After nearly two hours of debate between Northampton’s City Councilors, the Council voted 7-2 to approve the proposed new wetlands ordinance with some minor amendments. Councilor-At-Large Jim Dostal and Ward 7 Councilor Ray LaBarge voted against the ordinance.The ordinance must undergo a second reading, presumably at the next City Council meeting on October 4. The next fourteen […]
Ordinances and Regulations
Hyla Ecological Services Analyzes the Proposed Wetlands Ordinance
We would like to present this analysis of the proposed wetlands ordinance as prepared by Hyla Ecological Services. The author is Dr. Bryan Windmiller (PDF of curriculum vitae). This analysis, available as a PDF, is being circulated today to members of Northampton’s City Council. Preface for CouncilorsTo: Northampton City CouncilorsFrom: Coalition to Save Northampton’s WetlandsDate: September […]
A Call to Action from the Coalition to Save Northampton’s Wetlands
Please distribute far and wide! Calling all concerned Northampton residents! City Council meeting this Thursday, September 20, 7pm! Call your Councilors now! An unacceptably weak proposed Amended Wetlands Ordinance will come before City Council on September 20. Northampton citizens are building a broad coalition of individuals, neighborhood groups and conservation organizations to challenge the proposal […]
Alex Ghiselin, Letter to Gazette: “Don’t let development encroach on our wetlands”
Alex Ghiselin is a former City Councilor for Ward 5. The Gazette publishes his letter to the editor today: “Don’t let development encroach on our wetlands” To the editor: Northampton has a natural wetland system that protects us from flooding, nurtures biodiversity and filters our groundwater. Allowing development within 10 feet of this system in […]
Is the Proposed Wetlands Ordinance Similar to Current Buffer Zone Policy? Judge for Yourself
Several public officials have asserted that the proposed Wetlands Ordinance, scheduled to return to the City Council’s agenda on 9/20, is a continuation of existing policy, or even a strengthening of it. We encourage you to judge for yourself. First we present the current policy, in effect since 10/23/03:While the Conservation Commission has granted limited exceptions […]
NSNA Banner Ads Debut on GazetteNet.com
Visitors to the home page of the Daily Hampshire Gazette, GazetteNet.com, will see our new animated banner ad starting today:In this ad, we are calling particular attention to detention ponds as people may not appreciate how the need for them may surge under the proposed wetlands ordinance. The ordinance is specifically aimed at encouraging infill […]
Nonotuck Land Fund Raised Wetlands Buffer Issue in May
Some city officials have said that NSNA is late arriving on the scene. The new wetlands ordinance has been on the table for two years, they say, and we are disinclined to discuss it further. Many of our arguments are not new, however. They are articulated in Northampton’s Flood Mitigation Plan, approved by the City […]
Conservation Commission Schedules 9/18 Meeting to Discuss Vernal Pools
Northampton’s Conservation Commission has scheduled a meeting at 6:30pm on Tuesday, September 18, to discuss the “proposed changes to the language of the vernal pool section of the proposed Wetlands Ordinance”. The meeting will take place in City Hall Room 11, 212 Main Street.For more information contact Bruce W. Young, Land Use and Conservation Planner, […]
NSNA Debuts New Radio Campaign, Newspaper Ad Today
The North Street Neighborhood Association today launches a new series of radio ads on WHMP-AM and a print ad on page A7 of the Daily Hampshire Gazette. We reproduce the text of these ads below, adding links to make it easy to research the issues further and take action.Script of WHMP Radio Spot (revised 9/12/07, […]
The proposed ordinance is not consistent with past practice, and favors substantial new encroachments on Northampton’s wetlands
It has been argued that the proposed wetlands ordinance merely codifies current practice with respect to buffer zones, so residents should not be unduly concerned. Ward 3 City Councilor Marilyn Richards goes further and maintains that the proposed ordinance is actually more restrictive than the current guidelines, but that some residents haven’t grasped this. “Because […]