##VIDEO ID:https://vimeo.com/1049143912## Good evening. It is seven o'clock and we calling the January 21st, 2025 planning board meeting to order. First on the agenda is public participation on any matter, not subject to a public hearing. Does anybody in the public wanna talk about anything that goes on in the city? Uh, next is review and approval of our January 7th meeting. Uh, minutes. I'll make a motion to accept the January 7th minutes. I second. All those in favor? Aye. Next is, um, review of plans, not requiring approval on the subdivision control law. We have two of them. The first is 32 East Silver Street, Maurizio Brothers Management. So this should look pretty familiar. Um, this was an infill special permit recently approved, thus the smaller frontages. Um, so it matches that approval. There is a error on the special permit date, but we could correct that. Any questions? What this, the zoning on this in this area, what's the required frontage on the street For residence? I believe it's residence B, which would be a hundred feet normally. So are they a asking for a waiver on the frontage? Well, you already issued the special permit for the info. Oh, okay. So the, the reduced frontage has already been approved. They're just trying to get the lots divided By zoning. Yeah. This is just to record the plan. Okay. Yeah. Any other questions? Your motion? I'll make a motion to approve the a r from 32 Silver Street. Second. All those in favor? Aye. Aye. Anybody opposed? Next we have 2 55 South Hampton Road. DL Holmes, LLC. Uh, same thing. This was another infield special permit for that, uh, back lot. There's a lot going on with this plan, but if you just look at the two, uh, yeah, kind of just the lot one and lot two is really all you need to concern yourself. Any questions? Anybody comments? Anybody? Uh, so that line looks like it goes through a shed or something. Is that coming down? It's called out to be raised, yeah. Garage. And what about a driveway on the second? So you did approve as part of the special permit? Uh, there was some improvements to Emerald Ave and driveway access from there, but that site plan was all part of the special permit. This is just to record the law. Okay. This makes sense to me. Do I hear a motion? I'll make a motion to approve. Okay. Uh, 2 55 South Hampton Road. I'll second. All those in favor? Aye. Aye. Anybody opposed? Okay. Um, you want me, you want make a motion? Oh yeah. Um, I'd like to make a motion to go out of order this evening. Is that Yeah. Um, what was that? Make a motion to go out of order this evening. Second. Okay. Okay. Uh, the goal being to review the city hall electronic sign, um, because they're here and, and it should be relatively quick. Okay. Um, Chris, are you available? So, just a reminder, this was one of your conditions that after 60 days you look at the sign. Take over if you would like. Good timing. Jen. How are you? Hi everybody. Hello. I'm a little late, but Best I can do on short notice. Just kidding. So we're here to review the sign. Um, the special permit, uh, as you know, we put the sign up board's up right now it's outside display so that you guys could see, uh, it's being run at 32nd intervals to change, um, the graphics and the information on the sign. I did record the, um, sign earlier. We posted, um, we posted some graphics that were at a 62nd interval. I did share that video with Jay so he can, um, bring that up. Um, so you can see it if you'd like. Um, we're here to see if we can get the sign interval change, uh, reduced to, um, a ten second interval. Um, that kind of goes, uh, consistently with the timing that's on the other signs that have been allowed, uh, throughout the city. Um, the mayor's office is the office that's controlling the sign right now and all the information that goes on the sign with the IT department as a backup. Um, they don't run anything but after 10 o'clock, No, 11 o'clock, uh, or before 6:00 AM Um, So I apologize. It kind of rotates a little bit 'cause I was, I was battling the cold this morning. Um, But It's an example of what? Sorry? Like you have to rotate. Oh, that's much better. Well, I'm just trying to get a good angle. Like, You know, it wasn't Recording properly. So, um, the Rotate button on the bottom, I think it's next to the, oh, there. You just saw it changed. Yeah. That's alright. We get the idea. There's a way to rotate it. We get the idea. So you Gonna just avoid it. Can do. Um, Right there you have it, it just passed it. I, Nobody's laughing at No pressure. Jay. There we go. So this is 60. Where are the controls for that? For the, what's in the sign? What's that? Where are the controls for? What's in the sign? The Controls are through an app. Uh, it's all, uh, software. Okay. Like I said that it's a phone app or a computer app or It's either, it's either or. Um, so the mayor's office, the secretaries have access on their phones or they can change it in the office while they're, While they're Working. Okay. So all the changes gotta be made out of the mayor's office? Yes. With it as a backup. Okay. Have you had any complaints? None. I've got nothing registered in my office as far as anybody complaining. And I have seen nothing on any of the Facebook forums Now. There's nothing on nothing online. People complaining? No. City of Westfield. Nobody's online complaining. Well, not about the sign. I can't say About anything else, but in fact, everything we've got not positive. Okay. There's been no negative feedback at all. Carissa. Can you promise that there'll be no pictures of the mayor on there. Any other questions, comments? So we Set the 30 seconds for you when you were here. I believe You set it at 60 seconds. 60 60 seconds. Yes. It was 60. So we shoulda No Problem with time. You wanted to review what the colors were gonna be as well too. I know that. So That there's the Decision's on your share drive if you want to get the exact language you had, but yeah, you, you said it for 60. Yeah, I, I pulled the minutes, But there was a provision that, um, planning board chair, consult, consultation with the mayor could, um, whatever supersede or exempt that. Mm. Just to make sure I understand it. So it hasn't been the 60 seconds, it reduced down to 32nd intervals. Is that what I heard earlier? No. Well, we did a 30, it's running right now at 32nd intervals. Um, just to kind of show the 32nd interval, um, I think as you're driving by 30 seconds is still a little bit too long. Um, especially if we're going to rotate information. Uh, and it's, we're just asking for 10 to just make it consistent with the other, um, Surrounding Lines. Surrounding areas that have signs like this. Yeah. We've been running at 60. The only reason it's at 30 now is to Show. And how long has the 30 seconds been Today? Just today. Today. 