a Dunkin Donuts on this property,” said Levesque. “Not saying that is still the ideal intent.”
During the public hearing, many attendees expressed their concern for the fact that the applicants did not have a plan for what may be developed there. Robert Kozub of the city’s Historical Commission said that the Historical Commission agreed to oppose commercial development on this site because it sits directly in the state and federal Southampton historic district, and is near the Center Cemetery, which is a national registered historic site.
“Were we to rezone this to commercial, it could inhibit further preservation efforts in that area,” said Kozub, who added that traffic and safety issues would also cause problems if the zone were changed to commercial.
Planning Board member Cindy Palmer expressed opposition to the zone change, arguing that the lack of a concrete plan and absence of a traffic study at the moment causes concern.
“To properly show you any potential impact of that intersection, we really need to develop a plan based on uses that are allowed,” Levesque said, in response. With no site plan designed yet, there is no opportunity to present a full-on traffic study, he argued.
Regardless, Palmer voted against the possibility of a zoning change because she does not think this is the right area to develop a location for increased tax revenue. “I think we have other options, and I think we need to be looking to develop our commercial area better than it’s being currently developed, she said.”
Paul Diemand, chair of the Planning Board, was one of two members who voted against the recommendation to not approve the zoning change. “Where that parcel sits is on the very fringe of the historic village,” said Diemand. “Had this been proposed further down into the center of town, without question I would not have any doubt that it would not be a fit.”
He added that, given the proximity, he believes that the zone change would fit within the rest of the business area, and not impact the cemetery across the street.
Levesque ended the meeting by saying that American Dream will look into possibly developing the property for mixed use-both residential and commercial-but nothing was confirmed with regard to that. According to Diemand, the vote is under legal review by the town counsel, as of press time. Paul Furgal, the fifth member of the Planning Board, was not present for the meeting.