WESTFIELD — William Carellas stepped down as chair of the Planning Board for a few moments at the start of the Feb. 3 meeting to honor one of its members.
Chair pro tem Cheryl Crowe called on Raymond St. Hilaire and his wife, Nicole St. Hilaire, to come forward with Carellas to the podium.
“Thursday, January 13, was a momentous day for one of our very own planning board members. We would be remiss if we did not take this opportunity to recognize, congratulate, and thank Ray St. Hillaire, who, after 24 years of faithful duty, retired from the U.S. Army. Joining us today is his beautiful wife, Nicole,” Carellas said.
Carellas said St. Hilaire is retiring as a U.S. Army sergeant, having served two tours in Iraq and specializing in helicopters, most notably the Black Hawk.
“In my hand is a Letter of Proclamation from Mayor Michael McCabe congratulating Ray on his retirement and his accomplishments. Westfield has a long, strong tradition of supporting our military personnel. We are very proud of our air base, our A10s, our F15s, and the soon-to-be F35s, and of course, Ray’s Army helicopters.”
“The Planning Board, Mayor McCabe and I speak for the many residents of Westfield in thanking Ray for his service. We also express our gratitude to all those who are currently serving, those who have served, and especially those who have made the ultimate sacrifice in defense of our country. Ray, thank you for your dedication to our country,” Carellas said.
Board member Jane Magarian then presented Nicole with a bouquet of flowers from the Planning Board.
Proceeding to agenda items, the Planning Board opened the public hearing on the zoning petition of the City Council to implement an interim restriction, or moratorium, for Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS).
Ward 1 City Councilor Karen Fanion, chair of Zoning, Planning and Development, presented the petition and talked about the recommendation by the Planning Board to put a moratorium on the issuance of permits for battery storage facilities in the city until Sept. 30.
She said on Jan. 15, the ZPD committee met and gave a positive recommendation to the full City Council, who approved sending it for two public hearings, this one at the Planning Board and one scheduled for the Council meeting of Feb. 5.
Fanion said the petition and hearings are about setting the moratorium, not about what it’s going to look like, to give the city the chance to write local regulations for battery storage facilities, as well as accessory developments with battery storage.
“These regulations have to be accepted by September 30. We cannot put a permanent moratorium on this. We cannot prohibit any battery storage facilities in the city of Westfield because it goes against the state regulations,” Fanion said, asking for a positive recommendation to move the moratorium forward for the full City Council to vote on it at their next meeting.
During the public hearing, several residents spoke in favor of the moratorium.
Ron Roux of Woodsong Road said he was in favor of the moratorium and asked the city to consider requiring a special permit instead of by-right approval for Tier 2 installations. He also asked the city to consider lighting, noise and protection of the aquifer in its permitting.
City Planner Jay Vinskey said while there are larger facilities over which the state has oversight and can’t be regulated locally, there will still be a local approval or permitting process for smaller facilities that could be tailored to Westfield. He said Westfield’s lighting ordinances are already fairly strict, and the city does have a separate noise ordinance. “So there [are] things that are already in place that would apply,” he said, adding that aquifer concerns could also be folded in.
“We’re not crafting them now. We’re just saying we’re putting a pause on for several months in order to write these over the course of the coming months.” Vinskey said there will be another hearing when the local ordinance is finalized. “(That) may be a more appropriate opportunity to weigh in on exactly what we’re doing. I don’t think we know yet. We’re just saying put the brakes on and then let us think about it without the pressure of some looming proposal coming.”
Roux thanked him for the information, which he said was helpful. “I’ve been really pleased with what I’ve been seeing thus far with the questioning, and I feel like there [are] many that have the interest of Westfield at heart and are doing their best. So I do appreciate that,” he said.
Planning Board member John Bowen mentioned that there is no current proposed project for a battery facility in Westfield.
Another resident asked that the board take a careful look at fire response in the regulations, considering the ongoing fires with BESS facilities, and who would be responsible.
Former Ward 1 Councilor Mary Ann Babinski recommended that while the city takes the time to write a local ordinance, at the same time, they consider strengthening the Water Resource Protection ordinance in regards to BESS, in order to protect the aquifer.
Babinski also suggested that the city participate in some of the public hearings on the new BESS regulations that the Energy Facility Siting Board is holding statewide. She said she participated in one of the hearings on Feb. 2.
Also speaking in favor of the moratorium was At Large City Councilor Dan Allie.
After the public hearing was closed, the Planning Board voted unanimously in favor of the moratorium. The City Council will hold a public hearing and vote on Feb. 5.