30 seconds. Oh, just today. And It's gonna shut off tonight at 11. Oh, okay. 30 seconds. So if you wanted to look at it on your way out, you could, or now you at the window. It's there. I actually looked at it earlier. Good. Yeah, the colors and everything seems to be just fine. Background's fine. I like it. Except I think it should have been bigger. Anybody else with construct? Anybody else with constructive comments? Um, 10. How does everybody feel about 10 seconds? I'm good with it. 10 Is fine. 10 Seconds is a long time. Everybody else. So how do we do that? Do we amend it then to change it from the 62 a ten second in development? Yep. So normally if someone came in and then you had a 62nd interval and they want a attend, we'd go through the hearing process again, amend the permit and all that. Um, one, this one is already written in an exemption through the planning board chair. So, um, in theory, the chair and the mayor could work out something if it's determined to be in the public interest or whatever it says here. So there's that. And two, this is a city permit and the person who enforces it as the person who wants to change it. So That would be considered a minor change. Just the length of the, If you're, if you had a condition that says 60 seconds and you wanted to change it, I would say that would be, require a new permit. Oh. But again, this one is worded so as to allow flexibility. Okay. So I don't think you would need to amend it. Okay. You don't think you have to amend It? As long as the planning board chair concurs the Way I concur. Concur. I concur. In theory. He, I guess he could revoke that concurrence at any time. But so, And again, it is, you know, like those messages are perfect to me. And, you know, pulling in, you could see it dim down. It was, I like the sign. I think it's a good, I think it's a good asset. Thanks. So, alright, so we're good with, so 10 seconds Is 10 seconds. Is that what you, 10 seconds is what you want? Yes. Okay. Well, well, I have to say thank you for testing out the theory and we all got a chance and, and gave the city some time to look at it too. And so thank you for that. Well, I have to, I be honest, I have to thank, uh, the ladies in the, the mayor's office. Office 'cause they're the ones that scrambled to put everything together for me today. So, so I'm gonna thank that. Okay. Thank you. Thank You. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you guys. And thank you for all you guys do. I appreciate it. Thank you. Thank you. Next time we'll make you take your coat off. Uh, school. Next on the agenda is public hearings. Um, So as I do all the time, uh, Today we have, um, zoning special permits, site plan approvals. Um, today we have a zoning special permit, site plan approvals. After the applicants present, the proposal board members will begin to ask, begin asking their questions. We will then invite the public to ask questions of fact. We will have a separate time for the public to speak in favor of or speak against emotions. Will we recognize you? Please come to the microphone, give your name and address and direct all questions and comments to the board, not the applicant. The purpose of our public hearings is to allow the board members to collect evidence and testimony supporting and or contradicting the published legal findings. We are required to make, to approve or deny an application. We cannot act outside the bounds or of the zoning ordinances nor the storm water ordinance were also sought. Please understand, public hearings are not a community referendum nor a town meeting. We ask you to keep comments civil and positive. Remember, we all neighbors working to move, we so forward. And lastly, while you're free to express your opinion, ultimately legally, the board can only deliberate on the findings of fact not yours or our personal opinions. First on the agenda is Pioneer Valley Railroad Company LLC. For a special permit site plan, stormwater permit pre resorting ordinance three dash 1 33 4 and six dash 10 and four dash one 10 To construct a warehouse exceeding a hundred thousand square feet at am Padd Road, AKA parcel 5 55 R dash 42 slash zero. Timber on Timber Swamp Road, zoned industrial a Is the applicant here? Yes, sir. I think it's Ampa Road, right? Ampa? Yeah, Just for, I'm sorry, what was that? Uh, just Ampa Road. Sorry. Yeah, I thought I said on Pat Road. Okay. Uh, for the record, I'm Rob Levek from our Levek Associates, as mentioned by the chair, I am here representing Pioneer Valley Railroad for the proposed warehouse. Uh, as you're aware, we've had at least one public hearing before the planning board, um, since the last public hearing. We attended the Conservation Commission hearings, a few hearings, uh, and we were able to secure an order of conditions on the, on the project as proposed with some minor revisions. Uh, so we worked on that at the last planning board, public hearing. My understanding is that we were discussing some of the adjacent property owners, uh, visibility, noise, et cetera. Um, so we were able to, since the last public hearing, provide, uh, some revisions to the plans, which enhanced what I would call the landscaping along, I'll call it the west side of the property, um, directly adjacent to some of the residential abutters. Uh, as you were aware, most of the activity on the site is planned on the south side of the building. Um, and really the, uh, the loop road that's shown is only for, uh, really for fire purposes and access purposes for emergencies, et cetera. So, um, the plan is to really have most of the activity and most of the access either on the east side or the south side of the building as you come off of Van Padd Road. Um, we have a rather large stormwater basin into the kind of the east side of that. Uh, and as you can see from our site plan, the gray areas are the impervious surfaces within the site. There's a, there's a wetland area to the south of our impervious surfaces that will remain, um, that will actually be protected. There's a vernal pool within that that we're actually gonna be, uh, further protecting, um, from a regulatory standpoint. So if we could refer to sheet, uh, eight a I think it is from our site plans, what we did is we incorporated a cross section to give the planning board an understanding of some of the enhancements that we're proposing. Specific to those enhancements, uh, is a proposed 14 foot high, uh, sound barrier wall along the entire western perimeter of the property. The goal here would be to set this atop of the retaining wall. There's a retaining wall that varies in height along that west side. This would be, uh, just off the retaining wall to the east, uh, and would be 14 feet in height in addition to the wall as the wall varies. So it provides a pretty significant buffering. This to me, because of the location of the building, the fire road, uh, and the residential abutters, this seemed like the most logical solution. I have a copy of a cut sheet, um, of the walls that I'll pass around that you can take a look at. Um, but essentially it's, you know, it's a barrier wall. It's pretty substantial. It's precast noise barrier wall that would be set into basically uan, um, as you would see along a, a, a roadway corridor or other industrial