Jono Neiger and Sebastian Gutwein from the Regenerative Design Group have prepared these charts that compare impervious surface in Kohl Construction’s previous and current North Street condo proposals. Neiger serves on the faculty of the Conway School of Landscape Design, Graduate Program in Sustainable Landscape Planning & Design. To our eyes, Kohl’s new proposal (see […]
Continue reading Impervious Surface: New Condo Proposal Differs Little from Previous One
Vote YES! Northampton has launched a website at www.voteyesnorthampton.org: “Vote Yes! Northampton is a coalition of thousands of concerned citizens from all corners of Northampton, including seniors, parents, educators, elected leaders, public employees, and business owners who are dedicated to the idea that, to keep Northampton a strong and vibrant community now and into the […]
Kohl Construction this week filed a new Notice of Intent to the Northampton Conservation Commission regarding its proposal to build 23 condo units off North Street. The Conservation Commission will hear this new proposal on May 14, 5:30pm in the City Hall Hearing Room, 210 Main Street, 2nd floor (enter via the back door). A […]
Continue reading Kohl Construction Files New Notice of Intent for North Street Condos
Mayor Clare Higgins is circulating the following announcement: OPERATION CLEAN SWEEP Volunteers Needed In an effort to spruce up Downtown Northampton, the Mayor’s Office and the Chamber are organizing a Clean Sweep Day on Saturday, April 18, 2009 from 7AM – 10 AM. Volunteers will gather at 7:00 AM on Saturday, April 18th in the […]
Continue reading Operation Clean Sweep: Volunteers Needed for Saturday Morning, April 18
Northampton’s City Council will give its first reading to a Proposition 2 1/2 Override Question (PDF, 104KB) at its April 16 meeting (approval to put the question to voters requires passage at two readings). This meeting will begin at 7:15pm in City Council Chambers, 212 Main Street. Here are documents being circulated to the councilors:See […]
Continue reading $2,000,000 Proposition 2 1/2 Override Question on April 16 City Council Agenda
Here is our ad as it appears opposite the editorial page in today’s Daily Hampshire Gazette (download a high-resolution PDF, 265 KB). This ad focuses on slab-on-grade foundations, a construction technique Kohl Construction wants to use for its proposed condos off North Street. In this article we reproduce the text of the ad and provide […]
Continue reading Our Ad in Today’s Gazette: Slab-on-Grade Foundations Raise Questions of Durability
At a March 26 hearing (video), some Planning Board members voiced density-related concerns about the latest 23-unit condo proposal from Kohl Construction (21 units shown here, 2 proposed for the end of Northern Avenue not shown). Download the high-resolution PDF (1.1 MB). Here are selected quotes, with thanks to Lisa Maloney for transcription assistance: Video […]
Continue reading Planning Board Debates Kohl Condo Density – Quotes from the March 26 Hearing
The Valley Advocate’s Northampton Redoubt blog today publishes a guest article from NSNA member Adam Cohen, “The Kohl condo proposal and the Struggle Over the Meaning of Infill”. This article reviews the current state of the condo proposal and outlines many of our key objections. A difficulty that is becoming increasingly apparent is how unresolved […]
Northampton’s Planning Department observes that average household size in the city has fallen from 2.86 in 1980 to 2.14 in 2007. They believe this trend will continue: Average household size (people per dwelling unit) will continue to decline. This will be driven by decreases in average family size, the number of children and number of […]
Continue reading Planners’ Assumptions about Future Household Size and Car Usage May Prove Wrong
Here is a complete Google video of the 4/1/09 meeting of Northampton’s Zoning Revisions Committee. This video is 2 hours and 3 minutes long and was recorded by Lachlan Ziegler. It is also available on Vimeo. Here is the meeting agenda: Human Resources Conference Room, 2nd Floor Memorial Hall (enter at side door facing Unitarian […]