North Street Neighborhood Association

Video: Transforming Northampton's Rail Trails to a Regional Trail Network

NorthAssocAdmin — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 12:32:22 GMT

Friends of Northampton Trails and Greenways held their annual meeting on November 18. The featured speaker was Wayne Feiden, Director of Northampton's Office of Planning and Development, speaking on "Transforming Northampton's Rail Trails to a Regional Trail Network".

Here is a Google video of the meeting. It's one hour and 16 minutes long. We join the meeting just a few seconds into the beginning. The video was recorded by Lachlan Ziegler. View a map (PDF) of the Northampton rail trail system.

Highlights from Presentation by Wayne Feiden

0:07:00... Introduction to the Twenty-Year Plan...wants to get bike trails and rail trails within half a mile of where 80% of the population lives

0:14:55... Norwottuck Extension

0:17:00... Manhan Rail Trail/Earle Grove...Nagle Walkway

0:20:34... Manhan Rail Trail Downtown Link...new bridges being built at Main Street and North Street...brief power outage of a few hours likely in the coming weeks...completion of this segment expected by end of Summer 2009

0:24:17... Florence Road Manhan Spur...serving Ice Pond area...Pathways...Rocky Hill cohousing

0:26:10... Norwottuck Leeds

0:29:36... Francis P. Ryan Norwottuck Jackson Street...CPA just funded this...serving the Jackson Street Elementary School

0:32:06... Manhan Village Hill...the developer of the State Hospital grounds is required to build a series of paths through their property...buildout is a couple of years away

0:33:00... Norwottuck Pan Am Railway Tunnel...railroad expressed initial reluctance to allow a tunnel to connect bike trails on either side near Woodmont Road..negotiations are now underway..."we're making progress"

0:37:28... Manhan Ferry Street

0:41:03... West Farms Trail

0:43:49... Burt's Pit Road Manhan Spur

0:45:47... Woods Road Manhan Spur

0:46:12... Hatfield Rail Trail

0:47:18... State Hospital N.H.S. Trail

0:50:12... Norwottuck to Williamsburg

0:51:16... Bicycle Facilities

0:57:51... Bicycle Paths (lanes)

1:08:00... Q&A with audience

See also:

Northamptonist: Cycling Safety And Transportation Priorities In Northampton MA (1/17/08)
Jackie raises a question for me that should be be addressed publicly by our city officials. With the long range plan for Northampton to become more of a destination, with more large scale development, more visitors and more traffic, what steps are being taken to provide equitable and safe transportation issues for all who live and visit here?

Portland Suburb Successfully Staves Off Densification

Oak Grove remains unincorporated and thus under the jurisdiction of Clackamas County. In 1995, county planners came to the neighborhood and said they wanted to rezone the area to make it easier to walk around and ride bicycles. There are no sidewalks in the area, but because the area is so low in density, people do not hesitate to walk or ride bicycles.

This is a denser part of Oak Grove, where many of the houses are on 5,000-square-foot lots (about eight houses per acre). Even here, auto traffic is so low that there is little conflict between walking and driving.

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

Manhan Rail Trail

Norwottuck Rail Trail

Kohl Conservation Commission and Planning Board Hearings Slated for December 11

NorthAssocAdmin — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 17:55:18 GMT

The Conservation Commission and Planning Board have scheduled hearings for December 11 on Kohl Construction's application for a Special Permit and Site Plan Review for its North Street woods condo project. Concerned citizens are urged to attend.

Northampton Conservation Commission
Agenda
Date: Thursday December 11, 2008
Time: 5:30 PM
Place: City Hall Hearing Room (use back door or main Crafts Avenue door) 2nd floor, 210 Main Street, Northampton

For more information: Bruce W. Young, Land Use and Conservation Planner byoung@northamptonma.gov

Agenda

5:30 PM
Notice of Intent filed by Andrea Desilets on behalf of National Grid for the demolition and removal of concrete pads, gravel and perimeter fence, and the restoration of the site. Work is proposed to take place in Riverfront Area, Bordering Land Subject to Flooding and the 100-foot buffer zone of Inland Bank. Project location is the Florence No. 2 Substation at the intersection of Nonotuck Street and Pine Street.

6:00 PM (emphasis added)
Notice of Intent filed by Tofino Associates, Inc. and Northern Avenue Homes, Inc. for the construction of twenty-five dwelling units and associated roadways, parking areas, driveways, sidewalks, utilities, landscaping and stormwater management system. Project is proposed to take place in the 100-foot buffer zone of Bordering Vegetated Wetlands. Project location is Northern Avenue, Map Id 25C-12 and 25C-17.

Other Business:
Discussion of Barrett Street Marsh

NORTHAMPTON PUBLIC MEETING/ Legal AD-Agenda FOR Thursday Dec 11, 2008

THE PLANNING BOARD meets at 7:00 P.M. in Council Chambers, Puchalski Municipal Building, 212 Main Street, Northampton, MA for public hearings:

7:00 P.M. Request by Office of Planning and Development/City of Northampton for a special permit for reduction in lot size for a single family house lot at Morningside Dr, Florence, MapID 12C-096

7:20 P.M. Request by Tofino Associates/Northern Ave. Homes for a special permit to construct a 25-unit Townhouse project with associated site plan including driveway access from North and Northern Ave at 8 View Ave, Northampton, Map ID 25C-12 & 17. (emphasis added)

Other Business:
Zoning Revisions Committee Application
Minutes
Other (west st. design brainstorm?, etc)

See also:

Kohl Construction Applies for Special Permit and Site Plan Review
Kohl Construction, doing business as Tofino Associates and Northern Avenue Homes, filed an application for Special Permit and Site Plan Review with the Planning Board on November 13. You may download the application (PDF, 15.3MB) and the full-scale architectural plans (PDF, 9.2MB) associated with it...

A lawsuit in Land Court over matters of title and rights-of-way is still active.

Gazette: "Disputes hamper city condo project" (11/22/08)

Kirby on the Loose: "Condo project off North St. files for permits"
The final plans show that backyards, patios and walls will come within 12 feet of the bordered vegetative wetland. This will be the first so-called in-fill project to take advantage of the changes in our zoning in many commercially-oriented zoning districts. Permitted now is reducing the "no-encroachment zone" around wetlands from 35 feet to 10 feet.

Topographical Map Shows How Kohl Condo Proposal Will Eat Into a Rare Stand of Mature Trees in Downtown

Photo Essay: Our Woods in Fall

Northampton's Flood and Natural Hazard Mitigation Plan: Floyd Flood Damage Reported Behind View Avenue; Avoid Building on Filled Wetlands

Smart Growth vs. "Smart Growth"
Smart Growth is most palatable when it's implemented as a whole. When public and private actors are allowed to cherry pick aspects that suit their convenience, the "Smart" can be lost.

Condo Monotony: The Future of Ward 3?

Gazette guest column: "Don't ease controls on wetlands" (10/25/07, emphasis added)

Notre Dame Northampton Charrette Critical of Hospital Hill Plans, Fleshes Out Alternative

NorthAssocAdmin — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 12:33:36 GMT

The Notre Dame Design Studio circulated the following announcement yesterday. They will present their final proposals from the Northampton Charrette to the public on Saturday, December 13th at 2:30pm at Northampton High School. The public is encouraged to attend.

Hi everyone,

In response to feedback from a number a people requesting more information about our proposal for Hospital/Village Hill, we've just added to our website a detailed written description of our drawings. We hope this will clarify our approach and the ways in which it differs from the current MassDevelopment plan. The Citizen Advisory Committee will be holding a public meeting to discuss the MassDevelopment plan on December 1st, and a public hearing on December 9th.

