1991: Zoning Board of Appeals Member Vetoes Proposed Multi-Family Project as Out Of Character for Woodmont Road Environs

In 1991, Northampton’s Zoning Board of Appeals shot down a three-unit apartment house proposed for Woodmont Road as out of character for the area. The Gazette reported the story in “Zoning board rejects permit for Woodmont Road apartment”:

Residents of the neighborhood cheered when the zoning board of appeals rejected a Holyoke construction company’s application for a special permit to build a single, three-unit building on a grassy lot at 53 Woodmont Road…

[Developer Franklin M.] O’Connell said he believed the company would look for another site in Northampton rather than appeal the zoning board decision to Hampshire Superior Court…

The company’s special permit was rejected by the single negative vote of zoning board member Thomas J. Brushway…all decisions must be unanimous, so the application failed…

Announcing his vote, Brushway said he was against the project because the multi-family dwelling would be out of character with what he described as a neighborhood of “predominantly” single family homes, “especially in the immediate neighborhood.”

210 residents had signed a petition objecting to the development on Woodmont Road.

Today, of course, we are faced with Kohl Construction’s proposal for 31 condo units in the area bounded by North Street and the bike trail–10 times the scale of the project rejected in 1991.

See also:

Pictures of Kohl Construction’s Condo Plans
Total Parcel Size: 5.49 [acres]
Total Number of Units Proposed: 31
Total Parking Spaces Proposed: 66