uses. So it will not only prevent any sound, well, I don't wanna say any, but, uh, it will re certainly mitigate and reduce sound, um, penetration into the residential lots. Uh, the retaining wall. And then the, and as you can see from the cross section, is pretty significant amount of, um, protection that's being provided. There's also, in most cases, a pretty significant, uh, existing landscape buffer on the other side of the property line. Uh, and we certainly plan on, um, you know, providing, you know, any landscaping that we show on the landscape plan in addition to what we're showing here. But we think this is a big, it's not a cheap item as you can imagine. These are pretty significant. Um, we feel that this goes a long way in trying to address the proximity, uh, of the site to the neighbors. Uh, and certainly we're happy to answer any questions you have, but I will share with you the cut sheet. We also have some cut sheeting for the lighting that we've proposed. So you can see that if you wanna see the down lit dark sky compliant lighting that we're proposing. Thank you. Rob, how high did you say that was? How high is the proposed wall? I dunno if I can see that far. So the wall varies in height. Um, the existing ret, or I'm sorry, the proposed retaining walls, um, in this cross section, in that particular location, it's about six feet in height. So there's a six foot wall with a 14 foot high, so about 20 foot, um, Total Barrier, so to speak. Uh, I'm looking at this and you've got roadways on both sides of the building. One's 20 feet, one's 30 feet. Is the plan to use the 30 foot road as the main entrance and exit and a 20 foot for emergencies and fire equipment and that sort of thing? Correct. All, um, we'll call it all commerce or traffic to the building would be, um, focused on the north from a, um, we'll call it from a passenger car standpoint. Um, access will all be on the east side, the right side of the plan, uh, and the south side of the bottom of the plan. So the trucks, we an, we anticipate that any trucks will come in, um, they will maneuver around and then leave all on the east side. So all the truck traffic would be on the east side closer to the, uh, the canal and the rail Bill. Logistically, I'm sorry, bill, Logistically? Yes. Yep. So the loop road that you see, the 20 foot loop road that you're talking about is just gonna be for any emergency vehicles or fire access That be similar to what the, uh, the old service star do. We pile building has the same kind of road. Mm-hmm. Um, there, and I worked there for a long time and they never accessed that road the same way. Rob, did you have any discussion with the neighbors about this wall? Um, I can't say I have since the public hearing. No. Why do they, the, uh, the, I'm sorry. The inlay, the material, there's different choices. Mm-hmm. To be honest, I don't know that the, we, we don't want it to be, you know, unattractive. So, um, if there's input from the neighbors in terms of how it looks, you know, color, that type of thing, we were thinking something like a toe, you know, earth tone type of color that's not, doesn't have too, you know, not too bright, that kind of hide is kind of hidden behind the trees in their backyard would be the most ideal. But we're certainly open to, you know, ideas. I like it. I think it's a good solution. Mm-hmm. Explain to me why we have a four foot inner wall and a 14 foot sound barrier wall. So the four, I'm sorry, the four foot. So there's the, uh, I'll go to the cross section there. So on the, the cross section plan on that sheet are, does everybody have that sheet on their shared drive? Yep. Can you see that? Um, so the, so this is the building, this gray area here is the building. This is a scaled cross section of basically a little landscape area outside the building, the 20 foot driveway that, um, Mr. Sole had mentioned, another 15 foot to a wall. Okay. This wall's about, in this particular location's, about six feet high as part of any wall that you're doing that's over 30 inches, you need a, um, we need to make sure no one falls off the wall, right? So there's a little, there's like a chain link fence, right? So that's, no, no sound attenuation, nothing. That's just a little chain that's just the fence there. Mm-hmm. To keep people from falling off the wall. And then beyond that, there's the 14 foot high barrier wall. So if you're standing in a backyard, you know, line of sight kind of brings you up. And, you know, in a perfect world, you're not looking, if anything, you're maybe seeing the top of the building or something like that. But, um, and for the most part, you're screened and most, you know, again, all the sound is happening really, you know, at a lower elevation than even up here, if that makes sense. Anybody in the public have a question of fact that they want to ask? Please come to the microphone. Uh, Mike Lannan 71 Root Road. I do appreciate this, this is a good effort, but I'm still afraid that most of the business is gonna be done on this end of the building. And the slope that drops off here is about a 15 to 20 foot drop in elevation. And the sound, I, I feel that wall should have wrapped around the corner here, because that's where most of our noise is gonna come from. If, if nothing's gonna be traveling these roads, then we're not gonna have the noise on this side of the building. Um, also, I just have a question why they didn't keep this out on this end of the building where we already have am pads building or, uh, GenCos warehouse across the street, and it would've kept all the sound in that area that's already, um, used to it, I guess. And also on the, the wall area, I thought there was supposed to be a 20 foot, um, piece of land that was left before he starts any of his building, I forget what it's called. Uh, buffer. Yeah, there's a buffer was mentioned required for a 20 foot planted buffer, which the planning board can waive if there's a suitable alternative. So that was my biggest concerns are with this end, because this, this channel here travels to root road and the sound is just gonna carry. And then we have open field down here. So's, when you say noisy, are you talking about the trucks? Yeah, we're used to the trains. You know, they're gonna come across here. We're, we're used to that more or less, but these fort trucks and stuff driving in and outta the trucks, trucks backing and beeping. I don't know if this is gonna be a 24 7 operation or what, but that's my concerns. Thank you. I dunno if it's helpful, I can show you where the sound barrier wall stops. Maybe I didn't, I apologize. I was behind you so I didn't see where you were pointing. So this is the, the bottom side or south side of the building? Yes. So here's that. The low wetland area that you were talking about. Um, where were you saying you should think that area? Vista? Well, I know that, just living here, my dog barks and party yard and it just echoes up and down. This, it's like a ravine. Yeah, it's wide open, more or less in this area. So the sound