You can view our work and the new commentary here:

http://sites.google.com/site/northamptoncharrette/Home/areas-of-focus/route-66/most-recent-proposals-for-hospital-hill

As always, your feedback and comments are most welcome.

- The Notre Dame Design Studio

Here are some of the Design Studio's specific concerns about the MassDevelopment Plan:

...the proposal currently before the CAC fails to promote the Sustainability Plan in a number of ways:

The proposal essentially destroys the site's most valuable features.

Land is not put to its best or most efficient use. Instead, large private lots sprawl throughout the design and inhibit the creation of well-designed public space.

Uses are not mixed, but are primarily residential, with the exception of one huge industrial employer. The design is essentially an industrial park next to a residential subdivision. Residents must drive off-site for many of their daily needs, essentially making Hospital Hill an unsustainable suburb.

The proposal does not provide for usable public open space or recreation areas. This is a huge loss to the Hospital Hill residents and to the larger Northampton community. The mere preservation of undeveloped acreage does not, by itself, create the kind of shared open space that is conducive to community life.

The proposal does not provide for the enhancement of arts, culture, or heritage resources. There is not enough mixed-use development or public space proposed in which these activities might thrive.

The proposal does not create a walkable community. It is a residential subdivision that depends on cars.

See also:

Video: Northampton State Hospital Citizen Advisory Committee Meeting, 11/17/08
Selected highlight: 1:50:00-1:57:46
George Kohout, member of the Planning Board
Expresses appreciation for the outlining of more green areas. Would like more information on why the number of additional proposed homes is targeted at 100. The original plan had some benchmarks around the amount of commercial activity. Will the target for commercial activity grow as the number of residential units grows? Wants a village look, a village mix. Concerned about a stratification of homes and incomes in the development. Consider larger greenspaces that can accommodate a range of activities. Consider a structure dedicated to community use.

Video: November 13 Planning Board Meeting: Hazards Mitigation Plan; Zoning Revisions Committee; Hotel Northampton Complaint; Hospital Hill Diverging from Vision of Planned Village; Comments on Notre Dame Charrette Website
1:55:41-2:44:55
Members of the Planning Board Are Displeased with How Hospital Hill/Village Hill Is Diverging from Their Vision of a Planned Village
2:10:11... Jodrie: "We have an awful working relationship with this developer [MassDevelopment]... They're going about this in a way that's not working with us at all... I'm extremely disappointed in this process... It's MassDevelopment who's not listening to us [as opposed to the Citizens Advisory Committee]. They don't hear what we tell them about what our interpretation of this village is..."

2:22:10... Jodrie: "...the developer is not complying with our vision of what a village ought to be... We need to tell the developer directly that they're not going to get these approvals when they arrive here regardless of what the CAC says."

2:25:25... Baker: "It does seem as though there are these end runs like there was with the police department [regarding their new police station] where they come to us finally and say, 'Well, this has already been approved and there's been all these other hearings and you know, you just can't raise that anymore.'"

2:26:35... Dierenger: "I think that we have to fight that pressure... What I'm sensing here is that this is what MassHousing is doing. They have this strategy of going to CAC, getting their approval and then things fester politically and then the pressure mounts for us to just approve what everyone already thinks is a foregone conclusion 'cause CAC approved it... We know that's not true. We know what our purview is. We know what we have control over... [Resisting the pressure is] going to suck, but...we're not the CAC..."

Video: Third public "in-process" presentation and feedback session for Design Northampton Week
Here is a complete Vimeo video of Design Northampton Week's third public "in-process" presentation and feedback session that took place on September 11. It's one hour and 32 minutes long. Notre Dame students presented ideas for revitalizing King Street between Bridge Road and North Street. They also made suggestions about Hospital Hill (Village Hill), particularly the part Kollmorgen is slated to move to. Click to see the existing and proposed designs for Hospital Hill (Village Hill).

Valley Advocate Critiques Sustainable Northampton Plan
Reviewing the diagram of the planned single-use sprawl [on Hospital Hill] a mile and a half from downtown, the mayor remarked on how well the architect used urban design principles by packing a lot of homes into the design. Density of construction is, of course, only one principle of urban design, but without regard for mixed-use, walkable neighborhoods, packed housing can also be a ghetto.

Valley Advocate: Northampton: No "Village" at Hospital Hill (6/12/08)

Smart Growth vs. "Smart Growth"
...developers often seize on convenient aspects of Smart Growth that align with their profit goals and disregard others. A common result appears to be overlarge developments, inapt developments, and/or excessive density.

Video and Slides: Public Forum on Innovative Approaches to Manage Northampton's Solid Waste, 11/19/08

NorthAssocAdmin — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 16:18:55 GMT

Here is a complete Google video of the Public Forum on Innovative Approaches to Manage Northampton's Solid Waste, a special meeting of Northampton's Board of Public Works. This meeting, also known as the Landfill Alternatives Forum, took place on November 19, 2008 in the Community Room of John F. Kennedy Middle School. Jeff Edelstein moderated. This video is 3 hours and 34 minutes long, and was recorded by Adam Cohen.

City Engineer Jim Laurila gave a presentation on Northampton's current solid waste management program (PDF, 54KB). He was followed by Gary Liss of Gary Liss & Associates ("Zero Waste to Cool the Planet", PDF, 975KB) and Alan Cohen of HDR ("Innovative Approaches to Managing Northampton's Solid Waste", PDF, 5.9MB). The presentations were followed by comments from the public and from members of the Board of Public Works.

Jim Laurila's presentation: 0:16:38-0:25:25
Gary Liss's presentation:0:25:26-0:57:53
Alan Cohen and colleague's presentation: 0:59:22-1:43:57

Here is a special highlight from the video, a performance of the "The Landfill Song" by Mary Serreze:

Mayor Clare Higgins asserts that the region has a moral obligation to deal with its trash locally. The Valley Advocate quotes her as saying, "We are providing a regional public service... Western Massachusetts should deal with Western Massachusetts trash. And even leaving the region out of the equation, Northampton has to send its trash somewhere. What are the options? Will we feel good about ourselves if we ship our trash out of state to a poorer community?"

Gary Liss challenges this notion (1:55:10-1:56:30), saying, "I don't think you have to assume that you have to provide landfill capacity. You could provide transfer capacity. The assumption of having to provide local capacity was in the 80s, when there was a concern that there wasn't going to be disposal capacity available anywhere, and 'we're running out of landfill space'. That was the driver for a lot of the programs of the 80s and 90s. That doesn't compute anymore with the regional haul, and although it seems counter-intuitive the haul distance can be hundreds and thousands of miles for waste and recyclables...when you're looking at some of the equations. So you don't have to provide local disposal. You could provide a transfer station that transfers waste out at a higher cost and then your reuse and recycling programs locally would be cheaper than that option." Alan Cohen concurred, saying, "I just want to add to that...when I talk 'you need a disposal capacity' it doesn't mean it has to necessarily be local either...you look at the alternatives and what's available."

See also:

Department of Public Works: Proposed Phase 5 Expansion Information

Saving Paradise: Articles about the Proposed Northampton Regional Landfill Expansion

Gazette: "'Zero waste' goal intrigues city residents" (11/20/08)
Residents at a Board of Public Works forum Wednesday expressed excitement at the possibility that the city could move toward reducing its waste production to zero after the landfill reaches capacity.

The city is considering whether to expand the landfill when it reaches capacity or pursue other options, including a resource recovery program or a combination of approaches, including composting, anaerobic digestion, a waste-to-energy plant and gasification. The landfill is expected to be filled by 2011...

HDR and Stantec Consulting Services were hired by the city in 2007 to complete a landfill options study, which they are expected to complete early next year, at which time the Board of Public Works will hold a fourth forum.

