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Date: 6/28/2023
WEST SPRINGFIELD — The Western Growers property may be redeveloped as housing, but it will be limited to 5.5 dwelling units per acre.
West Springfield’s Town Council on June 20 voted 5-4 against a proposal from property owner Paul Seymour to increase that limit to 6 units per acre. The change would have required amending the Special Use (Multifamily) zoning ordinance.
“No” votes came from councilors Brian Clune, Anthony DiStefano, Brian Griffin, Jaime Smith and Edward Sullivan. The amendment would have required a six-vote supermajority to pass.
District 4 Councilor Daniel O’Brien, whose district includes Piper Cross Road, said the nearby Windpath condominium project was built using the current density requirements, but did not install sidewalks and curbing, both of which are now mandated by zoning. Letting the developer build a few more units would offset the cost of infrastructure, he said.
Joyce Corbett, a Piper Road resident, asked councilors to take a stand against “25 years of nonstop construction” in the area. She said the town should buy Seymour’s land and build a park there.
“I want to have the same quality of life that all of you have in this town,” she said. “We don’t have it in District 4. We feel like second-class citizens.”
O’Brien said neighbors concerned about development on Piper Cross Road should have taken action earlier. Last year, he said, the mayor proposed siting a public works yard on this property, but backed off after neighbors objected. At that time, O’Brien said, he told the neighbors to start campaigning for the town to buy the land and preserve it as open space, but nobody took the initiative.
The SU-M district covers only a few properties bordering Springfield Country Club. On Seymour’s land, currently a flower nursery with frontage on Piper Cross Road and Morgan Road, the zone change would have allowed him to build 44 units rather than the 40 he is allowed under current zoning.
Sullivan temporarily stepped down from the council president’s seat to say he opposes any measure that would increase housing density in town. He said the 2022 apartment complex proposal on Whitney Avenue brought out horror stories about crime and public safety problems at dense developments.
Councilor Michael Eger said he supported the Seymour plans precisely because he had opposed the Whitney Avenue proposal.
“If we say ‘no’ to high-density apartment buildings, we have to say ‘yes’ to something,” Eger said.
Also at the June 20 meeting, Eger announced that he will not run for reelection this year, which means District 1 — consisting largely of the downtown, Merrick and Memorial Avenue neighborhoods — will have a new representative in 2024.