WESTFIELD – The Planning Board approved a petition for an open-space community project last night that is unusual in that only one residence will be constructed.
Board Chairman Philip McEwan said that the open-space community ordinance as intended to allow cluster development in order to maintain open space.
“The intent was to put 40 houses on 10 acres and leave the other 30 acres as open space, but this petition does meet all of the requirements of the ordinance,” he said.
Rob Levesque of R. Levesque Associates, the land-use consultant retained by the Petitioner Henry Bannish of 225 Pontoosic Road, agreed with McEwan that “this is a tricky one, it an open-space community petition, but there is only one lot. The petitioner is seeking a reduction in the required lot size, but is providing open space.”
The property, abutting Bannish’s residence, is 8.66 acres in size. The building lot is 1.63 acres. The land is zoned for rural residential use which requires two acres of land.
Levesque said that steep slopes and wetlands were subtracted from the open space calculation for the purpose of the open-space community petition, but are included in the land which will be placed under a conservation restriction.
“The conservation restriction will be put on the deed. The entire western portion of the property will be under that restriction,” Levesque said.
The Conservation Commission approved a request to demolish an existing structure, a barn, near a resource area, an intermittent stream, at its Aug. 12 meeting to create space for construction of a single family house that will have city water and a septic system.
In other business the Planning Board approved a site plan and stormwater management plan for a nine-unit apartment complex at 110 Lockhouse Road requested by Mercer Island Realty, Inc.
The board has issued the original permit more than a year ago which expired because construction had not been started. A house which was on the lot next to Twiss Street was demolished.
Levesque, representing Mercer Island, requested the board “re-approve” the permits to allow the project to proceed.
“There are no changes to the plan you had approved,” Levesque said.
The board voted to approve the site plan and stormwater management plan with revised findings and conditions similar to those of the original approval.
