Here is the special permit issued by the Planning Board in June to Tofino Associates/Northern Avenue Homes/Kohl Construction to build 20 condo units off North Street. Kohl still needs approval from the Conservation Commission (July 23 hearing expected) as well as a resolution to a lawsuit in Land Court over matters of title and rights-of-way. You may download the special permit as a high-resolution PDF (110 KB).









See also:

Video and Slides: Planning Board Grants Special Permit to Kohl Condos on 6/25/09

Sunday Republican: "Condominium proposal moves ahead in 'Hamp" (6/28/09)

Latest Kohl Condo Proposal for North Street: 20 Units as Duplexes

Video: Conservation Commission Reviews Latest Kohl Condo Proposal on 5/14/09

Video: Conservation Commission Meeting of 3/12/09; Deadlock on Kohl Condo Proposal; Kohl Seeks to Withdraw Application

        

This press release appeared today on the Sustain Northampton Yahoo group:

Press Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

JULY 3, 2009

On Thursday, July 2, 2009, At Large City Councilor Michael Bardsley and Ward Six City Councilor Marianne LaBarge submitted an Order to be place[d] on the agenda of the meeting of the Nothampton City Council scheduled for Thursday, July 9, 2009. That order requested that the Northampton CIty Council place on the ballot for the November election a non-binding public opinion advisory question to determine whether voters of the City of Northampton approve of the proposed plan to expand the city's landfill over the Barnes Aquifer. Councilors Bardsley and LaBarge submitted this order at the request of several concerned citizens.

"I think it's only right that the voters of Northampton have a chance to clearly express their opinions on the landfill expansion," said Councilor LaBarge. "On the Proposition 2 1/2 Override and the Community Preservation Act, the people had their say. We want to give them the same opportunity on this critical and controversial decision."

"The Board of Public Works has held forums to inform the public about the landfill expansion," said Councilor Bardsley. "That educational effort has had a positive impact on those who were able to attend, or who watched them on the community television. Unfortunately, because of legal advice given by City Solicitor Janet Sheppard, the citizens of Northampton have been prohibited from discussing this critical issue with their city councilors."

Bardsley noted that a formal hearing process will be implemented by the city council once an application for a special permit is filed. "We should have learned by now that a formal hearing does not allow for a real community conversation," Bardsley said. "Though these required formal hearings are often useful, you cannot accurately gauge the opinion of the general public."

"A non-binding public opinion advisory question would let the voters speak on a decision which will affect our city for years, possibly for generations. It's in keeping with the spirit of the Best Practices Committe's recommendations by providing the opportunity for a broad dialogue. Advocates and opponents of the proposed landfill expansion will have a chance to make their case to the entire population, and the voters will be able to express their opinions and hopefully be heard by City Council."

If the Council approves this Order, the question will appear on the November 3 ballot. If the council defeats the Order, the group of citizens supporting this proposed ballot initiative can have it placed on the ballot by having 10% of the registered voters of Northampton sign a petition in support of that question.

The Order submitted by Councilors Labarge and Bardsley is as follows:

Ordered that,

The City Council of the City of Northampton orders that the question below be placed on the ballot for the election in November 2009, allowing the voters of the City of Northampton to give a non-binding public advisory opinion to determine if they would authorize the City of Northampton to expand the City of Northampton's landfill over the Barnes Aquifer.

"Shall the City of Northampton expand the Northampton landfill over the Barnes Aquifer?"

______Yes ______No

See also:

Video: Board of Public Works Discusses Scope of Waste Management Alternatives Study at 1/21/09 Special Meeting

Video and Slides: Public Forum on Innovative Approaches to Manage Northampton's Solid Waste, 11/19/08
City Engineer Jim Laurila gave a presentation on Northampton's current solid waste management program (PDF, 54KB). He was followed by Gary Liss of Gary Liss & Associates ("Zero Waste to Cool the Planet", PDF, 975KB) and Alan Cohen of HDR ("Innovative Approaches to Managing Northampton's Solid Waste", PDF, 5.9MB)...

Mayor Clare Higgins asserts that the region has a moral obligation to deal with its trash locally. The Valley Advocate quotes her as saying, "We are providing a regional public service... Western Massachusetts should deal with Western Massachusetts trash. And even leaving the region out of the equation, Northampton has to send its trash somewhere. What are the options? Will we feel good about ourselves if we ship our trash out of state to a poorer community?"

Gary Liss challenges this notion (1:55:10-1:56:30), saying, "I don't think you have to assume that you have to provide landfill capacity. You could provide transfer capacity. The assumption of having to provide local capacity was in the 80s, when there was a concern that there wasn't going to be disposal capacity available anywhere, and 'we're running out of landfill space'. That was the driver for a lot of the programs of the 80s and 90s. That doesn't compute anymore with the regional haul...

