Council discusses ValleyBike and zoning changes


May 11, 2021
WESTFIELD – Ward 5 Councilor John J. Beltrandi, III, served as president pro tem of the May 5 City Council meeting, during which a spontaneous discussion on bringing ValleyBike to Westfield developed, and a public hearing brought attention to recommended zoning amendments which include changes to the meaning of the word “family” in the ordinance.

Planning Board Chair William Carellas called in during public participation to alert the City Council of the discussion at the Planning Board meeting to bring ValleyBike – a bicycle-sharing program – to Westfield. Carellas said West Springfield recently brought in the program, which offers bikes to rent short-term or for the day with an app.

Carellas, who works across from the program’s bike rack installed at the West Springfield Public Library, said the bikes are being used daily.

“We need to get these downtown and also at Westfield State University (WSU),” he told the councilors, adding that two members of the Columbia Greenway Rail Trail, one of whom teaches at WSU, called into the Planning Board to speak in favor of the program for Westfield.

Carellas said the cost to the city is nominal, and the city is not responsible for the bikes or their maintenance. He said with the buy-in from WSU and the Rail Trail, he wanted to bring the council up to speed, and plans to reach out to ValleyBike to find out how to bring them in.

At-large Councilor Richard K. Sullivan Jr. said ValleyBike was started by the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission, the municipal planning organization for the region. Sullivan said he is a voting member of the organization and there had been discussion at the last meeting of adding Westfield to the program. He said West Springfield was the latest city added.

Also calling in for the discussion was WSU faculty member Paul Cacolese, who said there had been a separate and independent discussion between the Rail Trail and the Geology Department at the university to bring in the bike share program,

“We are hoping to bring all parties together to find grants so that Westfield will not be charged anything, and to get students at WSU involved in marketing,” Cacolese said.

In a separate but related subject during public participation, At-large Councilor James R. Adams read a letter from Don Weilgus, a project manager helping veterans in the community. Weilgus asked the council to allow the Purple Heart team to name the new bridge on Main Street that was recently installed as a part of the central downtown section of the Rail Trail. He said there would be no cost to the city for signage, and the name for the bridge would be the Purple Heart Memorial Bridge, or something similar.

At-large Councilor Cindy C. Harris said as a Gold Star daughter, she is 100 percent in favor of the request. The council voted to refer the request to the City Properties Committee.

During a public hearing on zoning changes recommended by the Zoning Board of Appeals, City Planner Jay Vinskey spoke on behalf of the ZBA about updating the definition of “family” in the ordinances. He said recently the board had heard an appeal of an enforcement matter which hinged on that definition and subsequently learned that the Law and Building departments can’t enforce the zoning law as currently defined.

“The board decided they need to bring the definition up to speed to contemporary use and seeks to expand the definition of family from people who are related to include a group of four people not related, operating as a single household unit on a non-transient basis,” Vinskey said, adding that the definition would be for zoning purposes only.

Vinskey said “family” would then consist of household occupancy as a group of four people. He said five to six people would be an equivalent of two-family for density and parking. He said they also looked at other college communities and found that Amherst and Northampton have the same type of language.

“I want a legal opinion from our Law Department. I have a real problem with a definition of a family as constituting four people. What does the Law Department say about this?” Harris asked.

At-large Councilor Dave Flaherty said he agreed and asked whether the state has a definition of family the city could follow.

Westfield residents Sheila Tenero and Dan Tenero called in during the public hearing, saying they had done a lot of research on this, and had found the state does not define family. “They’ve left it up to every town to define on their own,” said Sheila Tenero.

She also said they are in favor of the petition and are the couple that had appealed to the ZBA. She said the appeal was denied, but it did shine a light on what family is. “Family is not biology only. How do you legislate the use of land and dwelling based on DNA and marriage? We support this, it encompasses people that choose their family,” she said.

Also voicing his support was Carellas, who said the Planning Board had recommended the change in definition. “I’m in favor of this. Both of my daughters live this right now in college towns in four person rentals,” he said.

Vinskey said it’s easy to get hung up on the word “family,” which is not the ZBA’s purpose in making the change. He said the words “single family” and “two-family” are used throughout the zoning ordinances, and this would give an updated definition for zoning and density.

Harris asked why not then eliminate the word “family”.

Vinskey said if it’s a matter of that word being used, something could be done. A motion was made to close the public hearing, and refer it to Zoning, Planning and Development.



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