LEYDEN — Residents spoke out against comments made by an alternate member of the Planning Board during a meeting with Kibilio, a nonprofit “rooted in Black and queer land sovereignty” that is seeking to move to town, and contested the board’s line of questioning.
Members of Kibilio and lawyer Thomas Lesser of Lesser Newman Aleo & Nasser in Northampton, came before the Planning Board on Wednesday to discuss plans to buy the property at 407 West Leyden Road, the former home of the Spirit Fire Retreat Center.
According to Kibilio member Dsl Saint Louis, Kibilio means “refuge” in Swahili. The nonprofit’s website, Kibilio.org, states the “Kibilio community and farm is rooted in Black and queer land sovereignty. It is an intergenerational, intentional community dedicated to embodied healing and reparative, ecological and reproductive justice.”
While members of Kibilio came before the Planning Board, Lesser said they did so simply to introduce themselves.
Planning Board members in attendance Wednesday included Chair James Brodeur, David Curtis and Emily Yazwinski. Members Warren Facey Jr. and Arthur Baker were not in attendance. Attending as an alternate was Peter Tusinski, who was invited to participate Wednesday because, should a special permit be deemed necessary, he would serve as an alternate for a public hearing process.
Tusinski asked why Kibilio is not pursuing a special permit, noting the Spirit Fire Retreat Center had received one from the town. Lesser said the nonprofit should be exempt from needing a special permit based on Leyden’s zoning bylaws.
“The Leyden zoning bylaw couldn’t be clearer that we don’t need a special permit based on Section 4.1,” Lesser said. “It’s educational, so it’s allowed by right, according to your zoning bylaws.”
“I’m a little bit concerned about it,” Tusinski said to Kibilio members. “I realize — and I don’t want you to interpret this as racist or anything else — but I’m seeing it’s oriented to the Black community, the Indigenous community, the gay and lesbian community. Overtly missing is the white community, the heterosexual community, and yet you say you are an educational entity.”
These comments sparked outbursts from those in attendance. Later in the meeting, Saint Louis said that while the group “provides refuge and healing that centers Black, queer and Indigenous people of color,” the organization is open to all, including white people.
Tusinksi said he “did not mean to sound aggressive” with his comments.
Yazwinski asked for information on the group’s mission Kibilio currently has an office in Longmeadow, and offers most programs online. Saint Louis said purchasing the property in Leyden will allow Kibilio to hold in-person programs and activities.
Finance Committee Chair Ginger Robinson, who was attending as a resident, questioned the Planning Board’s line of questioning.
“I can understand the Planning Board asking questions about septic, number of people, this and that, but it seems like some of you are veering into the territory of value judgment of an organization and I just don’t see that as your job,” Robinson said.
She continued, saying she felt Kibilio would help Leyden “continue to be a viable, rural community.”
Curtis said he respected Robinson’s comments “whole-heartedly” but he wanted to make sure the entity does qualify for, and will maintain, a tax-exempt status.
Yazwinski referenced a fall 2019 public hearing process to grant a special permit to Odyssey Behavioral Health Care for the “Greenfield Recovery Center” at the former location of Angel’s Rest retreat center. While the center prepared to open in February 2020, before the COVID-19 outbreak, it has since closed and the property at 63 North County Road is up for sale for $1.1 million.
“The problem I have with 501(c)3s and all tax-exempt corporations, including churches, is that they will sell for millions of dollars after not paying a nickel to the community,” Tusinski said. “I know I sound bitter here, and I am, because I’ve seen it happen time and time again.”
He said he wanted to make sure Kibilio would “be a good neighbor” and would “contribute something solid to the community.”
Robinson interjected, contesting Tusinski’s “value judgment,” and encouraged focusing on topics like traffic impact.
Resident Sarah Steinberg, and Robinson’s partner, said she had read about Kibilio on the nonprofit’s website and is excited for the organization to be a part of the community.
“You talk a lot in your organization about healing, and as queer people, we understand what it’s meant to us to be in such a beautiful place,” Steinberg said. “It has been a very welcoming place for us. We just wanted to come to this meeting to meet you and say we can’t wait to be your neighbors.”
Continuing conversation around zoning bylaw exemption, Lesser noted that many nonprofits provide a payment in lieu of taxes (PILOT), and he expects Kibilio to do this, too.
Tusinski said the town had a “pretty bad experience with Spirit Fire,” which had its own PILOT. According to Planning Board members, Spirit Fire Retreat Center paid less than $2,000 to the town during its lifetime in Leyden. He said this was “not very much money” for a property currently valued at $1.3 million.
Speaking by phone Thursday, Lesser said he felt it could have been appropriate to encourage Kibilio to consider a PILOT agreement because it may require services of the town police and fire departments, or possibly have children that would attend local schools. However, he expressed disappointment in the way Wednesday’s discussion played out.
“I was disappointed in the line of questions that were asked, because my client came to them not needing a special permit, simply to inform them about the things they plan to do on the property once they purchase the property,” Lesser said Thursday.
Wednesday’s meeting involved a brief discussion regarding capacity of the septic system and the potential number of people that could live on the property. According to Board of Health Chair Beth Kuzdeba, the septic system can accommodate up to 23 people. Lesser said Kibilio does not intend to have this many people on the property.
Saint Louis said they will be one of the people who would live on the property, along with their 3-year-old son.
The Planning Board said legal counsel will review the bylaws, and make its own determination of whether a special permit may be required or exempt by its next meeting, which has yet to be scheduled.
Zack DeLuca can be reached at zdeluca@recorder.com or 413-930-4579.