Sunday, June 21, 2015

Can We Talk?

Sunderland and Montague Road branch off after intersection of Pine/Meadow/North Pleasant

The town is sponsoring an open forum on Wednesday night seeking input about redesigning the funky intersection of five roads all converging in the North Amherst Village Center.  And of course any improvement in infrastructure could lead to, gasp, increased development.

Thus the NIMBY/BANANA crowd will be out in force issuing the standard warning shot across the bow about "student housing".  As in, can't have any of that.

Form Based Zoning would have allowed denser developments in our Village Centers, exactly where the town's Master Plan said they should occur.   But it was defeated -- TWICE -- in Town Meeting, although both times garnering well over a majority vote.

Only a year later the nefarious impact was felt as the state turned down our $4 million MassWorks grant proposal to rebuild Pine Street, a main thoroughfare serving North Amherst.

 Pine Street connects North Amherst Village Center with "historic" Cushman Village

One of the main criteria for state grant funding is future "economic development." And without Form Based Zoning helping to stimulate that, the state decided North Amherst was not going to see a lot of development in the future, and therefor not worthy of their $4 million investment. 

Although at least one developer continues to swim against the tide.

Cinda Jones went ahead anyway with the 12,000 square foot Trolley Barn, the first new mixed-use building in North Amherst in a generation.   And the wider area know as The Mill District continues to attract high end operations like Atkins Country Market. 

Trolley Barn:  12,000 square foot, three-story mixed use (residential/commercial) building

But rather than subdividing a 4,000 square foot floor  into smaller more efficient living quarters for additional people, because of the current antiquated zoning she can only market them as two "luxury apartments".  (Or perhaps a bowling alley)

 Atkins North opening in August

Even more ominously those narrow zoning defeats occurred back in the Fall of 2011 and Spring of 2012.  Since then two "citizen zoning petitions" that would have effectively detonated a dirty bomb in downtown business district both garnered MORE THAN A MAJORITY of Town Meeting support this past Spring.

So whatever solutions the group discussion comes up with Wednesday evening for badly needed infrastructure improvements to North Amherst Village Center, "the dirty hands district", safe bet they go nowhere when it comes to execution.

Because our current form of government allows -- some would say "encourages" -- a minority of vociferous opponents to torpedo any meaningful development.

Cowls Building Supply celebrated 35 years in business yesterday.  One of the few brights spots for North Amherst commercial activity and founding business in the Mill District.   

6 comments:

  1. Hey Cinda and Evan,

    Nice example you folks set with that PV area - didn't know you'd don that!

    - Your Friend

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  2. Larry, I hope you attend the forum as you may be pleasantly surprised. It is not expected to be contentious, but rather to build on the ideas that participants came away with after the Cecil group's design "charettes" a few years back. And it won't involve any rezoning or economic development issues: it's pretty much limited to re-configuring the intersection and maybe consolidating some open space.

    Great pictures by the way.

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  3. It won't be contentious, except for the part that when Montague Road is returned to a dirt road, there will be a long discussion (and several committees formed and consultants hired) about how to create the ruts from the wagon wheels so that they were EXACTLY like the ruts that were there 2 centuries ago.

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  4. I am VERY excited about this part of town coming alive. Atkins and the trolley barn. I can't believe my eyes! Maybe I'll open up a yoga studio / massage parlor, seems like a good fit.

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  5. PUBLIC FORUM #1
    North Amherst Village Center Intersection

    JOINT MEETING
    AMHERST PLANNING BOARD,
    AMHERST SELECT BOARD
    AND
    PUBLIC WORKS COMMITTEE

    Wednesday, June 24, 2015, 7:00 PM

    AMHERST SURVIVAL CENTER

    AGENDA

    Sign-in and Opening Activity – 10 – 15 minutes

    Welcome and Introductions – Christine Brestrup, Senior Planner – 5 minutes

    Opening Remarks – 5-10 minutes
    • John Musante, Town Manager
    • Alisa Brewer, Select Board Chair
    • David Webber, Planning Board Chair
    • Christine Gray-Mullen, Public Works Committee Chair

    Brief presentation – Christine Brestrup, Senior Planner – 15 minutes
    • Purpose of the forum
    • Review of work with The Cecil Group – 2011
    • Description of the evening’s activities

    Three Topic Stations – Board/Committee members listening and recording comments –
    45 minutes

    Reporting – Board/Committee members report on what they heard at Topic Stations –
    15 minutes

    Next Steps

    Adjournment

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  6. How about the $500,000++ that Amherst is gong to pay to repave high point and over look dr.? I that street has below ground utility's so the trees are very overgrown. the side walk is disappearing under the trees. and the drainage needs a lot of work. there is standing water on the street that turns to a ice shit show in the winter. I hope they do a good job for that kind of coin!!

    ReplyDelete