Search for The Westfield News
WEATHER TONIGHT Scattered clouds with a few flurries. Low of 20.
The Westfield News
VOL. 83 NO. 271
Serving Westfield, Southwick, and the surrounding Hilltowns
www.thewestfieldnews.com WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2014
“The misfortunes hardest to bear are these which never came.” — Christopher Morley
75 cents
Board approves business permits Local business owner Anastasious Karathansopouls is requesting that the building located at 43 Hudson Drive in Southwick be used to serve as office space for local contractors. Several questions were presented by the Southwick Planning Board due to the buildings proximity over a protected well head for the town. The building is presently owned by 43 Hudson LLC. (Photo by Frederick Gore)
Board opts to continue Hudson Drive hearing By Peter Francis Staff Writer SOUTHWICK – The Southwick Planning Board will continue a hearing on a plan hatched by a local entrepreneur for a building on Hudson Drive to it’s next meeting. Brendan Greeley of R.J. Greeley Company, Inc., came before the board on behalf of Anastasios “Timmy” Karathanasopoulos, owner of the town’s Village Shopping Plaza, seeking to modify a previously issued well head protection permit for a building on Hudson Drive in accordance with the town’s zoning bylaws. Greeley stated that Karathanasopoulos’ intent is to purchase the building from 43 HudSon Drive, LLC., who had plans at one time to place an adult day health facility in the building and to subdivide the building for several different contractors to use for both office space and storage. “The original permit specified for a ‘restoration contractor’ and he (Karathanasopoulos) doesn’t have a spe-
“This application is by someone who everyone knows, but Timmy doesn’t own the building or the land.” Doug Moglin
Southwick Planning Board Chair
cific contractor,” said Greeley. “He has various other contractors who he has relationships with that are all looking to store equipment and tools in the building and have access to an office area.” He added that there would be no additional modifications to the site, such as paving but that there would be modifications made to the building, as it was
never finished completely. Board Vice-chair Roz Terry expressed concern over what sorts of contractors would be occupying the space and storing tools in the building. Karathanasopoulos’ son was also present with Greeley and mentioned the possibility of a tree service occupying some of the subdivided space. Board Chair Doug Moglin pressed further, asking if any trucks would be stored inside the space, a move that would almost certainly warrant concern for the well head protection permit, to which Greeley replied that there would be no storage of outside vehicles inside. “Timmy has to make it clear to his tenants that there are some restrictions on what they can do with that property,” said Terry. “They can have an office, they can store equipment and supplies, but they maybe can’t run a full fledged (operation).” “There may be some (contractors) that may not work, and he’s got to look at See Hudson Drive, Page 3
Audit: State lags in elevator inspections BOSTON (AP) — A state auditor’s report says the state’s Department of Public Safety is way behind on its elevator inspections. The report released Tuesday by Auditor Suzanne Bump’s office says more than one-third — or more than 14,200 — of the state’s roughly 39,000 registered elevators were operating with expired inspection certificates as of Oct. 2012. More than 1,700 of those had been expired for more than four years. State law requires annual inspections, and the Public Safety Department hired more inspectors after a 2010 report showed a backlog. Bump says uninspected elevators “represent a safety risk to the public.” A spokesman for the Public Safety Department said in a statement the agency has made “significant strides” in the two years since the audit was conducted and compliance now exceeds 80 percent.
By Dan Moriarty Staff Writer WESTFIELD – The Planning Board voted unanimously last night to approve a site plan and a special permit requested by a property owner for reuse of a commercial building at the corner of Main and Mechanic Streets. The application was presented to the Planning Board at its Oct. 7, 2014 session and has gone through a number of modifications to address concerns raised by residents and board members. Land-use consultant Rob Levesque of R. Levesque Associates, presented the plan for reuse of a vacant building located at 64-68 Main Street, which is at the intersection of Mechanic Street, owned by Rocco J. Falcone Sr., Rob Levesque through FRP Holdings. The Planning Board closed the public hearing last night, a review process complicated by the fact that a residential building at 10 Mechanic Street, which has been demolished, was included in the special permit application for additional parking needed by the tenant of 64 Main Street, identified last night as the owner of Aaron’s appliance and furniture rental store now located at 330 East Main Street. Levesque said that his client had agreed to a number of site plan changes, such as landscaping, erection of a stockade fence to buffer the residential property on Mechanic Street next to the 15-car parking lot and plantings of eight-foot tall arborvitaes along that fence line. A 50-foot black ornamental aluminum fence will be installed in the rear parking lot along Mechanic Street between the lot entrance and exit. The plan also incorporates a subsurface stormwater infiltration system approved by the city’s Engineering Department, which includes a Stormceptor system to filter the water before it is released to the infiltration unit. Levesque said the project was reviewed by the Police Department’s Traffic Bureau which raised no objections to the traffic movement pattern associated with the rental business. The most extended discussion among Planning Board members occurred after the hearing was closed and while the members were reviewing the conditions which are attached to the special permit and site plan. Planning Board member Carl Vincent suggested that the board may want to consider requirements for inclusion of bicycle racks because the business abuts the Columbia Greenway. Levesque said that while that condition “seems logical” there is no direct access from the elevated rail trail to his client’s commercial property. Board vice-chairman William Onyski said that it is premature to begin requiring businesses in the CORE district and suggested that the board wait until its ad hoc Bicycle and Pedestrian Planning Advisory CARL VINCENT
Single-stream Contractors unload several hundred 65-gallon containers that will be part of the new single-stream recycling program which is slated to kickoff January 5, 2015. The 65-gallon containers will start to be distributed during the first week of December and not be used until the January 5 launch date. The burgundy-colored containers should only be used for trash. The first container delivery was Tuesday. (Photo by Frederick Gore)
See Permit, Page 3