Westfield council approves settlements to finalize fourth‑round affordable‑housing plan, shielding town from builders‑remedy suits
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Summary
The Westfield Town Council unanimously approved several settlement resolutions authorizing the mayor to sign agreements that resolve outstanding challenges to the town’s fourth‑round affordable‑housing plan, a step officials say will secure local control of zoning for the next decade and preserve single‑family zones.
The Westfield Town Council voted in favor of multiple settlement resolutions Tuesday that officials say will finalize the town’s fourth‑round affordable‑housing plan and protect the municipality from builders‑remedy litigation.
Mayor Shelley Brindle and members of the council said the package of settlements resolves challenges filed by private developers and by the Fair Share Housing Center. Council speakers described the action as the culmination of a multi‑year planning and mediation process that reorganizes where multifamily and affordable units will be sited — generally along the railroad corridor and in the central business district — while preserving single‑family neighborhoods.
Councilman Jim Healy, who chaired the town’s affordable‑housing committee, told the council the work was informed by staff, the planning board and bipartisan council members and was designed to meet the requirements of the 2024 Fair Housing Act. He said a judge overseeing the mediation described Westfield’s submission as “a real plan” and that approval would exempt the town from certain developer lawsuits for ten years.
The council read and approved separate resolutions authorizing the mayor to sign settlement agreements with the Westfield Advocates, the Fair Share Housing Center, and private property interests (including a referenced 322 Walnut and Toll Brothers). Each resolution passed on a roll‑call vote.
Council members emphasized that the settlements preserve 70% of the town’s zoning as single‑family residential and will allow local boards (planning and zoning) to retain control over future land‑use decisions. Officials also said the agreements aim to shield the town from costly litigation and to accelerate redevelopment projects the administration has supported.
What happens next: officials said the settlements will be presented to the court overseeing the mediation later this week, at which point the town expects judicial approval that would make the plan operative and limit builders‑remedy exposure for the coming decade.
