Here is the associated press release:

City of Northampton Zoning Revisions Committee

For immediate Release: January 21, 2010

Contact:

Joel Russell, Chair, Zoning Revisions Committee, joelrusl@gmail.com, 413-584-7228

Danielle Kahn, Vice-Chair, Zoning Revisions Committee, djkahn2004@yahoo.com, 413-320-7208

Carolyn Misch, Northampton Office of Planning and Development, cmisch@northamptonma.gov, 413-587-1287


“Rezoning Northampton for a Sustainable Future”

The future of King Street, appropriate forms of infill development, controlling sprawl, providing a range of housing options, and improving urban design in Northampton will be among the issues discussed in a citywide public forum on February 24, 2010 from 7-9 PM at the JFK Middle School Community Room. The forum, hosted by the Zoning Revisions Committee (ZRC), will give citizens of Northampton the opportunity to suggest how Northampton’s Zoning Ordinance might be changed to implement the City’s Sustainability Plan. After a brief presentation on the ZRC’s ongoing process and the key issues it faces in revising the zoning, the ZRC will hear from citizens on such issues as ensuring quality urban infill, maintaining neighborhood character, and protecting the City’s green spaces and environmental resources. The goal is to implement the Sustainable Northampton Plan in a manner that improves our quality of life and maintains the best features of our community. Members of the ZRC, which was appointed by the Planning Board as an advisory committee, include Joel Russell, Chair, Dennis Bidwell, Stephen Gilson, Danielle Kahn, Adin Maynard, Peter McLean, Jim Nash, Dillon Sussman, and Tom Weiner.


See also:

Joel Russell's Introduction to Form-Based Zoning, as Presented to the Northampton Design Forum, 1/26/10 (PDF, 10MB)

Download Envisioning Sustainable Northampton - Final Notre Dame Studio Presentation Book

Envisioning Sustainable Northampton: Notre Dame Urban Design Presentation - Video and Handout

Video and Slides: Final Presentation of Design Northampton Week

Northampton Media: "Northampton's Built Environment: Squandered Public Equity" by Tris Metcalfe, AIA (11/2/09)

Video Highlights from the 10/19/09 Mayoral Debate: Wetlands, King Street, Infill and the BID

March 10: Zoning Revisions Committee to Meet; Our Suggestions
The Zoning Revisions Committee is charged with recommending zoning changes that implement the Sustainable Northampton Plan. We urge the committee to keep these considerations in mind:

• Before trying to facilitate infill development, might it be best to first establish infill design standards? (see Springfield)
  
• How can we encourage development within already paved-over spaces as opposed to eating into greenspace? Why are spaces in certain in-town areas like King Street languishing unused? Are there concerns about hazardous waste that need to be addressed?
  
• How will proposed rule changes affect the quality of life within in-town districts? Changes that erode amenities (e.g. greenspace), raise safety issues (e.g. more flooding) or create hassles (e.g. more traffic jams) may defeat the purpose of the Sustainable Northampton Plan by motivating homebuyers to sprawl out elsewhere.
  
• Will the proposed rule changes encourage development that is in harmony with the surrounding neighborhood?
  
• How will proposed rule changes affect tree canopy ward by ward?
  
• How will proposed rule changes affect the percentage of impervious surface ward by ward?
  
• How will proposed rule changes affect the value of neighboring properties?
  
• How will proposed rule changes affect property taxes? (if you can build more units on a parcel, its taxable value might increase)
  
• Will the proposed rule changes alter the balance between single-family and multi-family housing units? (this could impact the municipal budget)
  
• Will the proposed rule changes discourage the possibly desirable development of new neighborhood centers in outlying areas? (e.g. through requiring high traffic mitigation payments for certain businesses)
  
• Will the proposed rule changes result in a 'privatization' of greenspace? This can happen, for example, with developments that sequester most of their greenspace behind buildings and away from the street.

