GREENFIELD — The message from the public was loud and clear before Wednesday night’s Town Council vote on a proposal to ease restrictions on commercial development along the French King Highway: slow the process down.
After hearing from nearly 50 people during a two-hour public comment period, the council voted to table its vote until March on a proposal to ease zoning restrictions along the French King Highway. It was standing-room-only during the meeting, as people filled the GCTV studio on Main Street to its 81-person capacity. A live feed was set up downstairs to accommodate overflow.
The proposal, made by council Vice President Isaac Mass, would remove the French King Highway from the Corridor Overlay District, which extends from Route 2 south to Smith Street. Mass said more commercial development along the road would help ease traffic congestion and pressure for similar developments along Federal Street.
Adopted by the town in 1989, the overlay district is aimed at creating attractive entryways in Greenfield by minimizing strip development and traffic congestion, protecting scenic and natural features and promoting high-quality building and site design. Gas stations and take-out, drive-in or drive-thru restaurants are prohibited in the overlay district, but would be allowed in the underlying General Commercial zone.
During the meeting, those in favor of the change said removing the French King Highway from the overlay district would not only open the doors to gas stations and fast-food restaurants, but also to other types of local businesses that could not be built there under current zoning. They also said increased traffic on the French King Highway would help the few struggling businesses on that road.
Most of those who spoke were against the change, and they cited a number of reasons for opposing the change, including what they believe was a rushed and flawed process. Several said the town should conduct a traffic study and gather data to show the change is necessary.
Others stressed a desire to keep Greenfield different from other cities and towns in New England by preventing strip development, saying tourism should be used to drive economic development. Representatives from the Nolumbeka Project, a nonprofit dedicated to the preservation of Native American history in New England, also voiced opposition to the change, saying more development could harm the 40 acres that the organization owns along the French King Highway — the site of an ancient village where human burials have been found.
The overwhelming message from the public was for the council to take its time with a more thoughtful process.
“Remember, it took nearly two years to develop a ban on Styrofoam,” resident Nicole Letourneau said. “Removal of the overlay just came up this past October. This is moving too fast.”
“I believe that we can wait to do this,” Planning Board Chairwoman Roxann Wedegartner said. “I don’t think this has received a full and fair discussion.”
She recommended the council work with the town’s director of Planning and Development, members of the Planning Board and residents to improve the proposal.
Both Council President Brickett Allis and Mass said the process for initiating the proposed change was followed exactly as state law lays it out. If the process felt rushed, they said it was because the council has to work within a specific timeline under the law.
“When you say, ‘Take your time on the process,’ we don’t have that time,” Allis said.
Several councilors said there was not enough data demonstrating a need for more commercial development for them to support the change.
“I feel like my gut is telling me on this one that this is coming too much from all of our guts, and that there is not enough data,” At-Large Councilor Mark Maloni said. “It feels like throwing spaghetti at a wall to see if it’s going to stick.”
Precinct 2 Councilor John Lobik agreed, saying more research needs to be done.
“I agree we don’t need gas stations or any of that,” he said. “I feel it needs to go further myself. We need to study this more.”
Mass said when the Corridor Overlay District was first created in 1989, it was done without any traffic study or data.
“There has never been a zoning change in the history of Greenfield that has been supported by a traffic study,” he said.
Precinct 1 Councilor Verne Sund, who supports the change, said unless Greenfield welcomes new businesses, the town will not grow.
Mark Leonard, who has owned the land across from Stop and Shop for the last 10 years, spoke during the public comment session in support of the change. He said the type of strip-style development people are afraid of will never be built because there is not enough space. He said changing the zoning in that area would help level the playing field for local businesses trying to compete with chains on Federal Street.
He said a variety of people have approached him over the years with different business ideas for his property — including an ice cream shop and a vegan fast-food restaurant — but none were financially viable without a drive-thru or drive-up component.
“What I’d love to put in there is something like a Hager’s Market, something like a farmers market over there, but in order to pay the rent, you have to be able to expand your footprint,” he said. “Drive-up expands your footprint.”
Bob Sunderland, Greenfield resident and director of the YMCA, said if people want more choices, more jobs and more tax revenue, then they need to accept more traffic in town. Traffic, he said, is good for business.
“I feel that retail and fast food are two of the backbones of small-town growth,” resident Jim Allen said. “As we look to the overlay district, we need to set ourselves up for growth, good jobs, business expansion and franchises, and basic jobs.”
Resident Amy Clarke said she went around to businesses in town before the meeting, and found out that McDonald’s, Wendy’s, Dunkin’ Donuts, Cumberland Farms, Walgreens, Big Y and Stop and Shop are all hiring.
“We already have plenty of jobs available in Greenfield,” she said to the council. “If we are going to go to all the trouble of repealing this long-held restriction … I would hope it would be because you are dreaming bigger dreams on our behalf than gas stations and fast-food restaurants.”
Several councilors and members of the public noted the proposal has become a polarizing issue in Greenfield, and questioned whether the town could reach some type of compromise.
At-Large Councilor Penny Ricketts said she doesn’t believe that is possible.
“Would I rather see it on the ballot? Absolutely,” she said. “I think it’s the best way. It’s the easiest way.”
In March, the motion before the council will include an amendment made by Ricketts that removes an additional block from the overlay district between Silver and Clark streets. She said the change was to accommodate businesses in that area that wanted to be removed from the district.