WESTFIELD — A group of Westfield residents concerned with overdevelopment in the downtown area has filed suit against the town and its elected representatives in response to the One Westfield Place redevelopment project.

The lawsuit, filed with the Union County Superior Court system on behalf of Westfield Advocates for Responsible Development (a citizen-action group that has publicly protested the project over the course of the past several months), cites numerous alleged inconsistencies between the redevelopment and the community’s 2019 Master Plan re-examination report, an official document drafted to help the town navigate new construction.

According to the suit, filed Wednesday by attorney Patrick McNamara of Scarinci & Hollenbeck, LLC, town officials “failed to adequately consider the economic impact, excess density, traffic, parking, costs and environmental impact of the development” in looking to move the project forward.

The redevelopment plan — which calls for the addition of two parking decks, numerous residential apartments and townhomes, retail and office space and several new public areas — was deemed substantially compatible with the Master Plan re-examination report by the town’s planning board in February.

Representatives from the Westfield Advocates further detailed their complaints in a 38-page document that was partially read into the record during a recent meeting of the planning board and included as an exhibit in the lawsuit.

The organization lists “traffic congestion and basic pedestrian and bicycle safety” as one of their chief areas of concern in the document, which also details alleged inconsistencies related to parking, building height, usage and zoning.

“The Streetworks development plan with its six-story apartment buildings, five- story garages placed in poorly located areas and excessively large office structures…flies in the face of the [Unified Land Use Code] and the Master Plan objectives,” the group wrote in the document. “There is another solution where we can achieve our common development objectives that will move our downtown forward in a manner that will not destroy our heritage, small-town environment and block viewscapes [sic] to our most historically sensitive structures in town.”

On its website, the group also claims that the project’s residential density is too high for Westfield, noting that, “in the last [five] years, approximately 690 new residential units are either occupied, in construction or in planning.

This proposal provides another 205 units. The number of units for the sites proposed exceed the zoning ordinances by [two-to-three times]. A proposal more in keeping with the existing context would be palatable.”

HBC|Streetworks, the project’s designated redevelopment agency, was not named as a defendant in the suit.

The One Westfield Place redevelopment plan — along with its subsequent financial agreements — was approved by the town council in March.

“The approval of One Westfield Place caps almost four years of planning and collaboration with HBC|Streetworks Development, following the 2019 adoption of a new, community-driven Master Plan Reexamination, and a series of subsequent public legislative actions which laid the groundwork for the town to leverage the state’s redevelopment laws to its benefit,” Mayor Shelley Brindle said at the time. “Those of us on the town council who voted to approve this project indeed realize the magnitude of our decision, acknowledging the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to partner with our largest downtown property owner to create a vibrant downtown that will deliver foot traffic to our local businesses, provide engaging spaces for community gathering, art and events, and enable diverse housing options for newcomers and downsizers.”

Though Mayor Brindle told The Westfield Leader that the town is not able to comment on pending litigation, she has publicly reiterated her support both for the project and the work done by the town’s redevelopment team at numerous times throughout the year.

Requests for comment by Frank Fusaro, a member of the town’s board of adjustment and co-founder of the Westfield Advocates, were not returned at the time of publication.