The Towing – An Open Letter from Ellen LaFleche

We would like to share with you this open letter to Mayor Clare Higgins from Clark Avenue resident Ellen LaFleche. To All It Concerns, My husband works as an activities director at a local retirement community, and although our own retirement is more than a decade away, we spend lots of time talking about where […]

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Breaking News: Conservation Commission Wants Kohl to Leave 35-Foot Wetland Buffer Zone Alone for the Most Part

At tonight’s meeting of Northampton’s Conservation Commission, the sense of the Commission was that Kohl Construction should largely leave alone the 35-foot buffer zone around the wetland behind North Street. This is likely to require a substantial redesign of Kohl’s plans, which called for encroachment as close as 12 feet. The Commission did not take […]

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Kohl Condo Planning Board Hearing Deferred to January; Conservation Commission Hearing Still on for December 11

Northampton’s Planning Board reports today that it will defer its hearing on Kohl Construction’s application for a Special Permit and Site Plan Review to January. We’ll get you the exact time and date when it’s announced. Kohl’s proposal will still be heard by the Conservation Commission on December 11, 5:30pm, in the City Hall Hearing […]

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Rail Trail Bridge Installations On Tap for Main Street (12/7) and North Street (12/14)

Northampton’s Office of Planning and Development just announced the following. Brief power outages may be associated with the bridge installations.         OPD Rail Trail Bridge Installed this Sunday (Main Street) and next Sunday Posted by: “Office of Planning and Development” op*@***********ma.gov Wed Dec 3, 2008 10:48 am (PST) This Sunday (12/7), weather permitting, our contractor […]

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

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 […]

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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. The Conservation Commission and the Planning Board intend to hear […]

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New Hazards Mitigation Plan Reflects Weakened Protection for Wetlands

Northampton’s Office of Planning and Development has made the new Proposed Local Natural Hazards Mitigation Plan (PDF) available for public review. The Planning Board will hold a public hearing on this plan on November 13, 7pm, in City Council Chambers, 212 Main Street. We compared the new Plan to the existing one, which the City Council signed […]

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