WESTFIELD—Among the many items scheduled for the Westfield Planning Board this week, two items for public hearing may draw some public interest and interaction Tuesday night.
The Planning Board will meet on Tuesday, Oct. 17, in the City Council Chambers on Court Street, beginning at 7 p.m. There are several items on the agenda Tuesday, but two in particular may get more attention from residents during the meeting.
The first is for a special permit/site plan review of a commercial dog kennel at 98 Southwick Road.
Jay Vinskey, city planner for Westfield
According to City Planner Jay Vinskey, the proposal is for a dog kennel and dog daycare, which would have included outdoor and indoor kennels made among the improvements done to the site. One concern that could come from the proposal is the addition of noise from barking dogs at the facility.
“I would guess that would certainly be a concern,” Vinskey said of the possibility of noise pollution from the site.
However, Vinskey said that the plans may change by Tuesday. He said that the city’s building inspector determined that it should be all-indoor, “so they’re expected to come in with an amended plan,” Vinskey said.
According to Vinskey, an indoor facility may be less of a concern for nearby residents, though this remains to be seen.
In the end, Vinskey said that the hearing is for a special permit, so it will be up to the planning board what occurs next.
“It is a special permit so it is at the board’s discretion if this is an appropriate location for that type of use,” he said.
The second agenda item and public hearing that may draw interest is for a proposed zoning ordinance amendment to address exterior lighting.
“Fairly recently, the board has seen lighting issues with a few projects,” Vinskey said.
Vinskey cited the Roots Athletic Complex as an example, where he said that what was installed was not part of the approved plan. This lighting also drew complaints from neighbors.
Another issue is related to the proposed Boise Cascade, Vinskey said, where the lights installed did not match plans and caused problems with neighbors, as well.
Vinskey said that businesses are able to adjust the lights and revisit the planning board for approval but the board preferred to go another route.
“Rather than coming back to the board and finding a middle ground, the board felt we needed something codified,” he said.
Vinskey said that the proposal gives clearly defined standards on the issue, addressing it “in a very black and white” way and improving the “nebulous” definitions that currently inform lighting. In addition, Vinskey said that it could strengthen the abilities of the building department.
Among the changes, Vinskey said that the ordinance would give foot-candle limits to the amount of light trespass that can occur on property.
Another change, if the proposed amendment is OKed, is that lighting fixtures may become more uniform, with prohibitions on light passing beyond a horizontal plane above the light fixture and that all light must be directed downward.
Electronic copies of the Southwick Road proposal and the proposed zoning amendment can be found on the City of Westfield’s website in the Planning Department link, or through the city’s calendar the day that the hearings are scheduled.