Northampton Redoubt: "Mary Serreze interviews Northampton BPW Chair Dave Reckhow on the proposed landfill expansion" (11/15/08)
Reckhow: "If there are conflicts between waste reduction and the economics of operating the landfill, we'll want to examine that. We'll need to define our priorities. I believe that we should be reducing our waste stream. Whether that is compatible with the landfill expansion has yet to be determined."

Valley Advocate: "Trash is Good" (10/9/08)
In the landfill business, trash is good. Currently Northampton's Solid Waste Enterprise Fund relies on 45,000 to 50,000 tons per year in order to meet budget. If Pioneer Valley residents significantly reduce what they throw away, the city may move to expand the landfill's "wasteshed"--that is, to entice tonnage from other areas. If another regional facility offers haulers a cheaper alternative, this strategy may fail. Duseau Trucking has a permit to operate a transfer station in North Hatfield, with rail access. If, for instance, Duseau were able to ship our region's trash to another facility at a lower cost, it is possible that the Northampton municipal landfill would end up cash-starved...

Video: Department of Public Health Presents Landfill Study

Video: Northampton State Hospital Citizen Advisory Committee Meeting, 11/17/08

NorthAssocAdmin — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 11:05:39 GMT

Here is a complete Google video of the November 17 meeting of the Northampton State Hospital Citizen Advisory Committee. The video is 3 hours long, and was recorded by Lachlan Ziegler. The meeting took place in Florence in the John F. Kennedy Middle School Community Room.

Roughly the first hour of the meeting presented the revised Master Plan, addressing residential units, open space, trip generation, commercial tax revenue, and other subjects. An extensive public discussion followed. Download a PDF of the revised Master Plan Slide Show (5.6MB).

Selected highlight: 1:50:00-1:57:46
George Kohout, member of the Planning Board
Expresses appreciation for the outlining of more green areas. Would like more information on why the number of additional proposed homes is targeted at 100. The original plan had some benchmarks around the amount of commercial activity. Will the target for commercial activity grow as the number of residential units grows? Wants a village look, a village mix. Concerned about a stratification of homes and incomes in the development. Consider larger greenspaces that can accommodate a range of activities. Consider a structure dedicated to community use.

Selected highlight: 2:03:43-2:07:28
Fran Volkmann, vice chair of the Community Preservation Committee
"I don't know where the garages and the driveways are going to go and what that's going to do to the streetscape." "I worry a little about some of the lack of greenspace, actually." Hold public hearings well in advance of when any vote is to be taken.

The day after the meeting, the Gazette reported:

Once again, the panel charged with overseeing the development of Village Hill Northampton needed more time Monday to decide whether to allow the construction of 100 more housing units after hearing the public sound off on the proposal...

To address the many different questions raised at the hearing, Higgins said she would schedule two meetings for next month. The first would be a workshop the advisory committee and the city's Planning Board. The second will be another developer presentation, with public comment, at the same location.

See also:

Village Hill Demographic Projections (PDF)

[In the projections below, note how "New Suburban Neighborhoods" have a relatively high percentage of school-age children. If Village Hill follows more closely to that pattern as opposed to the Planning Department's assumptions, this would boost the number of school-age children in the development. The Planning Board discussed this possibility and its implications at its November 13 meeting.]

Video: November 13 Planning Board Meeting: Hazards Mitigation Plan; Zoning Revisions Committee; Hotel Northampton Complaint; Hospital Hill Diverging from Vision of Planned Village; Comments on Notre Dame Charrette Website
1:55:41-2:44:55
Members of the Planning Board Are Displeased with How Hospital Hill/Village Hill Is Diverging from Their Vision of a Planned Village
The Citizens Advisory Committee will meet to discuss Hospital Hill on November 17. Members of the Planning Board expressed concern that by the time Hospital Hill proposals come to them, they have too much momentum to be changed much.

The Planning Board had envisioned Hospital Hill would be a planned village with mixed uses (housing, commercial, retail). What's actually evolving appears to be a "huge subdivision" with different levels of housing...

Stephen Gilson expressed concern that the number of school-age children who may come to live at Hospital Hill may impose a substantial economic burden on the city, especially in light of the large percentage of housing slated to be "affordable", possibly up to 50%. Gilson: "My worry is we create an area up there that the city can't afford..."

2:10:11... Jodrie: "We have an awful working relationship with this developer [MassDevelopment]... They're going about this in a way that's not working with us at all... I'm extremely disappointed in this process... It's MassDevelopment who's not listening to us [as opposed to the Citizens Advisory Committee]. They don't hear what we tell them about what our interpretation of this village is..."

2:22:10... Jodrie: "...the developer is not complying with our vision of what a village ought to be... We need to tell the developer directly that they're not going to get these approvals when they arrive here regardless of what the CAC says."

2:25:25... Baker: "It does seem as though there are these end runs like there was with the police department [regarding their new police station] where they come to us finally and say, 'Well, this has already been approved and there's been all these other hearings and you know, you just can't raise that anymore.'"

2:26:35... Dierenger: "I think that we have to fight that pressure... What I'm sensing here is that this is what MassHousing is doing. They have this strategy of going to CAC, getting their approval and then things fester politically and then the pressure mounts for us to just approve what everyone already thinks is a foregone conclusion 'cause CAC approved it... We know that's not true. We know what our purview is. We know what we have control over... [Resisting the pressure is] going to suck, but...we're not the CAC..."

2:36:34... Johnson: "There was testimony that there would be substantially fewer children than there would be in the normal number of housing units."

2:36:44... Gilson: "Yeah, but you can't vote on that. You can't restrict people with children from moving into a neighborhood... They're two-bedroom houses. You can stick four people into a two-bedroom house..."

Video: Third public "in-process" presentation and feedback session for Design Northampton Week
Here is a complete Vimeo video of Design Northampton Week's third public "in-process" presentation and feedback session that took place on September 11. It's one hour and 32 minutes long. Notre Dame students presented ideas for revitalizing King Street between Bridge Road and North Street. They also made suggestions about Hospital Hill (Village Hill), particularly the part Kollmorgen is slated to move to. Click to see the existing and proposed designs for Hospital Hill (Village Hill).

Video: June 26 Planning Board Meeting Discusses Hospital Hill, Citizens' Advisory Committee, Northampton Soccer Club

Valley Advocate Critiques Sustainable Northampton Plan
Reviewing the diagram of the planned single-use sprawl [on Hospital Hill] a mile and a half from downtown, the mayor remarked on how well the architect used urban design principles by packing a lot of homes into the design. Density of construction is, of course, only one principle of urban design, but without regard for mixed-use, walkable neighborhoods, packed housing can also be a ghetto.

Valley Advocate: Northampton: No "Village" at Hospital Hill (6/12/08)

Kohl Construction Applies for Special Permit and Site Plan Review

NorthAssocAdmin — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 12:17:13 GMT

Kohl Construction, doing business as Tofino Associates and Northern Avenue Homes, filed an application for Special Permit and Site Plan Review with the Planning Board on November 13. You may download the application (PDF, 15.3MB) and the full-scale architectural plans (PDF, 9.2MB) associated with it. The Conservation Commission and the Planning Board intend to hear Kohl's plans on December 11. We'll let you know the exact time and place when they become known.

A lawsuit in Land Court over matters of title and rights-of-way is still active.

The November 13 application is similar to Kohl's original plans. The major change is that the number of units has been reduced from 31 to 25. Here is the project summary from the application, followed by selected plans:

Two units at the end of Northern Avenue

Detail

Main body of condos

Detail

A close-up of where the main body of condos, roads and other disturbance encroach most closely on the wetlands around Millyard Brook

Download this PDF to view these and related plans at maximum detail.

See also:

Gazette: "Disputes hamper city condo project" (11/22/08)
Eight neighbors filed a lawsuit in Land Court in Boston last March over matters of title and rights-of-way. Some allege they own some of the View Avenue land and the unnamed street in question because they have been using it for years, according to the lawsuit.

