Here are excerpts from local newspaper reports on the lawsuit between Kohl Construction and several abutters in the North Street neighborhood. The abutters dispute Kohl’s title and rights-of-way in portions of his land between North Street and the new bike trail… The Republican, “Residents fight condo project”, 3/14/08 Kohl’s project was a frequent reference point […]
Wetlands
Conservation Commission Approves Vernal Pool Assessment Protocol on Kohl Property
Despite the uncertainty of titles within Kohl Construction’s property off North Street, Northampton’s Conservation Commission voted tonight to approve a Vernal Pool Assessment Protocol for this property. Between March 15 and June 1, LEC Environmental Consultants (LEC), a firm hired by Kohl, will establish monitoring stations around the probable vernal pool area and visit the site […]
Northampton Redoubt: Videos and photographs of a walking tour of North Street Northampton’s Mill Yard Brook and vernal pools
Daryl LaFleur kindly granted us permission to reprint his article from today’s Northampton Redoubt. If you use Firefox and the videos don’t play, please try viewing this page with Internet Explorer.Sunday, March 09, 2008Videos and photographs of a walking tour of North Street Northampton’s Mill Yard Brook and vernal poolsDouglas Kohl granted me permission to […]
Kohl Goes Before Conservation Commission on March 13 to Discuss Vernal Pool Assessment Protocol
All those concerned about the fate of the North Street woods and wetlands are encouraged to attend the following public hearing. Kohl Construction’s proposed 26-unit condo project will encroach within 35 feet of the wetlands. These wetlands, centered around Millyard Brook, are suspected to contain one or more vernal pools. The Conservation Commission plans to evaluate […]
Model Ordinance Provisions for Conservation Subdivision Design: Give Wetlands Their Space
Randall Arendt presents Model Ordinance Provisions for Conservation Subdivision Design in “Growing Greener: Conservation Subdivision Design”, an article published in Planning Commissioners Journal, Winter 1999. This model ordinance underscores just how far Northampton’s new Wetlands Ordinance, which encourages development to within 10 feet of wetlands in the 15% of the city that is most built-up, […]
Paved Surfaces, Salt and Water Bodies: A Bad Mix
This news item from the February 17 Republican underscores why it’s a bad idea to locate paved surfaces near bodies of water… Road salt taints 9 home wellsTests of private home wells along Route 10 have shown that three in Westfield and six in Southampton are contaminated by road salt, officials said yesterday…All of the homes […]
Snow and Slush Expose Limits of Storm Drains
If infill is to mean adding more impervious surface to the already built-up areas of Northampton, this will increase pressure on our man-made stormwater drainage system. The limits of this system were on display this week, as snow, sleet and nearly 3 inches of rain came to Pioneer Valley. Today’s Gazette reports: Water, water everywhere […]
Massachusetts Audubon: The Value of Floodplain Forests
“Floodplain forest—a woodland that is regularly inundated with water that moves into the lowlands bordering a river—is a disappearing ecological treasure,” writes Gayle Goddard-Taylor for Mass Audubon’s Sanctuary magazine (March 2006). While some may quibble that the North Street woods are not a forest and Millyard Brook is not a river but an intermittent stream, […]
Terrain.org: “Cultivating Natural and Cultural Landscapes through Conservation Subdivision Design”
Terrain.org is an online journal devoted to smart growth that’s integrated with the natural environment. It won a 1999 Media Award for Sustainable Development, and has an entire category devoted to UnSprawl. Randall Arendt’s article, “Cultivating Natural and Cultural Landscapes through Conservation Subdivision Design”, is a good example of increasing sensitivity among Smart Growth advocates for […]
Photo Essay: Millyard Brook Swells with Water in Winter
Millyard Brook runs along the back of the parcel Kohl Construction would like to develop behind North Street. It is classified as an “intermittent stream”, meaning there are some days when it is dry, typically in the summer.On January 11, a mild and rainy day, Millyard Brook is clearly not dry, but helping a large volume of […]