So that non-professionals can understand what's being debated, we urge the committee to circulate visual illustrations for all proposals whenever appropriate.

Video: Zoning Revisions Committee, 10/28/09; Attract People to Infill Areas with Amenities
...we suggest the following to ease the way politically and safeguard the "receiving areas" (see map below):

1. Give people positive reasons to live and work in the receiving areas (beyond any environmental or aesthetic benefits of curtailing sprawl). These might include:
   
   • Access to next-generation Internet service
   • Free wifi for homes, businesses and the public
   • Robust tree-planting program (see benefits)
   • Frequent clean-up of graffiti and trash (see 'broken windows' theory)
   • Free snow-clearing from sidewalks
   • Snow-clearing from bike trails
   
   
2. Prioritize the enactment of infill design guidelines
   • Prevent awkward, inappropriate, overlarge infill developments
   • Preserve urban greenspace
   • Avoid increasing density to levels that lead to traffic jams and parking shortages
   • Restrict the spread of impervious surface to reduce flooding risks and the urban heat-island effect

The drive for infill should be part of a larger political bargain with residents in the receiving areas, so that their risks are minimized and their benefits are clear.

Proposed Future Land Use Map (PDF)

The orange zones are "Traditional Neighborhood and Receiving Areas". The light green zones are "Conservation Development and Sending Areas".

        

We are pleased to share this announcement from The Amherst Orchid Society. Admission to the Orchid Show is $3, and children under 12 are free.

        

Today's Hampshire Life supplement in the Gazette includes a long profile of Ward 3 and the Ward 3 Neighborhood Association. It's upbeat and enjoyable, but curiously omits any mention of Ward 3's current City Councilor, Angela Plassmann.

Some excerpts:

Good neighbors

...Ward 3 is the old part of the city, a place of narrow streets, elegantly restored Victorian homes and apartment houses with sagging porches that have seen better days. Railroad tracks cut through the ward and occasional trains still clatter by. It has old brick buildings, some now in use as sleek offices, that date back to when this was the part of Northampton where Polish, Italian, Irish and French-Canadian immigrants lived. It has newer, cookie-cutterish condominium developments. Ward 3 also includes the area known as the Meadows, nearly 4,000 acres of rich farmland. And it's where the Three-County Fairgrounds are located...

Jonathan Brody, a 33-year-old psychotherapist, says he worries about the drug dealing he sees going on around the neighborhood. But would he move? No. "I love Ward 3. It's a really unique place of homeowners and renters, white collar and blue collar, agriculture and downtown..."

During her eight-year tenure [as City Councilor], [Maria] Tymoczko, like [Leonard] Budgar before her, was a vocal opponent of initiatives she saw as potentially harmful to her ward. In 1997, for example, she spoke out against the move to open a cot program for the homeless on Hawley Street. "My neighborhood and ward feel betrayed by the city," she said at the time. According to a Gazette report back then, those feelings weren't groundless. A tally of rooming houses, shelters and programs around the city showed that, with eight, Ward 3 had more than any other ward. Ward 2 had none; the rest were in between...

[Touching on infill...] "What are we going to be, a mini-Manhattan?" [Ward 3 Neighborhood Association President Jerry Budgar] asks. "They'll want to stuff units on small lots, whatever schlock they care to put up. I'm going to be watching personally to see that the whole city is treated equally."

See also:

Video Excerpts from 12/29 Fire Meeting: Brody, Plassmann; Handouts



WBUR reported on Mr. Brody's remarks and the reaction from the Mayor:

“These incidences of fires in Ward 3 have been an issue since I’ve been in the city,” said Jonathan Brody, who has lived on Williams Street in Ward 3 for about 5 years.

He told Mayor Clare Higgins he’s upset with city officials and it wasn’t until two people died that the city got proactive about suspicious fires that have plagued Northampton for years. He said it comes down to this: Ward 3 is on the other side of the tracks.

