The following is a brief excerpt of a three page letter that was read to the Mayor and Town Council on February 13, 2024. I am a licensed professional engineer who is affiliated with the Westfield Advocates for Responsible Development. We have tracked over 20 large construction projects that have been built or approved since 2017. Four of these projects, the Sophia, One Westfield Place, Westfield Crossing, and the Williams Nursery Redevelopment site, include large numbers of new dwelling units in small footprints with vertical construction to previously unprecedented building heights. There have been approximately 950 new dwelling units approved for construction which is in addition to approximately 350,000 square feet of approved non-residential use space.

The Westfield Advocates are unaware of any coordinated investigation which takes a cumulative, allinclusive approach to identify and establish the combined impacts of all planned and approved construction. The Master Plan Reexamination Report, as adopted in 2019, does not incorporate projects like the Sophia and One Westfield Place. Such wide spread construction will have a major impact on the traffic, infrastructure, and everyday life activities of the Town. Although no past benchmarks likely exist, the changes in things like domestic water and electrical requirements, sewage flows, pedestrian and vehicular traffic, lighting levels, etc. can be predicted using proven scientific and engineering methods. We are hereby presenting the concept and alerting the Town to engage in a cumulative impact investigation. This small investment will provide valuable information pertaining to current and future capital budget priorities.

Richard Panikiewsky Westfield