just bounces and travels, echoes. So, yeah, I was concerned It goes to here. Okay, So, okay. I can then we can, we can discuss that. But so through the chair, you know, the, i, the, the idea, can you see that? I dunno if can see. Sorry, sorry sir. Um, so the idea was that the, the Gary property is to the south, right? So this is our property here. This is all wooded. This is the wetland area. Sorry, Mr. Um, so this is, uh, George and Peggy. Gary's property, it's zoned industrial. It's flat, it was filled for, as part of the Lowe's distribution center, and frankly is a pretty developable piece of property. So likely we'll end up industrials, zoned industrial. Um, so we're anticipating that that area is gonna be industrial. Just at the south of that is the old Agway building that was recently renovated. Um, so we carried that wall down to this ver and around the corner to here in attempt to, to buffer anything towards the residential properties. It could be carried along. I don't want to, I don't want to, um, extend the wall when it, it may not be necessary just because of the, it's a significant cost, but, you know, I, within reason, it could be, it certainly could be carried farther. Um, but I do believe that this will prevent pretty much most of the noise, um, that's directed towards the residential properties. That was the intent. Um, but certainly up for discussion. So it's Tahir sir, right there. That one, right? That courtesy. Yeah. I would prefer things coming to this point here, but just, I don't want to speak out of turn, but I have been talking to Mr. Here. I asked to buy some property from him and I think he's on the fence on what he's gonna do at his property. Is Ralph, is he here? Is the end of the fence on the plan here somewhere that it's designated Or? Yes. Yep. Right here it says end of proposed sound beer. Your fence right here. There's a label on sheet. Uh, well, it's on this one too, but multiple, multiple sheets. C seven five, Uh, this one's C five B on this particular one, which is the layout materials, it's probably on the landscaping plan as well. I'm, I'm actually on it right now. Rob, how far did you say that wall was gonna be around that bend? So if you're coming verti or vertical down, right? Yep. And then that first bend to the next corner. So this corner right here, can you see that? Okay. So it will stop right there or It'll come down. It'll come down along this side and then bend. That's going good ways around to that point. So it kind of wrapping the corner, but the intent was to, you know, But it doesn't go any further from that. It just stops right there. Is that, that's, that's how we have it shown. That's correct. Okay. That's why I'm seeing it, right? Yes. So I'm just, it it's, you, you can't extend it around that curve or is it just It can absolutely be extended. Again, it's a cost constraint. Um, but it's not an unrealistic request. The planning board could dictate that we do it. So Rob, if you had to guesstimate the difference between the end and the next turn there, what's that? 30 Feet from here to here? 50 Feet? Yeah. Oh no, that's a couple hundred feet. That's longer than that. A hundred? Yeah. Uh, lemme see. Scales. 40 scale. Let's call it About one 50, I think. Yeah, it's a long ways. Yeah, it's a, yeah, I mean it's, it's Split the difference. Be reasonable. I think that's a reasonable request. I, I Think so. I mean, in the end, if it doesn't help the neighbors, it's not worth putting it in, right? So I think I would agree. Well, the question came up about 24 24 7 operation. Is it gonna be, or is it gonna be pretty much a shift type thing? Is it gonna run three shifts or two shifts? One shift. I have an email if you would bear with me. Maybe ask another question where, like, pull it up. I do have an email from, you know, the operations folks. Just one Second, I wanna speak outta school. All your, you're pulling that up. Um, 24 7 noise coming. You know, the trucks is one noise. It's, it's the beeping of the forklifts and the trucks backing up. There's no loophole for that. Right? No loophole. No loophole To show. No, I mean, it's an OSHA requirement for most of that stuff, right? I mean, backup alarms and all that. Um, so yeah, I mean that's, you know, same thing with whatever their horns they have for the rail or whatever when they have a crossing. You know, those unfortunately is somewhat unavoidable. So the ward counselor, Karen Farran had, I'm sorry, Karen Fanon had some questions. Um, I'm just trying to find the right email. Sorry. I'll have to find it. Um, I know that the rail I, I've been told, and I think that comes in at different times. So that basically what's happening is they're in, in town on lock house right now. Um, and then in another facility, this is, this is one of the emails that at least that I found, um, One second just lost it. But they're in town on lock house road and they're also in another location. The idea is for them to basically take those operations, consolidate them, and then be located here. This is on property that they own. Um, the rail line is obviously theirs. Um, so they'll be able to control commerce coming in, um, in, by rail, lead by vehicle. Um, so I would assume that will have a fairly dynamic operation. I'll, I'll keep looking. I suspect if it Doesn't start out 24 7, it will end up that way. I think they would like the flexibility. Anybody wanna speak in favor of or against? I mean, Hi, I'm Lisa Landon, 71 Root Road. Um, one of the last, um, planning board meetings I, um, sat through, um, a whole lot of time was spent going over the redesigning of a roof of a house that was gonna look into someone else's yard. So the 15 bays are gonna be in my backyard, so I can't picture nobody's ever walked through with me. Like I can't picture where exactly the bays and the parking lot and everything are. Um, and I'm curious how many, how many trucks are gonna be coming and going every day? 15 bays is a lot. Um, and who will own those trucks? Is it railroad trucks? Is it just, you know, common carrier trucks? Um, I can go on family watchdog and I can know every single sex offender in the area where they live and where they work. But that doesn't really go hand in hand with truck drivers. So does the railroad know who will be on the property and literally have access to my backyard? Um, again, we asked multiple times on the hours of operations still, you know, it would be very nice to know, um, the noises that we're gonna have to get used to. Um, you know, if they can't do anything with the fence, can they buy new windows? It's kind of a silly selfish question, but we're used to having windows open and again, the, the train noises we're used to it's, um, people playing music on their speak and, and the loud speakers outside the beeping, the forklifts, um, that type of thing. Um, And I think, I think that's it. And again, I can't visualize where everything is gonna end up being. Um, we were never walked through it, um, for the layout. Um, and again, um, what access to my backyard