Bay State Village Visioning Project: Survey Results

On June 22, the Visioning Committee of the Bay State Village Association presented the results (PDF, 6MB) of a recent survey of residents’ preferences for the future of their neighborhood. Below are selected slides from the presentation. Preserving open spaces and the natural environment emerge as clear priorities, as does a desire to maintain current lot sizes (not reduce them). […]

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Video: Zoning Revisions Committee Continues to Deliberate King Street, 7/21/10

Here is a complete blip.tv video of the 7/21/10 meeting of Northampton’s Zoning Revisions Committee. King Street was once again the main order of business, as the committee continued to discuss fine points as well as broader issues in a proposal from the Chamber of Commerce (PDF). A public forum on King Street rezoning is contemplated for September. This […]

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Video: Zoning Revisions Committee Examines King Street Proposals, 6/30/10

Here is a complete blip.tv video of the 6/30/10 meeting of Northampton’s Zoning Revisions Committee. The meeting includes an extended discussion of King Street and rezoning proposals recently put forth by the Chamber of Commerce (PDF). This video is 2 hours 18 minutes long and was recorded by Ken Mitchell. See also: Chamber Plans to Take King Street Proposals […]

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Chamber Plans to Take King Street Proposals to Planning Board if Zoning Revisions Committee ‘Bogs Down’ in Process

Here is a blip.tv video of the first 1 hour and 40 minutes of the 6/16/10 meeting of Northampton’s Zoning Revisions Committee. This recording was made by Lachlan Ziegler. Much of the meeting is devoted to discussing “Rezoning King Street” (PDF), a proposal advanced by the Chamber of Commerce. Here is a 10-minute YouTube video […]

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Video: Andrew Weir Interviews for Planning Board with Appointments & Evaluations Committee, 6/14/10

Here is a complete blip.tv video of the 6/14/10 meeting of Northampton’s Appointments & Evaluations Committee. This is a committee of the City Council. Andrew Weir, a landscape designer and IT consultant, was interviewed for a position on the Planning Board. The committee voted to recommend his appointment. This video is 30 minutes long and was recorded […]

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Video: Chamber Presents “Rezoning King Street” to Planning Board

Here is a blip.tv video of the 6/10/10 meeting of Northampton’s Planning Board. The Chamber of Commerce presented “Rezoning King Street” to the board. This video is 1 hour 58 minutes long and was recorded by Lachlan Ziegler.   Below are excerpts from the Chamber’s “Findings & Recommendations” (PDF). The attention to parking issues and pedestrian comfort […]

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Rezoning King Street: Recommendations from the Chamber of Commerce

The Greater Northampton Chamber of Commerce presented “Rezoning King Street: Findings & Recommendations” to the Planning Board last night. We’ll have that video for you within a few days. In the meantime, download this PDF published by the Chamber (1.3MB). See also: Gazette: “Builders decry slow road to permits”  (5/31/10) A pair of King Street developers lay […]

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Albuquerque Journal: “City Should Address Growing ‘Bad Infill’ Problem”

From the March 14, 2010 Albuquerque Journal: A new two-story house in an unassuming Santa Fe neighborhood is built six feet from the back lot line and looms over the windows of the neighboring one-story home. Across the street from one of old Santa Fe’s most notable Pueblo Revival-style historic homes, a row of faux-Territorial condominiums […]

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Denver City Council Considers Form-Based Zoning; Stabilizing Neighborhoods

The Denver Daily News reported on May 24 (emphasis added): After five years of what at times has been an excruciating process to update the city’s more than five-decade-old zoning code, the City Council tonight will finally introduce the new code on first reading, paving the way for an extensive public comment period… The new […]

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Case Study: Brooklyn Neighborhood Rezones to Combat Out-of-Scale Development

Even in the New York City metro area, with its walkable neighborhoods, areas of high density, and extensive public transit system, many citizens are concerned about development that conflicts with the scale and character of the neighborhoods they love. The New York City Department of City Planning provides this overview of recent rezoning in the Bay Ridge district of Brooklyn: […]

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