February 24 Forum: “Rezoning Northampton for a Sustainable Future”

9 Short Videos: An Architecture and Urbanism Tour of Ward 3 - Market and Hawley Streets

Condo Monotony: The Future of Ward 3?

Ward 3: Your Next City Councilor, Angela Plassmann
On her campaign website, Ms. Plassmann outlines her priorities as follows:

As your Ward 3 City Councilor, I will represent your interests in these critical areas:

Schools: I am committed to keeping all four elementary schools open, including Bridge Street School.

Infill: I support enacting design standards to ensure that future development is in harmony with the character and density of our neighborhoods, and that our green space is preserved.

Exit 19: I want to protect the Bridge Street neighborhood from the proposed massive I-91 Interchange, the need for which is not clear.

Roads: Our crumbling streets need priority attention.

Crime: Northampton’s rate of property crime exceeds the statewide average by 25%. I will work with citizens and the police department to bring this down. In particular, the two years of suspicious fires in the Hawley/Market Street area need to be resolved.

Drugs: It’s time to address drug use in our schools, meadows and neighborhoods with education, treatment and enforcement.

Accessibility: I will hold regular open office hours throughout the ward to address your concerns as they arise, and use my website and other media to alert you to matters that affect your interests.

Best Practices: I will work to implement Best Practices—term limits, explanation of the City budget, protocol for conducting meetings and making documents related to decision-making public.

Gazette: "Displaced Ward 3 councilor reflects on outcome" (11/5/09)
Valley Street resident James Nash, Ward 3 captain for the Higgins campaign, who held signs on Election Day for both incumbent Mayor Clare Higgins and Reckman, said he sees a strong connection between Reckman's showing and Higgins' vote totals in Ward 3.

"Both those candidates chose to support each other and I think that worked against them in Ward 3," he said.

Higgins lost in both precincts in Ward 3, getting a total of 540 votes to challenger Michael Bardsley's 674 votes.

Also working against Reckman, Nash believes, was a controversial development off North Street that has been vigorously opposed by neighborhood residents. Nash cited the Planning Board's approval of that project after months of wrangling as the source of voter dissatisfaction with Reckman.

"Bob saw this as a private-property issue and he steadfastly refused to get into the political shouting match that's gone on around it," he said. "I have no doubt that his refusal to get involved with that affected his chances of getting re-elected."

Video: Best Practices Forum Studies Evolution of Meadows Plan
One particularly interesting segment was the presentation by former Ward 3 City Councilor Maria Tymoczko. She recounts the troubled relations between the Three County Fair and residents in the 1970s, and how neighborhood concerns came to be better respected. This segment runs from 2min:52sec to 22min:45sec.



Northampton, MA: Best Practices Forum Studies the Evolution of the Meadows Plan from Adam Cohen on Vimeo.

Today's Urban Planning Debates Echoed in Northampton's Near Past
Brinkley Thorne (speaking below) and Maisie Cox, architects and co-owners of Thornes Market, with their children (p.20)

"A town like Northampton should be careful. Now for the first time in a long time, people want to build new buildings downtown. It could be done badly. What really intrigues me is that the most sophisticated thing is informality. That quality is so easily lost as things get more prosperous."

Ricardo Barrientos, bilingual teacher and bilingual coordinator, Northampton Public Schools, and Teresa Barrientos, Hispanic parent resource person, Holyoke Public Schools, with their children (p.22)

"Northampton is a very healthy environment to raise kids in. The kids love it--they're Northampton natives. Comparing it to New York City, where I [Teresa] grew up, this is Paradise--trees and green..."

Randall Diehl, painter (p.59)

"Northampton used to be small-town America, now it seems to be trying to imitate New York, which it can never be, and I don't know why it would want to be... I think it's important to preserve the old buildings that give the town dignity..."

