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Date: 4/4/2023
CHICOPEE — Due to the lack of information regarding a proposed Tesla electric vehicle dealership and service center on Burnett Road, the conversation was tabled to the April 19 Zoning Committee meeting.
On behalf of the applicant, Scannell Properties, Attorney Todd Brodeur went before the Zoning Committee on March 29, to explain that this section on Burnett Road requires a special permit and site plan, along with a traffic impact analysis.
Brodeur said they are also seeking a zone change petition because the lot is currently split zoned – almost two-thirds in the industrial zone and about one-third in the industrial garden plan unit development type. The purpose is to create continuity for the entire parcel.
As the applicant proceeds through the permitting process, Brodeur said it will need site plan approval from the Planning Board and approval from the Conservation Commission because there is some work within the buffer zones of wetlands.
The site on Burnett Road is about 7.1 acres. The proposal, as explained by Brodeur, is an approximately 50,000-square-foot building which is predominantly a service center. “There is a small area for display of vehicles but it’s really only two or three vehicles that are on the site at any given time,” he said. There is also a 7,200-square-foot parts center for that servicing to be done on site.
“The intended use of the site is by Tesla,” shared Brodeur. “They produce electric vehicles so there’s no gas — this isn’t hybrid — it’s all electric.”
He went on to say that customers will be able to come to the site to take test drives, with about four to six demo vehicles to choose from. Compared to traditional car dealerships, Brodeur said this will not have hundreds of inventory cars on site. Most of the business is conducted on a computer — customers do not walk around saying, “I want that blue one over there,” Brodeur said. “It’s a different type of process.”
All the service work will be conducted on-site including tire replacement, alignments, battery replacements and more. Brodeur said most services are completed within an hour or two and customers would be able to wait in the lounge area. If it takes longer or the customer cannot wait, there would be loaner cars available.
A total of 48 bays are projected to be in the building.
Brodeur noted that hazardous chemicals stored on site are extremely minimal.
The employee count is expected to be around 35. As this is a new facility, Brodeur said it would supply new jobs for mechanics, support staff, salespeople, managers and more.
An overview of the site plan and components of the project was shared by Austin Turner of Bohler Engineering, the land development and civil engineering consultant on the project.
This project was designed to be “dimensionally conforming,” said Turner. He pointed out that the proposal includes a single drive access onto Burnett Road. Customer and service parking is in the front of the building, and parking on the perimeter is for operational needs such as new vehicles that have been dropped off. The total number of parking spaces is 395.
“We fully intend and expect that this will be compliant with both the city’s as well as the state’s stormwater policy,” said Turner. He added that the stormwater system is “pretty robust” and they are getting into the design for that.
Scott Thornton with Vanasse Associates Transportation Engineers and Planners said a standard traffic assessment was prepared for the project. He shared that they looked at four intersections — three existing intersections that are signalized and one proposed intersection that is not. The one proposed is at the intersection of the site driveway at Burnett Road, while the other three intersections include Lombard Road, First Avenue and the Interstate 291 ramp that intersects with Burnett Road.
Traffic counts were done in November 2022 by looking at three time periods: weekday morning, weekday evening and midday Saturday. Seven hours of traffic count data was gathered from each time period.
Thornton noted that “a fairly comprehensive review” was done of existing conditions including crash data, site distances, vehicle speeds and more.
“We did take those traffic volumes [and] we made the appropriate adjustments for seasonal considerations. That gave us our 2022 existing conditions,” said Thornton. With this data, they can project what the traffic would generate over the coming years.
Thornton shared a trip distribution map with the Zoning Committee to show traffic volumes and more. He noted that it is a conservative assessment.
Based on the findings, Thornton said they are looking at a 2 to 4% traffic increase because of the project, which is “a pretty small increase” in terms of the hourly impact. He does not anticipate a huge increase in delays at specific intersections and said there is a “minimal traffic impact” to the area.
Chicopee Planning Director Lee Pouliot explained that the committee is viewing conceptual plans because they have not yet been submitted to the Planning Board or Conservation Commission.
Pouliot said he could not give much more information until a technical review is complete, which will not be until it goes before the Planning Board. However, he said the proposal is “perfectly acceptable use” and the council should allow it to start moving through the review process.
Ward 6 Councilor Derek Dobosz said, “Initially I was really in favor of this. I’m not saying I’m opposed to it but it’s just a little bigger than I’m comfortable with.”
He continued, “I believe that there should be an entrance and exit to this property at the traffic light.” If the entrance is between the intersection and Dunkin’, as it looks on the proposal, he believes there will be challenges getting in and out. He said that a left traffic arrow would also need to be added to aid with the traffic flow.
Although not voting on the zone change from industrial garden to industrial at the time of the meeting, Dobosz said he is not in favor of it. He shared that he checked, and this can be built under an industrial garden.
Dobosz asked the committee for a little more time for him and his residents to “swallow” this information.
Councilor At-Large Frank Laflamme asked about the need for the number of parking spaces. Brodeur said this includes employee parking, customer parking, people receiving service and so on. This is a location where new vehicles will be delivered and await customer pick up. “There is a purpose behind all of the spaces. It is not meant to park a number of inventory on the site,” said Brodeur.
Councilor At-Large Robert Zygarowski said he agrees that the entrance and exit point should be at the light and a traffic arrow should be implemented. For traffic to flow smoothly, he said the whole area would have to be altered.
Ward 8 Councilor Gary Labrie said he would like the city engineer’s input on the plan before moving forward.
Pouliot said the city engineer, Police and Fire departments and DPW superintendent will review the preliminary plan and definitive plan. Like any project, he said there will be changes. Pouliot noted that the committee is seeing this much earlier than usual. “I would caution you to not over restrict now and then tie the hands of your reviewing departments when it gets to them,” he said.
To address some of the councilors’ concerns, Brodeur noted that they are in the process of looking at options for the entrance and exit points, including where the traffic light is.
Ward 3 Councilor Delmarina López asked if the excess need for parking spaces is for supercharging stations. In the proposal, there are six supercharging stations. To eliminate any further traffic, she said there should not be more than six.
Zygarowski asked about the hours of operation and when the charging stations could be utilized. The expected hours are Monday through Saturday, 8 a.m. to 7 p.m., and Sunday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Charging stations are not intended to be open all hours of the day.
When it came time for public input, Chicopee resident David Rossi said the entrance and exit point to this location must be at the traffic light because anywhere else, “would impact Burnett Road like no tomorrow.” He also pointed out the concern with fire, as he said recent reports have shown that the electric cars combust when too close to one another.
Rossi expressed that the residents need more information on this, and the developers need to provide that.
Zoning Committee Chair George Balakier said this is an “interesting proposition,” with the biggest concern being traffic. However, with much to address, Zygarowski said this item should be tabled for the time being.
With several unanswered questions, López suggested allowing interested councilors to submit questions to the applicant prior to the next meeting.
She made a motion to table this until April 19 with a stipulation of a letter from Balakier working with the committee members as well as Dobosz, the ward councilor, with questions so that the applicant is better prepared. All questions must be submitted to the City Council Office by April 7 to forward to the applicant. The administrative assistant will send the questions directly to the applicant. No councilors will be able to view the questions prior, to avoid any Open Meeting Law violations. The motion was approved.
The April 19 meeting will take place at 6:30 p.m. in the Council Chambers at City Hall.