WESTFIELD – The City Council voted, twice, Thursday night to reject the taking of 13 acres of land on Northwest Road under the city’s Chapter 61 option to purchase the property, located next to city wells, for open space preservation.
The first vote came out of the Finance Committee for an appropriation of $157,500 to buy the property with a negative recommendation to fund the money. The council vote was 13-0 to support that recommendation.
The second vote, conducted a few minutes later, came out during the Legislative & Ordinance Committee report, which also gave a negative recommendation to exercise the city’s right of purchase.
The Community Preservation Committee voted in July to seek City Council approval of the $157,500 appropriation from Community Preservation Act funds to purchase the 13.2 acres of land off Northwest Road. The Conservation Commission and Planning Board also voted in July to endorse the city’s right to exercise the option of buying land.
Chapter 61-A of the Massachusetts General Laws allows the city, which forfeited tax revenue by approving the lower tax rate, the right of first refusal or purchase when that property is being sold.
The City Council conducted a public hearing at its Sept. 19 meeting on whether the city should exercise its right of first refusal or its right to purchase 13.2 acres of land on Northwest Road which currently has a conservation restriction.
The Pitoniak Family, which put the land under Massachusetts General Law Chapter 61-A conservation restriction, is now considering selling the property to an abutting property owner, Dr. Raymond J. Anton of General Knox Road, who owns 250 acres of land behind the Pitoniak property. The Pitoniak land has frontage on Northwest Road which would give Anton access to his property.
Anton has pledged to continue the conservation restrictions on the property if he is allowed to finalize the purchase from Pitoniak.
Finance Chairman Richard E. Onofrey Jr., the Ward 5 councilor, commended City Planner Jay Vinskey and Community Development Director for “doing their jobs by identifying this land as property the city might want to exercise its right to purchase through Chapter 61.”
Onofrey said that Dr. Anton’s promise is sufficient for his committee to urge the City Council to allow the private sale. Onofrey said Anton gave the council an affidavit “that he will continue to use that land for agricultural purposes and will continue the 61-A (conservation restriction).”
“That’s good enough for me,” Onofrey said. “If you can’t trust an anesthesiologist who can you trust.”
Onofrey said that not exercising the city’s purchase of the property keeps that land in private ownership and on the city tax rolls.
The L&O recommendation was also adopted by a 13-0 vote after Onofrey reminded Council members that the funding for the purchase had already been rejected and could not be resubmitted for a year, far beyond the city’s 120-day window to exercise its Chapter 61 right.