Department of Public Works: Proposed Phase 5 Expansion Information

Northampton Redoubt: "Mary Serreze interviews Northampton BPW Chair Dave Reckhow on the proposed landfill expansion" (11/15/08)
Reckhow: "If there are conflicts between waste reduction and the economics of operating the landfill, we'll want to examine that. We'll need to define our priorities. I believe that we should be reducing our waste stream. Whether that is compatible with the landfill expansion has yet to be determined."

Valley Advocate: "Trash is Good" (10/9/08)
In the landfill business, trash is good. Currently Northampton's Solid Waste Enterprise Fund relies on 45,000 to 50,000 tons per year in order to meet budget. If Pioneer Valley residents significantly reduce what they throw away, the city may move to expand the landfill's "wasteshed"--that is, to entice tonnage from other areas. If another regional facility offers haulers a cheaper alternative, this strategy may fail. Duseau Trucking has a permit to operate a transfer station in North Hatfield, with rail access. If, for instance, Duseau were able to ship our region's trash to another facility at a lower cost, it is possible that the Northampton municipal landfill would end up cash-starved...

Video: Department of Public Health Presents Landfill Study

        

Here is a blip.tv video of the Tofino Associates/Northern Avenue Homes/Kohl Construction hearing on June 25 before Northampton's Planning Board. The board granted a special permit to Kohl to build 20 condo units off of North Street. Kohl has not yet secured approval from the Conservation Commission (hearing expected July 23). A Land Court lawsuit over title and rights-of-way is also outstanding (a hearing on a motion for partial summary judgment is planned for early August). Doug Kohl has pledged not to begin construction on the site until the lawsuit is resolved.

This video was recorded by Lachlan Ziegler and is 2 hours and 14 minutes long. The latter part of the hearing contains a discussion of the conditions attached to the special permit. We will obtain and publish the text of these conditions within a few days.



Below are selected graphics from Kohl's presentation. The proposed Northern Avenue duplex is shown followed by the View Avenue duplexes. Click here for high-resolution PDFs of the proposal and more views.














See also:

Sunday Republican: "Condominium proposal moves ahead in 'Hamp" (6/28/09)
Adam R. Cohen of the North Street Neighborhood Association said Kohl's is plan is better than when he started, but still raises some concerns. "I think (the parcel) would be at substantial risk from the next big tropical rain storm," Cohen said.

Tropical Storm Floyd Flood Damage Report (1999)
In the map below, the red flag behind View Avenue (the topmost flag) indicates a flood damage report from Tropical Storm Floyd (1999). This area is in the eastern portion of Kohl Construction's proposed condo site, one of the more elevated portions. We infer that much of Kohl's property may be at risk from heavy rainfall events.



Comparing the New Hazards Mitigation Plan to the Old One: Wetlands Protection Weakened
...it is forecasted that, Massachusetts, and the rest of New England, is long overdue for a major hurricane to make landfall. Based on past hurricane and tropical storm landfalls, the frequency of tropical systems to hit the Massachusetts coastline is an average of once out of every six years." (p.28, emphasis added)

Latest Kohl Condo Proposal for North Street: 20 Units as Duplexes

• Units 5-12 would be in an area that Conservation Commissioner Paul Wetzel objects to building on because the ground is so wet (March 12 hearing)
• Wetzel also expressed concerns about how the underground stormwater detention system by Unit 10 would interact with groundwater in and around the wetland
• Unit 18 appears to be slated for the same place as a unit that Conservation Commissioner Downey Meyer objected to previously as too close to the wetland
• The total amount of disturbance inside the 100-foot wetlands buffer zone would remain high; Meyer objected to this on the version of the proposal reviewed on March 12

Video: Conservation Commission Reviews Latest Kohl Condo Proposal on 5/14/09

Video: Conservation Commission Meeting of 3/12/09; Deadlock on Kohl Condo Proposal; Kohl Seeks to Withdraw Application

        

Jesse Adams is running for a City Councilor At-Large position in Northampton. Here is a blip.tv video of the speeches from his campaign kick-off event at the Northampton Country Club on 6/24/09. Mr. Adams is introduced by Rick Gifford and Wendy Foxmyn. This video is 18 minutes long and was recorded by Adam Cohen. For a shorter blip.tv video with just Mr. Adams' speech by itself (10min 32sec), please click here.

(Please note: The North Street Neighborhood Association does not endorse candidates for political office. This material is presented to inform the public. That said, we applaud this passage from the speech below: "When we experience residential growth new projects must be appropriately sized; they must be organic and fit the character of the neighborhood and not be forced or unnatural. Infill is important, and we need it. But we can’t destroy our green space and call it infill because we can walk to it from downtown. We must seek a better path to growth.")



The text of Mr. Adams' speech:

Thank Wendy so much for that great introduction. I would like to point out that Rick is not my bodyguard--he is my campaign manager.

Ladies and Gentlemen, I want to speak to you briefly, and after I speak I want to hear from all of you, either directly or by the sheets that are on the table. Throughout the course of this campaign I’d love to sit down with each and every one of you.

