Westfield Place Ordinances On Tuesday's Council Agenda

WESTFIELD, NJ - Several ordinances regarding the future of the ambitious One Westfield Place redevelopment project are set to be discussed at Tuesday night’s council conference meeting, according to municipal documents.

A pair of ordinances, General Ordinance No. 2022-08 and Special Ordinance No. 2023-01, specifically seek to appropriate $57,000,000 for aid to the Lord & Taylor/train station redevelopment project, as well as provide for the special assessment of the cost of public improvements within the redevelopment area.

Another ordinance will officially designate Ewing-based SW Westfield LLC as a redeveloper and approve a Public Improvements Construction Agreement between the town and the firm, per meeting documents.

“The Governing Body has determined that the Project (valued at approximately $440,831,283) is of substantial benefit to the Town and will best effectuate the redevelopment and improvement of the Redevelopment Area, will offset the loss of jobs and economic value to the Town resulting from the closure of the Lord & Taylor Department Store, will achieve the goals and objectives set forth in the Redevelopment Plan, will integrate the areas north and south of the Westfield Train Station, will invigorate the downtown business community … and will provide significant revenue to the Town,” the ordinance reads.

A resolution from the finance committee is also set to approve a redevelopment and public improvements construction agreement with SW Westfield.

One Westfield Plaza, a controversial plan to construct 138 55-and-older residential units (including 21 affordable ones), 16 age-restricted townhomes with a public dog run, 16 non-restricted townhomes with a public community garden, 100,000-square-feet of office space and 33,000-square-feet of retail space at the former Lord & Taylor site, was previously approved in a 7-1 vote during a Westfield Council meeting earlier this month (see meeting video below).

Other plans for One Westfield Plaza include 29 market-rate and six affordable loft-style apartments and 2,110 square feet of street-level retail space on North Avenue, as well as two office buildings totaling 10,000-square-feet with private parking and 12,000 square feet of retail along South Avenue, per planning documents.

Local advocacy group Westfield Advocates for Responsible Development has been one of the more significant voices in the development’s pushback, having collected roughly 2,300 signatures on a Change.org petition citing problematic traffic, pollution and congestion should the plan move forward. Another frequent complaint among residents who opposed the project was that the development is "too big in scope and size" and will alter Westfield's "small town character." Read more: Residents Launch Petition To 'Rethink' One Westfield Place Development

“This creates a second, self-contained business district that competes with our downtown and does not support it,” reads a statement on Westfield Advocates’ website. “We found over 35 inconsistencies with the Master Plan and submitted a formal document to the Planning Board and Town Council, requesting a PAUSE in approval of the plan until the inconsistencies were addressed.”

It was not immediately clear if Westfield Advocates will be present at the Feb. 28 meeting.

You can read the full meeting agenda and redevelopment site plans here.

The Westfield Council Conference Meeting will take place at 7 p.m. on Tuesday in the Community Room of the Westfield Municipal Building (425 E Broad Street).