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Date: 10/11/2023
WEST SPRINGFIELD — After the developer found about a dozen more parking spaces and said he is open to changes in how his apartments are configured, the Town Council on Oct. 2 approved a zone change for a long-abandoned downtown nursing home.
With residential zoning now in place, Tyler Saremi can proceed with the permitting process at 217 Westfield St. He had told councilors in September that he wants to renovate the existing building, which has been vacant since 2004, as an apartment complex with 45 one-bedroom units, three two-bedroom units and three studio apartments.
Council President Edward Sullivan delayed the vote on the zone change at the Sept. 19 meeting, saying he needed to see a parking plan that would comply with the town’s zoning requirements. Saremi’s original plan called for 65 parking spaces.
Robert Levesque, representing the developer, said on Oct. 2 that the town’s Residence C zoning district requires 2 parking spaces per apartment, if the unit has more than one room. Studio apartments require only 1½ parking spaces per unit. Levesque said he and Saremi looked over their plan and believe they can increase the amount of parking on site to 76 spaces. During the permitting process, they will ask for a modification of the requirement, but they are also prepared to meet zoning requirements by changing some of the planned multi-room apartments into studio apartments.
Councilors voted 7-0 to allow the zone change. Councilors Michael Eger and Jaime Smith were not present.
Elm St. turn restriction
Councilors also unanimously approved Kings Highway resident Ed Connor’s request for a “no turn on red” restriction for drivers turning right from southbound Elm Street onto Kings Highway.
“Visibility coming up the hill is terrible from both directions,” he said, and every day he sees drivers “take a right onto Kings Highway without even slowing down,” sometimes resulting in near-collisions.
Councilor Michael LaFlamme said the council’s Traffic Committee found there hasn’t been a large volume of crashes at that intersection, but police “agreed that really, it’s one waiting to happen.” He noted that drivers coming north on Elm Street have a green left-turn arrow while southbound traffic is stopped, and a driver unfamiliar with the intersection, taking a right on red, may not know to expect oncoming traffic.
Although all councilors present agreed to this restriction, Councilor Anthony DiStefano said the proliferation of “no turn on red” signs in town has become a “pet peeve” of his. Councilor Sean Powers agreed, singling out the turn restriction for traffic from Park Street to Elm Street, which he said causes backups as long as 40 cars during afternoon commutes.
Early voting
Town Clerk Otto Frizzell said in-person early voting in this year’s town election will be 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on weekdays, Oct. 30 to Nov. 3. Voters from all parts of town will vote early at the town library at 200 Park St., West Springfield.
Election Day polls will be open 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Nov. 7, with precincts 1 and 2 voting at the Senior Center, 128 Park St., and precincts 3-8 voting at West Springfield High School, 425 Piper Rd.
Frizzell said the usual turnout for a municipal election is 15%, but based on the number of requests received for mail-in ballots, he is now predicting a heavier turnout. The only races on the ballot are for town councilors and School Committee members. The mayor is in the middle of a four-year term and not up for election this year.