Truth In Advertising

 Atkins Water Treatment Plant, Market Hill Road, Historic Cushman neighborhood

The YouTube video NIMBYs published trying to rally the masses against a private land deal in northeast Amherst is loaded with misinformation.



If they were a business and Amherst Town Meeting does follow their suggestion to steal property development rights via heavy handed eminent domain taking, they would be easy pickings for a lawsuit under Mass General Law 93A (Consumer Protection) for false advertising,  which allows for triple damages.

That of course would be on top of the $6.5 million total Amherst would eventually have to come up with to fulfill the "highest and best use" reimbursement provision for a hostile land taking.

Amherst, the #4 property owner in town,  already owns or permanently protects 27% of its land mass.  And when you factor in the other BIG THREE tax exempt landowners -- Amherst College, UMass and Hampshire College respectively -- a little over 50% of all land in town is tax exempt.

Cowls 154 acre tree farm off Henry Street is hardly "North Amherst's last remaining contiguous woodland."    In fact, Cowls owns 600 acres of forest in North Amherst and this particular tract has the least desirable ranking on the town's master list for land to be conserved.

Click to enlarge

 Salamander Tunnels only "priority area" in the entire parcel

Yes the Salamander Crossing is a beloved icon, a symbol of the town's respect for conservation and saving critters both great and small.  Which is exactly why Landmark Properties has promised to protect the crossing and move the main entry way for the development away from Henry Street over to Market Hill Road, where the non-historic Water Treatment Plant sits on the side a a rocky outcropping.

 Click to enlarge/read

Landmark Properties handout for Town Meeting

Cowls sold that land to the town for the treatment plant and as part of the deal the town installed infrastructure for a future development exactly like "The Retreat."

Perhaps the biggest mistruth is the absurd assertion that the development "Will threaten the Atkins Reservoir."  The land has town water/sewer!   Unlike a lot of the houses on Flat Hills Road and Shutesbury Road that have sprouted "Stop The Retreat" red signs like worms on a lawn after a summer drizzle.

Chairman Mao, err, I mean the narrator asks, "Shouldn’t all in Amherst be involved in deciding how to use this land?"  Well, no.  It's private land and this is not the People's Republic of China.

So no, No, NO!  You do not have a right to be "involved," if that involvement means stealing the property by eminent domain. 

Fore!

 Cherry Hill Golf Course behind the curtain

With no discussion except my own and not a single "no" vote other than mine, a noticeably smaller (from Monday nights grand start) Amherst Town Meeting approved the Cherry Hill Golf Course operation budget for its 27th year of municipal operation as a "business."

 

And I even wore a new shirt

The 66 acre 9 hole golf course was taken by eminent domain under an "emergency measure" making the drastic action referendum proof in the spring of 1987, with an original cost of $1.6 million.

159 North Amherst NIMBYs signed a petition to get it on the Town Meeting warrant to stop a 134 unit Planned Unit Residential Development proposed by Cambridge architect Robert Kreger. 

But then after an appraisal became public, Town Meeting had to reconvene and add another $600,000 to the original appropriation bringing the total cost of acquisition to $2.2 million ($4.4 million in today's dollars), to date the most costly land purchase in town history.

Not to mention the $1 million the golf course lost in operations as an Enterprise Fund, which are supposed to be self supporting like a private sector business.  Town Meeting gave up on that idea and dissolved the enterprise fund status in November of 2006, rolling the course back into the General Fund where it's far easier to hide overhead costs like employee benefits, insurance, capital heavy equipment purchases.
 
And golf is a heavy equipment Godzilla.  Next year for instance they will request $97,500 in capital, none of which will be considered part of their "operation budget".

But year after year Town Meeting bestows their undying support using taxpayer money.  Even Sensible Center types sometimes wonder ...

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Winston Churchill once famously said, "Those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it." In Amherst it could become, "When Town Meeting does not learn from history, taxpayers are doomed to regret it."

Article #43 calls for the town to "Purchase a Conservation Restriction" on 154 acres of woodland for $1.2 million in northeast Amherst that is already under a purchase-and-sale agreement for $6.5 million.  Once again to stop a large development of badly needed housing.