I’m Jesse Adams. I hope to have the chance to represent you as City Councilor at Large for the great city of Northampton.

As many of you know, I’ve been a life-long valley resident. My family has run a business on Main Street for 30 years. My father Andy is here tonight; my mother Joya is in Virginia, visiting one of her four grandchildren, my first nephew Andrew Jr. My nieces are also here, Allie, Lindsay, and Sarah.

I live and work in Northampton, and love this city, as we all do here, and that’s why I decided to run two years ago as a Forbes Library Trustee and was elected. And I’d like to thank all of you who supported me in that effort. It is my pleasure to serve, and that office has given me the energy and desire to serve the city in other capacities.

Why do I love Northampton?

I love the vibrancy of it. I love the balance of ideas. I love the Arts and Music. I live on on Main Street and each day I look out on to the heart of our downtown, and when I open my window I hear the music of the street, and people in conversation. I see a city that is home to people who were born and raised here, and also to people who come here to seek a life. And we have a wonderful home. A home that’s bright, warm, and welcoming. We’ve struggled to become this city, and fought the good fight to become who we are. Northampton has some of the most creative minds anywhere: writers, doctors, artists, judges, teachers, business owners, therapists-lots and lots of therapists. They’ve chosen to dwell here because it feeds there minds, and their souls. And people aside from their professions want to raise their family, and be a part of the community.

I have a vision for the future of Northampton. It is one of unity. Our city is a diverse one, with diverse views. A united city has citizens who engage in spirited and respectful debates and know that we will struggle at times but when our goal is to find common ground the result is not acrimony, but unity.

A united Northampton values superior schools and our duty to future generations. We know that we have this responsibility which is why we have to make sacrifices to ensure that our schools are great now, and will be in the future.

My vision of Northampton is one of continued public safety where all people can walk at night without fear no matter who they are. It wasn’t long ago that we held candlelight vigils to protest acts of violence in our community. A united Northampton expects public safety and demands justice.

A united Northampton has an open government that makes decisions by the light of day and listens to the people because we have so many great people with smart voices and sound ideas.

My vision for Northampton is one with a robust local economy. Keeping our dollars close to us is in our best interest, and has helped us fair better than other regions during this recession.

There is a lot to love about Northampton. Even though we have such a great home here, we are in the midst of troubled times.

We are in a storm. Each year we our tax bills go up, and at the same time we face cuts to the services that we rely on. This year we faced an unprecedented budget deficit. And we managed to avoid the worst case scenario and stave off a lot of the pain with the passage of the override last week. But the override was the eye of a hurricane. We can’t rest now because the clouds will roll back in next year unless we start looking for solutions now.

We need to live within our means and watch every cent that we spend. We need the state to give us choices, like the local option meals tax as well as the option to increase in local room occupancy tax. Then we can have the discussion and decide whether we should levy these taxes. We need to seek other new revenues and look to expand the tax base instead of increasing the burden again and again on those who are already sacrificing so much. It’s unfortunate that we have to fix on the local level what has been broken on the state level. We must be open-minded and look for solutions to next year’s grim budget now.

To do this, we need a government that is democratic, open and informed. We need to make intelligent decisions with genuine deliberation. We have a best practices committee that worked hard to deliver a set of recommendations to create an open and informed process that is in clear view of the public. We have to begin adopting those recommendations today.

We need a permanent Best Practices Committee.

We need to utilize our ordinance that allows for a creation of a Citizens Advisory Committee.

We need a local public ethics ordinance that holds us to a higher standard than the minimum state requirements.

We need to review the City Council powers and responsibilities, as well the role of the Mayor in City Council and School Committee meetings. This discussion will enable us to ask ourselves if our charter and ordinances allow for a proper separation of powers and if they do not we must change them. We should review these functions no matter who the Mayor is, or who is on the City Council come next January.

It is through best practices and engagement of the people of Northampton that we can make informed decisions that will lead us as a united city to the safe shore of the future, and provide for our children.

We must honor our duty to the future generations of Northampton by being committed to waste reduction. We need to enforce the recycling ordinance which is already the law. We need to expand the items that can be recycled. We need to establish a re-use center where people can bring things that they no longer need that others can take for free. We must value waste reduction because a greener Northampton is a safer and smarter Northampton.

Northampton must grow. We should increase the tax base both residentially and commercially to spread the tax burden more evenly. When we experience residential growth new projects must be appropriately sized; they must be organic and fit the character of the neighborhood and not be forced or unnatural. Infill is important, and we need it. But we can’t destroy our green space and call it infill because we can walk to it from downtown. We must seek a better path to growth.

Commercial growth is vital as well. We want people to visit our city, and shop in our vibrant local businesses, and enjoy themselves, and we want people to come here from different places, to work and live here and join us, and contribute to our community, and make Northampton even better, but not at the expense of the people who were born and raised here.

We need Northampton to grow and develop in a way that is unified and inclusive.

I can lead us into the future as a councilor at large. I see myself as a city councilor who will walk with anyone, talk to everyone, and engage them. It is because the issues require genuine deliberation, and not alliances based on personalities.