James Brooks, City Councilor, Ward Six (p.105)

"What does the city need? First of all, we should have our ordinances so that they can be enforced. Second, because I have seen so many new people, I say that we should stick to our present zoning requirements for building lots and houses on those building lots. You can't stop people from moving in...the best way to control it, as well as we can control it, is to make sure we abide by our zoning ordinances, without variances and without special permits... I disagree with the Mayor completely and absolutely when he says that we should fill the open spaces with houses..."

        

Northampton Media continues its investigation of conditions in Northampton's public housing:

Health Risks Alleged at Northampton Public Housing (January 29, 2010)

K., a still-elegant woman in her mid-50s, has small-cell lung cancer that has metastasized to her brain. A member of a prominent Northampton family, she lives in a second-floor walk-up at the Cahill Apartments public housing project on Fruit Street.

Last year, while she was undergoing chemotherapy, she developed lymphedema, a buildup of lymphatic fluid causing swelling in her legs, which left her unable to walk. Her building has no elevator. More than a year later, the Northampton Housing Authority (NHA) has still not granted her emergency transfer request for an accessible ground-floor apartment.

In addition, K.‘s immune system, weakened by chemotherapy, may be compromised by unsanitary conditions at the Cahill Apartments. The NHA has taken no action on her repeated complaints about mold and water damage in her dwelling, the odors from her neighbor’s uncleaned apartment, or the trash accumulating in the back stairwell...

The rear staircase poses additional problems for K. because of its foul odor and the debris that clutters the narrow hallway and outdoor porch. In the pile under the staircase, I saw bottles labeled “propane” and “mineral spirits” jammed in among flammable cardboard boxes, plastic dishes, a broken blender and other household junk that was being stored or discarded there by a neighbor...

[Northampton Housing Authority Executive Director Jon] Hite...shared a copy of the NHA’s new 10-year, $7.68 million Capital Improvement Plan [PDF, 1.2MB, excerpts below], which would include about $6 million for Salvo House and $800,000 for Cahill—with the important caveat that the entire plan is contingent on whether the money is appropriated by the state. High-priority tasks included the installation of ground fault circuit interrupter (GFCI) electrical outlets in apartment kitchens and bathrooms, and replacement of corrugated laundry room vent pipes with straight pipes, to prevent lint buildup that could cause fires. The report does not include any proposals to make the Cahill townhouses more handicapped-accessible...

Perhaps the budget for this 10-year plan would not be so high if the buildings hadn’t been allowed to deteriorate in the first place. Does it make sense to pour more tax dollars into properties that will quickly become damaged again through neglect?

The Joseph H. McDonald House on Old South Street, one of two federally-funded NHA properties, is a case in point. I spoke with tenants there Jan. 24 who believe they have become chronically ill from flooding-related mold, improper asbestos removal, and uncleaned ventilation systems. Once allowed to progress to this point, such hazards are difficult to remediate. The NHA’s federal properties are not mentioned in the Capital Improvement Plan, so we will investigate whether any ventilation upgrades have been budgeted separately. We’ll have more details on the McDonald tenants’ story in our next installment.

Click for the complete article in Northampton Media.


See also:

Kirby on the Loose: "Paradise Lost" (2/2/10)
The Gazette and the Republican...have never reported on living conditions in public housing and probably never will, because it is unpleasant to remind people that there are two, three, a dozen different Northamptons. There is Meadowbrook and Cahill and Crescent Street and Dryads Green.

The ugly truth is that for all the inclusiveness and diversity that we are supposed to have in this community, most of our minorities will live out their lives in projects, not normal houses. Will the woman reported on by Jendi Reiter in Northampton Media ever make it out of Cahill to Tobin Manor? I doubt it. For years Cahill Apartments, has been a dumping ground for difficult to place people, people with mental disabilities, and problem tenants who the authority can’t evict but can transfer. I gave the Gazette a study I did of Cahill some time ago, and they are just sitting on it. It’ll never hatch on its own.