Stop The Retreat sign (cheaper by the dozen)

But the courts have long ago ruled that a municipality using the Godlike power of eminent domain must pay "highest and best use" price for the property.  Or in this case, $6.5 million!!!

More than the town has in combined total reserves between Free Cash ($4,326,501) and Stabilization ($1,821,401).

Since the town has "right of first refusal" on the property, North Amherst NIMBYs should simply put up or shut up:

Raise the $6.5 million required to match Landmark Properties' offer to W.D. Cowls, Inc ... and then, even I will support this Children's Crusade cause.

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From their Facebook page

"Must be halted immediately."  Getting a tad aggressive are we not?

If You Build It ...

Political sign on public property

One of the other benefits of "The Retreat," a proposed student housing project in northeast Amherst, besides hundreds of thousands of dollars in annual property tax revenues is the short term shot in the arm for jobs, not that Amherst is now hurting with its usual low unemployment rate standing at 3.1%.

But the Hampshire/Franklin district average is 6%, only a little better than state average of 6.8%, and presumably a construction project like The Retreat will draw local labor from all across Western Massachusetts.

   Amherst Bid Solicitation for "The Retreat"

Nasty NIMBYs

 

Cowls Tree Farm:  "Respectful visits welcome"

It's certainly one thing to mount a protest campaign including lawn signs, newspaper columns, and vocal gatherings at public meetings -- something I applaud -- but another thing altogether to deviate into criminal activity.  And I consider vandalism criminal.  As does the law.

Last week someone defaced a wall in the bathrooms at Cowls Building Supply in North Amherst with the graffiti "Leave Cushman Alone!" Sort of betrays that it was politically motivated.

Cowls Building Supply

Also last week members of the  "Save Historic Cushman" group filed a complaint with state and local authorities over logging practices at the forest off Henry Street Cowls wishes to sell to a developer for student housing.

On Monday the Amherst Conservation Commission and state Department of Conservation and Recreation toured the site and found nothing major amiss. 

Amherst Conservation Commission and State officials on site

Which comes as no surprise to anyone familiar with the 9th generation Cowls family,  the largest private landowners in the state and tree huggers since before the term was invented.

Just as it only takes a tiny minority of irresponsible party hardy students to give all students in town a bad name, so it is with activist groups.  Ironically the Save Historic Cushman folks are worried about rowdy student behavior and yet one or two of them are putting on an equally pernicious performance.

And since bad things often comes in three's:  At the Amherst Sustainability Festival Saturday on the Town Common a young conservation minded female working at the W.D. Cowls, Inc tent handing out free seedlings was verbally accosted by an older woman who represented herself as a member of Save Historic Cushman.

Including the mean barb, "You want the woods to look as ugly as you are," which sent her sobbing to the safety of her car.

Also on Saturday afternoon AFD responded to a brush fire along the cleared area just above Henry Street, far enough away so it could not have been sparks or a cigarette thrown from a passing vehicle.

First responders thought it was human activity that caused the fire, as in a party bonfire. But now I wonder:

Would someone take this hot button issue to an extreme, fighting fire with fire?

 

AFD Henry Street brush fire Saturday 2:45 PM

Henry Street Fire

The Retreat Moves Forward

 Can Salamanders read?

The i's have been dotted and the t's crossed (in triplicate) as the town on Wednesday received both by certified mail and delivery in hand the official notice of intent to remove property in northeast Amherst from Chapter 61 conservation for the whopping sale price of $6.5 million.

Yes THAT property off Henry Street -- the one that has aroused the fires of indignation from nearby residents in the historic village of Cushman and a few more from all over Amherst and a surrounding town or two.

The town of Amherst, upon receipt of the documents, has two deadlines:  30 days to question the notification process as flawed, and then another 90 days (assuming the paperwork is in order) to decide if they wish to invoke the "right of first refusal", or pass it on to another non profit land trust.

Either way, an intercepting entity would need to match the current offer of $6.5 million.  Yes, dollars.