I can be an independent voice with a fresh perspective. I am accessible. I am willing to listen with compassion and I am eager to serve. I’m open to new ideas. I love this city and I understand the people. Democracy won’t always give us what everyone wants, but I believe that Democracy is designed to give us what is fair. I quote Aeschylus, “Happiness is a choice that requires effort at times.” And “God’s most lordly gift to human beings is decency of mind.” That’s what democracy is. It requires disagreement and means we have to listen to each other especially when we are at odds, not when it’s convenient because one of Northampton’s greatest qualities is diversity of mind. It’s decent to care about your neighbor. It’s fair to have to argue about how to achieve happiness and the right direction for our community.

We are not going to restore ourselves with cynicism; we can’t rejuvenate ourselves by being aloof. It’s only through unity, service, engagement, and participation that Democracy can serve the public. That’s why I’ve asked you to gather here tonight in support of my candidacy because it is a united Northampton that will navigate its course for the future. I am ready to be your city councilor at large. Yet, I cannot do this alone. I need your help. I need your support. I need you to tell your friends and neighbors that you support me and that they should too because I care for the future of our Northampton. And most importantly I need your vote on November 3rd.

Thank you so much for being here, and thank you for your support. God bless you. I love you.

See also:

Mary Serreze: "Photos from Adams Kickoff" (6/25/09)

Mary Serreze: "Jesse Adams Kicks Off Campaign" (6/24/09, with audio recording of Adams' speech)

Gazette: "Northampton council shuffle: Dostal won't run; Narkewicz steps into at-large race" (6/26/09)
After 55 years of either working for the city or serving as an elected official, City Councilor James M. Dostal announced Thursday he will not seek re-election to his at-large council seat in November.

Meanwhile, two-term Ward 4 Councilor David J. Narkewicz joined Dostal on the steps of City Hall to announce his intention to seek election to an at-large seat...

At-Large City Councilor Michael R. Bardsley is leaving his longtime council seat to challenge incumbent Mayor Clare Higgins for her office, opening the way for new faces in both at-large council seats.

In addition to Narkewicz, two other city residents, Kathleen Silva of 119 Riverside Drive and Jesse Adams of 187 Main St., Apt. 4, have announced their intention to run for an at-large seat, though more candidates may emerge.

Our Ad in the May 6 Gazette: "How to Avoid Classic Infill Design Mistakes"

Our Guest Article at Northampton Redoubt: "The Kohl condo proposal and the Struggle Over the Meaning of Infill"

Smart Growth vs. "Smart Growth"

Video: Presentation of Final Recommendations of the Best Practices Committee to City Council, 3/5/09

        

Last night the Planning Board granted Tofino Associates/Kohl Construction a special permit to build 20 condo units off North Street. Kohl still requires approval from the Conservation Commission, which is expected to hold a fresh hearing on the proposal in July. Kohl also has yet to resolve a dispute before Land Court involving matters of title and rights-of way. We will provide pictures and video from the Planning Board hearing within a few days.

The North Street Neighborhood Association believes most of Kohl's land is unsuitable for building (too wet, buggy and flood-prone) and that the best use of the land is to conserve it as an informal park. The state has offered to match funds raised by abutters for the purpose of conservation.

Today's Gazette reports that "Kohl said he would not begin construction until the Land Court issue is resolved."


See also:

Latest Kohl Condo Proposal for North Street: 20 Units as Duplexes

• Units 5-12 would be in an area that Conservation Commissioner Paul Wetzel objects to building on because the ground is so wet (March 12 hearing)
• Wetzel also expressed concerns about how the underground stormwater detention system by Unit 10 would interact with groundwater in and around the wetland
• Unit 18 appears to be slated for the same place as a unit that Conservation Commissioner Downey Meyer objected to previously as too close to the wetland
• The total amount of disturbance inside the 100-foot wetlands buffer zone would remain high; Meyer objected to this on the version of the proposal reviewed on March 12

Video: Conservation Commission Reviews Latest Kohl Condo Proposal on 5/14/09

Video: Conservation Commission Meeting of 3/12/09; Deadlock on Kohl Condo Proposal; Kohl Seeks to Withdraw Application

        

Ward 4 City Councilor David Narkewicz is circulating the following announcement today:

Community Forum on Meadows Agricultural Land behind South Street Neighborhood
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
6:30 PM
Media Education Foundation (MEF) Community Room
60 Masonic Street (behind Woodstar Cafe), Northampton

Through the generosity of Rita & Bruce Bleiman, and with the help of CPA funds, the City is acquiring [PDF] an 11-acre parcel of "Meadows" land behind the South Street neighborhood to be forever preserved and put to some wonderful agricultural uses benefiting the public. A Community Forum has been organized for this Wednesday night to 1) envision the possible agricultural uses of the land, and 2) form a working group to create a management structure for the land.