Jon Hite, executive director of Northampton Housing Authority, was a political appointee, who learned on the job, and he is no great shakes as an administrator, but he is part of the club, helping the Mayor win elections, and surviving year after year by making excuses. The only cure that would work for public housing, I hate to say it, is to privatize and depoliticize it.

Northampton Media: "Passing the Buck on Salvo House Hazards" (12/18/09)

Northampton Media: "Salvo House Report" (12/16/09)

Northampton Media: "The Walter Salvo House: A Conversation with Housing Authority Director Jon Hite" (12/9/09)

Text of Plassmann Letter to Housing Authority Director Jonathan Hite (12/8/09)

Northampton Media: "Ward Three Councilor-Elect Angela Plassmann Takes on the Housing Authority" (12/7/09)

Northampton Redoubt: "Affordable Housing with a capital A" (12/6/09)

Kirby on the Loose: "Bait and Switch at the Village?" (12/9/09)

Mike Kirby: "The Meadowbrook Chronicles"

Downstreet.net: "Agency's Tenants and Apartments: Out of Sight, Out of Mind, Out of Kilter" (6/19/04)

Northampton Housing Authority Capital Improvement Plan - December 2009 (PDF, 1.2MB)

        

The Ward 3 Neighborhood Association announces:

The 2010 Federal Census is coming in March and we want to raise awareness around the city about how easy, safe and important it is to complete. The city has created a Complete Count Committee [link] to help in that process. It has ordered materials that seek to inform and relieve the public about the Census. Volunteers are needed to distribute these materials around their neighborhoods and streets.

We will be having a meeting of volunteers to discuss the Census, why it is important to the city, and how to distribute information to neighbors on Wednesday, February 3rd at 7 PM at the Bridge St School Cafeteria. Please come to help in this grass-roots campaign to get everyone counted!

If you can't make it but would like to help in your neighborhood or on your street, call Joel Spiro at 413-587-2271 or Owen Freeman-Daniels at 413-530-1054.

See also:

Northampton, MA: "2010 Federal Census Background"
In March of 2010, census forms will be delivered to every residence in the United States and Puerto Rico. When you receive yours, just answer the 10 short questions and then mail the form back in the postage-paid envelope provided. If you don’t mail the form back, you may receive a visit from a census taker, who will ask you the questions from the form. A census taker must follow-up in person with every address that doesn’t mail back the form in order to obtain the responses.

        

The Ward 3 Neighborhood Association announces:

NEIGHBORHOOD TRAFFIC CALMING MEETING

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2010

7:00 at COLLEGE CHURCH, 48 Pomeroy Terrace

The Montview Neighborhood** Traffic Calming committee (formed originally as a sub-committee of the Ward 3 Neighborhood Association) has been working for over two years to devise ways to make our neighborhood safer, cleaner, and quieter by encouraging drivers to travel more slowly and carefully through our streets.

In April 2009 we presented our traffic calming application, along with 209 of your signatures and 107 Pace Car sign-ups, to Northampton's Transportation and Parking Commission (TPC). Shortly thereafter, the TPC approved our application and did a traffic study, which indicated a need for the city to implement measures for traffic calming in our neighborhood, particularly on the major streets.

Since that time the TC committee has been working with the city to determine the best methods for calming traffic. We have worked most closely with Laura Hanson, City Engineer, who will do a presentation at the neighborhood meeting.

The purpose of the meeting on February 11 is to get input from the neighbors on the considered traffic calming measures. So we hope you will attend, and voice your opinions.

We are grateful to the College Church for giving us a central place to meet. They have offered their Glass House, which is the large vestibule in the front of the building.

SEE YOU THERE!!

** The Montview Neighborhood includes Pomeroy, Williams, and Holyoke Streets and all the adjacent streets. As a means to identify our neighborhood, the committee chose the name Montview, since we have a view of Mt. Holyoke from much of the neighborhood.

