GREENFIELD — The bar has been raised a bit for those who want to allow more commercial development on French King Highway.
One day before the Town Council is set to vote to remove restrictions on gas stations and fast food restaurants on the eastern entrance to Greenfield, property owners along the highway invoked a state law that will require 10 votes, not nine, of the 13-member board to make that change.
Eleven landowners representing eight properties on the French King Highway, Canada Hill, Wunsch Road and Gill Road signed the petition against removing the French King Highway from the town’s Corridor Overlay District, which currently prohibits gas stations, drive-thru, drive-in and take-out restaurants on the road. The petition was filed with the town clerk’s office Tuesday, and requires three-quarters, or 10 members, of the council to approve the change, instead of the two-thirds, or nine votes, usually required for a zoning change.
Under Massachusetts General Laws, land owners who collectively control more than 20 percent of the area included in a zoning change can file a written protest against the change with the clerk’s office before any final action by the council. This can be done in a city or town with a council of fewer than 25 members.
In the petition, landowners state that removing the French King Highway from the overlay district will increase strip development and the degradation of the “attractive entryway” into Greenfield currently protected by use restrictions and design guidelines contained in the zoning. Increased strip development such as gas stations and fast food restaurants will change the character of residential and open space uses in the overlay district, and will devalue residential properties, the petition states.
Landowners also wrote that the proposed change is incompatible with the town’s Open Space Plan, as well as the Master Plan’s goals of protecting open space and green areas along the town’s roadways. The future traffic carrying capacity of the French King Corridor is also uncertain, according to the petition, given the possibility that the largest retail building in the history of Greenfield — a planned 135,000-square-foot big box store — may be located along the French King Highway, adding thousands of new car trips daily along the corridor.
The proposal, made by council Vice President Isaac Mass, would remove the French King Highway from the Corridor Overlay District, which currently extends from Route 2 south to Smith 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.
Greenfield is involved in ongoing litigation pertaining to the planned big box development along French King Highway. Neighbors fighting the project are expected to have their appeal heard in Superior Court this summer.
The Nolumbeka Project, a nonprofit dedicated to the preservation of Native American history in New England, owns 40.7 acres on the French King Highway, making it the largest property owner in the Corridor Overlay District. The second-largest landowners, Joanna W. and Joanna J. Mann, own 10 acres at 89 Gill Road. Both signed the petition.
David Brule, president of the Nolumbeka Project who signed the petition on behalf of the organization, said the nonprofit is concerned that any potential construction could disrupt archaeological remains, increase traffic in an already dangerous section of road and harm wildlife and groundwater.
He said previous construction in that area was closely monitored by the Massachusetts Historic Commissioner and federally recognized Native American tribes. When the state Department of Transportation recently did roadwork on the curve near Factory Hollow, he said the Nolumbeka Project and the Narragansett and Wampanoag tribes were part of the consultation process.
“There was the possibility of relics, of human burials, so all of that had to be very carefully vetted and scoped,” Brule said.
He said the same would be true of any future construction, as the ridge line along the French King Highway is the site of an ancient village. Native burials were found there during gravel excavations, according to the nonprofit, and used as fill in the White Ash Swamp across the street.
Mass said the town is still verifying that the landowners who signed the petition control at least 20 percent of land in the affected area.
“The town planner (was) out of the office (on Tuesday), so we’re doing some work,” Mass said Tuesday. “We probably won’t have that answer until (today).”
He also questioned whether Brule had the authority to sign the petition on behalf of the Nolumbeka Project, as the organization is a corporation and no document showing its board of directors authorized Brule to do so was filed with the town. However, Brule said he received a unanimous vote to sign the petition on behalf of the organization, which he has in writing.
Mass said if the zoning change doesn’t receive the 10 votes it needs to pass Wednesday night, he could come back to the council with another proposal that shrinks the Corridor Overlay District from the southern end at Smith Street, leaving the properties closest to Route 2 — including the Nolumbeka Project and Mann properties — under current zoning.
“There certainly could be a proposal that cuts those properties out of the proposal, and it’s possible that such an amendment could be made on the floor of the council tomorrow night, and then they’d no longer have 20 percent,” he said.
Mass said if the Nolumbeka Project and Mann properties were removed from the area affected by the proposal, he would be confident that 20 percent of property owners in the area would never sign a protest petition.
“It does not go without notice that almost every single person who signed that protest petition are the people who are currently suing the town over the big box development,” he said.
Town Council will vote on Mass’ proposal tonight. The meeting begins at 6 p.m. in the GCTV-15 studio, 393 Main St.
You can reach Aviva Luttrell at: aluttrell@recorder.com
or 413-772-0261, ext. 268
On Twitter, @AvivaLuttrell