What do we want down there: more community garden plots? A walkable, organic CSA? Common pastureland to graze goats and sheep? An educational/seed-saving farm? These are a few ideas that have already been put forward, but the City is wide open to all possibilities. Please bring your ideas and volunteer energy to the forum!

For more information, please contact Lilly Lombard, jollypair@comcast.net, 584-0081.

        

Here is a blip.tv video of the last eight minutes of the 6/17/09 meeting of the Northampton State Hospital Citizen Advisory Committee. Planning Director Wayne Feiden, Benjamin Spencer, Mayor Clare Higgins and others discuss the route of the bike trail that is to pass near the planned new facility for Kollmorgen Electro-Optical.



Here are additional comments provided to us by Benjamin Spencer (refer to the diagram below):

From the South Campus the views of the Pioneer Valley and the Holyoke and Mount Tom Ranges are stunning. The Manhan Rail Trail Extension to Village Hill Northampton could travel up the hill in a series of switchbacks to the crest and then travel west towards Laurel Street. From here it could connect to the network of bike path lanes planned for the North Campus of Village Hill. The path could also extend east and follow the ridge of the hill bringing users out by the main intersection at Village Hill Road. Here Route 66 can be crossed safely at the traffic signals that are currently being installed. This is a centrally located entrance that is equally convenient to everyone living in Village Hill. The Overlook Bike Path would provide a common place for residents, workers, families and cyclists to share and enjoy. It would offer a calm path for beginning cyclists and provide everyone with scenic views. On the Overlook the community would be able to meet each other and connect with the beautiful valley we all call home.

The Overlook Bike Path could also serve as a memorial to Dr. Thomas Story Kirkbride and the former Northampton State Hospital. Dr. Kirkbride played a significant role in improving the quality and effectiveness of mental healthcare in America. The asylum buildings and their rural surroundings were central to Dr. Kirkbride's ideas of treatment for patients suffering from mental illness. He understood that fresh air, natural light, and beautiful views of a natural environment would make a patient's experience more comfortable and enhance their treatment. It is thanks to his vision that this beautiful location is available.

I ask Kollmorgen, MassDevelopment, the CAC and the City of Northampton to work together to see that this improvement to the site plan is thoroughly investigated and considered before any site work begins on the South Campus of Village Hill Northampton.

See also:

Video and Guest Column: Planning Board Approves Kollmorgen for Hospital Hill on 6/11/09

Gazette: "Kollmorgen HQ project at Village Hill approved" (6/12/09)
Although the board OK'd the site plans in a 5-1 vote, with Kenneth Jodrie the lone dissenter, disapproval of the redesigned bike path was a consistent theme among speakers. Rust Avenue resident Benjamin Spencer, who spoke a number of times at the meeting, said he thought changes to the bike path made it unsafe for children and that the company's claim that a bike path would cause a security problem was insincere.

Guest Column: Manhan Rail Trail Extension to Village Hill Northampton; June 11 Kollmorgen Hearing (6/10/09)

Video: Kollmorgen Hospital Hill Presentation of 5/20/09

Video: Manhan Rail Trail Hearing of 4/27/09

April 27: Public Hearing for the Manhan Rail Trail

Boston Globe: "How the city hurts your brain" (1/2/09)
...scientists have begun to examine how the city affects the brain, and the results are chastening. Just being in an urban environment, they have found, impairs our basic mental processes. After spending a few minutes on a crowded city street, the brain is less able to hold things in memory, and suffers from reduced self-control...

One of the main forces at work is a stark lack of nature, which is surprisingly beneficial for the brain. Studies have demonstrated, for instance, that hospital patients recover more quickly when they can see trees from their windows, and that women living in public housing are better able to focus when their apartment overlooks a grassy courtyard. Even these fleeting glimpses of nature improve brain performance, it seems, because they provide a mental break from the urban roil...

A city is so overstuffed with stimuli that we need to constantly redirect our attention so that we aren't distracted by irrelevant things, like a flashing neon sign...

Natural settings, in contrast, don't require the same amount of cognitive effort...

Natural settings are full of objects that automatically capture our attention, yet without triggering a negative emotional response -- unlike, say, a backfiring car. The mental machinery that directs attention can relax deeply, replenishing itself...

        

This week Kohl Construction submitted a revised condo proposal to the Office of Planning and Development. Compared to the previous proposal shown to the Planning Board on May 14, the new proposal reduces total units from 23 to 20 and breaks up the larger masses into duplexes. Several members of the Planning Board had asked for a reduction of 3-5 units.

The new proposal will be taken up by the Planning Board at its Thursday, June 25 meeting (7pm, City Council Chambers, 212 Main Street). Concerned citizens are urged to attend.

The Conservation Commission hearing previously scheduled for June 25 has been canceled. The Commission desires to hire a hydrogeologist to evaluate how the proposed condos would impact the wetlands and buffer zone.