If you need more information, please contact Lola at 584-9463 or Mac at 584-0068.

See also:

Traffic Calming in Northampton
Web pages of the Transportation and Parking Commission. Download a copy of the Northampton Traffic Calming Manual.

Video: Traffic Calming Informational Discussion, 2/26/09

City Council Takes Up Traffic Calming Manual on 9/18/08; Traffic Concerns from Ward 3; Impact of Traffic Calming on Bicyclists and Snow Removal

        

The Northampton Design Forum sponsored "An Introduction to Form-Based Zoning" on January 26. The A.P.E. Gallery on Main Street filled to hear Joel Russell's presentation. Mr. Russell is a member of the Northampton Design Forum and chairs Northampton's Zoning Revisions Committee. Here is a complete blip.tv video of the presentation, recorded by Adam Cohen. The video is 1 hour and 44 minutes long.

 

Download a PDF (10MB) of all 74 slides shown. Selected slides include:


















See also:

Form-Based Codes Institute

February 24 Forum: “Rezoning Northampton for a Sustainable Future”

Download Envisioning Sustainable Northampton - Final Notre Dame Studio Presentation Book

Envisioning Sustainable Northampton: Notre Dame Urban Design Presentation - Video and Handout

Video and Slides: Final Presentation of Design Northampton Week

Grasping the Sustainable Northampton Vision: We Need Pictures

Northampton Media: "Northampton's Built Environment: Squandered Public Equity" by Tris Metcalfe, AIA (11/2/09)

Video Highlights from the 10/19/09 Mayoral Debate: Wetlands, King Street, Infill and the BID
Bardsley: "I think we need design standards... Infill isn't simply cramming in buildings."

March 10: Zoning Revisions Committee to Meet; Our Suggestions

Lessons from San Diego: Why We Need Infill Design Guidelines

Our Ad in the May 6 Gazette: "How to Avoid Classic Infill Design Mistakes"

Houston Chronicle: "Density hasn’t been kind to Cottage Grove..."

Portland Infill Design Strategies: Best Practices for Context-Sensitive Infill Design









Knoxville Infill Housing Design Guidelines: Lessons from Experience

9 Short Videos: An Architecture and Urbanism Tour of Ward 3 - Market and Hawley Streets

Condo Monotony: The Future of Ward 3?

Good Cul-De-Sacs and Bad Ones
...Northern Avenue has several aspects that likely improve its safety:

• It is linear
• The homes are well-integrated with good intervisibility
• It is well-connected to a main road (North Street)
• You can stand on North Street and see down to the end of Northern Avenue
• Access to the rear of homes on Northern Avenue is relatively restricted
• Homes line both sides of the street

By contrast, the cul-de-sacs in Kohl's...condo proposal give reason for concern:

• The roads would not be straight
• The space would be visually broken up
• The homes would be isolated from North Street
• Many units would be difficult or impossible to see from North Street
• Footpaths (shown in pink) and the woods would give easy secondary access to the units
• Homes would only be present on one side of the street

        

The Zoning Revisions Committee has issued this press release:

City of Northampton Zoning Revisions Committee

For Immediate Release: January 21, 2010

Contact:
Joel Russell, Chair, Zoning Revisions Committee, joelrusl@gmail.com, 413-584-7228
Danielle Kahn, Vice-Chair, Zoning Revisions Committee, djkahn2004@yahoo.com, 413-320-7208
Carolyn Misch, Northampton Office of Planning and Development, cmisch@northamptonma.gov, 413-587-1287

“Rezoning Northampton for a Sustainable Future”

The future of King Street, appropriate forms of infill development, controlling sprawl, providing a range of housing options, and improving urban design in Northampton will be among the issues discussed in a citywide public forum on February 24, 2010 from 7-9 PM at the JFK Middle School Community Room. The forum, hosted by the Zoning Revisions Committee (ZRC), will give citizens of Northampton the opportunity to suggest how Northampton’s Zoning Ordinance might be changed to implement the City’s Sustainability Plan [link].

