South East Street Shuffle

 650 South East Street, Rock Farm

It did not take Greenfield Savings Bank long to do their due diligence on the property located at 650 West Street.  I had expressed concern about three 55-gallon rusty oil drums right before the town bought it last week.  I guess a $500,000 deal stimulates clean up motivation -- especially for a bank.

The town purchased the property using $60,000 in Community Preservation Act money, private funds from helpful  neighbors, and flipping two building lots for $132,000 each.  Of course the town cannot cut the bank a check until July 1st, start of the new fiscal year.

The clean up crew from Environ International Corporation will be done by the end of the week. A senior associate said two of the drums were empty and the one with some content still in it was specially packed for removal and the contents will be analyzed.   As will soil around the other two empty drums.

But he was optimistic at this stage contamination was not a concern.

666 South East Street, trees with notices are marked for extinction

Meanwhile right next door another environmental action was playing out, as the Amherst Public Shade Tree Committee met to discuss the clearing of trees by a homeowner for a new, safer driveway.  The committee could not muster a quorum, so no vote was taken. 

The Shade Tree Committee only advises Tree Warden Alan Snow; he has the semi-final authority with removal of trees in the public way, which extends roughly 30 feet from a public road onto private property.

The Amherst Select Board would have the final say if an appeal is made of the Tree Warden's decision. 

The costs to the homeowners, Christopher Benfey and Mickey Rathbun, with such a large grove of trees using an inch-per-inch replacement calculation could total as high as $12,000.

The Amherst Planning Board and Tree Warden have a joint meeting tomorrow tonight in Town Hall to discuss the removals.

Party House of the Weekend

 

327 Lincoln Avenue

So NO, now that I helped to keep alive the student housing development in northeast Amherst I'm not going to shelf my "Party House of the Weekend" series simply because every time I repost to Facebook somebody will jump in and say, but how could you support 'The Retreat' when it will only exacerbate this situation?

Although, thankfully, nobody has yet charged me with trying to stimulate continuing fodder for this popular series.

As I've pointed out many times the problem is NOT professionally managed apartment complexes as I'm sure The Retreat will be.  The problem is single-family homes owned by absentee landlords.

Like 327 Lincoln Avenue for instance, midnight Saturday.  A noise complaint from beleaguered neighbors resulted in all four young ladies earning a $300 noise ticket.

Click to enlarge/read

Police also warned Pi Kappa Alpha Frathouse located nearby for noise early Saturday morning

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374 North Pleasant Street, "Pike"

Ain't No Stoppin' Us Now

Amherst Town Meeting

Lightening struck twice on the floor of Amherst Town Meeting (followed by a double rainbow) tonight.

The controversial use of eminent domain (article 43) would have snatched 154 acres of woodland property development rights from a private owner to prevent a private corporation's student housing development.

I preemptively made the "Motion to dismiss" to send the stern message that article 43 was naive, dangerous and dead wrong.   After less than 1.5 hours of discussion the socialistic article was killed by way of a 99 "Yes"-90 "No" vote supporting my motion.

And yes, it's not often Amherst Town Meeting supports a Larry Kelley motion.

Since it involved eminent domain the original article would have required a two-thirds vote to pass.  Both the Finance Committee and Select Board strongly opposed the original article.

Amherst Select Board voted 4-1 against article 43

Then, amazingly, Town Meeting really pulled out all the stops and supported a mixed use zoning change (article 31)  that will allow for increased density of housing in commercial districts ... like North Amherst.  

Any zoning change requires a two-thirds vote.  When a "Motion to refer" article 31 back to the Planning Board -- similar to dismissal -- only failed by 94 "No" to 82 "Yes," it was looking doubtful a two-thirds majority would be attained for passage.

Finance Committee makes room for Planning Board as TM discusses zoning

However, when the smoke cleared after a recorded Tally Vote, Article 31, "Standards and Conditions for Mixed Use Buildings" passed handily 119 to 56.

On Monday Town Meeting will take up discussions of companion pro development zoning articles all unanimously approved by the Planning Board. 

And the battered NIMBYs will be out in force.

Guarding Miss Emily

A hawk sits high on a branch hanging over West Cemetery this afternoon

Could have used this carnivorous sentry over the weekend as two college aged youths were caught breaking & entering  the Dickinson Homestead on Main Street early Sunday morning, not far from the Dickinson burial plot in historic downtown West Cemetery.

Amherst College police foiled the would be cat burglars.

A Really BIG Deal

Cushman Village

For the 255th Annual Amherst Town Meeting tonight's session is D-Day: Disaster or -- let's hope -- Delightful.

Mainly due to article 43, the hostile snatching by eminent domain of 154 acres of average grade woodland to stop a badly needed student housing development, the modern day version of the bogeyman.

But if town meeting members have done their due diligence homework, they will support my "motion to dismiss" the dangerous article that opens the door to all sorts of bad legal consequences.

The town has not used the tyrannical power of eminent domain for such a large land taking since 1987 when, also at the request of North Amherst residents, they absorbed the 90 acres Cherry Hill Golf Course costing taxpayers $2.2 million ($4.4 million in today's dollars).

Which of course underscores the significant value of the parcel now in question:  More than 50% larger than Cherry Hill, with public water/sewer located nearby.

