Here is our ad as it appears on page 3 of the A section in today’s Daily Hampshire Gazette (download a high-resolution PDF). This ad summarizes many of our key objections to the Kohl condo proposal for North Street. The text is reproduced below the ad image with links added so you can explore the […]
Trees
Video: Planning Board and Ordinance Committee Discuss Zero Lot Line Changes, Traffic Mitigation Payments
Here is a complete Google video of a meeting of the Planning Board and the City Council Ordinance Committee on January 8. This video is 4 hours and 20 minutes long, and was recorded by Lachlan Ziegler and Adam Cohen. As shown by this agenda, the first and last portions of the meeting were Planning […]
Gazette: “New law offers tax credits for preservation”
Today’s Gazette reports on a new incentive for land preservation: Saving the landNew law offers tax credits for preservation …A new law signed by Gov. Deval Patrick [creates] a state income tax credit for landowners who voluntarily donate property to their local community, the state or a nonprofit conservation group. The land must meet certain […]
Boston Globe: “How the city hurts your brain”
Virginia Schulman calls our attention to the following article from The Boston Globe, which originally appeared on 1/2/09. Evidence is piling up that greenspace within a city is vital for mental health. A few excerpts: How the city hurts your brain …And what you can do about it …scientists have begun to examine how the […]
“Christmas Trees” by Robert Frost
Christmas Treesby Robert Frost A Christmas Circular Letter The city had withdrawn into itself And left at last the country to the country; When between whirls of snow not come to lie And whirls of foliage not yet laid, there drove A stranger to our yard, who looked the city, Yet did in country fashion […]
Envisioning Sustainable Northampton: Notre Dame Urban Design Presentation – Video and Handout
Here is a complete Google video of Envisioning Sustainable Northampton, the final presentation of The Notre Dame Northampton Charrette. This video is 2 hours and 33 minutes long, and may also be viewed at Vimeo video. You may download a PDF of the slides here. The video was recorded by Adam Cohen. [1/9/09 update: Northampton […]
More Detail on the Zero Lot Line Proposed Changes; Evaluating Infill Impacts
[Revised on 12/17/08] Carolyn Misch, Senior Land Use Planner in the Northampton planning department, has kindly provided us with more details about the proposed changes to the Zero Lot Line regulations. These details are reproduced below and may also be downloaded as a PDF, but first, here is explanatory text circulated by Ward 3 City […]
Video: Northampton State Hospital Citizens Advisory Committee Meeting, 11/17/08
Here is a complete Google video of the November 17 meeting of the Northampton State Hospital Citizens Advisory Committee. The video is 3 hours long, and was recorded by Lachlan Ziegler. The meeting took place in Florence in the John F. Kennedy Middle School Community Room. Roughly the first hour of the meeting presented the […]
Ordinance to Simplify Zero Lot Line Developments to Come Before City Council on 11/6/08
[Update: The City Council agenda says this proposal is getting its first reading on November 6, but it’s actually at an earlier stage of the process. The proposal will likely be referred out to various committee meetings and hearings before coming back to the Council.] This November 6, Northampton’s City Council will get its first look at amending Ordinance […]
Photo Essay: Our Woods in Fall
“Regardless of neighborhood economic status, our side streets are graced with impromptu patches of wildflowers, sunflowers, tomatoes, blackberries and ferns, overshadowed by iconic oaks, maples, sycamore, white pine, and spruce trees. Our expanding system of rail trails encourages off-street exploration by bike or foot, while promoting fitness and casual neighborly chit-chat.”From Rutherford Platt, “The Humane […]