will be available for anybody. Rob, One more thing real quick. I'm so sorry. Thanks, bill. Um, and again, can the office in, in the bays just be flipped, like put all the bays on the other side of the building and have the office over here? Rob, Rob, can you walk, um, this lady through where the bay doors are and everything in relation to the, um, houses? Thank You. Um, ma'am, what's your last name? Uh, chase. Maybe it's easier for everybody to see Over there. Walk over there. We can go to, uh, maybe the overall, I think you're right here. So you're just a, so correct me if I'm wrong, are you guys just above the Gary property? So Gary's, Gary's here. You guys here? Yep. Okay. So this is the, this is the Landon property, correct? Um, this is the Gary property that I had mentioned before. This is a wetland resource area in the backyard. This again, the wetland here. So their property is right here. Um, so that wall coming down, um, and potentially being extended as we discussed, would make sense. Um, potentially to that point. Currently we're proposing it here. Um, we would suggest probably could extending it to here knowing that there's a question and concern. Um, that said, the doors, all the doors, like we said, are on the south side. There's no way there's not enough room to get access to the, and make the north side work. Um, we've looked at that extensively, but we can as discussed, extend the, the, uh, barrier fence to that point, which I think would address their concerns. Again, this, this area here will all remain as we'll call it a vegetated buffer in addition to the wall itself in whatever, um, I'm sorry. And the, um, border, uh, not border wall, um, the, uh, sound barrier wall. So the building can't train alone just to, Uh, it's not that simple. The other meeting, they were talking about having a house struggling three, a lot of went into that tructure a lot went Into that. Yeah, I can tell you we have, we have hun hundreds of hours into this, and we have, um, an approved, uh, conservation plan that's based on this, on this layout. But we are certainly happy to extend the wall as discussed. And so just so as far as orientation goes again to the south is where the trucks will be, unfortunately for you folks would, you know, being in reasonable proximity to that. Um, So two things. Please don't assume what Mr. Gary will do with his, with his land. It is agriculture. Please don't assume and say that it will be industrialized. That's a bad thought to put into everybody's head, um, with whatever they're gonna dec decide on. Um, I would like to ask for a peer review. This will be the second request. The first one, um, through conservation was not followed through on. And the whole point, the peer review, is to make sure that they looked at every avenue of designing the building where maybe you could possibly flip it. Um, that would be my other, my other request. So with regard to the Gary property, uh, just to clarify, the Gary property is zoned industrial. That's what I had mentioned. Um, truth be told, I've looked at it probably five times in the last two years for different people. It's currently on the market list, excuse me, listed by John Reed of CBRE. So my guess is it's going to be industrial, but I'm, I don't have a crystal ball, so it's only my crystal ball's only so clear. But, you know, that's what I anticipate. Um, that said, um, as far as the peer review, uh, there's a, the discussion at the conservation commission was that, um, could they, or should they do a stormwater peer review? Uh, as you are aware, a stormwater peer review gets done by the city of Westfield engineering department, specifically Joe Ner. Um, Joe Kitner has completed his review of the subject property, uh, and the stormwater associated there with that peer review came back and had a couple questions. We addressed those questions and we received what I would call a clean bill of health from Joe to move forward and request that the, the planning board render their decision. Um, as far as peer reviews go, peer reviews are not generally, um, about the concept and layout of what we want to do or the programming of what we want to do. It's whether or not we've met the performance standards, uh, and whether or not we have addressed all of the zoning, et cetera. You're, you're, uh, clearly your, your planner is very capable as well. Uh, I don't recall ever the city of Westfield doing a peer review related to, um, design. Um, and frankly, we would not adhere to any, um, you know, peer review comments related to design in general. It would be more of a technical nature. So it's just understanding the different animals. So, um, while we respect the request, um, we understand that it is in your backyard and you don't wanna see it there. Um, but we stand by our plans and our design and would respectfully request to, uh, move forward. Thank you. Anybody else? Hi, my name is Ann Ripley. I live at 15 Victoria Circle, which is not really far from where these folks live. And I, this is my first time seeing this, so I was just wondering, what is this warehouse going to be storing? So there will be all different types of materials stored. Um, there's, we're not, um, anticipating any sort of restriction on what could be stored. Um, there, you know, there's a, uh, material safety data sheet that gets provided to the, um, fire department. So it's highly regulated if there's any sort of noxious materials or anything. Um, there are also a number of prohibited materials, um, that are not allowed to be, uh, utilized or stored. Um, so all of that gets taken care of by the fire department. Um, otherwise in general, uh, they would expect to be able to, um, transfer, uh, or utilize any sort of materials that are allowed, uh, under the current ordinances. So no specific restrictions that I'm aware of, other than the prohibited items. Nothing, nothing like dynamite like they were going to do at one point off of the road on root road. Okay. All right. That's all I got. Thank You. Anybody else I wanna ask a question of fact is, Okay, We have a draft decision, uh, special permit, site plan approval, storm water management permit, subject property and pad road, um, draft conditions. One, the site shall be developed, maintained in accordance with, with the submitted site plan and, uh, entitled proposed warehouse sheet sheets C one through C 10 and D one through D nine. Most recent revision 12 16 24 is prepared by our Lebec associates. Signed and sealed by Robert Leveta, RLA or Philippe cra OPF submitted photometric plan sheet L one by Illuminate 12 17 24. And constructed in general conformance with the submitted architectural plans by one development and construction LLC. Um, We, we, there's a spot for, um, plan revisions. We should talk about, um, extending the wall, uh, paper and digital PDF copy of the site plan incorporating any modifications here and conditions shall be submitted to the planning, uh, office prior to making the application. Uh, we have a storm, our general stormwater