In fact the town help build a stub of an access road 25 years ago when it purchased in a friendly manner adjacent land for a water treatment plant, clearly acknowledging development was in the cards for that particular parcel.

A few years ago Amherst College purchased at auction the 37 acre Dakin Estate (one quarter the size of the Cowls land) near their 9 hole golf course for $4.3 million in order to stop housing developer Barry Roberts.

If Landmark Properties should be driven off by the nasty NIMBY reception they are receiving W.D. Cowls, Inc could simply sell or develop 15 building lots on the property, some of them along Henry Street where the salamanders roam.

Yes, if W.D. Cowls, Inc President Cinda Jones was the "Wicked Witch of the West" she would reenact the demise of her equally wicked sister and drop a house on the cute little critters.  But, fortunately, she's not a wicked witch (and she dresses better).

Last week Town Meeting purchased the 5 acres Rock Farm on South East Street and as part of the deal two private building lots were sold for $132,000 each.  By that accounting just the 15 lots that are available to build on "by right" on Cowls land are worth w-a-y more than the $1.2 million Town Meeting is being asked to use should they trigger the nuclear option, eminent domain.

Since the property is currently in Ch61A the town has "Right Of First Refusal."  And there's plenty of time for that as the state allows 120 days from when a "bona fide" offer is first tendered for the property. 

At the moment both private parties trying to do the $6.5 million deal are fighting with the town over what constitutes a "bona fide offer," kind of like President Clinton questioning the definition of "is."

Interestingly the reason why the state mandates offers be real is to avoid municipalities being taken advantage of by unscrupulous sellers who simply rig a (fake) deal with a friend or business associate in order to get a municipality to pay an artificially inflated price.

In the 1995 The Trust for Public Land vs Marmer, et al, 4 LCR 90, 95 case, the court declared:  "Clearly , the statute does not envision the municipality ... being required to purchase a parcel of land for a sum which the original offeree may chose, at its option, to never pay."

Obviously the presence of 400 "Stop The Retreat" signs all over the Happy Valley indicate most people know the two private parties are deadly serious about doing this deal.

So if the town really wants to socialistically stop it the only alternative is to implement the Right of First Refusal, and that will cost many more millions than the $1.2 million figure showing in Article 43.

And at this stage, with the town desperately in need of a new ($12 million) South Fire Station and renovations to 40-year-old elementary schools, that is really not a rational decision. 

Also tonight, ironically enough, Town Meeting could consider zoning tweaks (Articles 30, 31, and 32) to allow common sense increases in residential density to Commercial Village Centers -- especially North Amherst.

You know, the type of smart incremental growth that if enacted a few years ago could have obviated The Retreat.

Smoking gun letter from appraiser

Inside Amherst Town Meeting: Ugh

 Echo Village Apartments: threat of eminent domain taking could reappear

According to the sacred rules of Amherst Town Meeting a "Motion to reconsider" an article (almost always one that has failed) can be made by any member as long as they did not "vote in the minority".

With Article 42, the controversial $2.6 million eminent domain taking of Echo Village Apartments, 24 units of formerly low-to-moderate priced rentals, that leaves plenty of opportunity since the main motion failed last week by being referred back to a committee for more study 95 yes-94 no.

That of course sounds skin-of-your-teeth close, except the main motion (taking the apartment complex by eminent domain) required a two-thirds super majority to pass, so it really wasn't even close.

If however one of those 95 yes voters (and I was one) changes their mind and wants to stand up and make a motion to reconsider, that's all it takes.  Or someone who was not present at the meeting when the article was voted on, which in this case means 50 people. 

Thus we have a potential pool of 145 movers.  And it only takes one.

Town Meeting then debates and votes on whether they wish to reconsider.  That requires a majority vote to pass.  If passed, it then magically transforms us back to the moment before someone "called the question" to end debate.

Thus the discussion begins anew, while the clock keeps on ticking. 

Either way Town Meeting will also get to Article 43 on Monday night, the other eminent domain article.   This one calls for stealing the "development rights" on 154 acres of forest in northeast Amherst currently under contract to a student housing developer for $6.5 million dollars.

Scary to think in only one night Amherst Town Meeting could make back-to-back mistakes costing taxpayers $9 million dollars.

Pancakes For A Cause

Lining up at Puffer's Pond Pancake Breakfast

It seemed a little less crowded this year compared to last at the 22nd Annual Puffer's Pond Pancake Breakfast, a fundraiser for the most popular conservation area in Amherst.

 Puffer's Pond Pancake Breakfast:  A family oriented event

Perhaps it was the oppressive heat or maybe because last year family and friends held a tribute remembrance ceremony to honor revered town icon Stephen Puffer. In my coverage last year I noted how folks on both side of the bitterly contested Village Center Form Based Zoning article (which narrowly failed) were all present, but seemed to sit at different tables.

This year of course the ever-so-related bitter controversy is Article 43, which seeks to kill a much needed taxpaying student housing development in northeast Amherst; but with use of town government's nuclear option, eminent domain.

Isn't Amherst supposed to be a "Nuclear Free Zone?"

Volunteer wearing "Stop The Retreat" button and donated W.D. Cowls, Inc apron