WESTFIELD – The City Council conducted a public hearing Thursday on a special permit to allow the new owners of the former car dealership at 99 Springfield Road to convert the existing structure for other uses, including a fitness center.
Rob Levesque of R. Levesque & Associates is representing Julie and Nabil Hannoush, who are also are seeking permits from the Planning Board and Conservation Commission to renovate the existing 26,450-square foot building.
The Planning Board is currently conducting its own public hearing on petitions for a special permit, site plan and stormwater management plan to construct an additional 26,000 square feet of retail space on the 11.36-acre site at 99 Springfield Road.
Levesque said that there are currently two other business located in the former Balise car dealership showroom and repair building which is located in a Business B zone.
“The reuse of the existing structure includes Extra Innings, a batting cage and associated retail, and a café with a patio, both of which are allowed uses in that zone,” Levesque said. “The third use, a gym, Expert Fitness, doesn’t fit into any zoning. There was nothing specific in the ordinance, the place of assembly was the closest.”
Levesque said this morning that the site plan, under review by the Planning Board, was originally for 32,480 square feet of new construction, but has been amended to 26,600 square feet because of new tenant requirements and to comply with the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) compensatory requirements. The retail space was reduced because a tenant – a bank – wants a drive-through facility.
Levesque said that the former display lot will be modified and provide 277 parking spaces. The ordinance requires a minimum of 196 spaces based on the proposed square footage of the retail complex.
The site currently has two curb cuts for access and egress. Several members of the city council questioned Levesque about the increased volume of traffic the business will add to Route 20 (Springfield Road) and in particular, customers attempting to make left turns out of the site.
Levesque said the applicants are providing the state Department of Transportation (DOT) with traffic information and that the agency will decide if the applicants will have to install a traffic signal. The Planning Board would amend the site plan if the DOT mandates installation of a traffic control signal.
“The gym will not trigger the need for a traffic light,” Levesque said, “but with the additional retail, the Planning Board may make it a condition of their special permit to require DOT review which could require us to install a traffic light.”
Council President Brent B. Bean II attempted to focus the discussion on the special permit for a place of assembly and not on the traffic issue, which falls within the purview of the Planning Board and DOT.