conditions, Um, And our draft findings as well. So, So just, just one thing on the wall. I think they're showing it at eight feet off the property line, um, which would require a ZBA special permit, but if they can keep it 10 feet away, that wouldn't be necessary. So Can you keep it 10 feet away? Yep. Okay. So the wall will be 10 feet away, so We can add, can add that as a plan revision. Okay. How do we define that last little length of, Well, How do we define that last little length of fence before the turn there? Add on to that berry fence. So you had the proposed fence, Rob, and then the next straight section. I would say, um, Approximately 150 extra feet or something? Yeah. Or the proponent shall extend the, uh, barrier fence. Um, approximately 150 feet southwest to the next vertices. Southwest or Southeast. Southeast. Thank you. Okay. Uh huh. How do you guys feel about that? Stand it. They need it. They need it. Okay. So we'll add that. Well, anything else you want to add? Anything Else? Consider, Okay. You're good with extending the wall. Okay. Uh, just to make sure. That's 14 feet high, correct? Mm-hmm. Your Honor. All the way. Mm-hmm. Yes. Thank you. Do I hear a motion to close the public hearing? I'll make a motion to close the public hearing. Second. Good. All those in favor? Aye. Aye. Aye. Doy. Hear a motion on the plan? I'll make a motion to approve. Uh, one second. Special permit for, uh, site plan approval for Amad Road. What condition and amended With conditions and amendments. Second. Rich? Yes. Bernie? Yes. Phil? Yes. Jane? Yes. John? Yes. Cheryl? Yes. And I am a yes. Thank you very much. Thank you. Next on that closes our, um, public hearings. Next on the agenda is other business. We have another hearing. Oh, oh, I'm sorry. No, that's correct. We do have another one. My apologies. Um, next on the agenda is new singular wireless P-C-S-L-L-C, doing business as at and t for a special permit pre zoning ordinance section five dash 50. Um, two, to install a wireless communication device on a city owned pole within the street right of way opposite 99 slash one 15 Springfield Road. Zoned industrial B is the applicant. Here I am. Mr. Chairman, thank you for not skipping me over. I, I, I, I really do apologize for that. Not a problem at all. Uh, just introduce myself. My name is Edward Perry. Uh, I'm an attorney at Brown Rudnick and I, uh, act as outside counsel to at and t. Uh, we actually operate as new singular wireless P-C-S-L-L-C, but do business as at and t My address is one Financial Center, Boston, Massachusetts oh 2 1 1 1. So at t is proposing what we refer to as small cell facility. Uh, these are small antennas with small equipment cabinet that attaches to utility poles within the public right of way. In this instance, we have an agreement with Westfield Gas and Electric to, uh, utilize the pole. They did issue a license to at and t, and you have a copy of that as part of the materials. Up on the screen is the, uh, a picture of the existing pole. In this instance, we're not replacing the pole. Uh, we're just attaching at and t's equipment. If you look at the left hand side elevation, uh, we basically put a 24 inch antenna. It's a canister, uh, up on the top. There's a small mounting bracket just below it. Uh, if you, uh, run down the pole, you'll see the equipment cabinet attached to the side of the pole, not on the street side. There's an electric meter, so the utility can recover. Its, uh, utility charges to at and t for operating the system. And there's a grounding rod placed in the ground, uh, beside the pole. That's the extent of the installation. The pole itself, as I said, is existing. It's kind of across the street from the car dealership there, um, kind of between the, uh, fitness center and the Walmart. And it's obviously a high traffic area, which is why at and t is interested. If you take a look at our coverage maps, you'll see we don't have very good coverage at or inside the Walmart store. Of course, we all love using our devices, uh, while we're shopping and doing other things. Uh, so that is one of the targeted areas for at and t. Uh, with that, that's the extent of the installation. Uh, the utility company will provide electricity, as I mentioned, uh, to the pole. Um, and that's it. I'd be happy to answer any questions so we can run through other materials. We did submit some photographs, uh, and some photo simulations. Uh, we also submitted an emission study, which shows that we will comply with the FCC standards. Uh, the total projected amount of emissions from this device will be 8.9% of the FCC maximum. So we're well within the, the parameter set. Uh, it's a low power facility and pretty minimal, uh, visible impact. Uh, I've probably done a few hundred of these throughout the commonwealth, uh, over the last five or six years. With that, I'd be happy to answer any questions. Is this, uh, 5G or 4G? Uh, it would be 5G and 4G. The focus would be five, uh, 4G. But you know, 5G is just part of a speed and a standard. Uh, it's, it's the frequencies that we constantly use. I know there's a lot of back and forth, uh, on the internet, about 4G and 5G. But they're all frequencies that are issued by the FCC. Uh, the emissions? I'm a no On 5G. What's that? I'm a no on 5G, just so you know. Okay. It's 4G. Is that what just Desiree says it's, It's 4G, but it, it can be 5G. Um, do, do you have to get any clearance through, um, the airport or flight plans or flight flight sites or anything Like that? Uh, not for an attachment. Uh, to the existing pole. Only adding three feet to the pole. Where's at t's closest tower? It's, let me pull out the maps. It looks like closest facility we have in a on the maps are over on Clinton and Verona Street. It's quite a ways away. Uh, Clinton did you say Clinton? Clifton and Verona. Clifton. Okay. Clifton. Oh, I'm sorry. Clifton. Um, Did I hear this correctly? Um, we're still waiting for the application fee. Yeah. Okay. Check is in the mail. No comment. Um, anybody in the public have a question of fact? Want to ask any questions about the tower? Anyone to speak in favor of? Speak against. So These zoning approvals within a public within the street right away are not really on a property per se. They're always odd to me. Um, but building sent them there in the past, you've reclassified this kind of as a site plan approval, calling it a municipal facility because it's a GE pole. Mm-hmm. Genie partnership. So, uh, like I said in the past, you've issued as a site plan approval. You could reclassify that if you want. Um, it's A little more loose, I guess. I mean, we're satisfied in any direction. Whether it's a grant of location, site plan review, or special permit. Uh, we just need to be able to pull our building and or electrical permits. Uh, we did file a determination as Jay said, uh, with the building official, they came back special permit. That's what we submit. Okay. We do have a draft decision. Site plan approval subject property Springfield Road opposite 90 number 99 1 15 Conditions pursuant to Rule 