WESTFIELD – The Planning Board voted Tuesday night to send the City Council positive recommendations on a proposed parking ordinance amendment and to exercise the city’s option to buy 13 acres of land off Northwest Road.
The Planning Board discussed the Chapter 61-A release requested by property owner John Liptak who is seeking to sell the land to an abutting property owner for $130,000. Land put into Chapter 61-A is taxed at a lower rate, providing financial relief as an incentive to land owners to preserve open space
Chapter 61-A of the Massachusetts General Laws also the city, which forfeited tax revenue by approving the lower tax rate, the right of first refusal or purchase when that property is being sold.
Principal Planner Jay Vinskey said the Community Preservation Commission voted last week to appropriate $157,500 as a contingency if no other municipal funding is available to acquire the 13.2 acres of land.
Vinskey said the property abuts the Water Resource Department well #5 and also abuts other protected land.
“The city may be interested in purchasing the property under the Chapter n61-A process,” Vinskey said. “The purchase-sale agreement is for $130,000 and the city could match that offer.
“You’d be making a recommendation to the mayor and City Council,” Vinskey said. “The CPC did authorize funding for this if no other department, such as the Water Department has the resources for the purchase of the property.”
Vinskey said if Community Preservation Act funding is used the land acquisition, the property must be placed under a conservation restriction. However if other municipal funding is used for the purchase, there is no requirement to place that restriction.
Board member Cheryl Crowe questioned if other municipal funding was used for the purchase, would the city be able to build on the site, such as a fire station or other municipal facility.
“It would be protected depending on what money was used,” Vinskey said. “It it’s CPA money it has to remain as open space.”
The board also sent a positive recommendation to amend the ordinance to allow funds generated by property owners seeking a waiver for the CORE parking requirement of one space per residential unit for a free of $2,500 per space.
The original ordinance restricts how the funds collected can be used. The current ordinance reads:
c.Fees paid to the City, in lieu of providing some or all of the required parking spaces shall be deposited into the municipal fund and shall be used solely for expenses related to adding parking spaces, improving the utilization of existing parking spaces or reducing parking demands, but not for maintenance costs. Any requests to appropriate funds from this account shall be filed with the City Council and shall then be referred to the Off Street Parking Commission, which shall have 45 days to forward their comments and recommendations to City Council before a vote of the appropriation may be taken. (12/6/2012)
The City Council is considering an amendment to loosen those restrictions and requested an opinion from the Planning Board.
Under the amendment, the fees could be used by the Off-street Parking Commission for maintenance activities. The City Council is considering an annual cap on how much of that funding would be made available to the commission.
The Planning Board approved a motion to endorse the concept of an amendment to allow a more liberal use of those funds and loosen the restriction on how the money could be spent. That motion was approved by a 7-0 vote.
Both the Planning Board and City Council would have to conduct public hearings on the actual amendment to the zoning code of ordinances.
