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The North Street Neighborhood Association (NSNA) is a community organization devoted to maintaining the quality of life in the North Street area of Northampton, Massachusetts. Our current priority is to preserve the size and quality of the woods between North Street and the bike trail, one of the few substantial stands of trees remaining in downtown Northampton. See pictures of our woods on Flickr.


These woods surround and buffer wetlands and Millyard Brook. A distinctive and beautiful feature of our neighborhood, the trees cool the air, moderate sound from I-91 and King Street, smell great, absorb water, and provide a habitat for deer and small animals of all kinds. Learn more about the many benefits of urban forests and wetlands.

Kohl Construction of Hadley has proposed to build 20 condo units with new roads and parking spaces on 5.59 acres of land that includes a substantial portion of these woods. See Kohl's latest proposal. The density and layout of these units are out of character with the surrounding neighborhood, and we are concerned it would pave over large amounts of scarce downtown greenspace, increase the risk of local flooding, and increase the parking and traffic loads on an already busy North Street and the side streets that lead from it.

The development is presently on hold pending the resolution of a lawsuit in Land Court regarding matters of title and rights-of-way.

Here are key articles relating to the proposed development:

Kohl Condo Proposal: Final Conditions and Covenants

Video: Conservation Commission Meeting of 9/10/09; Kohl Condos Approved

Special Permit As Issued to Kohl Construction for North Street Condos

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

State Offers Funds to Help Conserve North Street Woods

Northampton Residents Sue Developer Douglas Kohl to Resolve Questions of Title and Rights-of-Way

Tropical Storm Floyd Flood Damage Report (1999)

To contact NSNA, please email info@northassoc.org.

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Toronto Urban Design Guidelines: Infill Townhouses

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

Knoxville Infill Housing Design Guidelines: Lessons from Experience

Springfield Works on Infill Housing Design Guidelines; Residential Design Presentation by Dietz & Company

These articles discuss aspects of Northampton's new Wetlands Ordinance, enacted by City Council on 10/4/07. This ordinance allows developers to encroach as close as 10 feet to wetlands in our more built-up areas. We are concerned that buffers this narrow are inadequate to protect the health of wetlands, avoid water pollution, or mitigate flooding. They also represent a loss of urban greenspace that keeps our neighborhoods attractive and cool.

Video: A Close Look at the Presentation of the Wetlands Ordinance to City Council on 9/20/07

Video: A Close Look at the Second Reading of the Wetlands Ordinance at City Council on 10/4/07

City Council Enacts New Wetlands Ordinance, Including 10-Foot Buffers

Northampton Conservation Planner: Wetlands Protection Agreements Are Being Violated

"Innovative Non-Zoning Approaches to Encourage Smart Growth and Protect Public Health" - Video with Wayne Feiden and Bruce Young

12/11/08 Kohl Hearing: Conservation Commission Balks at Intense Disturbance Within 35 Feet of Wetland

Comparing the New Hazards Mitigation Plan to the Old One: Wetlands Protection Weakened

Hyla Report: Northampton Wetlands Buffers at Narrow End of Massachusetts Spectrum

Just Released: Planner's Guide to Wetland Buffers for Local Governments

Model Ordinance Provisions for Conservation Subdivision Design: Give Wetlands Their Space

Paved Surfaces, Salt and Water Bodies: A Bad Mix

Snow and Slush Expose Limits of Storm Drains

Easthampton Flooding Hazard: Snow-Clogged Storm Drains

Gazette: "Region's storms going to extremes, report finds"

Gazette editorial: "Protecting the environment"

Gazette: "Should developers police own projects?"

Northampton Circulates Revised Wetlands Ordinance Ahead of October 4 Vote

Two Articles on Wetlands in the Valley Advocate

Our Response to Suzanne Beck's Letter to the Gazette

Our Response to Jim Levey's Letter to the Gazette

How to Amend the Wetlands Ordinance to Make It Less Harmful to Wards 1-4

Breaking News: Council Approves New Wetlands Ordinance 7-2 on First Reading

Hyla Ecological Services Analyzes the Proposed Wetlands Ordinance

Millions of Dollars of Property Outside the Official Floodplain Vulnerable to Localized Flooding

Greenfield's Quarter-Million-Dollar Flooding Fix Includes Razing a 4-Family House

Where We Stand on Wetlands: A Review of the Issues

The proposed ordinance is not consistent with past practice, and favors substantial new encroachments on Northampton's wetlands

Is the Proposed Wetlands Ordinance Similar to Current Buffer Zone Policy? Judge for Yourself

The Wetlands Policy Lawsuit that City Officials Are Afraid Of

Flooding is already affecting Northampton's built-up areas during major storms. Weakening wetlands buffer zone requirements downtown will make this worse

EPA: Threats to Wetlands

EPA: Wetlands and Flood Protection

The Economic Value of Wetlands: Wetlands’ Role in Flood Protection in Western Washington

Northampton's Flood and Natural Hazard Mitigation Plan: Wetlands Buffers of 100 Feet Are an Effective Flood Mitigation Strategy and Should Be Consistently Enforced

Northampton Open Space Plan: "This loss of habitat and natural flood buffering areas is Northampton’s most serious environmental problem"

Flooding Incidents in the North Street Neighborhood: 2003-2007

Springfield Wetland Regulations: "A minimum of a fifty (50) foot undisturbed buffer"

Carlon Drive: Compensatory Wetland Not Working

Photos Show: Man-Made Lakes and Stormwater Retention Systems Are No Substitute for Natural Wetlands

EPA: "Mosquito proliferation in stormwater ponds is a concern"

Detention Pools, Children and Drowning

Contact Mayor Clare Higgins

Contact your Northampton City Councilor

Write a letter to the Daily Hampshire Gazette

Write a letter to The Republican

Request a free NorthAssoc.org yard sign

Here are additional links of interest to residents of Ward 3. NSNA does not necessarily endorse the positions taken by these organizations.

Ward 3 City Councilor-Elect Angela Plassmann

Northampton Education Action Team Online

Friends of Northampton Trails and Greenways

NoPornNorthampton

Paradise City Forum on I-91 Exit 19

Ward 3 Neighborhood Association

Water Not Waste (opposes Ward 6 landfill expansion)

Sign up for our email bulletins!

3/13/08: Northampton Residents Sue Developer Douglas Kohl to Resolve Questions of Title and Rights-of-Way

9/28/07: Northampton, MA Citizens Campaign to Protect Their Urban Wetlands, Prevent Flooding; 16,978 Postcards Mailed to Voters

8/2/07: Petition Drive to Save Trees and Wetlands in Northampton, Massachusetts

Maps Showing Area Slated for Development

June 2007: Pictures of Kohl Construction's Condo Plans

June 2007: Kohl Construction's Wetlands Application

June 2007: Kohl Construction's Wetlands Request for Determination of Applicability

2004 Conservation Commission Order of Conditions on a Portion of Land Now Owned by Kohl (PDF, 517KB)

Plan of Land: Estate of Mrs. Caroline M. Roberts

Maps: Millyard Brook and Surrounding Wetlands a Longstanding Feature of Ward 3

Use this Custom Search Engine to search the City of Northampton website, courtesy of Paolo Mastrangelo.

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