"If he ever had a right-of-way, it was extinguished by adverse use," said Brad A. Shimel, a Northampton attorney representing the plaintiffs.

The lawsuit, which is still active and won't be heard for some time, asks the court to determine the rights of both the neighbors and the developer, and to order Kohl to hold off any construction until the matter is settled. Kohl said he would not begin construction until the Land Court issue is resolved.

Kirby on the Loose: "Condo project off North St. files for permits"
The final plans show that backyards, patios and walls will come within 12 feet of the bordered vegetative wetland. This will be the first so-called in-fill project to take advantage of the changes in our zoning in many commercially-oriented zoning districts. Permitted now is reducing the "no-encroachment zone" around wetlands from 35 feet to 10 feet.

Northampton's Flood and Natural Hazard Mitigation Plan: Floyd Flood Damage Reported Behind View Avenue; Avoid Building on Filled Wetlands
In the map below, the red flag behind View Avenue (the topmost flag) indicates a flood damage report from Tropical Storm Floyd (1999). This area is in the eastern portion of Kohl Construction's proposed condo site, one of the more elevated portions. We infer that much of Kohl's property may be at risk from heavy rainfall events.

...In general, a core problem for infill in Northampton is to avoid placing large numbers of people and structures in low-lying areas downtown that may be at risk for flooding. As the plan states, "In recent years, heavy rainstorms have caused significant problems in more urbanized areas as increased development inhibits proper drainage and existing or poorly maintained water systems cannot handle increased stormwater runoff..."

The plan specifically warns against building on Filled Wetlands:

Many areas of the City were developed before the passage of the Massachusetts Wetlands Protection Act of 1972. Historically filled wetlands are commonly related to problems with wet basements, flooding, shifting foundations and failed septic systems. Development in historically filled wetlands should be discouraged through zoning in order to protect health and safety. (p.24)

It is well known that some of Kohl's land contains fill from work on Market Street, dumped there in the early 1980s. Kohl's own Request for Determination of Applicability notes, "The wetlands are degraded with masonry and other construction and road building debris." It seems plausible that parts of Kohl's property meet the definition of a filled wetland.

Smart Growth vs. "Smart Growth"

The problems with Kohl's condo proposal include:

It threatens green infrastructure by putting roads and structures as close as 35 feet or less to a wetland. Scientific evidence indicates that substantial disturbance within 50 feet puts wetland ecology at risk and threatens water quality. In addition, the condos themselves appear to be at risk of flooding.

It goes against the existing character and diversity of housing stock in the neighborhood by offering a monotonous, cookie-cutter design scheme with little sense of place.

As Daryl LaFleur observes, "the Kohl North Street area development proposal includes row house condominiums set to the rear of parking lots, not free standing detached single family homes that front the 'street', which would better match the existing neighborhood and is also a tenet of Smart Growth."

Smart Growth is most palatable when it's implemented as a whole. When public and private actors are allowed to cherry pick aspects that suit their convenience, the "Smart" can be lost.

Condo Monotony: The Future of Ward 3?
To maximize profits, the developers have shoehorned units into their lots with little regard to the preexisting appearance of their neighborhoods. The developments feel inward-facing or 'withdrawn', not part of the regular street fabric. These aspects are probably what prompted the "carbuncle" comment from the planning board member.

New Hazards Mitigation Plan Reflects Weakened Protection for Wetlands
Unfortunately, the City Council voted 7-2 in 2007 to permit development in multiple districts to encroach as close as 10 feet to wetlands. In a rapid shift of priorities, facilitating urban infill was now deemed more important than flood mitigation, water pollution control, or urban greenspace. The proposed condo development off North Street is a good example of a project that relies on the narrowed buffer zones...

The claim that allowing development within 50 feet of wetlands can still give effective protection does not bear up under scientific scrutiny. As Hyla Ecological Services noted in 2007:

"Buffers of less than 50 feet in width are generally ineffective in protecting wetlands. Buffers larger than 50 feet are necessary to protect wetlands from an influx of sediment and nutrients, to protect wetlands from direct human disturbance, to protect sensitive wildlife species from adverse impacts, and to protect wetlands from the adverse effects of changes in quantity of water entering the wetland..." (Castelle et al., 'Wetland Buffers: Use and Effectiveness', 1992)

"Buffer function was found to be directly related to the width of the buffer. Ninety-five percent of buffers smaller than 50 feet suffered a direct human impact within the buffer, while only 35% of buffers wider than 50 feet suffered direct human impact. Human impacts to the buffer zone resulted in increased impact on the wetland by noise, physical disturbance of foraging and nesting areas, and dumping refuse and yard waste. Overall, large buffers reduced the degree of changes in water quality, sediment load, and the quantity of water entering the adjacent wetland." (Castelle et al., 1992)

...Most striking in the [Environmental Law Institute] report is that some locales desire wider buffers in areas of intense land use to address the higher levels of pollution and runoff. By contrast, Northampton has its narrowest buffers in these areas.

Earlier this year, NSNA engaged Hyla to compare Northampton's new Wetlands Ordinance to the regulations in other cities across Massachusetts. Hyla found that Northampton is now an outlier. In the entire state, it's hard to find anything similar to our 10-foot buffer zones for new development...

"...it is forecasted that, Massachusetts, and the rest of New England, is long overdue for a major hurricane to make landfall. Based on past hurricane and tropical storm landfalls, the frequency of tropical systems to hit the Massachusetts coastline is an average of once out of every six years." (Hazards Mitigation Plan, p.28)

Gazette guest column: "Don't ease controls on wetlands" (10/25/07, emphasis added)
[Alexandra Dawson, chair of Hadley's Conservation Commission, writes,] ...Northampton has adopted changes to its bylaws that limit the setback between development and wetlands in the business district to 10 feet, although it is obvious that 10 feet is not even enough space to accommodate the big yellow machines that do the building. It is true that a recent court decision indicates that wetlands ordinances (or conservation commission regulations adopted under them) should enumerate setbacks so that builders need not guess what will be required of them. Unfortunately, there is also case law stating that whatever is so established limits the commission's discretion to ask for more unless there is a specific showing of why one proposal stands out from the others. If the setback in the ordinance is 10 feet, it will be very hard for the commission to justify a permit restricting building for 50 feet. For this reason, most eastern Massachusetts bylaws that contain setbacks start at 25 to 50 feet.

Mike Kirby: "The Meadowbrook Chronicles Part One"
The Meadowbrook story has many important facets. Of particular interest to us are the consequences that can follow from building homes near wetlands...

The developers built 255 units of affordable apartments there. They crammed them in everywhere they could, pushing them up into the bluffs, and close to the creek and wetlands. No backyards to speak of. One third of the buildings were built within 50 feet of the wetlands, 63% of the buildings are within the customary 100 feet of wetlands.

None of the buildings have cellars under their apartments. If they have cellars, there are people living in them. The cellar floors in the basement apartments in Buildings #4 and #2 are lower than the surrounding swamp. Some slabs have cracks in them. People have been flooded out. No moisture-proof barriers between the surrounding earth and the foundations. Moisture and mold percolate up into people's apartments via the chases that hold utilities. If you wonder why low-income children are afflicted with a whole host of respiratory diseases, you have to look no further than the children of the floor level and basement apartments of Meadowbrook...

Northampton Redoubt: Doug Kohl reduces "footprint" of subdivision proposal due to the discovery of vernal pools in the North Street area wetlands (9/12/07)
Daryl LaFleur writes:
When I asked about the possibility of basements flooding in the future due to their proximity to the wetlands he indicated that some of the units would have basements provided they can be "drained to daylight." Others would be constructed on concrete slabs. He also noted that most of the units would have one garage bay located within the perimeter of the buildings on the first floor, reducing the need for surface parking by one space for each of these units. It remains unclear to me how large construction equipment can operate very close to wetlands without harming them. It appears some of the units would be located within twenty feet of the wetlands.