Kind of like the epic blunder the town made 25 years ago taking by eminent domain the Cherry Hill Golf Course in North Amherst, costing taxpayers $2.2 million.  The largest land "purchase" in town history, and to the best of my knowledge the last time the town has wielded the potent power of eminent domain.  What some might refer to as "the nuclear option."

Adjusting for inflation the cost of Cherry Hill today would be $4.4 million, still a far cry from the $6.5 million cost of taking the 154 acres of woodland currently owned by the largest private landlowner in Massachusetts, W.D. Cowls, Inc.

And that of course does not include the legal bills resulting from a crossfire of attorneys from two major corporations.

This is one battle the town doesn't need:  sound the retreat!

Circle The Wagons

Neighbors of proposed development already seeing red

Landmark Properties received an all too typical "welcome to Amherst" last night at their informational meeting in the Jones Library to discuss with neighbors their proposed Amherst Retreat Student Housing Project, a 170 unit development off Henry Street currently owned by W.D. Cowls, Inc, the largest private landowner in the state.

One of the neighbors who received an invite to the informational session forwarded a rallying dispatch to organized opposition -- including many in surrounding towns -- erroneously stating the developers "had a terrible reputation in terms of follow through and upkeep."

Of course the other facts this spinmeister got wrong was the assertion that the "salamander crossing will be destroyed" and that "This development is only step one of a long range plan by Cinda >Jones (i.e. Cowls and DH Jones combined) for more development on Cowls property."

Wrong. Cinda Jones is not connected to the real estate agency owned by children of D. H. Jones.

But not letting the facts get in the way of a good narrative is certainly an effective way to mobilize the troops. Over 50 protesters were waiting in front of the Jones Library a few minutes before the meeting start time.

But not everyone who showed up was a disciple of the Church of Obstruction, and some helpful discussion did take place.  Landmark has addressed a major concern by adapting their original plan to reroute traffic from the narrow streets in the heart of Cushman by locating the main entry to the development on Market Hill Road by the town's Water Treatment Plant (A).

 The salamanders will still be able to cross the road

Landmark does not require an exceedingly hard to attain two-thirds vote of Town Meeting for a zoning change in order to do this project.  So it IS going to happen.  This informational session demonstrates Landmark's commitment to being a good neighbor.

Too bad neighbors did not reciprocate.

Cinda Jones speaks

Much Needed Development Planned

Cowls woodland since 1888 

Up to 170 cottage style student housing units sheltering a total of 680 tenants could soon be developed in the Cushman Village Center near Amherst's number one employer and target demographic, the University of Massachusetts. 

Landmark Properties bills "The Retreat" as a "cluster conservation subdivision" that will "provide students with an award winning, high quality, highly amenitized lifestyle in their own community of single family and attached homes."

Map of proposed development (click to enlarge)

 
The 154 acre parcel is currently owned and manged by the W.D. Cowls company, the state's largest private landowner. The property is in Chapter 61 Forest Conservation.  As a result the wooded acreage is current valued at $67/acre or a little over $10,000. 

The Amherst Select Board will have to sign off on releasing the land from Chapter 61, and they have 120 days to implement a"right of first refusal".

Considering the $6.5 million purchase price, it's highly unlikely the town will buy it.  Amherst could, however, transfer the right of first refusal to another non-profit agency, such as the Kestrel Land Trust.  But again, at that price, hard to match.

If developed by a private entity the project would also pay Amherst hundreds of thousands in property taxes annually.  

Amherst currently has an exceedingly tight 3.5% vacancy rate and conversions of single family homes to student rooming houses have caused problems all over town.

A classic Catch 22:  any proposal to add student housing is met with NIMBY resistance for fear of it becoming a riotous Frat Row.  Because no dense developments have been constructed to match increasing enrollment at UMass, the penny ante developers have converted traditional single family homes to student housing with no professional management, a recipe for disaster.

Safe to say locals are already sharpening their pitchforks and soaking torches in gasoline.

Letter to abutters from developer

T-I-M-B-E-R!

