WESTFIELD – Rob Levesque, representing a family seeking to build a commercial building at 1056 North Road, gave an informal presentation of the project last week to the Zoning Board of Appeals.
Levesque, of R Levesque Associates, Inc., said the problem with the lot, located at the intersection of North and Old County roads, just across North Road from the intersection of East Mountain Road, is that it does not meet the two-acre requirement under the current Water Resource District zoning.
The lot, which has been vacant more than two decades following a fire at the former bar located near the Holyoke city line, is only 1.6 acres.
Levesque said his clients would like to construct a 7,300-square-foot building which will house a Dunkin Donut shop and two additional stores.
Levesque said the property is located over the Barnes Aquifer and is zoned for Business A uses.
“It’s a pre-existing lot, but that use was discontinued (following the fire), so we need relief from that section of the zoning,” Levesque said. “That relief can come by way of a variance tied to the soil conditions.”
The soil conditions are related to the need for a septic system designed to address nitrogen-loading in the groundwater of the aquifer which supplies drinking water to four communities: Westfield, Holyoke, Southampton and Easthampton.
Levesque said that 1.6 acres is four times the area needed under Business A zoning.
Levesque did not formally apply for relief from the zoning which prohibits building lots of less than two acres, but did discuss the possibility of petitioning the ZBA for a variance.
Typically the ZBA prefers applicants to exhaust all other options before applying for a variance because state law strictly defines what constitutes a hardship which would allow the board to grant a variance.
The zoning does allow exemptions for residential lots of less than two acres, but not for commercial property
The board members suggested that a zoning amendment might be the preferable route in this case. The ZBA is empowered to submit zoning amendments directly to the City Council for its consideration.
The current zoning, adding the requirement of a two-area lot, was adopted in January of 2003. At that time there were only four parcels of commercially zoned land under two areas on the Water Resource District. The issue will be discussed at the board’s Sept. 3 session.