After a brief presentation on the ZRC’s ongoing process and the key issues it faces in revising the zoning, the ZRC will hear from citizens on such issues as ensuring quality urban infill, maintaining neighborhood character, and protecting the City’s green spaces and environmental resources. The goal is to implement the Sustainable Northampton Plan in a manner that improves our quality of life and maintains the best features of our community.

Members of the ZRC, which was appointed by the Planning Board as an advisory committee, include Joel Russell, Chair, Dennis Bidwell, Stephen Gilson, Danielle Kahn, Adin Maynard, Peter McLean, Jim Nash, Dillon Sussman, and Tom Weiner.


See also:

Joel Russell's Introduction to Form-Based Zoning, as Presented to the Northampton Design Forum, 1/26/10 (PDF, 10MB)

Download Envisioning Sustainable Northampton - Final Notre Dame Studio Presentation Book

Envisioning Sustainable Northampton: Notre Dame Urban Design Presentation - Video and Handout

Video and Slides: Final Presentation of Design Northampton Week

Northampton Media: "Northampton's Built Environment: Squandered Public Equity" by Tris Metcalfe, AIA (11/2/09)
It is understandable that many citizens are not aware of the importance and value of good architectural design. However, it is not acceptable for any city government to be ignorant of these needs and values, since government holds much power and responsibility to shape the world we all must inhabit on into the future long after they are gone.

Video Highlights from the 10/19/09 Mayoral Debate: Wetlands, King Street, Infill and the BID
Higgins: "I agree with Councilor Bardsley that we need to think about design standards. I think we need to think about density...and I think we need to think about things like greenspace and trees." 

Bardsley: "I think we need design standards... Infill isn't simply cramming in buildings."

March 10: Zoning Revisions Committee to Meet; Our Suggestions

Lessons from San Diego: Why We Need Infill Design Guidelines

Our Ad in the May 6 Gazette: "How to Avoid Classic Infill Design Mistakes"

Knoxville Infill Housing Design Guidelines: Lessons from Experience

Video: Zoning Revisions Committee, 10/28/09; Attract People to Infill Areas with Amenities

Video: First public "in-process" presentation and feedback session for Design Northampton Week
Fran Volkmann, Vice Chair, Community Preservation Committee
1:09:26-1:10:57
We would like to concentrate development closer in, we like the idea of walkability, bikeability, neighborhood center... The thing that happens to us, however, is that we buy that and then somebody builds some horrible thing...and then they say to you, "This is infill, you know. It's good, it's infill." ...You know if you walk in European cities, you very often find little tiny pocket parks, and little bits of green spaces, mixed in with beautiful buildings... How do we...learn to...value...respect for people at the same time that we try to fill in our park spaces?

        

The Northampton City Council home page issues this call for volunteers:

The City Council is seeking four volunteers to help conduct a review of the City Charter in accordance with Section 22-1(4) of the Northampton Code of Ordinances:

"At least once in every 10 years, in every year ending in a zero, the City Council shall conduct a comprehensive review of the City Charter via a special Charter Review Committee comprised of three Councilors and four residents to be appointed by the City Council President. Within one year following the appointment of its members, said Committee shall file a written report to the City Council outlining its review and recommending any changes to the City Charter that it deems necessary or desirable for the effective function of government in the City of Northampton."

Northampton residents interested in serving on the Charter Review Committee should send letters of interest to: City Council President David Narkewicz, 210 Main Street, Room 18, Northampton, MA 01060.

The deadline to apply is February 26, 2010. Please call 587-1210 if you have questions.


