The Springfield City Council voted to allow a change of petitioner and operator for the recycling/scrapyard business at 64 Napier Street, approving an amended special permit that adds Iron Bar LLC as operator while the current property owner retains site ownership.

Councilors heard about the planned transition at the hearing Tuesday evening, when attorneys and the businesses’ representatives said the Sachs family would remain property owners and Iron Bar would manage recycling operations. Attorney James Martin said the request was a “change of petitioner” for a long-established, preexisting use and that the new operator would bring investments, job offers and safety protocols used at its Waterbury, Conn., operation.

The vote came after multiple councilors acknowledged concerns raised by a large salvage-yard fire earlier in the month at a different site in Indian Orchard. Some council members asked for a follow-up briefing from Fire Commissioner Calvi and for a broader review of scrapyard safety citywide. Proponents, including property representatives and the incoming operator, said the Napier Street operation differs from the nearby blaze because it is a metal recycling operation that does not accept fluids and that it already has safety, environmental and fire plans.

Councilors who pressed the petition emphasized two points: (1) the item before the council was a transfer of a longstanding special permit to add the incoming operator’s name, not a change of the use on the property; and (2) the recent fire in Indian Orchard made it reasonable to ask the fire department for a public review of scrapyard safety practices. Several councilors volunteered to meet with the petitioner and Fire Department leadership to review procedures and pile management practices, and the petitioners said they were willing to meet with councilors and provide their safety plans.

The council approved the request in a roll-call vote. The motion’s approval included the planning staff analysis and the standard findings that the use as developed will not adversely affect the neighborhood and that adequate facilities will be provided for proper operation. Council President Fenton recused himself from the item because of prior representation of the property owner.

The council did not change the special-permit conditions during the session; several members asked that city staff circulate the operator’s fire-safety, environmental and pile-management plans and that the Fire Department brief the council on any relevant lessons from the Indian Orchard investigation.