EAST LONGMEADOW – A public hearing on the establishment of a “Mixed-Use Village District” bylaw during the Oct. 13 East Longmeadow Town Council meeting brought strong opinions both for and against the idea.

The district would allow for the construction of buildings that feature mostly residential units with between 15 and 30 percent allowed for commercial businesses. The developments would need to be located on land that is 40 acres or larger and could have no more than 12 residential units per acre. The residences can include single-family homes, townhouses, multi-family dwellings. The bylaw includes regulations on building height, parking and public nuisance issues.

Part of the reason for this bylaw is to address a lack of affordable housing in town. The bylaw would require that a minimum of 10 percent of the units be affordable housing.

Russ Denver of the planning board presented the bylaw during the public hearing. He said that there are several locations in town that could be developed into a mixed-use village. He praised the work done on this bylaw by the council subcommittee over the last two years.

Denver spelled out the regulations that any developer would need to adhere to in order to move forward with one of the projects, including a permitting process, a community host agreement negotiated by the town manager and approval by the council. In fact, he said there were five levels of approval required before a development could begin. This represented, he said, “more than sufficient opportunities for the public to be involved in any process regarding the approval of any potential project.”

Denver commented, “We need to start thinking outside the box to create more opportunities, not only for younger residents of town who may find it difficult to afford to move into town but want to live here, and for people like myself who are getting on in years and might want to sell the home they’re in but stay in town.”

Jane Mantolesky, an attorney with Fitzgerald Attorneys at Law, spoke on behalf of a client who has interest in developing 330 Chestnut St. into a mixed-use village. Mantolesky told the council that she had spoken to East Longmeadow Public Schools Superintendent Gordon Smith regarding concerns of an influx of young families with children into the school system. She reported that she assured him that there wouldn’t be a sudden increase in school enrollment and that the impact on schools would be governed by the community host agreement.

Elizabeth Marsian–Boucher, a school committee member who said she was speaking as a resident, spoke against the bylaw. She noted that Mayfield Apartments in Enfield, CT., have 100 units with 12 school-aged children and said that a dramatic increase in enrollment is possible.

Marsian–Boucher estimated that 12 units per acre on a 40-acre property would result in 500 units per development, but that does not take commercial businesses and green space into account. She said there are three possible development sites in town.

“Unless these developers are willing to help us add schools, I think we need to take a step back for a minute,” she said.

Marsian–Boucher said the town was being “bullied” and acting out of fear that developers will take advantage of MGL 40b, which governs housing and allows developers of affordable units to build at a higher density than normal if there is a lack of affordable housing existing in the town. Instead, she proposed the council adopt a housing production plan, which she said would protect the town from developers trying to “shoehorn in” affordable housing. Boucher asserted that she was in favor of affordable housing but wanted to “do it right.”

Planning Board Vice-Chair George Kingston addressed the council. “As you know, this town has an issue with affordable housing because, quite frankly, raw land is too expensive to build affordable housing on,” Kingston said. “This is a positive thing for the town. I think we need to think about the future and where this town is going.”

Resident Sid Stacks, who sat on the planning subcommittee, said, “Just like we put our trust in the school committee, whether many people want to or not, we have to put our trust in the planning board that they will do the right job for the betterment of East Longmeadow.”

Another resident, Mike Casimiro, told the council that he moved to East Longmeadow because he had heard that this bylaw change was coming and that many of his neighbors think this is a good idea.

The council then weighed in. Council Vice President Thomas O’Connor said that while he agreed with most of the document, he would like to take a step back and “tweak” it to address concerns.

“Personally, I think our town is at a crossroads in its status as a small-knit suburban community of homes with many lifelong residents and business owners who have a stake in our community or we risk being developed into a city with mid-rise apartment buildings dotting our landscape.”
Councilor Marilyn Richards argued that the bylaw has been changed and adjusted over time to protect the town from overdevelopment.

Fellow Councilor Kathleen Hill shared some of Marsian–Boucher’s concerns and suggested that stronger language be added. Councilor Ralph Page said that, while he was open to editing the bylaw, the host community agreement is designed to iron out issues with the individual developers.

Councilor R. Patrick Henry said that he came to the meeting ready to vote on the bylaw, but that he felt the timing was off and that, depending on the direction of the pandemic economy, there may be no need for a mixed-use development bylaw.

Councilor Donald Anderson urged the whole council to consider the public’s concerns and their own lingering questions and conduct a meeting to adjust the document’s language as needed. Hill agreed.

The public hearing was continued to Nov. 10.

Town Manager Mary McNally announced that Police Chief Jeffrey Dalessio would be retiring effective Jan. 25, 2021 after nearly 40 years working for the town. In his resignation letter, he thanked the people of the town, writing, “East Longmeadow gave me the opportunity to fulfill my dream of being a police officer while providing a living for my family.”