On a unanimous vote, the Springfield Zoning Board of Appeals overturned the building permit Building Commissioner Steven Desilets issued to Palmer Renewable Energy’s biomass facility slated for Page Boulevard. After nearly two and a half hours of testimony, the Board rejected Desilets and PRE’s contention
**This post has been updated to reflect clarifications of some legal issues in this appeal.** This Wednesday Springfield will see perhaps the highest profile showdown over the proposed biomass facility on Page Boulevard since the Springfield City Council revoked Palmer Renewable Paving’s permit. Indeed, this
With another year under Springfield’s belt comes another edition of the Year in Springfield. In its 375th year of existence the City of Homes suffered through one of the most erratic year of weather on record which brought a range of immense destruction and gross
The Springfield City Council closed out the year on a high and uncharacteristically brief note. Most of the measures were largely uncontroversial approvals of grant money and donations. An informal caucus was held at the end to select the Council’s officers for next year. Budget
Last week biomass opponents were despondent. Kateri Walsh resorted to parliamentary procedure where the power of persuasion has failed–miserably–and delayed a vote to appeal the building commissioner’s decision to issue permits. Meanwhile, the hearing officer for the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection had ruled that
**UPDATED 12/3/11** Following a report by Maureen Turner posted to her Valley Advocate blog “On Springfield” on biomass & campaign contributions, the Republican today singled out Kateri Walsh’s hundreds in campaign contributions from the Callahan family and their lawyer Frank Fitzgerald. The same report notes
(WMassP&I) With the holidays around the corner, the turkeys of the Springfield City Council gathered Monday for a Thanksgiving week meeting to handle some issues that had been at a simmer for several weeks now. Some of the hottest items were taken care of before
**UPDATE** Editor’s Note: In response to a comment, we wanted to add a clarification on the post itself. The comparison between Scott Brown’s and Setti Warren’s service is NOT intended to cast aspersions on National Guard service. There is a difference between touting one’s own
(WMassP&I) After all of the drama, all the testimony, all the passion, the Springfield City Council voted this evening to deny a permit for a used car dealership on Newhouse Street in the City’s Outer Belt Neighborhood. Yes, the tension and the anxiety over what
(WMassP&I) In many ways, we have abdicated our responsibility on the Biomass issue. When the permit was rammed through the city council on a 7-2 vote in 2008, it was hailed as a jobs creator period. Since then there has been a growing movement to