Don’t count the City Council out, indeed.
Today, City Council President Jose Tosado sent a memo to the Springfield Law Department and City Clerk calling for a 14-day notice to be sent out for a Council hearing on revoking the special permit granted to Palmer Renewable Energy in 2008 for a proposed wood-burning plant in East Springfield.
Opponents of the plant have pressed councilors to revoke that permit, while City Solicitor Ed Pikula has said the Council doesn’t have the authority to do so, and could face a lawsuit from the developers if it does. Some councilors, it appears, are ready to take that risk, in response to growing public concerns about the health and environmental effects of the plant.
