Members of the Camelot Lane Homeowners Association could soon see their subdivision street "Camelot Lane" accepted by the Westfield City Council. Several other streets are also under acceptance consideration. (Photo by chief photographer Frederick Gore)
Council approves
street study funding
By DAN MORIARTY
Staff Writer
WESTFIELD – The City Council conducted a public hearing on the acceptance of Camelot Lane and approved $15,000 to assess several other streets at various stages of acceptance and city streets Thursday night.
The Camelot Lane hearing, which was not attended by any members of the public, focused on accepting a subdivision street which meets all the criterion for street acceptance.
Ward 5 Councilor Richard E. Onofrey Jr., in whose ward the street is located, and Ward 2 Councilor James E. Brown Jr., in whose ward the street had been located until the ward redistricting went into effect on Jan. 1, 2012 both urged council members to accept the street.
Brown, who also serves as chairman of the Legislative & Ordinance Committee, said the committee was preparing to present Camelot Lane with several other streets for council acceptance, when it was discovered that a public hearing had never been conducted, a requirement of the city’s street acceptance process.
Onofrey said that both the Planning Board and Engineering Department have given a positive recommendation for acceptance. The council voted to send the issue to the Legislative & Ordinance Committee.
The only issue with that acceptance process Thursday night was maintenance of a landscaped rotary now maintained by the Camelot Lane Homeowners Association.
Ward 3 Councilor Peter J. Miller Jr., asked if the city accepted the road, would it also be responsible for maintenance of the rotary landscape.
At-large Council Brian Sullivan said that he has discussed the street acceptance process with residents of Camelot Lane.
“At no point do residents want to hand over maintenance of that rotary to the city,” Sullivan said.
Brown said the L&O can add conditions to the street acceptance language to define specific responsibilities of the homeowners association.
Sullivan also said that the Camelot Lane sewer line has been connected with the city’s system.
“It’s an active line, it’s not a capped line,” he said. “There are some residents presently connected, but they need grinder pumps, which are expensive. As leach fields fail, residents do have the ability to install those pumps and connect to the city’s sewer line.”
The council also voted to approve a $20,000 transfer from free cash to the Engineering Department, with $15,000 dedicated to accessing streets now pending for acceptance. The engineering assessment would include a cost estimate to bring the street up to city standards and to take lane needed for the right of way, information needed by council members in deciding to accept or deny the street acceptance petition.
“Many of them are likely to be rejected,” one member said, “but this is to start the process.”
Dan Moriarty can be reached at [email protected]
