The Planning Board will hold a formal public hearing in collaboration with the Sustainable Northampton Steering Committee and City Council on the draft Sustainable Northampton Plan on Thursday, November 8, 2007 at 7:00pm in the Cafeteria at Bridge Street School. Cecil Group consultants will hold an informal Open House question and answer session on the […]
Ordinances and Regulations
Letter to Gazette: Planning Board too lax with developers
This weekend’s Gazette publishes a letter from Tricia Reidy and Greg White of Leeds, “Planning process ignores concerns of residents”. An excerpt: In the case of the proposed Beaverbrook Estates project here in Leeds…citizens have repeatedly expressed profound unease about the project’s impact on the environment, traffic, pedestrian safety, water pressure, and storm water drainage… […]
Gazette guest column: “Don’t ease controls on wetlands”
Proponents of Northampton’s new wetlands buffer zone regime, which authorizes development as close as 10 feet to wetlands in nine zoning districts, tried to reassure critics by saying developers wouldn’t automatically be entitled to get that close. The reality, however, is Northampton’s Conservation Commission will now be on the defensive whenever it asks developers for more […]
Maintaining Stormwater Management Systems
Stormwater, the Journal for Surface Water Quality Professionals, discusses the challenges of maintaining stormwater management systems (September 2007): Jacobson [Jake Jacobson, general manager with Escondido, CA–based Downstream Services] saw some filters neglected so severely that they’d be completely clogged with plastic bags, soggy newspapers, and forgotten fast food containers. He’d see retention ponds overgrown with invasive species, […]
Gazette editorial: “Protecting the environment”
The lead editorial in today’s Gazette calls for improvements in our system of environmental compliance: “Protecting the environment”…the state has abdicated its responsibility to developers, who are essentially allowed to monitor themselves by hiring their own environmental consultants. Meanwhile, local conservation commissions are finding there are limits to what they can do to ensure compliance […]
Gazette: “Should developers police own projects?”
The lead article in today’s Gazette discusses how in Massachusetts, “land developers are often responsible for policing environmental standards on their own projects”. Concerns are raised about weak compliance, underscoring why the North Street Neighborhood Association derives little comfort from phrases like “extraordinary mitigation” in the new wetlands ordinance. Developers’ plans typically look good on paper, but the real-world […]
Greenfield’s Quarter-Million-Dollar Flooding Fix Includes Razing a 4-Family House
The September 27 Republican reports that the city of Greenfield will buy and raze a 4-family house on Beacon Street to resolve persistent flooding problems there: “The deal will allow the city to avoid the costly installation of larger culverts to keep an underground brook from flooding the property…“The development has eliminated a large amount […]
City Council Enacts New Wetlands Ordinance, Including 10-Foot Buffers
In a 7-2 vote, Northampton’s City Council gave its final approval to the new Wetlands Ordinance on Thursday night.Those voting in favor:Councilor At-Large Michael BardsleyWard 1 Councilor Maureen CarneyWard 2 Councilor Paul SpectorWard 3 Councilor Marilyn RichardsWard 4 Councilor David NarkewiczWard 5 Councilor David MurphyWard 6 Councilor Marianne LaBargeThose voting against:Councilor At-Large James DostalWard 7 […]
NSNA Petition Signature Total Vaults Over 3,000
Not only is respect for trees and wetlands scientifically sound, it’s extremely popular. As of today, the North Street Neighborhood Association’s petition has garnered 3,174 signatures, including 2,010 from residents of Northampton. The petitions began circulating on July 21. They call upon Mayor Clare Higgins and the Northampton City Council to: 1) Pass an ordinance to […]
Our Response to Suzanne Beck’s Letter to the Gazette
Today’s Gazette publishes a letter from Suzanne Beck, executive director of the Greater Northampton Chamber of Commerce: “Wetlands law will help city secure a sustainable future”. Ms. Beck believes the new ordinance will create “new no-disturb areas of 10 to 50 feet”.Regardless of the merits of the other parts of the proposed ordinance, a 10-foot wetlands […]