WESTFIELD – The Planning Board will begin its review of a proposal to construct a 4,513 square-foot Cumberland Farms convenience store at the intersection of North and Southampton Roads, Routes 10 and 202. A public hearing on the proposal is slated for tomorrow night.
First Hartford Realty Corp. of Manchester, Conn, is seeking approval of site and stormwater management plans, as well as a special permit to sell gasoline and diesel fuels on the property, zoned for Business B usage, located on the southwest corner of the intersection.
The applicant will submit a number of documents, prepared by Vanasse Hangen Brustlin, Inc (VHB), a Springfield-based engineering consultant, that includes a traffic impact study, traffic volume into the proposed store site, landscaping, as well as the site plan and stormwater management plan details.
The proposal will also be the subject of a public hearing conducted by the City Council for special permits required for underground storage of 32,000 gallons of gasoline and 8,000 gallons of diesel fuel. That hearing has yet to be scheduled, but is expected to be held at a March City Council session.
The proposal also went before the Conservation Commission last week. The proposed site is not in the city’s aquifer protection zone, but is in close proximity, and the underground stormwater management system will infiltrate water into the soil of the Barnes Aquifer.
The traffic study includes the geometry of the intersection, which is controlled by traffic signals, existing and projected traffic volumes, impacts of traffic entering and exiting the site, historical records of accidents at the intersection between 2008 and 2010, which is slightly above the average of accident volume at signalized intersection in Westfield, according to state Department of Transportation (DOT) records and analysis. The average crash rate for signalized intersection in District 2 (Westfield) is .82, while the average crash rate at the Routes 202 and 10 intersection if 1.14, with a total of 22 reported accidents over the three-year period. The majority have been angle or rear-end collisions.
The convenience store, with five-pump island and 10 fueling positions with two for diesel and eight for gasoline dispensing, will be constructed on 1.17 acres of land that is now a primarily wooded and undeveloped site. Access will be provided by three driveways, two off Southampton Road and one from North Road. One of the Southampton Road access ways allows motorist to both enter and exit the store site, while the other is an entrance-only curb cut.
The facility will have 15 designated parking spaces in front of the store building, with two handicapped spaces directly in front of the building access doors.
Tomorrow’s hearing will be conducted in the City Council Chambers at City Hall beginning at 7 p.m.
To see the site plan, click here.
To see a list of abutters to the property, click here.