Gazette: "Council adopts wetlands ordinance"
At-large City Councilor James M. Dostal proposed an amendment Thursday that called for increasing the 10 feet no-encroachment zones in urban residential districts to 50 feet because of serious concerns about homes flooding, saying "We shouldn't be building there..."

Adam Cohen, of North Street and an organizer of the North Street Neighborhood Association said he believes a 50-foot no-[en]croachment zone would be better for the city's urban residential districts. That, he said, represents "consumer protection for homeowners."

Gazette: "Region's storms going to extremes, report finds" (12/5/08)
Today's Gazette reports New England is experiencing more extreme rainstorms than in the past. We can also expect longer periods of relative dryness.

Extreme downpours and snowstorms are rising in frequency nationally, with the highest increases in New England...

Massachusetts saw a 67 percent rise in severe storms during [1948-2006], trailing only Rhode Island and New Hampshire...

...the top 10 severe storms in the state all occurred in the past decade...

...scientists expect that extreme downpours will punctuate longer periods of relative dryness, increasing the risk of drought...

Wetlands can moderate both flooding and drought, absorbing excess water during storms and releasing it slowly during periods of dryness. Today's report underscores the value of our remaining wetlands in Northampton.

EPA: Wetlands and Flood Protection
Wetlands within and downstream of urban areas are particularly valuable, counteracting the greatly increased rate and volume of surface-water runoff from pavement and buildings...

Northampton Redoubt: Urban Planning, Public Policies, and Urban Ecology
...the Kohl development on North Street will probably not closely mimic dense older urban neighborhoods in any country, and it will cost us part of an urban forest as well. Look at the schematic below and tell me that this proposed development is the best that can be done with regards to Smart Growth. It appears to me as a tightly clustered residential sprawl-development moved into town with basically a token nod toward Smart Growth principles, that is it's close to town and it's clustered...

...I have not been able to find definitions of infill that include removing viable greenfields, though they may exist. Generally infill seems to concern redeveloping previously developed areas, vacant lots, or brownfields and rehabilitating historic buildings. Thus obscured from the recent debate has been the importance of maintaining Northampton's Urban Ecology, which enhances the quality of life of intown dwellers, human or otherwise...

Topographical Map Shows How Kohl Condo Proposal Will Eat Into a Rare Stand of Mature Trees in Downtown
The following view dramatizes the considerable amount of impervious surface already in the area, especially around King Street and the Coca-Cola plant. Kohl's "infill" project will convert a significant amount of the remaining greenspace to impervious surface. The presence of Millyard Brook shows that this area serves as a natural sink for water in the neighborhood.

Alex Ghiselin, Letter to Gazette: "Don't let development encroach on our wetlands"
The failure of the storm water system built as a part of the Northampton High School renovation six years ago illustrates why protecting wetlands is so important. Silt has filled the retention pond so there is no capacity to slow a storm surge which now flows unimpeded into the Mill River and contributes to flooding downstream. This accumulated silt also raised the water table and spills ground water into nearby basements...

Without maintenance, these [storm water mitigation] systems are part of the problem, not the solution...

Wetlands do not need to be maintained; they just need to be protected.

Carlon Drive: Compensatory Wetland Not Working
Mike Kirby writes:
In Carlon Drive, they simply scooped out a hole in the swamp-bottom, and called it a detention structure. Today it is just a pond, and a stagnant smelly one. It was designed to have a dry forebay, and a shallow main chamber was supposed to have only about 6 inches of water in it. This was supposed to be a compensatory wetland, full of cattails and wildflowers. A rock check dam was supposed to hold back the "first flush" off the parking lots and trap pollutants, and outflow from it was supposed to feed the wet part of the detention pond. Here rain water pouring off the new parking areas and street was supposed to be stored, and discharged safely.

That was the plan. Today if you stand by the pond and look down into it, you'll see the check dam is now about two feet underwater. You can't even see where they planted the marshgrass and flowers. The area is under water. Even in a fairly dry summer, the detention pond is only about a foot and a half from the top of the bank. There's no storage to speak of, no discharge, no filtering. As it is constructed now, grey water from the parking lots and the access street goes directly into the swamp and the Connecticut River.

Paved Surfaces, Salt and Water Bodies: A Bad Mix

Snow and Slush Expose Limits of Storm Drains

Easthampton Flooding Hazard: Snow-Clogged Storm Drains

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

EPA: "Mosquito proliferation in stormwater ponds is a concern"
Anyone who has walked around the wetlands between North Street and the bike trail can attest to its large numbers of mosquitoes in the warmer months...

"Mosquito proliferation in stormwater ponds is a concern, especially when so many wet and dry ponds are in place and continue to be installed across the country. Many ponds are not properly maintained, particularly in cases where they are installed in subdivisions and other developments where the entity responsible for long-term maintenance is not clearly defined once the construction is complete..." [EPA, emphasis added]

Detention Pools, Children and Drowning

Northampton Residents Sue Developer Douglas Kohl to Resolve Questions of Title and Rights-of-Way (3/13/08)
The lawsuit names two companies affiliated with local developer Douglas Kohl and raises questions about ownership of the land which go back over 90 years. The lawsuit states the original owners never transferred title to a portion of the land. The disputed land seems to have been intended to become streets serving now outdated building lots. No such streets were ever built.

The developer now wants to use the alleged street to access the condominium project. The neighbors claim that any intent to create streets was abandoned long ago. Certain neighbors also allege they have been using portions of the land as their own for many years and that they have acquired legal rights to those portions of the land. One property owner previously won a similar case in the Hampshire Probate Court on that basis and acquired ownership to part of the alleged street.

State Offers Funds to Help Conserve North Street Woods
Here is the relevant portion of "An Act Providing for the Preservation and Improvement of Land, Parks, and Clean Energy in the Commonwealth", as signed by Governor Deval Patrick on August 14:

2000-7015... that not less than $100,000 be expended for the acquisition of wooded land to be used for conservation and passive recreation in the North Street neighborhood of the city of Northampton, provided that the abutters of said property provide matching funds for said acquisition...

Video: School Committee Meeting of November 13; Citizens Ask Bridge Street School Be Saved

NorthAssocAdmin — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 11:32:04 GMT

Here is a complete Google video of Northampton's School Committee meeting of November 13. The video is 2 hours and 7 minutes long, and was recorded by Lachlan Ziegler. The agenda of this meeting is available here.

In the public comment period at the start of the meeting, two citizens spoke in favor of saving Bridge Street School from closure:

0:02:05-0:03:25
Sarah H., Elizabeth Street: "...I'm really concerned about the Bridge Street School closing, and it's a major concern to me and many people in the neighborhood who want to walk our children to school and not have to bus them places that are further out... There's a tight-knit neighborhood there. We have a lot of young families who have just moved in with kids... My daughter is almost four. She's not at Bridge Street, but that's where we're planning to go. We bought a two-family house, 30-year mortgage, we're not going anywhere... There are so many people in our neighborhood who have children who are five and under, who are there to go to Bridge Street School... I couldn't bring them all tonight, because they are putting their kids to bed. So, I'm here speaking on their behalf, and hoping that you'll see a way to make sure it stays open for the next twenty years or more..."

0:03:26-0:04:03
Barbara E., Union Street: "...Just to echo what Sarah just said, we moved there to put my three-year-old daughter in a school that I could walk her to... Our backyard...leads to the parking lot there and I would hate to see it not be the lovely, active place that I see every day and the kids that I hear playing... I'd like to see my daughter there some day. Thank you."

