Chicopee License Committee recommends against Pilot Travel Center

CHICOPEE – The proposition of a Pilot Travel Center on 357 Burnett Rd. continues to garner divisive reactions across Planning Board and City Council subcommittee meetings. During an Aug. 8 License Committee meeting, members of the committee recommended against licenses for the travel center’s fuel storage and service stations. A final vote on the travel center will take place during the Sept. 8 City Council meeting.

Background

Vice President of Pilot Patrick Deptula originally presented the project during a May 5 Planning Board meeting alongside his design and legal team. He explained that the site would include 16 fueling areas and a fueling depot for trucks. The travel center will also feature a Wendy’s restaurant without a drive-thru, a convenience store and amenities for truckers to refresh after lengthy drives. There is no overnight stay option for trucks, meaning they would have to relocate to the Pride Travel Center on 367 Burnett Rd. that offers accommodations.

Vanasse Hangen Brustlin Inc. (VHB) Director of Land Development John Furman detailed the background behind the site’s history. Furman served as a part of an initial project that transformed the space into a mixed-use hotel, gas station and sit-down restaurant space in 2018. While the project gathered the necessary permits, the advent of the coronavirus pandemic halted the project.

“We were ready to go, then COVID[-19] hit,” said Furman. Pilot became involved in the site shortly after.

Residents issued a variety of critiques about the proposed project, including concerns about increased activity in a traffic-dense area, changes to the site’s original mixed-use concept, quality of life issues and the project’s proximity to a similar Pride Travel Center. The outpour of reactions inspired a robo-call sent throughout Chicopee advocating against the project and a Facebook page titled “Chicopee Against the Stop: The Truck Stop Stops Here.”

After the Planning Board issued preliminary site plan approval on May 5, the board met again with Pilot on July 14 to vote on finalized plans. The discussion continued to feature mixed sentiments, with Burnett Road resident David Amos and others demanding an independent traffic study.

“We are fully supportive of smart developments … the potential for shared community at this site would be simply wasted by this. … You really need a full, independent traffic study,” said Amos in the July 14 meeting.

The Planning Board ultimately approved the site’s definitive plan. Since the meeting, the Pilot Travel Center and its much-discussed above ground gas tank received additional attention during an informational July 25 Utilities Committee meeting. Currently, only one other travel center in Massachusetts features above-ground tanks.

License Committee

The Aug. 8 License Committee featured a similar back-and-forth conversation between Pilot representatives and advocates of the Burnett Road area.

Pilot continued to defend the site’s proposed use and some of its debated features, including the potential traffic impact and above ground diesel tanks. Pilot consultant Tim Perrin explained that the four above-ground diesel fuel tanks will contain 12,000 gallons each, while two underground tanks of 20,000 gallons each will provide gasoline and premium gasoline. Perrin also stressed that only authorized personnel can access the above-ground tanks.

“All of the above-ground tanks are within a locked gate with a fence all the way around,” said Perrin. Pilot is required to conduct reviews of the tanks on an annual basis, if approved.

Pilot Development Director Brad Alsup shared that the above-ground tanks allow Pilot to address potential leaks immediately. He also explained that both above ground and below ground tanks are needed due to gasoline only being able to be stored below ground.

“You can see everything. If there is a leak, you can see it and deal with it right away,” said Alsup. He shared that construction for the above-ground tanks typically takes 90 days.

Burnett Road residents presented their own legal representation with lawyer Seth Wilson. The lawyer said that 150 residents have submitted a petition against the project, with residents still claiming that the Pilot proposition is not a welcomed development for the vacant space.

“They have no issue with responsible, intelligent and coordinated developments that would be helpful to the growth and development of the Chicopee economy. Their concerns are with the impact to not only themselves individually, but also the entire region associated with putting a truck stop here,” said Wilson.

Wilson advocated for the city to hire an independent consultant to conduct a traffic study and further review the above-ground gas tanks. He also said the above-ground tanks are an irregular proposal.

“Is that something that should be done here in the city of Chicopee? My suggestion and the residents’ suggestion is that is not appropriate, it represents too great a hazard to have in an area like this,” said Wilson.

Regarding demands for an independent traffic study, Wilson considered the Pilot submission as “not accurate.” He claimed that the study only slightly considered the change of use from a mixed-use space to a travel center. Wilson expects the proposed business to draw more frequent truck stops compared to Pilot’s completed study.

“It’s critical to understand that. From our perspective, that is at best not being straightforward with the MassDOT [Massachusetts Department of Transportation] about the potential impact on the traffic side,” said Wilson.

The lawyer presented minutes from the Planning Board’s discussion on the previous mixed-use business submission in 2018. Wilson pointed out that active truck use was not accounted for in the original submission, nor in MassDOT’s recent improvements to the intersection entering the 357 Burnett Rd. location.

“It doesn’t take into account the volume, the physical constraints, of heavy trucking use. If you dive into the traffic impact study … they didn’t take into account any increased volume in trucks,” said Wilson. The lawyer additionally welcomed an independent traffic entity to support his claims.

Wilson ultimately advocated for the permits to be denied until Pilot conducts more extensive studies.

Fire Department Lt. Katie Collins Kalbaugh informed the committee of the Fire Department’s perspective on the project. Kalbaugh said that above-ground fuel storage tanks are common, but not in the regard to commercial spaces that require sizably bigger tanks.

In Pilot’s final comments, Alsup presented a document of change submitted to MassDOT highlighting changes in traffic patterns from the original study. He also stressed that MassDOT, Eversource and the Massachusetts Environmental Policy Act (MEPA) office have already approved the project.

After back-and-forth discussion between residents, City Council members and Pilot representatives, the License Committee voted against recommendations for the two permits in a 3-2 vote. The subcommittee vote only serves as a recommendation to the council, with the council set to take a final vote on the item on Sept. 8.