While the new condo proposal is a move in the right direction, many important issues remain:

• Units 5-12 would be in an area that Conservation Commissioner Paul Wetzel objects to building on because the ground is so wet (March 12 hearing)
• Wetzel also expressed concerns about how the underground stormwater detention system by Unit 10 would interact with groundwater in and around the wetland
• Unit 18 appears to be slated for the same place as a unit that Conservation Commissioner Downey Meyer objected to previously as too close to the wetland
• The total amount of disturbance inside the 100-foot wetlands buffer zone would remain high; Meyer objected to this on the version of the proposal reviewed on March 12
• The two cul-de-sacs of the development would be awkward, with poor sight lines, and poorly integrated with the surrounding neighborhood. This would likely impair neighborhood cohesion and might lead to security issues. The Sustainable Northampton Plan disfavors cul-de-sacs
• A 1999 Tropical Storm Floyd flood damage report for the end of View Avenue (near proposed Unit 1) suggests much of the site may be at risk of future flooding (View Avenue is at a relatively high elevation on the property)
• The density would still be too high relative to the amount of land suitable for building. The proposed units look like they are squashed into North Street's backyard space. This disrupts the character of the neighborhood and intrudes on neighbors' privacy. The units would not be in harmonious relation to their surroundings, a condition of the special permit Kohl needs
• Would the View Avenue duplexes have a monotonous repetition of design? That would contrast with the charm and variety of the existing neighborhood
• We presume the condos would still be built on slab foundations. This is also out of character with the neighborhood and raises durability questions
• This site is swarming with mosquitoes during the summer months. It would be hard to blame residents for spraying insecticides so they could use their outdoor spaces in safety and comfort. That could put them on a collision course with the health of the wetlands.

Here are the two units proposed for the end of Northern Avenue (download the PDFs below for the complete proposal in high resolution):






Here is the main body of 18 units proposed around View Avenue:




Here is the previous May 14 proposal by way of contrast:




The proposed design for the units at the end of Northern Avenue (unchanged since November 2008):




The proposed design for the duplexes around View Avenue:




Here is the complete Kohl filing of 6/17/09 with Office of Planning and Development:

        

North Street gets fresh support from across town in Virginia Schulman's letter published in today's Gazette:

Defending rights of North Street neighbors

...I live on South Street, which used to have a lovely little wooded area at the corner where it forks into Old South and New South. In my opinion, destroying that woods to allow "infill" was a very bad decision. And there's a lot of research to the effect that we human beings actually need natural views in our lives, even in a downtown.

In my view, "mixed development" and "future needs" do not require the city to allow the destruction of a traditional neighborhood, especially when that neighborhood already contains mixed development in the form of houses of varied ages and sizes, and when that neighborhood's residents are letting the city know in every way possible that they don't want their neighborhood destroyed.

See also:

Video: Planning Board Reviews the Latest Kohl Condo Proposal on 5/14/09
Proposed 21 units off North Street centered around View Avenue (download high-resolution JPEG)



Planning Board Debates Kohl Condo Density - Quotes from the March 26 Hearing
Any design multiplied 23 times would not be in harmony with the neighborhood, which is characterized by the diverse appearance of its homes.

Topographical Map Shows How Kohl Condo Proposal Will Eat Into a Rare Stand of Mature Trees in Downtown

Boston Globe: "How the city hurts your brain" (1/2/09)
City life can also lead to loss of emotional control. Kuo and her colleagues found less domestic violence in the apartments with views of greenery. These data build on earlier work that demonstrated how aspects of the urban environment, such as crowding and unpredictable noise, can also lead to increased levels of aggression. A tired brain, run down by the stimuli of city life, is more likely to lose its temper...

MA Secy of Energy and Environmental Affairs: Urban Parks Deserve Protection as do Habitat Reserves and Working Landscapes

CommonWealth Magazine: "Urban greenery can bring better health, more attractive neighborhoods, and even safer streets"

Greening Smart Growth: The Sustainable Sites Initiative

Photo Essay: 10 Reasons People Like Trees Around Them; Will the Sustainable Northampton Plan Put Urban Trees at Risk?
"Planning for Trees" by Henry Arnold, Planning Commissioners Journal, January/February 1992
A recent survey by the American Forestry Association of twenty American cities found that, on average, only one tree is planted for every four removed...

Our urban centers need to become more attractive to help counter the continuation of a sprawl pattern of development. If the appeal of low density, widely scattered development is derived from the need to be closer to nature, then making trees an integral part of the urban habitat will help make our town and city centers more desirable places to live and work. It is profoundly important to see this linkage between making cities and towns more "liveable" and stemming the continued spread of scattered development across the countryside.

Rutherford Platt, "Regreening the Metropolis: Pathways to More Ecological Cities"

North Street Gets Support from South Street: A Letter from Virginia Schulman (9/4/07)

Letter to Advocate: "Heartsick Over Noho" (8/30/07)

Our Ad in Today's Gazette: "How to Avoid Classic Infill Design Mistakes" (5/6/09)
Portland’s experience with Smart Growth traces back to the 1970s. Its Bureau of Planning recommends preserving the cohesion of neighborhoods through strengthening existing patterns of “street-oriented buildings, fine-grain ‘rhythms’ of development, and green street edges created by front yards and gardens.” Portland values preserving established building setback patterns and the relationship of buildings to grade level, and avoiding disruptive “monolithic massing”.

