WESTFIELD – The City Council Thursday night continued the public hearing on the underground fuel storage tanks permit requested by Pride Limited Partnership, following the same action taken by the Planning Board Tuesday night.
Pride is seeking council authorization to install underground storage tanks for 41,000 gallons of gasoline and diesel fuel at 9 Southampton Road, and 25,000 of diesel fuel at 33 Southampton Road.
The Planning Board is conducting a much broader review of the project, two fueling stations to be constructed at the “jug handle” formed by the intersection of Owen District Road and Friendly Way. Pride has petitioned the Planning Board for a special permit, stormwater management permit and site plan approval.
The board’s review process gives it great latitude in determining if a proposed project is suitable for the site. A major concern of the board is the impact of the additional traffic that would be generated by the Pride project which includes not only fueling facilities, but restaurant with a drive-through window.
Pride founder Robert Bolduc agreed Tuesday night to pay for a peer review of the traffic data he submitted as part of the site plan review process.
The Planning Board voted Tuesday to continue the public hearing and to retain an outside engineering consultant to conduct that peer review of the traffic impacts.
City Council President Brian Sullivan said prior to Thursday’s meeting that he intends to keep the council’s public hearing open until the Planning Board makes its decision, which will include findings and conditions which will be attached to the council’s vote as well to avoid any ambiguity.
“This is not an easy project to review, so I want to see what the Planning Board does and see its findings and conditions before we make our decision,” Sullivan said. “We only have a small area of concern in this review process – the fuel storage tanks.”
Sullivan opened the hearing last night to allow citizens in attendance to voice concerns and express opinions, but no one accepted his invitation. Sullivan asked “is there anyone specifically to speak on this issue” and joked with Mary Ann Babinski and Barbara Rokosz, regulars at both Planning Board and City Council public hearing, and receiving their assurance that they would be at the next meeting to make comment, called for a motion to continue the hearing.
Ward 1 Councilor Christopher Keefe then made a motion, accepted unanimously, to continue the hearing to the May 21 session. The Planning Board is slated to continue its hearing on May 19.
