The Planning Board voted unanimously last night to grant three permits needed for the Walmart expansion project, ending a saga which began last November.
W/S Westfield Properties Limited Partnership of 1330 Boylston St., Chestnut Hill, Mass., the property owner, requested the Planning Board to approve a special permit, the site plan and stormwater management plan for the expansion project. Walmart is planning to construct a 58,692-square-foot addition to the store at 141 Springfield Road, expanding the existing 127,284 store into an 186,064-square-foot Walmart Superstore.
The expansion work, primarily on the west and south sides of the existing structure, will include construction of a new loading dock, a larger sales area, parking and access modifications, enlargement of the stormwater management areas, expanded parking and installation of new utilities services.
The process of reviewing the application spanned eight months, with several delays requested by the petitioner to ensure that the full board was present to hear testimony during the public hearing, and eligible to vote on the special permit which requires a super majority of five board members.
Reorganization of the Planning Board, with five new members, following the resignation of members protesting the dismissal of former City Planner and Community Development Director Larry Smith, also delayed the process.
Last night the board members heard a summary of changes which occurred over that eight-month span during a 25-minute presentation by the petitioner. That was followed by a 35-minute session during which the board considered, and in some incidences negotiated, the board’s finding and conditions, which are attached to the special permit to identify specific areas of the board’s concern.
Typically, 20 of the special permit conditions are boilerplate, attached to every special condition. Tuesday night the board approved 38 conditions, to eliminate any possible ambiguity in its intent or possible interpretation of the special permit language.
Board member William Onyski proposed language to clarify concessions from the petitioner, such as eliminating a proposed parking area on the north face of the building next to Route 20 (Springfield Road), the city’s eastern gateway.
Onyski also pressed for language to require the removal of storage trailers on the west side of the building and a special timetable for that removal, as well as language prohibiting bringing in new trailers, except as needed for the construction effort.
Board president Philip McEwan also pressed for language pertaining to screening of the outdoor life display area, which was a contentious issue during the permit review process. McEwan requested language to “nail down” the location of that area to a finite space and to require a decorative fence and plantings to screen the area, as well as prohibiting advertising signs.
Conditions were also attached for two storage areas, one for pallets and cardboard bales, and another for the storage of used batteries, motor oil and tires.
McEwan said this morning that the board sought concessions and compromises from the petitioner during the review process to improve the site because of its location as the first major commercial area along Route 20.
“It’s not perfect, but we can live with it,” McEwan said of the permits approved by a 7-0 vote. “It would have been better if (the outdoor living merchandise area) was not visible from the road, but it’s probably an improvement over what is there now. The plantings will hide it in a couple of years.
“Originally that had that parking lot that was eliminated, the storage trailers, which we’ve been fighting for 17 years, will be gone, and the interior of the parking lot will have more landscaping that is there now,” he said.
The board approved a two-year construction timeline with the special permit, although the company plans for a more condensed construction period.