4.1, the board found valid cause of authority to impose the following condition of this approval. One. The outstanding application fee of $375 must be paid. So we'll wait for the check to come in. Um, after giving due consideration to the application testimony, evidence, uh, public hearing, the board found the proposal as depicted in plans at t site id Cran RC TB Westfield four by at t mobile sheets T one C one A 1, 2 3, signed to sealed by Derek CreER pe, um, dated 11 25 24 meets all standards for the approval required by six section six dash 10.2. Many are not relevant to this unique use. The proposal is in harmony with the general purpose and intent of the zoning ordinance. The board does not consider the facility to be a tower as contemplated by the ordinance and such devices on city pools can be considered municipal facilities and thus exempt from the requirement for special permit five dash 52 cb. Any other questions? Bring your motion. Close public hearing Motion. Close public hearing. Second. All those in favor? Aye Kim. And just, uh, if the check's in the mail, we can sit on this and if it comes in the next couple weeks, we can, we can nix that condition. Just that work for me. Can we vote on it? And it can be held into, we get the check. Uh, we can hold it for two weeks. For two weeks. I'm sorry, say that again please. We're supposed to record the decision within two weeks. So we could wait for two weeks So we could hold it for two weeks to make hold, make sure we get the check. And if, if the check doesn't come in two weeks, He'll have that condition on it. So it'll be in the condition. Yeah. What would the condition say? That Well, what Bill read. So the fee must be paid? No. If the fee's not paid, then, then, Then they can't exercise the permit. And The Permit. Yeah, I could look at that. No Check. I mean, we could leave it in either case, but I'd rather not have it in the permit if possible. Alright, There. Motion. I am mill. We approve the plant, the, uh, special permit for the tower on Springfield Road. You wanna approve it as a special permit? Pardon me? Do you wanna do it as a special permit? I thought, well, I thought that's what it was. Well, that's how it came in. But like I said, on on some of these on the past, we've done it. Special Firm is supposed to be recorded with the owner's title custody. And, and this doesn't really have an owner per se other than mass DOT. And This is site plan Approval. Site plan approval. I then I'll change the, change it to a site plan approval for the, uh, tower on 99. One 15 Springfield Road. Okay, I'll second. Um, okay. With the conditions back, lemme back that up. That's with the condition for the Check, correct? Mm-hmm. Because you didn't add that, I wanted to make sure that's Understood. Yeah. As Discussed. Okay. Okay. And I'll second. Okay. All right. Um, John? No. Jane? Yes. Phil? Yes. Bernie? Yes. Rich? Yes. Cheryl? Yes. And on me? Yes. Okay. We'll wait for the check. Thank You. Health issues That closes our, uh, special permits and, um, our public hearings now onto other business. Um, we have already done the review of the city hall sign. So we are street accepted petitions, Woodsong Road and Camp, uh, Campanella Drive, Victoria Circle, and Michael Drive. So the, uh, petitions are on the share drive, obviously referred from city council. They'll be looking for your recommendations. These are relatively new, newer roads. Um, I understand there may be some, um, Improvements Warranted for Campanelli, but that's really more engineering and BPW to look at conditions of things. Really you're looking from a planning perspective as to whether these should be public ways. Um, I just wanna clarify something that Michael Victoria was Come my name and address though, please. Ann Ripley 15 Victoria Circle. I just wanna clarify if, if I, you know, heard this wrong, that Victoria, Michael, and Woodsong Road aren't new roads. They've been around for quite a while. Over 25 years. But in, I meant in the scheme of roads, That's in. Oh, okay. Alright. And we just discovered that our development of those three roads were, were not More, meaning it's kind of built to more or less contemporary subdivision design. Comparatively, it's not There. I mean, we have some 300 year old row. So 25, 30 years is relatively new. Um, for the record, I did receive an email from um, um, ward one City counselor, Karen Fanon. Um, hi Bill. I, sorry I won't be able to make your meeting tonight, but, um, may ask you to note that Ward one city counselor. I am in favor of the street acceptance of Woodsong Road. Campanelli Cir Drive, Victoria Circle and Michael Drive. Thank you Karen. Companion Ward. One city counselor. Jim. So they want us to make a recommendation? Yes. Okay. So You can do it individually or you can do it lump sum if you have the same recommendation. Well, they're all just going from private to public. Correct? That's the petitions. Yeah. Yeah. So can we just combine it as all one together? If you want. I mean, it makes sense. Would make sense? I agree. I'll make a motion to combine 'em all under one. What'd you say, Jane? I'm sorry. I said I'll make a motion to combine all the streets together under one vote. Do I hear a second? Second. All those in favor? Aye. Do I hear a, um, recommendation for or against us? Make a recommendation to approve, uh, street acceptance petitions Per second. Second. All those in favor? Aye. Aye. Okay. Ayes have it. Next on the agenda is annual election designation officers and representation representatives effective 2 4 25. Currently, uh, I am the chair. William Carelli, vice chair and city Clerk of Cheryl Car Crowe. Um, and currently Jane Ian is authorized to sign a and r Plans. Anybody interested in sitting here please? I like it the way it is. I would like to nominate Bill morale to continue his chair Second. Sure. Nobody else wants it. I've been here a while. Thanks Guys. All right. That's a yes. Vice chair. I had like to nominate she crowing as vice chair to continue. Second. Accept. Oh, well thank you. Yes. A and ours did one nominate Jane. Yes. I'll nominate Jane. I'd be happy to accept. Okay. Second. All right. Any, anybody else we need to include here? Um, well used to have two two A and r. Signers not, not completely necessary. Anybody To sign? Anybody? Do you wanna nominate Bernie? I'd like to nominate Bernie. Who is that? You gotta give Ray something 'cause he's not here. What's That? You gotta give Ray something. 