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Date: 5/2/2023
CHICOPEE — The Chicopee Zoning Committee met on April 26 to discuss and vote on various items.
One of the items on the agenda was a zone change application to apply the Mill Conversion and Commercial Center Overlay District for 33,130 square feet of property at 105 East St. for the purpose of allowing for future construction of a residential development. The applicant is PREM LLC. in Agawam.
Representative Rob Levesque from R Levesque Associates in Westfield explained the project.
Currently, the property is zoned Commercial A. “Commercial A only allows for a residential development within a commercial building,” said Levesque.
The former use was a temple. “The idea is to try to rebuild something in its place that mimics the general size, character and the feel of the neighborhood,” Levesque said.
The project will include orienting the building and establishing a parking area to the left of it. Initially, Levesque said they came in with 24 units but after receiving feedback from the ward councilor and neighbors regarding the density of the building, the units were reduced to 16. Now they will be two-bedroom units, which will create more space and allow parking accommodations. In the end, Levesque said it will likely be “higher end units” with higher rent.
He shared that many other uses can be developed here, but they felt residential was the best fit for this space.
Ward 5 City Councilor Fred Krampits asked the developer and Zoning Committee to take neighbors’ comments and concerns into consideration.
Jack Patrice, who lives across from where this unit will go, said it should be half of 24 units — about 10 or 12. “I have no objection they build something there,” he said.
One issue Patrice does have is with the traffic this will generate. As there are already traffic problems and speeding in the area, he believes the smaller number of units the better.
Several others expressed issues with traffic in this specific area. The Zoning Committee said all concerns — from residents and councilors — can be addressed at the next hearing.
A motion was made to allow the applicants to come forward with a residential plan – the specifics will come down the road. The motion was seconded and unanimously approved.
Tesla project
A special permit for a proposed Tesla electric vehicle dealership and service center on Burnett Road was approved with restrictions by the Zoning Committee.
The restrictions discussed at the previous meeting on April 19 include moving the entrance and exit to the traffic light on New Lombard Road and Burnett Road. There will only be 310 parking spaces, compared to the 395 in the original plan. The structure will also be limited to a 375,000-square-foot building maximum, 20 bay maximum, six off-network charging stations and battery stored properly.
The full City Council voted on this item during its May 2 meeting, after Reminder Publishing’s press time.