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Date: 4/12/2023
WESTFIELD — After three hours of deliberation during a third public hearing, the Planning Board voted unanimously to grant a site plan and stormwater permit for the Cycle Street self-storage project, with a long list of conditions.
Rob Levesque of R. Levesque Associates, representing the applicant, made a plea at the start of the hearing to keep the focus on Planning Board items for review. “We’ve received a lot of conflicting information that’s been presented,” Levesque said.
He said residents with questions regarding environmental regulations should refer to the project’s filing with the city Conservation Commission, and file comments received from the state Department of Environmental Protection and city conservation coordinator.
He noted that self-storage is allowed by right in industrial zones such as the Cycle Street property.
Addressing comments made by Planning Board associate member Rich Salois at a previous meeting, Levesque said the developer will not move the access gate, which will remain directly opposite the end of Cleveland Avenue. Salois had asked that it be moved to the middle of the block.
“We have not moved it, it won’t slow people down,” Levesque said. “If anything, we think it’s an illogical offset.”
He also said moving the access gate could interfere with future plans to develop other parts of the Cycle Street industrial property.
Salois proposed a speed bump to slow traffic entering and exiting the facility. Levesque said he would instead recommend a speed table.
Several residents of the neighborhood spoke in opposition to the plans, some for the first time, some in their second and third visits to the Planning Board.
Andy Koch of East Silver Street said for him the proposal is a public safety issue.
“There are going to be 500 units. Lozier, Cleveland, all the streets around there, people walking dogs, walking kids. … Now we have all this additional traffic coming in. Is it really worth disturbing a whole neighborhood for what — self-storage? Last week, there were 53 people out walking and exercising down that area. My concern as a resident is that somebody is going to get killed,” Koch said, adding, “My dog got killed last year. Truck with power brakes, dog got spooked, and my Newfoundland got killed.”
He said he might support the factory increasing its production, as that would mean more jobs, but only two or three people would be working in the storage units. Koch said the area is the oldest neighborhood in town, and his house is the oldest house in town.
“We have looked at the public safety aspect of things,” said Robert Levesque. He said the neighborhood is symbiotic with Columbia Manufacturing. “From a public safety issue, we meet all of the site distance requirements. This is the least obtrusive. We agree with you — we purposely chose self-storage. We meet and exceed all of the requirements. We are not impacting the neighborhood; we are doing all of our work on the subject property.”
Levesque said there are a couple of different ways to protect the neighborhood, including signage and a reduction in the speed limit, which he said the ward councilor Ralph Figy took to the Traffic Commission, which agreed to lowering the speed to 25 mph on Cleveland Avenue. Levesque said enforcement is the key.
Several residents raised concerns about flooding issues, and how current flooding in low spots, especially on Gold Street, would be impacted or improved by the proposal. Levesque said the stormwater basins are on the other side of the property and the drainage goes in the generally opposite direction. He also said the property is not in the flood zone.
Conditions imposed on the site plan by the Planning Board included a speed table at the entrance, an eight-foot solid brown fence and row of arborvitae on residential borders, and chain link fences in the rear of property. Root zone protection for a big maple tree at the entrance to the property was also conditioned, and all plantings are to be done during the first phase of construction.
Other conditions included adherence to a list of prohibited items for the self-storage units, including pesticides and hazardous materials; no climate-controlled storage units without prior approval; no commercial deliveries to the site; no electrical outlets in the units; motion-activated security lights and security cameras operating at all times.
Conditions also include hours of operation of Monday to Friday, 6 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday, 7 a.m. to 8 p.m., and not more than 10% of the space to be rented to contractors.