The Zoning Revisions Committee announces this schedule change: Due to a scheduling SNAFU we will be re-scheduling the ZRC Urban Agricultural Meeting to Monday, September 14 at 7 PM in Hearing Room 18 at Northampton City Hall.The change has us meeting a day earlier.The preliminary election being held on the 15th made this change necessary. […]
Neighborhood Character
September 15: Urban Agriculture Meeting
Jim Nash of the Zoning Revisions Committee is circulating the following invitation: On September 15th at 7 PM, the Urban Agriculture Sub-committee of the Zoning Revisions Committee will be meeting with the public to discuss modifications and changes to current regulations around chickens and livestock. The meeting with be held in Hearing Room 18 on […]
Pictures from the August 27 Conservation Commission Hearing on the Kohl Condo Proposal
Northampton’s Conservation Commission discussed a hydrological review of the Kohl Construction North Street condo proposal at an August 27 hearing. They took no vote but agreed to discuss the proposal again on September 10 at 5:30pm (City Hall Hearing Room, 210 Main Street, 2nd floor). The commissioners desired to refine language in the draft covenants and project […]
Lessons from San Diego: Why We Need Infill Design Guidelines
Densification without design guidelines invites problems. Diana DeRubertis analyzes San Diego’s experience for Planetizen: Residential Infill, 70’s-StyleIn 1979, the City of San Diego launched a plan to steer new development into the craftsman-lined neighborhoods close to downtown. The idea was sound: scatter higher density housing throughout existing “smart growth” communities. Part of the city’s General Plan […]
September 1: Ward 3 Transportation Subcommittee First Open Meeting
We are circulating this announcement at the request of the Ward 3 Neighborhood Association:Ward 3 Transportation Subcommittee First Open MeetingThe first public meeting of the Ward 3 Transportation subcommittee will be Tuesday, September 1 at Northampton Coffee, 269 Pleasant Street, at 6:30 PM. We intend to discuss a variety of topics: the new bike path opening […]
9 Short Videos: An Architecture and Urbanism Tour of Ward 3 – Market and Hawley Streets
The Northampton Design Forum and the Ward 3 Neighborhood Association hosted an urban design tour of Market and Hawley Streets last Sunday morning, August 9. Native son Aaron Helfand, recently graduated from the Notre Dame School of Architecture, led the tour. Participants learned about the historical features of several homes and discussed what makes for […]
Video: Board of Public Works Meeting of 7/29/09; Roberts Meadow Upper Reservoir Dam; Landfill Alternatives
Here is a complete blip.tv video of the 7/29/09 Northampton Board of Public Works meeting. This video is 1 hour 48 minutes long and was recorded by Lachlan Ziegler. The meeting included a discussion of the Roberts Meadow Upper Reservoir Dam (starts at 0:03:20 on video). The Department of Public Works is considering the dam’s removal (see […]
August 9: Urban Design Tour of Market and Hawley Streets
The Ward 3 Neighborhood Association invites you to attend an urban design tour of Market and Hawley Streets on the morning of Sunday, August 9. This is a good time to identify good and not-so-good urban design as the Zoning Revisions Committee ponders how to implement the Sustainable Northampton Plan.Here are the tour details: WHO: […]
Video: Northampton Design Forum – Leeds, Baystate and Florence, 7/27/09
Here is a complete blip.tv video of the general session of Northampton Design Forum‘s public forum at the Florence Civic Center on 7/27/09. As publicized in NDF’s flyer, “The purpose of the forum is to facilitate public dialogue about the principles of sustainability and neighborhood design, including the concepts presented by the Notre Dame Urban […]
Photo Essay: Nature Summers at Millyard Brook
The woods and wetlands around Millyard Brook and Woodmont Road may not be pristine habitats, but they are an oasis for animals in downtown Northampton, and beloved by the people who live there. Will these sights be infilled away?See also:Video: Conservation Commission Meeting of 3/12/09; Deadlock on Kohl Condo Proposal3:38:39… Meyer: “… this is the […]