The historic old North Amherst trolley barn, compatriot to my next door neighbor, the Amherst DPW and their beloved "barn", did not survive the attempt to offset a recent major tilt and came crashing down like the Flying Wallendas circus pyramid act gone wrong.

Distorted like a giant alien Halloween mask

Conspiracy theorist instantly set to wonder, however, since the owner, Cinda Jones, wished to demolish it a couple years ago but was prevented by a one year "demolition delay" order of the Amherst Historical Commission.

 All that remains is the view

The public safety hazard it presented was the main reason she cited for the demolition, as it could suddenly fall and do collateral damage.  Like this for instance:




That demolition order expired July 28th, thus Ms. Jones was free to demolish it that very day, kind of like what Amherst College did with an old fence around one of their historic houses on college street. Now it will cost even more to dispose of the remaining rubble.

Historic preservation is a worthy, noble endeavor that dates back almost to the founding of our great nation (plus fifty years of course).  But property rights -- "A man's home is his castle"-- dates back to the very day of our founding.

Once the pile is cleared and the area zoning changed, a new mixed use development (commercial and residential), one with a great view, will rise like a Phoenix from the ashes of the old trolley barn.  All aboard!

Original Trolley Barn Cowles Road North Amherst, built 1897.  File Photo July, 2011

Second Trolley Barn, now Amherst DPW, built 1917

A brief history of the local Trolley by Jonathan Tucker

Conservative Values

Governor Deval Patrick addresses large crowd at formal  Paul C Jones Working Forest dedication ceremony

When Cinda Jones throws a party,  a who's who of federal, state, and local officials come to dance--no matter how hot and humid it may be.

Retiring Congressman John Olver directly thanks Cinda Jones for her conservation efforts 

Large crowd of conservation minded officials and friends of the Cowls family

Under a blazing sun blocked by a large white tent nestled on the side of a country road, Governor Deval Patrick and a wagon train of federal, state and local officials came to dedicate the renamed (from Brushy Mountain) Paul C Jones Working Forest, a 3,500 acre (5.4 square miles) swath of God's green earth.

Representative Ellen Story Senator Stan Rosenberg 

Last December, after four years of negotiations, the state paid the W.D. Cowls Co--the largest private landowners in the state--$8.8 million for the development rights to the scenic property.  Cowls will continue to log the land and act as stable stewards, as they have done for the past 125 years.

Paul C. Jones Working Forest

The entities who made it happen

Representative Dan Winslow R-Norfolk (an Amherst native)

Governor Patrick applauds Cinda Jones

No Conservation event is complete without Smokey Bear 

Retiring camera maestro Gordon Daniels gets the shot 

The Official Press Release


Springfield Republican reports

 A previous heartfelt tribute to Paul C. Jones

But their flag is still there

So the Cowls family is calling it quits on their signature sawmill operation that represents nine generations of family blood, sweat and tears. The fundamental business model (and anybody who ever took a Business 101 course knows the 80/20 Rule--where 80% of your profit comes from 20% of your product line) of doing what you need to do in order to survive triumphs, as well it should.

Their main business, the building supply store, will continue on (and with the added value expertise of owners and skilled employees will continue to thrive.) And their vast holding of woodlands are not going anywhere anytime soon.

Alas, whatever the industry--it is simply impossible to compete with folks who sell $10 bills for $7.

The Springfield Republican reports

Sign sign everywhere a sign

Blocking out the scenery breaking my mind / Do this, don't do that, can't you read the sign

So this large sign out by state owned Rt 116 coming into North Amherst goes one better on copyright "fair use" borrowing. Not only the white on blue and same font but also the cute little graphics (I like the martini glass).

But the sign is (just barely) on private property owned by the Jones family, Amherst's ninth generation entrepreneurs extraordinaire. And if Cinda Jones can get the Town Manager to publicly belly dance at a Chamber of Commerce gala it doesn't surprise me she could jump through all the hoops required to get this sign up--even in the People's Republic.

I'm just a tad surprised she followed the state's half-assed concept of making them only one sided.