NIMBY Secret Weapon?

130 Fearing Street

If the Lincoln Sunset Local Historic District had been approved by Town Meeting a couple years ago and was now functioning the way the Dickinson Local Historic District Commission does, this family owned house could never have seen the light of day.

Not so much that LHD's have the power to stop new construction, but they have an inordinate amount of power when it comes to demolishing old structures to make way for new development.

 Lincoln Sunset Local Historic District Study Committee meeting 6/2/15

In this case a barn that was claimed to be "historic" because a real estate agent once advertised that Robert Frost may have used it as a lonely writers garret. The Amherst Historical Commission was not convinced and rejected using their powers to enact a one-year demolition delay.

The next day owner You-Pan Tzeng demolished the structure and later flipped the vacant property to the current owners, who built the house that now fits snugly into the neighborhood.

At most the Amherst Historical Commission could only have delayed things one year.  But a Local Historic District Commission could have delayed demolition permanently.

And it can be hard to build a new house or five-story mixed use building if you can't clear an old building sitting on that spot.

For instance the Amherst Historical Commission hit North Amherst developer Cinda Jones with a one-year demo delay on her big red barn at the entryway to the Mill District.

Without a change in zoning or Special Permit from the Zoning Board of Appeals the barn cannot be used for commercial activities related to the Mill District (like Atkins North) and is way too expensive to rehabilitate simply for storage.

 Currently the barn screens the Mill District from viewers on Montague Road

Atkins North is reusing a barn that was in commercial zone

Thus it will probably be demolished next month when the one-year delay expires.  But a North Amherst Local Historic District Commission (which is being talked about) could have simply said, "you can't tear down this barn.  Ever!" 

Which is easy to say when the preservation money is not coming out of your pocket.

Margin Of Safety

Pine Street, North Amherst

The Amherst Planning Board is unhappy with the final design for three crosswalks on Pine Street in North Amherst, citing the 8 foot width as too narrow and requesting the Select Board -- who has final say -- make them at least 12 feet wide.

Town Manager Musante dismissed the concerns telling the Select Board he's comfortable with the current 8 foot wide design and other assorted measures including a  high tech solar powered Rectangular Rapid Flash Beacon at each crosswalk.

 Transportation Plan seems to prefer 12 feet wide but did call this a "sample"

The town currently has no crosswalks greater than 8 feet wide.  And some are only 6 feet. The Select Board decided not to change the crosswalk plans at this late date.

 Crosswalks in town center are 8 feet wide

Public Private Partnership

Hampshire College this morning

Yes, that is our Department of Public Works doing construction on private property.

They are building Hampshire College a driveway that will connect the parking lot over on the left with West Street (Rt 116) below.

The construction at top of photo does not involve our DPW.  It's the new super efficient Hitchcock Center building, but it does look like it will share the new road being installed by the DPW.

 Although the town is getting plenty of loam out of the deal

This is part of a deal made a few years ago relating to the Atkins Corner double roundabouts where the town needed to take some property from Hampshire College and offered construction services instead of cash.

 Atkins Corner $6 million double roundabout project. Atkins Market top right

Why didn't the state simply pay Hampshire College for the property in the first place since the $6 million Atkins Corner project was a Department Of Transportation project?

They would have except the town "took over" Rt 116 from Atkins up to town center because they did not like they way the state was going to re widen along the  Pomeroy Lane/West Street Village Center.

This also means our DPW has to plow this stretch of road in the winter.

As some of you may remember Hampshire College refused to allow a detour through their campus during the Atkins Corner construction, a project that almost led to the demise of Atkins Country Market.

Hampshire College pays the town nothing for Amherst Fire Department emergency service runs which average close to Amherst College, who pays $90,000 annually.   UMass also pays $450,000 annually.

In reality none of the institutes of higher education pay their fair share.   But certainly anything is better than nothing.

At least the roundabouts work

Miss Emily: A Star Is Reborn

Emily Dickinson Museum, 280 Main Street
A professional film crew will come calling next week for a three-day shoot about Amherst's most famous reclusive resident, Emily Dickinson -- The Belle of Amherst.

The movie is called, appropriately enough, "A Quiet Passion" and they will of course be filming at the Dickinson Homestead, aka Emily Dickinson Museum, on Main Street just above the railroad tracks her father helped bring to Amherst.

Since it's a period piece Amherst police will be used to control traffic to ensure a 21st century internal combustion vehicle does not stray into a shot of a horse and carriage ambling up Main Street.  Barry Roberts will be providing the horses.

Film crew will use Wildwood rather than West Cemetery due to 21st century intrusions near West Cemetery

Chief Livingstone points out it's a pretty simply request, not nearly as complicated as the 1993 shoot centered in the downtown for the movie "Malice."

Old timers also remember when the Merry Maple (aka Christmas Tree) was reignited in the spring of 1968 for the movie "Silent Night, Lonely Night."

Pride Of Place Issue

Atkins Corner roundabouts on a dreary morning

The venerable Amherst Select Board -- keepers of the public way -- got an earful last night about the condition of the double roundabouts at Atkins Corner by a neighborhood woman who cited weeds, dead plants and overall dreariness, closing with "It's all very unattractive."

And I have to admit next to the UMass roundabout at Eastman Lane and North Pleasant Street they certainly do pale by comparison.

 UMass roundabout on a sunny Sunday morning

Like Police and Fire, DPW staffing is severely stretched to the limit.  And in the past few years their kingdom has expanded to include these $6 million dollar roundabouts and of course all of Kendrick Park.

Select Board member Connie Kruger stated she was "Also very disappointed.  It's a gateway and it's embarrassing."

Ms. Kruger also hinted that perhaps Atkins Country Market and Hampshire College could step up and maybe "adopt" the roundabouts and show them some Tender Loving Care.

 Atkins Corner from 400 feet: Epstein's Pond on the right

Pax Mexicana

Mission Cantina Friday 5:45 PM

The pitched battle that erupted -- mainly over parking -- between town officials and Mission Cantina came to an honorable end at last week's Zoning Board of Appeals meeting, with a compromise both entities can live with.

The ever popular restaurant can continue operating a food truck (which serves the downtown) out of their current location with extra parking allowed for employees in the back as long as they stay only on paved areas.

The restaurant is not required to carve out any new additional customer parking spaces and in fact will lose a few by installing barriers to protect green space on the south end of the parking lot.

In addition signs will be erected telling hungry customers to stay off the grass.  Or maybe they can hire a grumpy old man at peak times to yell, "get off my lawn!"

And they will be allowed to construct an enclosure/vestibule around the front door.

Town officials were caught in a bit of bind:  They recently allowed two new large five-story mixed used buildings (mostly residential) in the downtown with no parking required but in this case originally tried to force a restaurant to add parking when they already provide more than twice what the zoning bylaw requires.

Click to enlarge/read

Sleeping Beauty DUI

Mark Kulas intake photo (aka "mug shot") courtesy Amherst Police Department

Amherst police took a drunk driver off the road before dawn on Sunday morning, but first they had to awaken him. Yes, now imagine Mark Kulas, age 22,  conking out while his vehicle was in high speed motion.

Click to enlarge/read

Other charges were dropped as part of the 24D plea

In Eastern Hampshire District Court this morning Mr Kulas did not show up for his 9:00 AM arraignment and a bench warrant was issued for "failure to appear".

But he did show up by close of business today (maybe he had overslept) and ended up taking a standard 24D disposition: $650 in fines, losing his license for 45 days, and one year probation.

In addition since his Breathalyzer was .20% he must undergo a (substance abuse) 24Q evaluation