The chronology here is important. In 2019 the town retained H2M architectural firm to prepare a master plan re-examination report as part of the required update of the Municipal Land Use Law (MLUL) and this report was adopted by the council in December 2019. Governor Murphy in 2019 changed the Local Redevelopment & Housing Law (LHRL) to allow buildings that were vacant for 2 years to be considered blighted. With the start of 2020, the council and planning board planned to move forward with a series of assessments to determine if not only the entire 6.7 square mile town of Westfield but also certain properties would meet the LHRL criteria The firm Topology was retained and of course it was determined that Westfield met the criteria NJ Rev Stat Section 40A:12A-14 for an area in need of rehabilitation and resolutions and ordinances were enacted. The other important point to note, is that once there was a designation of an area in need of rehabilitation or redevelopment, the town was able to enact an ordinance allowing 5 year tax abatements and exemptions for any developments that would occur. (and PILOTS - payment in lieu of taxes) Also of note, is that Streetworks was named the conditional developer for 7 sites; 3 of which were public parking lots 1,2, and 7. (North Ave, South Ave and across from Post Office)

Also, be reminded that COVID-19 started in force in mid-March 2020, and on 3/24/20, the town held its first virtual town council meeting, and those meetings were held virtually until late 2021. So while families were struggling with health issues, remote schooling, family tragedies, this council was moving forward setting up this town for development with nary a public discussion, other than whatever was presented at specific town council meetings.

Another significant aspect of this chronology, is that as part of the MLUL, the preparation and completion of the Uniform Land Use and Circulation Report, prepared by H2M architects & engineers, was adopted in June 2021, . This report is included in the updated Master Plan and incorporated elements of the master plan re-examination report. The ULUC identified recommendations for implementation throughout the town. It is interesting to note that at the height of COVID-19, on August 13, 2020, as cited in the ULUC report, a virtual town hall was held to discuss land use and circulation issues affecting the downtown and at the same time Topology was finishing its redevelopment assessment, dated August 26, 2020. How were H2M and Topology selected - thru a public process were there other firm proposals?

For two years (2020-2022) there was nothing publicly shared by the Town Council or the Planning Board on the work that Streetworks was advancing as the conditional developer (it was a one year agreement with (2) six-month renewals expiring December 2022) until late September 2022. Nothing was shared with the general public regarding the public lots nor the private LT lots. Where was the community engagement? Where was the discussion that massive zoning overrides and increased densities were being considered? Where was the discussion about the type of appropriate land uses for these sites? How was the purpose and need for this project being determined?

In late September 2022, the Preview Center opened, the huge model was unveiled, and presentation sessions were calendared by Streetworks for the residents starting in October. These sessions occurred through mid-January 2023. Our organization and many other residents attended every Preview Center session, attended the bi-weekly Town Council meetings to share concerns about the size, scale, traffic, financing, and environmental impacts of this project. Our concerns fell on deaf ears. No alternatives were ever presented or acknowledged. We asked for a PAUSE, they actually sped up the process.

As you can see from the timeline, this was a fast-tracked approval process rushed through in 1.5 months, from redevelopment plan to redevelopment agreement to 8 financial agreements for 8 LLC’s including the public bond ordinance for $57 million dollars. Why was the Town Council so intent on rushing this through? Is it that the conditional developer agreement had an expiration date of December 2022? Was the Town Council worried that the residents were not in agreement? These 1,100 plus pages of legal agreements that were released to the public on 2/26/23 for full adoption by 3/14/23 was clearly a jam job, with no intention of public comments being addressed or incorporated into the agreements.