WESTFIELD – The Planning Board and City Council will both conduct public hearings this week on a petition to change the zoning of property at the intersection of North and Root roads from its current Commercial A classification to Business A.
Ralph, Joseph and Nicholas Cocchi are requesting the zone change to support operation of a farm brewery at that location. The business would not only involve small scale brewery operation, but also retail sales and serving of alcohol on premises.
The Planning Board, which provides a recommendation to the City Council, will conduct its public hearing Tuesday night, while the City Council will have a hearing Thursday night. The brewery operation will also need permits from the state Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission, as well as the city’s License Commission.
The zone change is being made because a farm brewery business does not fit neatly into any of the current zoning classifications.
Principal Planner Jay Vinskey, in a communication to Building Superintendent Jon Flagg, suggested that the property be reclassified as Business A.
“Specifically, the subject use is proposed to include retail sales, processing, tasting/service of alcohol, storage and wholesale operation,” Vinskey said in the March 24 letter. “Such use does not fit neatly into any of our use categories or districts. Commercial A only allows the retail component and associated processing.”
“Rezoning to the next most similar zone, Business A, would allow the Commercial A retail and process uses, plus indoor storage, wholesale and service of alcohol for consumption on-premises,” Vinskey said. “The zoning ordinance further limits the scale of many of these operations to a portion of the floor area or use, so the proposal will need to conform to those restrictions.”
“In any rezoning proposal it is important for the Planning Board and City Council to consider the larger planning objectives, including the potential impact of any use which would be allowed under the Business A (zoning). This specific area is already commercially zoned, seemingly with the intent of encouraging a small village center,” Vinskey said.
“However, Commercial A has proven fairly restrictive in accommodating a diverse range of businesses,” Vinskey said. “As such, many of the few Commercial A areas in the city remain residential. The less restrictive Business A district may better foster the original commercial intent for this area.”
If the City Council approves the zone change, the petitioners will still have to seek a special permit from the Planning Board because the property falls within the city’s Water Resource overlay district. The special permit is required to ensure groundwater, which includes the city’s aquifers, protection.