Portland Infill Design Strategies: Best Practices for Context-Sensitive Infill Design

        

Here is a complete blip.tv video of the 6/11/09 meeting of Northampton's Conservation Commission. This video is 1 hour 50 minutes long and was recorded by Lachlan Ziegler. With respect to the Kohl Construction/Tofino Associates proposal to build 23 condos off of North Street, the commission aims to select a hydrogeologist at its June 25 meeting to evaluate the impact of the proposal on the site. The commission hopes to be able to review this evaluation at its July 23 meeting. The Kohl proposal is also on the agenda of the Planning Board's June 25 meeting (7pm, City Council Chambers).



Here is the agenda of the Conservation Commission meeting:

Date: Thursday June 11, 2009
Time: 5:30 PM
Place: City Hall Hearing Room (use back door or main Crafts Avenue door) 2nd floor, 210 Main Street, Northampton

For more information: Bruce W. Young, Land Use and Conservation Planner
byoung@northamptonma.gov

Agenda

Approval of Minutes for 05/14/2009 and 05/28/2009

5:30 PM (0:03:30-0:34:45 on video)
Policy discussion on No-Disturb Area boundary marker requirements

6:00 PM (0:34:46-0:36:39 on video)
Notice of Intent filed by Tofino Associates, Inc. and Northern Avenue Homes, Inc. for the construction of twenty-three dwelling units and associated roadways, parking areas, driveways, sidewalks, utilities, landscaping and stormwater management system. Project is proposed to take place in the 100-foot buffer zone of Bordering Vegetated Wetlands. Project location is Northern Avenue, Map Id 25C-12 and 25C-17.

6:05 PM (starts at 0:36:40 on video)
Public meeting on Barrett Street Marsh management and maintenance issues

See also:

Video: Planning Board Reviews the Latest Kohl Condo Proposal on 5/14/09
During the hearing, several board members expressed a desire to see the proposal shrink by 3-5 units.

Video: Conservation Commission Reviews Latest Kohl Condo Proposal on 5/14/09
Kohl's own test pit data (PDF, 735KB) shows areas along and south of Northern Avenue where removing existing fill (necessary to secure the condo foundations) would involve work below the level of seasonal high groundwater...

The potential impact to groundwater flows appeared to concern some members of the Conservation Commission, who called for an independent expert evaluation of how the proposed development would impact the hydrology of the site.

Gazette: "Early count too close to call on Kohl project" (5/19/09)

Gazette: "Wetlands, density bog down Northampton condo plans" (5/15/09)

Valley Advocate: "Bogged Down - Doug Kohl runs into trouble with plans for his subdivision off North Street in Northampton" (3/17/09)

Video: Conservation Commission Meeting of 3/12/09; Deadlock on Kohl Condo Proposal
[Below, Paul Wetzel and Downey Meyer refer to a version of Kohl's condo proposal with 23 units and 1.10 acres of impervious surface. The current version has 23 units and 1.04 acres of impervious surface. NSNA argues the two versions are not much different.]

3:00:22... Commissioner Paul Wetzel: "...I'm just going to say something, we've spent a lot of time listening... right now as this plan...I'm inclined to deny it. And its just because...if we were looking at whether this development has an impact on the wetlands, I think it's going to have an impact on the wetlands. And, I see, a number of things, primarily the underground [detention basin] getting in the way of the hydrology connections underground..."

3:01:06... Wetzel: "...and the fact that everything is so close, and the people are...it just seems too crowded, and it seems like for a first project it's not a precedent I want to set...

3:11:40... Wetzel: "So to me, getting rid of these guys [points to condo units 1-10]...is a big help" because they are at a relatively low elevation close to the water table. He wants more room to be made for the development's normal operations, such as snow clearing and snow storage. He believes that violations of wetlands protection covenants are likely to occur over time...

3:33:39... Meyer: "...I see the planting plan, and I think the planting plan is a significant benefit. I think that removing the invasives that are there, and planting species that are high value for habitat, and...food sources for birds and other wildlife is very important. But, I also see a lot of the grading...and a lot of disturbance of existing uplands. That is, there are non-native species, but they are functioning, as upland habitat, and I guess I also see...at the north end--and this is where it's...interesting that Paul points this out that for him, this is the unproblematic part of the project, because it's higher--...unit 21 that falls inside the 50-foot boundary."

3:51:13...: Meyer: "This has been the problem with this project from the beginning... When the footprint of the project impinges on the wetlands, there's no other place to do improvements... If you had the project heavily concentrated in one end of the site, going right to 35 feet, but nothing was happening down at the other end of the site, then there's some place where you can do significant mitigation in the 35 to 50 foot zone... I don't think that the difficulty is something that is set in stone. I think it's generated to a certain extent by the design of the project."

