City Council passes first reading on BESS moratorium

WESTFIELD — After a public hearing and recommendation by the Planning Board, the City Council held a second public hearing on the moratorium for battery energy storage systems on Feb. 5, followed by a unanimous vote to approve the interim restriction on projects through Sept. 30. A second reading is scheduled for Feb. 19.

Karen Fanion, chair of the Zoning, Planning and Development Committee, said the moratorium had been initially requested by the Planning Board in order to give the city time to develop as favorable local ordinances as allowed by the state.

“Oct. 1 is when state regulations say the city must have a comprehensive permit. At that time, we will have regulations in order,” Fanion said, adding that the state is working on its regulations, which are finalized but have not yet gone into effect.

She said local ordinances can only regulate small and medium BESS projects; any that are 100 megawatts or over will be approved by the state. She said the city will have a public hearing on local regulations when they are written.

City Councilor Kristen Mello asked if anyone had been asked to vet whether a moratorium could have an unintended consequence with the state. She asked to have the Law Department review the wording, to make sure that projects won’t get an automatic yes in the meantime.

Fanion said she did have the Law Department review the moratorium. “The Planning Board was anxious to get this moving. There are no projects on the books at the moment,” she said, adding, in response to another question, that the moratorium will not be going back to committee. “It’s the choice of the council to close the hearing and give it the first reading,” she said.

City Councilor Ralph Figy, who served as president pro tem at the meeting, said there would be two readings on the moratorium, and the question could be answered in time for the second reading.

Opening the hearing to the public, City Planner Jay Vinskey spoke in favor. He said since the Planning Board had already voted to recommend the moratorium and it has been advertised, that it is already in effect.

City Councilor Dan Allie also spoke in favor. “We need to get something in place,” he said, thanking Vinskey and Fanion. “They’ve done an amazing job on this. It’s better to have something in place.”

City Councilor Nicholas Morganelli, Jr. asked Fanion to explain what the moratorium would mean for the city in the next seven months, if passed. He also said he objected to the terminology in the moratorium that promotes BESS as part of a clean energy grid.

Fanion said that language came from the state. “In the next seven months, we will be developing our own local ordinances. We can do setbacks and things we can control through zoning. We cannot prohibit them, but we’ll look at locations to get the best ordinance we can have,” she said, adding, “This gives us a pause and gives us time.”

“I was with the Department of Energy Resources when BESS was first kicked around,” said City Councilor Daniel Knapik. He said years ago, Westfield accepted a grant for LED street lights, and the city found that the highest demand for power is between 4 and 7 p.m.

He said back then, the state had atomic plants, gas generators and coal. “We don’t have them anymore.” Knapik said the state is still taking power plants off the grid, and now offshore wind and hydro from Canada are not happening anymore. “My question for the subcommittee is, are we able to restrict [BESS] to Industrial A. Ideally, it will always be located near electrical power grids.”

Westfield resident Jessica Britton also spoke during the public hearing. “Thank you for putting this moratorium together and buying us more time,” she said. “It doesn’t make sense — we’re pushing on a global level net carbon zero, but what we’ve seen so far is it’s not safe, it’s difficult to manage, and a strain on the community … A lot of these sites need water and hookups. We live in the United States, where we’re supposed to have all the freedoms, but we have to fight tooth and nail to maintain our autonomy.”

Morganelli said the council had an ordinance in front of them months ago, which he had proposed, and at the time, questions were asked about lithium battery storage in general. “Is this addressing all those other businesses as well? Tell me how this is a complete moratorium on lithium batteries and their risks,” he said.

“This moratorium does refer to BESS, accessory, and behind-the-meter services,” Fanion said.

Knapik said he would recommend going back to committee. “There are five criteria to become a Green Community. You need to have a location in your community to generate energy. I don’t think we’re prepared to put it out there,” he said.

Mello said the moratorium does not include all the other lithium battery uses because it is in response to the Energy Facility Siting Board, which would allow these BESS systems in all zones. “I don’t know if everyone knows that the liquid in those batteries is PFAS. We all know how dangerous this is for our community, the shape of this community, and for the members of our community who have been drinking PFAS in their water for decades,” she said.

Westfield resident Christopher McCrary also spoke, encouraging the council to adopt the moratorium right away. “I was at the Planning Board as well. Time is of the essence — we only have seven months. We already know the state is going to do what it’s going to do. We need to get ahead of this thing as a city and try to figure out whatever protections we can put in for our city as quickly as possible,” he said.

With no other comments, Fanion made a motion to close the public hearing, with Morganelli opposed. She then made a motion for a first reading by title only.

Knapik asked the chair during the interim period if the council could get some answers, such as how the language in the moratorium interacts with the definition of a Green Community.

The motion passed unanimously, and Fanion asked for questions in writing before the second reading on Feb. 19.