On April 17, 2006, the Creeks Task Force of Berkeley, CA approved recommendations (PDF) to balance development with wetlands protection. Here are selected passages that have relevance to the debate over Northampton’s wetlands ordinances. Wenger (1999) contains a review and synthesis of “over 140 articles and books…to establish a legally-defensible basis for determining riparian buffer […]
Wetlands
A Statement from Robert Bissell on the Wetland Ordinance Debate
Robert Bissell has kindly allowed us to publish the following statement on NorthAssoc.org…In a major disappointment for conservationists, the Vernal Pool provisions (PDF) were deleted from the Wetlands Ordinance at the Ordinance Committee meeting in late July. These provisions were the product of over two years’ worth of effort from concerned citizens, wetlands experts and members […]
Conservation Easements Preserve Land, with Potential Tax Benefits
Conservation easements are booming, reports The New York Times (“Love That View?”, June 29, 2007). The Land Trust Alliance says they’re up 148% since 2000. Landowners give up the right to develop a parcel, conveying it to a nonprofit land trust. To earn a tax benefit, the land “must be a habitat for certain types of wildlife, […]
Belchertown Wetlands Regulations
These Belchertown Wetlands Regulations, dated May 23, 2006, may provide guidance as Northampton debates its own regulations. It notes the benefits wetlands provide and regulates development that encroaches within 100 feet of a wetland. Developers are required to model watershed behavior during 2-, 10- and 100-year storms. Regulations of vernal pools are integrated into the general discussion of wetlands […]
Sustainable Northampton: An Open Letter to the Cecil Group
Northampton’s Planning Board will hold a two-hour workshop to review the Sustainability Plan (PDF) on August 9 and possibly again later in the month. While public comments will not be taken at these workshops, the public is encouraged to email comments to sustainablenorthampton@cecilgroup.com. Here is an expanded version of comments we recently sent to Cecil […]
Alewife Study Group: Impact of Development on Wetlands and Flooding
Lew Weitzman, a member of the Alewife Study Group, provides a valuable discussion of wetlands issues and regulatory approaches in “Cambridge’s wetland protection laws – ideas for improvement” (1999). It would be a shame if excessive infill development in Northampton led to the problems experienced in Cambridge. Here are selected passages from Weitzman: Background to the […]
Intermittent Streams Merit a 100-Foot Buffer Zone in Hopkinton
To help fulfill Northampton’s vision as a progressive, environmentally-aware community, we will be presenting ordinances from other Massachusetts communities relating to trees and wetlands. Here is a bylaw from Hopkinton’s Wetlands Protection Regulations (PDF) requiring a 100-foot buffer zone around intermittent (and continuous) streams. We note that just such an intermittent stream, Millyard Brook, runs through the […]
Clean Water Action Massachusetts: “Support The Right of Citizens to Appeal DEP Wetlands Decisions”
Clean Water Action Massachusetts is circulating the following email bulletin today:Support The Right of Citizens to Appeal DEP Wetlands Decisions Take Action Now: Send a comment to the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) for the public record by August 13th in support of the right of citizens to appeal DEP wetlands decisions… Over 400 concerned […]
Environmental Consultant: “there are likely to be several hundred vernal pools in the City which could be certifyable”
As commissioned by the Greater Northampton Chamber of Commerce, New England Environmental, a consulting firm, just sent a report on vernal pools to Suzanne Beck. Suzanne is the executive director of the Chamber. Here are excerpts from Michael Marcus’s report, which assesses the vernal pool portion of Northampton’s proposed wetlands ordinance. The complete report is available […]
Daryl LaFleur: North Street Area and Urban Ecology
Daryl LaFleur recently posted the following to Paradise City Forum. He has kindly given us permission to reprint it here. We have added emphasis to certain passages. The North Street neighborhood residential development as proposed by Mr. Kohl presents Northampton with a unique in-town development opportunity. While I often read entries on the PCF that […]