Our Ad in the April 11 Gazette: Slab-on-Grade Foundations Raise Questions of Durability

Tropical Storm Floyd Flood Damage Report (1999)
In the map below, the red flag behind View Avenue (the topmost flag) indicates a flood damage report from Tropical Storm Floyd (1999). This area is in the eastern portion of Kohl Construction's proposed condo site, one of the more elevated portions. We infer that much of Kohl's property may be at risk from heavy rainfall events.



Watering-up: Studies of Groundwater Rising After Trees Cut
..."sites most susceptible to [hydrology] changes after clearcutting were the transition ones between the bogs or fens and the uplands." This appears to describe well the land Kohl proposes to remove trees from. An average rise on the order of 20 cm (7.9 inches) in the water table is plausible. This could put unanticipated strains both on the foundations of the condos and on the stormwater mitigation system, a major component of which is underground. In addition, "the clear-cut of riparian and other wetland vegetation may lead to ecosystem conversion, i.e., to the encroachment...of water-tolerant or of shallow-rooted invasive species." Conservation and Land Use Planner Bruce Young has shown a keen interest in controlling invasive species on Kohl's land.

The phenomenon of groundwater rising after tree harvests is common enough to have its own term: "watering-up"...

Mike Kirby: "The Meadowbrook Chronicles Part One"
The developers built 255 units of affordable apartments there. They crammed them in everywhere they could, pushing them up into the bluffs, and close to the creek and wetlands. No backyards to speak of. One third of the buildings were built within 50 feet of the wetlands, 63% of the buildings are within the customary 100 feet of wetlands.

None of the buildings have cellars under their apartments. If they have cellars, there are people living in them. The cellar floors in the basement apartments in Buildings #4 and #2 are lower than the surrounding swamp. Some slabs have cracks in them. People have been flooded out. No moisture-proof barriers between the surrounding earth and the foundations. Moisture and mold percolate up into people's apartments via the chases that hold utilities...

Video: Conservation Commission Meeting of 1/22/09; Non-Compliance with Wetlands Protection Agreements; Kohl Asked to Revise Condo Proposal Again
0:39:00-0:51:01... Land Use and Conservation Planner Bruce Young: "Honestly I have too much going on [to closely monitor EBD's planting plan], and part of that 'too much' is enforcing encroachments on projects similar to this. So, to add to this, I'd like to say that I would recommend that the commission require large boulders two feet on center across the entire encroachment zone...four feet in diameter boulders two feet apart... I think two feet keeps people from mowing and creates a border.... Because I've spent a huge amount of time going to these projects now that we had, we started a few years ago at 30 feet apart, then we went to 25 feet apart, now we're at 15. Actually, I've had enough. I've had enough of sending enforcement orders to people and having them deny them in the mail, and then have it come back to me, and then having to send one certified mail, and then have them deny it three times before I have to issue a...someone to deliver a subpeona, and then this is a huge waste of time for someone who is mowing down a wetland that is a...what begins in the process as a fair kind of negotiation but then turns into...it gets sold to one person who gets sold to another and people...no longer respect that line...

"I'll show you a picture of another project where we asked for two-foot diameter [boulders] and I have a picture of my shoe next to it and my shoe actually is about two inches longer, and I know I don't have two-foot long feet. I have big feet but they're not that big. So I'd prefer to say four foot in diameter. Large boulders. They can't be moved. You can't pick them up. You can't roll them out of the way and mow the wetland. We're talking long term...

[Responding to a Harrity's suggestion of a white picket fence instead of large boulders:] "A hundred-year white picket fence would be difficult to find...

[Harrity: "We could put it in the association bylaws that it needs to be maintained...the annual inspection..."]

"The thing is that's all fine and dandy but what happens is somebody just decides to cut it down or move it or take it out, and it's happened on almost every negotiation we've made...since I've been here, four years, almost every single one. There's one that I can say that there is not a single encroachment, and that's Pat Melnick's new project and it has boulders all the way around it, and that's the only one...

"You can put a stone wall, or you can put boulders, what else lasts 150 years?...

[Responding to a suggestion from Commissioner Kevin Lake to combat the encroachment problem through covenants:] "We have [an agreement] with Cardinal Way. We have a covenant that says, there's a 75-foot no-disturb area, and there will be granite bollards placed every 25 feet along this 75-foot no-disturb... And what we have is, we have smashed granite bollards that are sitting in the mowed wetlands. That people have smashed the bollards, threw them back in the woods, and then mowed all the way up to edge of the woods...mowed down all the wetland vegetation and so now what we have is (and there's a shed sitting in the middle of the wetland now) and what we have is large grass and my letters that I sent to them saying, you don't have the right to do this, and them coming back to me saying, any letter that comes to them from the city is refused in the mail...

"My position has already been cut down to three days for conservation, and there's no time for this, and there's no one else out there doing it..."