'cause he's not here. He can't accept. He's watching. Trust me. I thought about being absent. So you accept, uh, a r Bernie? Yes. We're still a pioneer. Good Far as I know. You wanna vote on that slate? I think we have to do we have to. I didn't hear a vote. I just Heard that. Yeah. Do I hear a motion? To accept the slate? Accept the slate Of of, of nominees. We have to vote on this slate. Nominees. Just because we accept doesn't mean that the board, we need to actually vote on this. We need To vote for the whole Slate. I your a motion to accept the slate of uh, which did I moved to accept the slate. Second. All those in favor? Aye. Aye. Any we opposed what's We Didn't have, uh, 'cause Rich was just appointed to PVPC, but normally we do that one, so. Mm-hmm. All right. Um, Oh, I'm sorry. Ray brought up to me 1 20, 1 0 way you talk about that. Uh, again, we've talked about it before. Kind of kicked it to enforcement and I know they're aware of it and Okay, so it's in enforcement right now, Right? I know I sent, um, I copied you in, but yeah, I know you sent, but I sent them an email with everything was going on. Apparently Ray, and by the time I got back from New Hampshire, there were vehicles parked also across the street, but they weren't there when I saw 'em. Um, but I did tell Jay and you saw my reply that I'm just gonna keep an eye on, see what's going on, what the enforcement will do. Yeah. Again, technically I don't think it's really in your purview 'cause they're not using the permit you issued. It's just a, um, a general ordinance violation. Mm-hmm. Can you say that again? It's not in our purview. Said No. 'cause I understand they're not using your permit. They're not using the what? The Permit a motor vehicle sales. Well, I have a difference opinion on that one. Only because of the fact that where do these vehicles come from? They, they're, it looks like a used car lot and there's no plates on 'em whatsoever. That's not what we agreed on. That's not what we planned. And then all of a sudden you got cars going up, parked across the street, and then the whole parking area is filled. So I'm concerned of what's actually going on over there. And we should be involved in that. Well, last night here, they did not have a sales license. So they can't be selling cars. Then how do those cars get there? 'cause I'm gonna tell you, I don't know, in the last couple months they weren't there. And then all of a sudden there's just a ton of 'em. Something's going on over there. So I have a concern. Is that not part of the aquifer as well? You can have a concern, but it's not in the purview of the board's permit. If they're not exercising the permit. But if they're not exercising the permit, where are these cars coming from and why are there so many of them over there? They're coming and going. I, I guess that's what enforcement's all about. I understand that and, and, but my thing is, is why can't we keep an eye on if enforcement is not doing what it's supposed to be doing? If it's not happening, moving these vehicles out there, we are not allowed to question it. So we can just say it's okay. Course you can. I don't like it any more than you do. Okay. And I don't think it's good for the city. And I think what they're doing is grossly wrong for the use of the property. But if they're not using our permit that we authorize, then it becomes literally this is a city issue as opposed to a planning board issue. It's the city that should be, and this should be whoever enforces things for the city, whether it's the code enforcement officer or the um, city council, or I don't know, the police department, whoever it is that enforces this, it's their issue. The minute they then we utilize our permit, then we can revoke the permit. But if Jay's correct and they're not utilizing our permit, basically this becomes part of our three minutes prior to the meeting. Anybody want to talk about anything in the city? And that's really all it does is we have no teeth. Well if, if we revoke the permit, it probably wouldn't matter 'cause they're not using it. That's right. So there's a violation there. It's just a matter of what it is. Are they storing cars? They don't have a permit for that. Are they selling cars? They don't have a permit for that. It's not our issue. You're right. But they gotta do some kind of enforcement. 'cause you can't go there once a year and expect them to comply. Right. So this is, to me, the city's gotta go in there and say, Hey, you know, you are in violation of city code, city law, city ordinance, city, this city that, and we're gonna start finding you. And you know, by the way, you have to do this, this, and this. But there's nothing we can attach. And isn't the landlord liable as well? Because he's got a tenant that's doing an unlicensed business That, I dunno. Yeah. Enforcement can be taken against the land landowner, But So in other words, we just gotta keep quiet. We can't Quiet, quiet. But I don't know that you need to Cheryl call the enforcement guy. There's no reason you can't. Oh, That's what I wanted do. He's not a bad guy. I've talked to a few Times. He's very, he's very nice. He's done A great job, I think. Yes. To answer your statement, no, we don't have to be, keep quiet about it because people are watching and you know, the power, the power of the pulpit, you know, you bring it to the city's attention and you get you young. Sometimes the squeaky wheel gets in Greece and just talking about it right now puts it on city's radar. So we are doing something we just can't request enforcement because you're not breaking, we don't power to do that. Yes. Yeah. I, I get that. Yes. But I think we should you, I think we should be brought up because it's Just a constant thing that's happening over there. Yeah. But thank you for letting me and also I'm speaking on behalf of Phrase, it couldn't be here Anything else? Talk about Yeah, the, uh, self storage on lock house road. We, when we, when we conditioned that he was supposed to put a six foot berm in the front of that thing, he's got a six inch berm. A little difference. Okay. Didn't We say we're gonna wait to a spring On that? That's the least of his worries. What do you mean? For him to finish it? No, I recall that coming up a couple meetings ago and I thought the board decided to wait till springtime. Right. And he planted bushes too, which makes no sense. Yeah. On top of the short burn in the fall. But I think Jerry's right. So we talk about addressing this in April and, and We did, but my point is that he planted bushes that are just gonna die and he's gonna have a different problem in the spring. Okay. It's not my problem, it's his problem. He's gotta build a berm. Pull out the bushes now. Right. And put more, more in there. So, um, you know. Okay. So he says he is gonna build a berm in the spring. We, we said, I didn't Know he said anything. I thought the, the board wanted to wait to discuss. I think so. I, I, I think, I think you're right Jay. Because if I'm remembering that, that was just a few months ago, wasn't it? That was brought up. Yeah. But because if you take, you can't take the trees on now. And I, that was why we were wait for the spring to see if we can salvage, protect the trees and then build the ber correctly to pu the land, the trees back on the way it's supposed to be, if I remember that correctly. Yeah. No. And I have it on a calendar for a spring meeting, so. Okay. But if you want to move it up, we can. No, let's keep it on the spring meeting. Okay. Anything else for your, a motion to adjourn? I make a motion to adjourn. Second, second.