See also:

Bridge Street School in Peril (10/19/08)
I am upset that people would speak publicly to the extent they did last night about a possibility not yet realized. Also, it is my understanding that the strengths identified by the strategic planning committee include small, neighborhood schools. I hope the committee is not shortsighted about these findings but will use them in order to preserve our school and all others in the city.

Ward 3 Neighborhood Association: Statement of Support for Bridge Street Elementary School (9/19/08)
As a school, Bridge Street Elementary greatly contributes to the overall vitality and health of Ward 3.

Not only do we greatly value Bridge Street’s considerable academic achievement, we value the school for its role in our community as a hub for neighborhood social and civic activities.

Furthermore, in light of this relationship, we strongly support the on-going vitality of all Northampton neighborhood schools for the breadth of activities they offer and the sense of community they provide.

Closing Bridge Street School Contradicts Smart Growth Goals
On page 11 of the Sustainable Northampton Plan, Land Use objective number 5 states:

Locate housing within walking distances along safe paths, or with bicycle access, to and from neighborhood commercial areas, parks and recreation, schools, and public transportation.

On page 51, one metric of progress is "Percent of children able to walk to school".

It is well known that mothers of young children are heavy users of cars...

New Urban News: "Principles of the New Urbanism"
The heart of the New Urbanism is in the design of neighborhoods, which can be defined by 13 elements, according to town planners Andres Duany and Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk, two of the founders of the Congress for the New Urbanism. An authentic neighborhood contains most of these elements:

...6) An elementary school is close enough so that most children can walk from their home...

David Goldberg, "Of Sprawl Schools and Small Schools"
As recently as 1969 roughly half of all students walked or biked to school. In 2001 the number was closer to one in 10. A study in South Carolina discovered that children are four times as likely to walk to schools built before 1983 than to those built after that year. The report attributed the change largely to the increasingly remote and pedestrian-hostile settings of newer schools. Of course, kids generally are less active today, and that’s one reason the rates of obesity and physical inactivity among kids have risen so that 30 percent of our kids are overweight or obese and a third of middle and high schoolers are sedentary. At the same time, the rise in rush-hour traffic associated with school trips has been identified by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as a key contributor to air quality problems in a number of cities...

Meanwhile, there is mounting evidence that the impersonal environment of the mega-school inhibits the basic function of the school; that is, giving kids the best education possible. This realization has given rise to a growing movement for small schools, a cause gaining an increasingly high profile with the involvement of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and many others...

Smaller schools have lower drop-out rates and higher average scores on standardized tests. Children in high-poverty schools see an even more pronounced improvement. While it’s true that larger schools generally do show a small savings on spending per student, when that figure is computed for students who actually graduate, the per graduate cost per student actually is slightly lower. Larger schools can have more extracurricular offerings, but participation in after-school activities declines as schools get larger. A U.S. Department of Education report found that schools with over 1,000 students have much higher rates of crime and vandalism than schools with 300 or fewer students. And teacher satisfaction is higher in smaller schools, according to a Chicago study.

On Common Ground: "The ABCs of Smart Growth Spell Out the Community School Vision" (PDF, Winter 2005)
Community school advocates and leaders of the Smart Growth movement have joined forces in an informal alliance promoting community schools as a focal point of both new communities and the restoration of decaying inner city neighborhoods. They are drawing strength from education reformers who have concluded that small schools are better for kids than the megaschools that school districts have tended to build on vacant land on the edge of town. Their research shows that children attending smaller schools get better grades, participate more in school activities and are more likely to go to college.

"Back to School for Planners"
Schools contribute to the economic life and vitality of their neighborhoods. When a community lacks a school, fewer new residents move there and property values decline.

Education World: "Are Smaller Schools Better Schools?" (7/20/00)
Although a variety of factors affect student achievement, the greatest factor was the reduction of anonymity -- going to a school where someone knows you and your name. Being known by your teachers and peers makes a difference, Wasley noted.

Bloomberg: "U.S. Housing Starts, Permits Drop to Record Low Pace"

NorthAssocAdmin — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 10:49:39 GMT

Bloomberg reports today:

...Building permits, a sign of future residential projects, dropped 12 percent to a 708,000 pace, the lowest since at least 1960...

Compared with October 2007, work began on 38 percent fewer homes...

The decrease in starts was led by a 31 percent decline in the Northeast...

``We are in a crisis situation,'' NAHB chairman Sandy Dunn, a builder from Point Pleasant, West Virginia, said in a statement. ``Tremendous economic uncertainties have driven consumers from the housing market, and it's going to take some major incentives to bring them back.''

See also:

AP: "US home construction sinks to new record low" (11/19/08)
The Commerce Department reported that construction of new homes and apartments fell 4.5 percent in October, the fourth straight monthly decline. Construction sank to an annual rate of 791,000 units...

The results were the lowest on government records dating back to January 1959...

"The broader housing market needs fewer homes," [Wachovia Corp. economist Adam] York said in an interview. "We built too many homes in the United States and building less is one way to work off the excess inventory."

Boston Business Journal: "Home sales prices in Boston down 10% in Q3" (11/18/08)
In Massachusetts, sales in the third quarter were down 3.4 percent from the second quarter and 8.9 percent from a year ago, according to the association.

Pioneer Valley Home Prices Fell 4.7% in Third Quarter

Video: November 13 Planning Board Meeting: Hazards Mitigation Plan; Zoning Revisions Committee; Hotel Northampton Complaint; Hospital Hill Diverging from Vision of Planned Village; Comments on Notre Dame Charrette Website

NorthAssocAdmin — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 20:16:14 GMT

Here is a complete Google video of the Northampton Planning Board meeting of November 13, 2008. The video is 2 hours and 49 minutes long.

Here are selected highlights of the meeting:

0:00:00-0:58:49
Discussion of the Proposed Local Natural Hazards Mitigation Plan (PDF)
0:00:00-0:15:50... Summary of planning process and highlights of plan

0:15:04-0:15:28... Planning Board member George Kohout and others note that for some time, a desire to replace the old flood control pump engines at the wastewater treatment plant has come up every year, but as of yet the funds to implement this have not been secured.

0:40:27-0:51:47... NSNA member Adam Cohen raised the issue of wetlands buffer zones, since Northampton's new Wetlands Ordinance is cited in the Hazards Mitigation Plan as a hazard control measure. It is NSNA's contention that the new Wetlands Ordinance encourages development too close to wetlands in in-town zones (as close as 10 feet). Not only does this put the wetlands environment and water quality at risk, it exposes structures to damage from flooding and moisture intrusion. George Kohout observed the frequency of severe storms has been increasing in recent years, which is correct. [Cohen claimed Massachusetts had the second highest increase in the US, trailing only Rhode Island. It actually also trails New Hampshire. However, the essential point remains.]

Planning Board chair said the issue of wetlands buffer zones protecting structures (in addition to protecting the natural environment) was a new perspective on the subject to him.

Senior Planner Carolyn Misch claimed the new Wetlands Ordinance represents strong protection for wetlands relative to the rest of the state, and in places is even stronger than the buffer zone regime it replaced. [With respect to the in-town portions of Northampton, we and a number of others disagree.]

Planning Board member Jennifer Dierenger terminated the discussion of wetlands buffer zones with a motion to close the public hearing.

In a last comment, George Kohout said the Wetlands Ordinance is a dynamic document subject to future modification based on new data and public opinion.

0:59:25-1:14:35
Zoning Revisions Committee
The Board wants to move forward with selecting members for this committee, perhaps emulating some aspects of the selection of the Best Practices Committee. The complexity of the task will vary with the number of applications received. Planning Board members Stephen Gilson and Katharine Baker will take charge of the process. [Interested in serving on this Committee? Don't wait, make your interest known to the Planning Board.]