See also:

Video: Bay State Village Forum for Mayoral Candidates, 10/21/09; Term Limits; North Street Condo Proposal
Video highlight: "Do you support term limits for the position of the mayor?" (2min 8sec)



Clare Higgins: "We have term limits. It's called the ballot box... I don't think that term limits necessarily are helpful... I also think my opinion is less important than what the full citizenry's opinion is, and that's something that, if we do a charter review, that may be very well what is one of the things that is taken up in a charter review process."

Michael Bardsley: "For the executive position, yes, I do support term limits, comparable to what we have for the national government... Running for office is very difficult. Running against an incumbent is even more difficult. It's a lot of time. It's a lot of money... We need term limits. It's healthy for the community to force an election periodically and have a change..."

Best Practices Meeting of November 12: Video; Discussion of Term Limits (11/15/08)
...some suggestions saw disagreement, notably term limits for elected and/or appointed officials, which were touched on during 2:29:50-2:34:57 [Wendy Foxmyn spoke in favor of term limits, Ward 3 City Councilor Bob Reckman opposed them].

Video: Bay State Village Forum for At-Large City Council Candidates, 10/21/09
Video highlight: Which best practice recommendations should be prioritized and why? (5min 00sec)



Jesse Adams: "What I would give priority to would be to review the city charter. I believe that we have a very strong mayor form of government that is antiquated--that is by design of the charter. We have a mayor who chairs the council, the mayor chairs the finance committee, mayor chairs EDHLU, and I think that with a better separation of powers, with more power to the council, I think the whole city will benefit."

"Power at the Local Level: Growth Coalition Theory"
The reforms were put forth as part of the ideology of "good government," which meant "efficient," "businesslike" government by experts and technicians, as opposed to the "corrupt," "machine-dominated," and "political" government alleged to exist in a growing number of cities. The new movement claimed to make government more democratic and less boss-dominated, although the actual effect of the reforms was to increase the centralization of decision making, remove more governmental functions from electoral control, and decrease the percentage of workers and socialists elected to city councils.

These reforms and their effects are as follows:

...Off-year elections. It was argued that local elections should not be held in the same year as national elections because city issues are different. What this reform did was to break the many policy connections between local and national levels, while at the same time reducing voter turnout for local elections, thereby favoring conservative candidates...

Elimination of salaries for city council members. It was argued that serving on a city council should be a civic service done in a volunteer fashion in order to eliminate corruption and self-serving motives for seeking office. The effect of this reform was to make it more difficult for average-income people to serve on city councils because they could not afford to do so...

 Video: Presentation of Final Recommendations of the Best Practices Committee to City Council, 3/5/09
Download the recommendations online or view reference copies at Forbes Library, Lilly Library, and at City Hall in the offices of the City Council, Mayor, and City Clerk.

        

Dr. Geoffrey Kuter recently submitted this letter (PDF) in support of expanding the Northampton landfill. We present it and then offer our rebuttal. Concerned citizens are urged to attend the January 27 Board of Public Works meeting.



Our rebuttal:

The city has operated a landfill for a generation yet our recycling rates lag behind most of our neighboring communities and the statewide average (MS Word document). This history suggests that having an economic incentive to entomb more tons of waste is powerful, and more than offsets any recycling benefits that might accrue from having control over how our solid waste is handled.

We don’t share Dr. Kuter’s confidence that landfill expansion will not increase environmental risks. It is inevitable that the landfill liners will degrade and leak over time.

The landfill expansion ballot question was simple and fair. It was debated extensively during the mayoral campaign, as documented by NorthAssoc.org’s video recordings.

The Landfill Alternatives Study suggests that any additional costs to Northampton to export its waste will be modest, on the order of 5-20%. There is also the prospect that landfill capacity in upstate New York and Pennsylvania will increase as New York City is slated to divert its waste elsewhere. If we’re exporting waste out of state, this would likely benefit us. But if we’re operating our own landfill, we might suffer if our clients defect to lower-cost operations.

We do agree with Dr. Kuter that attractive opportunities beckon in recycling our source separated organics.