WESTFIELD – The City Council voted at its Thursday Nov. 21 meeting to keep a state home-rule petition to accept paper Mill Road in committee to facilitate approval by the state Legislature.
The issue was discussed in the council’s Legislative & Ordinance Committee prior to the regular meeting to discuss sequencing of the home-rule petition submission before it is submitted to the state for consideration.
The City Council has initiated a home rule petition process seeking authorization from the State Legislature to “consider Paper Mill Road to be a public way” to facilitate a road improvement project.
The issue is that the city cannot use Chapter 90 funding from the state to improve unaccepted streets. Residents own to the middle of the pavement, so each resident has to agree to surrender their interest for the property under the roadway to the city, and expensive and time consuming process.
Susan Phillips, Law Department supervisor, said that the most expensive part of that resident deed release process is the recording fee of $125 per deed. Philips said that some property owners are holding out in the expectation of a sizable payment if the land is taken through eminent domain, which according to Phillips would be a miniscule cost compared to that of recording the deed releases.
Ward 6 Councilor Christopher Crean has pushed for finding a solution to improve the roadway used by residents, businesses and school buses. Crean said the legislative approval of the home-rule petition is needed to remove any final obstacles.
“People have been trying to do this for 30 years, long before I came on board,” Crean said. “That road is in deplorable condition.”
Phillips suggested that the L&O keep the petition in committee until the Engineering Department completes a street lay-out order which can be shown to residents at the public hearing required as part of the home-rule petition process.
That street layout has to be accepted by the City Council and submitted to the Legislature as part of the petition package.
Phillips said the petition could go forward without the street lay-out being presented to Paper Mill residents, but the fact that the residents did not have an opportunity to study the layout design and comment could weaken the city’s argument for legislative approval of the petition.
Ward 4 Councilor Mary O’Connell said she “is not a big fan of home-rule petitions,” but would support that process in the Paper Mill Road case. O’Connell asked Phillips if the city could bundle other streets into the home-rule petition.
Phillips said that the process of surveying and laying out other streets would only drag out the timeline of legislative acceptance of Paper Mill Road as a public way. Approval of the home-rule petition would allow the city to include Chapter 90 funding into the financial mix of improving the roadway which would include installation of new drainage and paving.