1:14:36-1:44:04
A Property Owner Would Like to Rezone the Old Pro Brush Buildings in Florence from General Industrial to Special Industrial
The owner imagines he might sell/rent some of the space to artists as live-work space. You can't do this in a General Industrial zone. Carolyn Misch asks, would the Planning Board like to co-sponsor legislation with Councilor David Murphy to rezone this parcel to be Special Industrial? Teri Anderson, Northampton's Economic Development Coordinator, is said to object to residences in industrial zones. She doesn't object to artists merely working there. The matter may hinge on whether the zone has a reasonable prospect of attracting "harder-core" manufacturing. Some Planning Board members feel that prospect is unlikely for the foreseeable future.

George Kohout said that a lack of parking around the parcel is a significant consideration.

Members of the Board debated whether the question should be put to the Zoning Revisions Committee. That could delay it by several months. Stephen Gilson expressed concern that the operation of the Planning Board as a whole could bog down if too many matters are referred out to the Zoning Revisions Committee. Ken Jodrie envisions the ZRC should be conceived as "support" for the Planning Board.

Francis Johnson feels the Zoning Revisions Committee may not be operational until June. Other Board members felt it might not take that long.

The Board voted to co-sponsor legislation to rezone the buildings to Special Industrial.

1:45:09-1:50:47
Discussion of Facilitating the Establishment of Renewable Energy Generating Facilities (Alternative Energy)
Requested by Chris Mason, Northampton's Energy Coordinator. Francis Johnson expressed concern about biomass burning. The matter will be put before the Zoning Revisions Committee.

1:50:48-1:55:40
Hotel Northampton Would Prefer Not to Allow Pedestrians to Cross Its Parking Lot from Adjacent Streets
An attorney for the Hotel Northampton sent the Planning Board a letter of complaint. The Board requires the Hotel to allow pedestrians to cross its parking lot from adjacent streets. A pedestrian fell and hurt herself in the parking lot this summer. The Hotel is concerned about its liability. The Planning Board was unsympathetic to the Hotel's position.

1:55:41-2:44:55
Members of the Planning Board Are Displeased with How Hospital Hill/Village Hill Is Diverging from Their Vision of a Planned Village
The Citizens Advisory Committee will meet to discuss Hospital Hill on November 17. Members of the Planning Board expressed concern that by the time Hospital Hill proposals come to them, they have too much momentum to be changed much.

The Planning Board had envisioned Hospital Hill would be a planned village with mixed uses (housing, commercial, retail). What's actually evolving appears to be a "huge subdivision" with different levels of housing.

Ken Jodrie: "We're going to be under tremendous pressure to approve exactly what they [Kollmorgen] come here with... or we're going to be criticized for being anti-development, and killing a cash cow..."

Stephen Gilson expressed concern that the number of school-age children who may come to live at Hospital Hill may impose a substantial economic burden on the city, especially in light of the large percentage of housing slated to be "affordable", possibly up to 50%. Gilson: "My worry is we create an area up there that the city can't afford."

[Carolyn Misch noted later that 50% affordable housing was a very large percentage.]

2:10:11... Jodrie: "We have an awful working relationship with this developer [MassDevelopment]... They're going about this in a way that's not working with us at all... I'm extremely disappointed in this process... It's MassDevelopment who's not listening to us [as opposed to the Citizens Advisory Committee]. They don't hear what we tell them about what our interpretation of this village is."

Misch suggested more communication between the CAC and the Planning Board.

George Kohout expressed dismay at how the proposed Kollmorgen facility will sit with respect to the street adjacent to it.

Francis Johnson expressed frustration with how CAC meetings have dwelt on minute parts of the plans for Hospital Hill. He does like how the plan preserves beech trees and provides for greenways.

Kohout would like more information sooner about how plans for Hospital Hill are evolving.

Misch said MassDevelopment would like to move forward on their plans to tap road-building funds that are now available to them.

2:22:10... Jodrie: "...the developer is not complying with our vision of what a village ought to be... We need to tell the developer directly that they're not going to get these approvals when they arrive here regardless of what the CAC says."

2:25:25... Baker: "It does seem as though there are these end runs like there was with the police department [regarding their new police station] where they come to us finally and say, 'Well, this has already been approved and there's been all these other hearings and you know, you just can't raise that anymore.'"

2:26:35... Dierenger: "I think that we have to fight that pressure... What I'm sensing here is that this is what MassHousing is doing. They have this strategy of going to CAC, getting their approval and then things fester politically and then the pressure mounts for us to just approve what everyone already thinks is a foregone conclusion 'cause CAC approved it... We know that's not true. We know what our purview is. We know what we have control over... [Resisting the pressure is] going to suck, but...we're not the CAC."

A discussion ensued about how Francis Johnson, who is also a member of the CAC, should convey to the CAC the sentiments of the Planning Board. Johnson stated he conceives of himself as an independent presence at the CAC (independent from the Planning Board).

2:36:34... Johnson: "There was testimony that there would be substantially fewer children than there would be in the normal number of housing units."

2:36:44... Gilson: "Yeah, but you can't vote on that. You can't restrict people with children from moving into a neighborhood... They're two-bedroom houses. You can stick four people into a two-bedroom house."

Gilson expressed a preference for shifting more housing to market rate as opposed to "affordable".

Misch said 50% affordable "is a huge number".

Johnson agreed that 50% affordable was excessive for the new housing units being proposed.

Here are MassDevelopment plans that Johnson circulated at the meeting:

2:44:56-2:47:40
Brief Discussion of the Latest Designs from the Notre Dame Urban Design Studio
Some Planning Board members felt the charrette website was hard to navigate, also that it is hard to zero in on details in the designs or see what's new. Baker: "They really want feedback."

# # #

Agendas and Best Practices
As you can see, the above meeting covered a wide variety of subjects. On the city calendar, however, the agenda only called for the following:

7:00 P.M. Public Hearing on

THE CITY OF NORTHAMPTON
LOCAL NATURAL HAZARDS MITIGATION PLAN

The discussion of the Hazards Mitigation Plan comprised less than half of the actual meeting. Public participation is impeded if meeting agendas don't accurately reflect the actual topics discussed. NSNA's Adam Cohen was the only member of the public (or the media) to attend Thursday's meeting. If the full range of the items discussed had been widely known beforehand, perhaps attendance would have been higher. The Valley Advocate, for example, has shown a keen interest in Hospital Hill. The Hotel Northampton might also have wanted to send a representative.

See also:

Public Meeting of the State Hospital Citizens Advisory Committee (CAC)
Monday, November 17, 2008
7:00 PM
J.F.K. Middle School Community Room
100 Bridge Road, Florence

[In the Planning Board video, there was some confusion about the location of this meeting. Call the Mayor's Office to confirm the location.]

The State Hospital CAC will hold a public hearing on a request by MassDevelopment, the lead developer of the former Northampton State Hospital property, to revise the master plan for the north campus to allow up to 100 additional residential units. The original redevelopment plan for Village Hill was approved by the CAC in 1999. A revised master plan was approved in May 2008.

More info, including a copy of the draft proposal, is available here: http://www.northamptonma.gov/nshcac/Village_Hill/

[Thanks to Councilor David Narkewicz for circulating the above notice.]

Gazette: "Public's comment sought on Village Hill" (11/15/08)
MassDevelopment, the lead developer on the site, is proposing to build up to 100 additional new housing units on the north campus of the former state hospital grounds. If approved, the additional units would bring the potential number of residential units for the entire project to 327. "This is the first step in a bigger process," Mayor Clare Higgins, committee chairwoman, said of the proposal. "There are still other public processes that have to be gone through."

Thus far, 122 residential units have been built or are under construction at Village Hill Northampton. Another 101 residential units remain to be built on the north campus under the current master plan.

