Tensions High At Westfield Meeting As Lord & Taylor Vote Nears

WESTFIELD, NJ — Westfield's redevelopment planner, Topology, formally presented the redevelopment plan proposal for the One Westfield Place development at Tuesday's night's council meeting.

The nearly five-hour meeting ran past midnight, as residents stepped up to the podium to address their comments and concerns about the project slated for the former Lord & Taylor property.

Christopher Colley, the Principal Development Analyst at Topology, presented an overview of the redevelopment plan and allowed council members to ask questions.

Councilman Mark LoGrippo, who has largely opposed the project, emphasized his concern about a lack of commuter parking.

"The big thing in Westfield in all my years on council is that residents want more commuter parking," LoGrippo said. "I think the waiting list is approximately two years for commuter parking. Why isn't there more commuter parking in this presentation?"

Two parking structures have been proposed for the North and South Avenue train station lots. According to the presentation, there will be 320 spaces in the North zone structure and 208 spaces in the South zone structure.

However, these spots will also be available to shoppers and employees who work at offices that are also part of the development.

Mayor Shelley Brindle argued that the current commuter lots are underutilized and are only remotely full on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays.

Town Administrator Jim Gildea said the south side currently has a little over 400 spaces for commuters, and the north side has 75 spaces.

Gildea said it is "yet to be seen" how the spaces in the development's garage will be allocated between commuters and shoppers/employees. But he said there is a plan to make sure that any commuter that has parking permit will get a spot.

"The biggest asset that our town has is our property, and we have a fiduciary responsibility to make sure that our assets are put to the highest and best use to all of our taxpayers," Mayor Brindle said. "So that means we have our biggest asset being utilized not even fully only three days a week, sitting idle four days a week."

"So instead of over-investing in parking that would be underutilized, and essentially having us non-commuters subsidizing commuter parking, it seemed to make more sense to do 'one for one' on commuter parking," Brindle said.

She also mentioned that in Summit, it's cheaper for the city to subsidize Uber rides for their residents rather than build more structured parking.

Related: Lyft/Uber Rideshare Program Renewed By Summit Council Despite Debate

"Parking is expensive," Brindle said. "You're asking us to spend taxpayer dollars on parking that will be underutilized."

Colley also pointed out that Streetworks plans to extend many of the sidewalks around the development to around 25 feet, which will include a landscape buffer, benches and landscaping, as well as a 10-foot clearing for pedestrians to walk.

Brindle said these wider sidewalks and set back buildings will make them seem less large, which is a common concern among residents.

Full details about the project can be found on the town's website.

Mixed Response From Residents

Residents on both sides of the aisle expressed their opinions on the One Westfield Place development.

Alan Derose, previous board member of the Downtown Westfield Corporation, said he thinks the development is a good opportunity for the town.

"Our downtown hasn't had any major capital improvements in decades, yet competitor downtowns have done multiple major streetscape and development projects — think Cranford, Summit and Scotch Plains," Derose said.

He also argued that the development will have a minimal impact on the schools, as many of the residential units are age-restricted to 55 and over.

"Westfield deserves this," Derose said. "We shouldn't have to settle for what we have now and miss another opportunity revitalize our beloved town."

Resident Steven Goodman noted that there is a "huge schism" in the town between people who are for and against the development.

"Many residents see this redevelopment plan as an eye sore, an inconvenience, a traffic nightmare and a failure of continuing the quality of small town life that we've always wanted," Goodman said. "Other residents, however, believe this is an incredible opportunity for necessary improvements to make up for decades of neglect and increasing Westfield's livability and viability for years to come. And both of these are true."

"The problem here is that many residents feel they were left out of the initial planning of One Westfield Place," Goodman continued. "The meetings with HBC Streetworks were mainly behind closed doors."

He also argued that most the Master Plan was constructed when the pandemic was in full swing, which made it more difficult for residents to be involved in the process.

However, Councilwoman Linda Habgood argued toward the end of the meeting that the mayor has discussed the need for redevelopment in Westfield since 2017.

"It's a two-way street," Habgood said, addressing complaints about a lack of transparency from council members. "We can only make the information available to you. You have to do the work to find it as well."

"I believe we have been very forthcoming and transparent with our information," Mayor Brindle added later on.

Resident Edgar Charles said he believes One Westfield Place would be a "colossal blunder for Westfield."

"Simply put, it is too big, too much and too fast," he said. "Most importantly, it creates many more problems than what it reportedly solves for."

On the other hand, a Grove Street resident said she believes that people are underestimating the positives that will come out of the project.

"I love the emphasis on pedestrian and bike safety, as someone who walks everywhere and has kids who bike and walk everywhere in town," she said. "I love the crossings, the paths, the bridges. I hope this encourages more people to use these methods instead of being so deeply entrenched in their car culture."

She also expressed that she is excited that Westfield could have "some of New Jersey's greenest buildings" incorporated into the project.

"Everything from fully electrified to green roofs to EV chargers to permeable services. People don't realize how revolutionary this is and how Westfield would be a premier town just from this alone," the resident said.

Sam Altman, a junior at Westfield High School, said the mayor presented the project to him and a group of students on a new student advisory board. He said there is a lot of enthusiasm about the project among students.

"A lot of us students want to move back into Westfield; this is our future town," Altman said. :We want to have our vision seen in Westfield ... There are more stores that are more fitting toward us, there's more spots for us to hang out in [and it] can revitalize the downtown."

Councilman LoGrippo proposed a motion to move the next meeting on Feb. 14, which will include a formal vote on the adoption of the redevelopment plan, to later in March or April. No one on the council seconded the motion.

In terms of next steps, the Planning Board will review the redevelopment plan to assess its consistency with the Master Plan at their Feb. 6 meeting. If that approval is reached, the redevelopment plan comes back to the Town Council at the Feb. 14 meeting for an adoption vote.

You can watch the full town meeting on Facebook below:

Check out Patch's previous coverage on the project:

Updated Plan For One Westfield Place Provokes Debate Among Residents

'Westfield Advocates' To Hold One Westfield Place Rally On Sunday

Residents Launch Petition To 'Rethink' One Westfield Place Development

Developer Revises Housing, Parking Plans For One Westfield Place

Residents Push Back Against One Westfield Place Development At Meeting