New Hazards Mitigation Plan Reflects Weakened Protection for Wetlands
"Northampton Wastewater Treatment Plant – Hockanum Road— the flood control pumps, fairly old and showing signs of wear, are especially vulnerable to failure and, if they failed, could create severe damage to both the plant and the surrounding low lying neighborhood." (p.45, emphasis added)

Mike Kirby: "The Meadowbrook Chronicles Part One"
The Meadowbrook story has many important facets. Of particular interest to us are the consequences that can follow from building homes near wetlands...

The developers built 255 units of affordable apartments there. They crammed them in everywhere they could, pushing them up into the bluffs, and close to the creek and wetlands. No backyards to speak of. One third of the buildings were built within 50 feet of the wetlands, 63% of the buildings are within the customary 100 feet of wetlands.

None of the buildings have cellars under their apartments. If they have cellars, there are people living in them. The cellar floors in the basement apartments in Buildings #4 and #2 are lower than the surrounding swamp. Some slabs have cracks in them. People have been flooded out. No moisture-proof barriers between the surrounding earth and the foundations. Moisture and mold percolate up into people's apartments via the chases that hold utilities. If you wonder why low-income children are afflicted with a whole host of respiratory diseases, you have to look no further than the children of the floor level and basement apartments of Meadowbrook...

Gazette: "Council adopts wetlands ordinance"
At-large City Councilor James M. Dostal proposed an amendment Thursday that called for increasing the 10 feet no-encroachment zones in urban residential districts to 50 feet because of serious concerns about homes flooding, saying "We shouldn't be building there..."

Adam Cohen, of North Street and an organizer of the North Street Neighborhood Association said he believes a 50-foot no-[en]croachment zone would be better for the city's urban residential districts. That, he said, represents "consumer protection for homeowners."

The Republican: "Wetlands ordinance approved"
At-Large Councilor James M. Dostal, who opposed the ordinance along with Ward 7 Councilor Raymond W. LaBarge, said he was concerned about flooded basements and people being flooded out in concentrated development areas near downtown.

Valley Advocate Critiques Sustainable Northampton Plan
Reviewing the diagram of the planned single-use sprawl [on Hospital Hill] a mile and a half from downtown, the mayor remarked on how well the architect used urban design principles by packing a lot of homes into the design. Density of construction is, of course, only one principle of urban design, but without regard for mixed-use, walkable neighborhoods, packed housing can also be a ghetto.

Video: Third public "in-process" presentation and feedback session for Design Northampton Week
Here is a complete Vimeo video of Design Northampton Week's third public "in-process" presentation and feedback session that took place on September 11. It's one hour and 32 minutes long. Notre Dame students presented ideas for revitalizing King Street between Bridge Road and North Street. They also made suggestions about Hospital Hill (Village Hill), particularly the part Kollmorgen is slated to move to. Click to see the existing and proposed designs for Hospital Hill (Village Hill).

Video: June 26 Planning Board Meeting Discusses Hospital Hill, Citizens' Advisory Committee, Northampton Soccer Club
22:30-51:14
Discussion of evolutions at Hospital Hill (Village Hill) with respect to Kollmorgen's proposed new plant and other changes

"The project still has to meet all the design guidelines."
"There's a lot of components that definitely have to come back to you."
"If they meet the design guidelines, you're limited to finding they meet the design guidelines. If they don't meet the design guidelines, then anything goes."
"I'm not necessarily opposed to Kollmorgen or any big, industrial type thing up there, I just want it to be done in a way that meets the village concept."
"Conceptually, it's OK with the CAC."
"I was surprised it happened without us knowing about it."
"My feeling is it's going to be like an armed camp up there, and I think it would be really desirable for them to design it so that they didn't feel that the parking lot had to be secure; could be a little bit more of a village walking places."

Valley Advocate: Northampton: No "Village" at Hospital Hill (6/12/08)
The footprint of Kollmorgen's proposed development (130,000 square feet), though, will take up more than half of the allotted industrial space, biting right into the juiciest real estate and changing everything. With the vote, the new road has been eliminated from the plan...

Kollmorgen's relocation effectively ends the fantasy of anything remotely village-like emerging on the hill. Rather than a church steeple at the crossroads of this New England hamlet, there will be a tower for constructing periscopes surrounded by barbed wire.

Best Practices Meeting of November 12: Video; Discussion of Term Limits

NorthAssocAdmin — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 11:00:30 GMT

Here is a complete Google video of the Best Practices Committee meeting of November 12. It's 2 hours and 57 minutes long. This video is also available in two parts at Vimeo (part one, part two). See the preliminary minutes from the meeting and a picture of the written-on whiteboard here.

In many areas the committee members were able to achieve consensus about which recommendations to put forward to the City Council. However, some suggestions saw disagreement, notably term limits for elected and/or appointed officials, which were touched on during 2:29:50-2:34:57.

See also:

Best Practices Meeting of November 12: Hammering Out the Recommendations
The next meeting of the committee will take place on November 19, 6:00pm, J.F.K. Middle School, Classroom 103, 100 Bridge Road in Florence. The public is encouraged to attend.

Press Release: Best Practices Committee Begins Final Report
The Ad-Hoc Committee on Best Practices in Northampton Decision-Making (Best Practices Committee) is entering the final phase of its activities and beginning the preparation of a draft final report to the Northampton City Council. The draft report will be submitted to the City Council on or before December 4. This will be followed by a 90-day comment period when additional public input will be sought.

Web Home of Ad Hoc Committee on Best Practices in Northampton Decision-Making

Best Practices Meeting Minutes

Citizen Media Law Project: Exceptions to the Open Meeting Law in Massachusetts

[The Best Practices Committee briefly discussed the Open Meeting Law at around 2 hours 27 minutes.]

The general rule is that all meetings of governmental bodies must be open to the public. If a governmental body wants to hold a closed session, called an "executive session," it must identity a specific statutory exception. Under the Massachusetts Open Meeting Law, a governmental body may hold an executive session when it is dealing with one of seven subject-area exemptions found in Mass Gen. Laws. ch. 30A, § 11A 1/2. The seven exemptions are:

to discuss the reputation, character, physical condition or mental health of an individual;
to consider the discipline or dismissal of, or to hear complaints or charges brought against, a public officer, employee, staff member, or individual;
to discuss strategy with respect to collective bargaining or litigation;
to discuss the deployment of security personnel or devices;
to investigate charges of criminal misconduct or to discuss the filing of criminal complaints;
to consider the purchase, exchange, lease or value of real estate [emphasis added]; and
to comply with the provisions of any general or special law or federal grant-in-aid requirements.

Two additional exemptions are available to local-level governmental bodies under Mass Gen. Laws. ch. 39, § 23B:

to consider and interview applicants for employment by a preliminary screening committee or a subcommittee appointed by a governmental body; and
to conduct mediation of disputes with other parties.

These exemptions make it permissible for a governmental body to close a meeting, they do not require the governmental body to do so. Assuming that a governmental body is dealing with one of these enumerated exceptions, then it may hold an executive session, but it must also meet the following procedural requirements:

the governmental body must first convene in an open meeting for which notice was given;
at this open meeting, the governmental body must vote by a majority of members present to go into executive session;
prior to the vote, the presiding officer must state for the record the statutory exemption relied on to close the meeting; and
before going into executive session, the presiding officer must state whether the body will reconvene after the executive session.

Governmental bodies must record minutes of executive sessions, but they may keep these minutes confidential "as long as publication may defeat the lawful purposes of the executive session, but no longer." Mass Gen. Laws. ch. 39, § 23B.

For more information on the exceptions to the Massachusetts Open Meeting Law, see the Open Government Guide: Massachusetts, the Open Meeting Law Guidelines, and A Guide to Open Meetings.